But if you look at a company like Skype, things didn’t turn Are you in or out? Part II: out the same way. Back in 2006, Sykpe introduced a way Remember, category design isn’t for everyone. for multiple people to conduct a video conferencing call According to Udi Ledergor, CMO at Gong, “To ensure Category Design – all without having to purchase expensive hardware or your category will grow to a lucrative size, you’ll want software. Skype already had hundreds of millions of users, to make sure that (a) you’re solving a painful problem Is Powerful, but and they could have become the category king of video your target buyers really want to solve, (b) your target Not For All conferencing. But today that honor belongs to Zoom. buyers have the budget and authority to pay for your Skype simply did not invest enough in innovation or solution, and (c) there are enough target buyers so you marketing to earn the crown. don’t run out of customers too soon. In addition, it goes Finally, ask yourself whether you would be pursuing almost without saying, you actually need to build and category design for the right reasons. Consider this promote the right product to solve your buyers’ pain.” 8 idea from Eddie Yoon, author of Superconsumers and Here’s my interview with Udi. At Salesforce we always growth strategist to category creators in the Fortune There’s a chance you’ve read the above and realize that 100 and leading VC-backed upstarts. According to category design doesn’t make sense for you. If so, good. believed our brand was Eddie, aspiring category designers come in two types: You’ve just saved yourself a tremendous amount of time “the sum of every single mercenaries and missionaries. and money by avoiding a project that was unlikely to interaction a customer “Mercenaries are Machiavellian,” Eddie told me. work out in the first place. “They see category creation as a means to an end, to But if you’ve gotten this far, my guess is that you’re had with us. This meant help them raise capital, build awareness, or improve experiencing a combination of excitement and we were constantly their valuation. The consumer and end-user don’t trepidation. Excitement, because I’ve just shown you really matter to them. My research shows that this a path forward that can help you avoid the “red ocean” evolving and re-inventing tends to fail in the long run. Missionaries, though, are of an existing category and build a new market for how we could delight more likely to sustain their success because they view yourself. Trepidation, because I’ve also shown you that category creation as a never-ending quest. this path isn’t a cakewalk. our customers at every They can’t stop dreaming about a future that is stage. There was no captivating, beautiful, and radically different – one But at the end of the day, if you find yourself solving that’s richly abundant and where everyone benefits. a new problem – a problem that your market doesn’t endpoint, just a long They can’t shut up about it or stop working on it, as know about and one that isn’t defined by an existing journey of customer- they are themselves the “super consumer” who is the category – then you don’t really have a choice. To ultimate muse and north star for the new category. succeed in any meaningful way, you do need to follow centric touchpoints. Ultimately, missionaries get that category creation is category design. The next section will show you what ” not a short-term play or a mere marketing strategy.” that process entails. — Bill Macaitis Recap: If your company isn’t offering something meaningfully different to the world, then category design isn’t appropriate. If that’s the case, you are betting off carving out a niche in an existing category. If you do offer something different, your team will need the right attitude, resources, and people if you’re going to succeed. Category designers need to be prepared to take and defend the leadership position in their new category. The Newcomer’s Guide to Category Design 18