CATEGORY CREATION: The Knowledge Differentiator for Successful CMOS

We live in a time of tremendous transformation. The 2020 disruption laid bare the shortcomings of existing business models and transformation efforts. And in the ensuing scramble to plug holes and fix what's broken in their operations, astute CMOs recognised that it's time to part ways with past assumptions, checklists, and playbooks and instead embrace the new challenges and opportunities to thrive in today's digital-first markets

- Amit Tiwari

INSTANTANEOUS DIGITAL interactions across an expanding range of channels have displaced high-touch offline interactions today. From a small number of well-known brand names to an increasing number of niche brands in every category, the variety of products has increased. Businesses need to be more creative, act faster, and comprehend and even anticipate the specific needs and expectations of the customers who define their markets in order to compete in this new economy.

THE PATH LESS TAKEN

A difficult-to-pull-off marketing strategy for long-term differentiation, category creation if done right, can easily be considered the gold standard for any CMO. This is because it can be directly measured in terms of its impact on a company and the broader industry. Think of category creation as a framework for building your company and product around the big idea that sets your solution apart from everything else already in the market.

The Harvard Business Review examined Fortune's lists of the 100 fastest-growing US companies from 2009 to 2011. They found that the 13 companies that were instrumental in creating categories accounted for 53 per cent of incremental revenue growth and 74 per cent of incremental market capitalisation growth over those three years. It should come as no surprise that companies that create new markets expand much more quickly and are valued much higher by investors than companies that only make minor innovations.

A game-changing product or a catchy slogan alone, however, aren't enough for category creation. A powerful, consistent vision throughout all aspects of the business - from product development, to sales strategy, executive content, and yes, marketing - is needed for category creation to be successful. The resulting benefits are manifold: