We have all been there. Trying to research a product or service we need for our business. We trawl search engines and websites looking for a solution that will match our requirements. Yet every single whitepaper, blog and website we read looks and sounds just the last one we looked at. The same colours, the same imagery, the same language, promises and acronyms. Yet none of them match what you need exactly.
Nothing resonates, little sticks and you have no idea who is providing you with the best information.
As more businesses adopt similar strategies, products, and even language, the market becomes saturated with companies that start to look and sound the same. How can you avoid falling into the trap of strategic convergence and create something truly unique? The answer lies in carving out your own unique label or category, and Fried Egg Marketing® can help you do just that.
In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of defining your own category, how it can differentiate your business from competitors, and how Fried Egg Marketing is the perfect tool to guide this process.
Why Creating a Unique Label or Category is Crucial
Before diving into the how, it’s important to understand the why. In an era where differentiation is harder to come by, businesses that can create and own a unique label or category gain several key advantages.
Instant Differentiation
By creating your own category, you immediately set your business apart from competitors who are fighting to fit into existing market categories. You become the leader of your space, not just another player.
Category Authority
When you define and name or a new category, you’re positioning yourself as the authority in that space. It’s not just about offering a service, it’s about offering a new, distinct solution to your Ideal Client Profile (ICP).
Brand Loyalty
A unique category fosters loyalty. When customers see your brand as the only one delivering something different, they’re more likely to become long-term advocates.
Your Own Blue Ocean
In traditional categories, businesses are constantly compared to others offering similar services. When there is no differentiation in a crowded market, everything boils down to price. We call this the Red Ocean. By creating a new category, you make direct comparisons less relevant, allowing you to focus on the value you provide rather than competing on price or features. This elevates you out of the crowd, allows you to control the narrative and own the customer journey – we call this the Blue Ocean.
But how do you actually create this new category or label? Let’s look at the steps involved and how Fried Egg Marketing can guide you along the way.
Steps to Create Your Own Unique Label or Category
Identify Your ICP (The Yolk)
Before you can create a new category, you need to know who you’re creating it for. This is where Fried Egg Marketing comes in. The yolk of your business is your Ideal Client Profile (ICP)—the core group of clients who derive the most value from your offerings. To create a unique category, you need to deeply understand the needs, pain points, and desires of your ICP.
Fried Egg Marketing ensures you’re not creating a broad category for everyone but a distinct category that directly addresses your ICP’s challenges.
It is only with a clear understanding of your ICP, that you can start to build a new label or category that resonates with the exact clients who are most likely to engage with your solution.
Analyse the Gaps in Your Industry
Every existing category has its limitations. Some segments may be underserved, or there may be a disconnect between what businesses offer and what clients actually need. The key to creating a new label or category is identifying these gaps and determining how your solution fills them.
By focussing on your ICP, you gain unique insights into what these high-value clients are missing in the marketplace, what they truly need and what they are looking for. Often products and services are built too generically meaning that the true pain points are never truly understood.
Fried Egg Marketing helps you tailor your solution to solve these specific problems, making it easier to create a category that feels totally relevant and necessary.
Name Your Category
Now that you’ve identified the gaps and the specific needs of your ICP, it’s time to create a name for your new category. The name should be descriptive yet distinct enough to differentiate it from existing categories. Think of terms like Inbound Marketing, coined by HubSpot, or Account-Based Marketing (ABM)—both of which became entire movements within their industries.
Fried Egg Marketing emphasises clarity in communication. Your new category name should speak directly to the ICP, using language they understand and relate to, but making sure that you avoid that painful, and often misleading industry jargon that everyone likes to throw around with abandon.
One of the biggest pitfalls of strategic convergence is the overuse of acronyms and jargon. By focusing on your ICP, Fried Egg Marketing helps you develop a name and positioning that cuts through the clutter and noise and resonates deeply.
Develop a Unique Value Proposition
A new category isn’t just about a clever name, it’s about offering something genuinely valuable that sets you apart. Your unique value proposition (UVP) should define how your solution provides a distinct benefit to your ICP that they can’t find elsewhere.
By narrowing your focus to your ICP, Fried Egg Marketing helps you craft a UVP that addresses the specific needs and pain points of your most valuable clients, making your category immediately appealing.
With your UVP aligned to your ICP, you can differentiate your new category based on what really matters to your ideal clients, not what your competitors are offering.
Educate Your Market
Of course, just by developing your unique category doesn’t mean it will gain traction overnight. You need to build awareness and explain why your new category is the best solution for your ICP’s specific challenges. This often involves a mix of content marketing, webinars, case studies, and thought leadership to establish yourself as the expert in this new space.
Rather than just creating generic content for everyone, Fried Egg Marketing ensures that your educational materials are laser-focused on your ICP, ensuring your new category feels more relevant to the exact clients you’re targeting.
With your new category in hand, you can create thought leadership content that positions you as the authority in this space, helping build trust with your ICP and drive adoption.
Align Marketing and Sales Efforts
Creating a new category or label doesn’t just affect marketing—it has to be embraced by your entire organisation. Your sales team needs to be aligned with your new positioning and equipped to communicate the unique value of your category. This requires training, consistent messaging, and collaboration between departments.
Fried Egg Marketing naturally aligns marketing and sales efforts around the ICP. Both teams work together with a clear understanding of who the target audience is and what the new category offers.
By focusing on the ICP throughout, both teams are aligned in messaging and approach, ensuring your new category is communicated effectively from marketing to sales.
Example of Successful Category Creation
Inbound Marketing (HubSpot)
HubSpot created and owned the Inbound Marketing category by focusing on a new way to attract customers through valuable content rather than traditional outbound tactics. HubSpot’s success came from targeting marketers who were frustrated with cold calling and banner ads. They built an entire movement around inbound marketing, educating the market and becoming the dominant player in the space.
How Fried Egg Marketing Helps You Create Your Own Category
By focusing on your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) and understanding their specific pain points, Fried Egg Marketing offers the ideal framework for businesses looking to carve out a unique label or category.
Rather than creating a broad, generic category, Fried Egg Marketing ensures that your new label is specifically tailored to your ICP, making it more impactful and relevant.
When you focus on the yolk (your ICP), you naturally differentiate your offering based on value, avoiding the trap of strategic convergence and overused industry terms.
By aligning your marketing and sales teams around your new category, Fried Egg Marketing helps you build a strong, unified presence that positions you as the leader in this space.
Stand Out by Creating Your Own Label
Strategic convergence is becoming all too common, creating your own category or label is the key to standing out. By leveraging the principles of Fried Egg Marketing, you can identify your ICP, develop a unique offering, and carve out a space in the market that’s all your own.
Rather than fighting for a piece of the pie in a crowded category, you can create your own pie—one that’s tailor-made for the clients who matter most to your business. With the right strategy, messaging, and positioning, Fried Egg Marketing can help you achieve long-term success through category creation and differentiation.
Find out more by booking your place on our Fried Egg Marketing webinar.
