What does category actually mean in go-to-market, and why does everyone keep telling me to pick one?
A category is the mental shelf a buyer puts you on before they judge anything else about you. The moment someone hears what you do, they reach for the closest thing they already understand, and every assumption about your price, your competitors and your feature list flows from that shelf. If you do not choose the shelf, the buyer chooses one for you, and it is usually the wrong one. So picking a category is not branding fluff, it is deciding which comparison you are willing to be judged against.
Go deeper
3 resources, 3 link-checked.
📄 Article
✓ Link checkedFreeBeginner
The clearest short explanation of why market category is one of five interdependent positioning pieces, with a real repositioning story attached. It is also where Dunford makes the case that most companies should not invent a category.
The standard reference for B2B positioning, and short enough to finish in a weekend. The chapter on choosing a market frame is the one to read before any category conversation.
Their public teardowns and positioning strategies are the fastest way to see the same product framed four or five different ways. Steal the framing patterns even if you never buy the sprint.
