How to choose a market category
Choose the category that makes your value obvious to your best-fit customer. List candidate categories, then ask what buyers assume about each: competitors, price, features. Pick the one whose assumptions work for you. April Dunford places category last in positioning, after alternatives, attributes, value and customers are decided.
Three options
Existing category
Fastest to understand, hardest to stand out.
Subcategory
Borrow a known frame and add a qualifier.
New category
Highest effort; needs heavy education.
FAQs
Should a startup create a new category?
Only if no existing frame makes your value clear, since educating buyers takes time and money.