Market and Category Strategy
A grounded review of how buyers compare options and where you can realistically win. Category and buyer language, positioning gaps, practical points of difference, and message shifts your team can actually support.
Market and category strategy means understanding how buyers compare options and where you can realistically win. This work is useful when the category is crowded, the team is using borrowed language, or competitors are shaping the conversation. I look at the alternatives buyers consider, the claims others are making, and the position your team can actually support.
When clients bring me in
Clients usually bring me in when the category language sounds familiar, but not ownable.
Competitors are using the same claims. The team can describe the product, but not the position. The market story feels borrowed, inflated, or too broad. Buyers can see the category, but not why this company should win.
What I usually own
Review the alternatives buyers compare
Audit category and buyer language
Spot positioning gaps and false claims
Define a practical point of difference
Recommend message shifts the team can actually support
What clients get
A clearer view of how buyers compare the market
Stronger category and buyer language
A more practical point of difference
Better alignment between market reality and messaging
A stronger base for website copy, decks, campaigns, and thought leadership
RESULTS FROM RECENT CLIENTS
A peer-to-peer advisory business serving CISOs needed clearer competitive positioning and a more distinct market story for a sophisticated B2B audience.
Reviewed the company’s positioning, keywords, and metadata against 14 competitors, clarified how the offer was similar and different, and identified the category claims and brand attributes it could realistically own. Built a sharper position around peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, practical guidance, and access to experienced CISOs.
The result was a more differentiated market position, clearer competitive language, and a stronger basis for messaging, web structure, and thought leadership.
A managed service company needed a clearer way to stand apart from commodity IT firms and explain its value to hybrid and remote-work clients.
Clarified how buyers compared the company to generalist MSPs, moved the company away from generic category language, and built a more specific market story around modern workplace support. Strengthened the point of difference across sales materials, LinkedIn messaging, and web language.
The result was a more distinct market position, more consistent messaging across channels, and stronger sales support.
California’s restaurant-only self-insured workers’ comp group needed a clearer reason for brokers and owners to switch.
Clarified the value proposition, tightened broker and owner messaging, and aligned audience language, proof points, and channel language across the website, decks, webinars, LinkedIn, PR, and sales materials so the market story was easier to understand and repeat.
Results included 74% membership growth, with certificate holders increasing from 121 to 194; 29.7% annualized contribution revenue growth; and stronger digital reach through clearer website and LinkedIn messaging.
A business intelligence SaaS startup needed a clearer market story and stronger positioning in a crowded category.
Defined a more distinct position in the BI landscape, clarified audience and buyer language, and built messaging around a more specific category story rather than generic analytics claims. Aligned the website, content direction, and PR support to that position.
The result was a clearer market position as a developer-friendly BI platform, stronger message consistency, and a better foundation for growth and visibility.
HOW TO START
Specific project: A defined scope, a clear deliverable, a fixed timeline.
Short sprint: Fast work on a single category, positioning, or competitive problem.
Ongoing support: Regular strategic support to keep the story aligned with market reality as the company grows.
Know the problem? I can usually point you to the right starting place quickly.
Still sorting it out? That’s fine. Figuring out where to begin is part of the work.