Companies entering a new category are often intimidated by their more experienced competitors. This episode highlights how being naive to a category can become a competitive advantage.

A medical device company acquired a product sold at retail stores. They were worried about not having the experience to compete in this market. But the company used a simple-yet-powerful segmentation approach that immediately outperformed the one-size-fits-all strategy of other test makers.

The team describes this case and the significant lessons that B2Bs can apply in many category creation situations. You’ll also hear how segmentation can be used to make rapid inroads even if you are competing in an existing category that’s new to your firm.

In this episode you will learn:

• How Quidel’s two segment strategy changed the home pregnancy test market
• Why incumbents can be blind to new approaches in their category
• Why you should consider segmenting end-user’s even if you have a distribution channel that handles all interactions with them

Here’s some quotes from the team’s discussion:

“Not having the baggage of a long history in a category can lead to a more open-mind that uncovers real opportunities.”

“It turns out that, in many B2B categories, there’s not just one market for a product.”

“You can change a category without spending a lot of money, by focusing on strategically changing communications, packaging and the other things that ‘surround’ a product.”

We hope you learn some valuable strategies from the discussion!