Episodes
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Josh hosted a live workshop to help folks get their positioning back on track. Topics included:
The Three Hard Positioning Problems everybody faces.The best tool to fix each one. And why everything will fall into place when you master these tools.Josh has written the positioning for over 100 companies including Uber, Qualtrics and Gainsight. And he’s the founder of Gold Front, the category design studio.
Now let’s fix your positioning.
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Josh shares the Gold Front Category Design Canvas, a tool that helps you ask and answer the essential questions for crafting great category strategy. Plus, there’s a Mario-themed mnemonic that makes the canvas easy to remember.
This is the actual tool we use to help tech companies design new categories. Did we mention it’s Mario-themed?
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Missing episodes?
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Join Josh and Anna Furmanov for live strategy work. Anna is the founder of Furmanov Marketing Consulting, who’s been called the “Marie Kondo of startup marketing”.
Josh and Anna talk about:
Gold Front’s category strategy.The unique problem Anna’s business solves. Giving the problem a name CEOs will connect with.And how to get more specific with language.A good show!
Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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We are back! Josh explains category design. Topics include:
Why category design sometimes gets people so angry. Strategy is just thinking before you act. And category as a force multiplier for strategy.Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh shares 5 foundational principles that category creators can use to stay focused on the work that really matters.
It’s easy to lose your way when creating new categories, use these tools and insights to keep yourself, and your category, on track for success. They are:
Is thinking happening? Are you creating something in the mind of the customer? Is it different? Is it interesting? Is it true?Did you know there's a newsletter too? Check it out at: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh answers listener questions about category creation.
My boss, the VP of marketing, wants to test everything, even an Instagram story, and I think it's making us late to get content out. Have you dealt with this? What are the main signs that a Category POV is not working? Is designing a category sort of putting the cart before the horse?Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh shares 5 laws for branding to help you design original, interesting, and un-boring brands.
Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh shares his process for writing strategy.
Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh talks to Paul McDonnell, Vice President at one of the world's largest private equity firms, Insight Partners, about the qualities and mindset that successful category creation teams must have. In his work at Insight's Marketing Center of Excellence, Paul has seen inside many different category leadership teams, including successes like Bizzabo, Chargebee, OwnBackup, and more, and speaks first hand to what will make or break a new category. Some highlights:
What it means to have the right culture for category creation. Getting the right people in the room before you start.Why humility is essential to creating good category strategy. And how category creators can start using AI today.Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh answers listener questions about category creation.
What are the biggest mistakes you see category creators make?Have all these hype-first startups like Theranos, WeWork, FTX, etc. made investors skeptical of companies that lead with story? How do you communicate that a company is more than just hype?What's the difference in the way you approach category design for a B2B client vs. a B2C client.Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh tries to teach ChatGPT to be his strategist, which gets him thinking the future of knowledge work.
Later, he shares four “New World Skills” that will be in high demand as AI takes off.
Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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We hate to break it to you, but your website probably sucks. (Even ours needs some TLC).
But don't stress, Josh will walk you through the 5 reasons why your website is not looking so good, and how to make it better.
Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh hosts a special Q&A episode with John Weeke, a Product Marketing Manager at Iron cloud, to talk about the differences between positioning and category strategy. Some highlights:
How positioning can sometimes lead to companies being only incrementally better than their competitors.Why you need different versions of your company's story, such as a more visionary story for a CEO presentation, or a more tactical story for sales strategy. How ChatGPT and AI will lead to a flurry of new categories.Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh answers listener questions about category creation.
Who are your biggest mentors and influences?You work for a lot of startups. Is business slow?Should my company design a category now for cheap? Or wait until we hopefully secure our next round of funding?My company offers a complex product with different use cases. Why do I need one strategic narrative?Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh answers Patrick's questions about category creation.
Why do we urge clients to stick to the "shift, gap, category idea" story structure?What do you disagree with or do differently than the book Play Bigger.What's the value of pushing B2B brands towards design that's so much different than they are used to?How's the Category First podcast going? What's the behind the scenes right now?Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh answers listener questions about category creation.
How does Andy Raskin's idea of "the old way vs. the new way," when creating a strategic narrative, relate to category?There's a lot of chatter about companies creating their own media brands. Will this replace category creation? How do you see those two things working together? My company is SEO crazy, but how do you do SEO for a category that doesn't exist yet?Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Welcome to a new feature of the pod: Let's Write a Book. Josh and Ben talk through ideas for the first chapter of the Category First book, entitled “Strategy Is Thinking”.
Highlights include:
Why "Strategy is thinking about what you do, before you do it" is such a powerful first principle to begin category creation from.When thinking is not actually thinking.Why all great category creators rebel against the status quo.And why, when changing the trajectory of your company, the CEO is your greatest point of leverage.Did you know there's a newsletter too? Check it out at: categoryfirst.substack.com
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ChatGPT-4 is out. How will AI change category design (and everything else under the Sun)? Josh shares "Three Stages of AI" as it relates to category creation.
Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh answers listener questions about category creation.
Our story is way too safe, but our CEO is one of those engineering types that overanalyzes everything. How do I get them to take some chances ?How do we adjust messaging after buying a company that does something outside our category? With the economy the way it is, how can I justify to my CEO that we should put money into a strategic narrative?Josh—Would you reconsider your position on tracking short-term category perception?Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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Josh talks to Latané Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense.
Latané takes us behind the scenes at the creation of 6sense's new category Revenue AI. We get a first hand account of some of the challenges they faced, the ups and downs of bringing this new category into the world, and how she preps her category design team for success.
Highlights include.
Why Latané’s role as Chief Market Officer is more effective than that of a traditional CMO.How 6sense’s category is always evolving and ways to navigate those changes. Why it’s good to get trial messaging out to customers to test if it will work before a big launch.And getting more women on advisory boards of companies.Submit questions and subscribe to our newsletter here: categoryfirst.substack.com
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