In the busy landscape of startups and innovation, new products and services constantly flood the market. Standing out is a necessity for survival.
One proven way to do that is by leveraging emotion – something that few tech companies, in particular, do well. The wisdom of Maya Angelou resonates profoundly in this context, offering an insight into human psychology:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Compelling Point of View
Describing the finer points of your product won’t cut through the noise or sway someone’s buying decision. As we’ve noted before, emotions and cognitive biases cloud the facts. You need to craft a story – a category Point of View (POV) – that makes people feel. It has to resonate with people’s wants and needs, ensuring that the new market category you’re creating is not just understood but remembered and embraced.
American Express could’ve been just another credit card – a choice competing with Visa, Mastercard, Discover and others. In 1987, Amex launched a now-familiar campaign: “Membership has its privileges.” The campaign transformed a financial service into an exclusive club, making cardholders feel part of an elite group. This emotional strategy not only distinguished American Express from its competitors but created a lasting bond with its customers, turning them into loyal advocates.
Another oft-cited example of emotional marketing was the 2014 “Like a Girl” campaign from Always, best known as one of many makers of feminine products. The company won a loyal fan base by turning a common insult (“You throw like a girl.”) into a statement of girl power. The campaign reportedly drew 80 million views on YouTube in the two months after it was launched, and the hashtag #LikeAGirl was tweeted 4,000 times in the first 24 hours. The brand created an emotional reaction and bond with its primary audience: young women.
Among tech companies, Apple – not surprisingly – stands out as a company that knows how to touch our emotions. When it launched the Macintosh PC, it didn’t market the computer’s specs – it marketed a computer “for the rest of us.” All of us who were overwhelmed by PC technology but wanted a PC felt Apple understood our pain and was there to help us. Even today, the latest iPhone ads depict the emotion you feel because your phone doesn’t easily break – a far cry from touting the tensile strength of the glass. As a result, Apple users often feel a bond and have a built-in bias for the company’s products.
Create the Irreplaceable
Category design is about creating a new space that your company not only leads but defines. It’s about moving beyond features, benefits, and value propositions to a realm where what you offer is seen as essential, unique, and irreplaceable. By understanding and leveraging the psychological or emotions, you can craft a category POV that not only makes logical sense but also strikes a chord on an emotional level.
Your POV should not simply communicate what your product or service is; it should evoke a feeling, a sense of belonging, and an aspiration that resonates with your audience’s deepest desires and challenges. Authentically connect with them and show empathy. This emotional connection transforms your audience from passive observers to passionate advocates.
Emotionally charged narratives have the power to bypass the skepticism and fatigue that potential customers feel from seeing an onslaught of offerings.
For startup CEOs, embracing category design means becoming not just innovators of products but architects of emotions. Create spaces where people feel understood, valued, and excited—a category they cannot help but remember and champion.
As you develop your category, ask not just how it solves problems or fills needs, but how it makes the customer feel. Because in the end, the categories that leave a lasting impression are those that touch not just minds, but hearts. The ultimate differentiator is how you make people feel.
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Does your category point of view modify how your customers “feel?” If not, book an office hours session with us here.