If you are in B2B or B2B Perspective and you are not thinking like a category creator, you are not just missing an edge; you are also handing your future over to someone else.
This is particularly important in present times when creators are the ones quietly leading the charge in category design. And we are not just talking about TikTokers or YouTubers; we are talking about the people inside your company who are shaping how customers understand problems. These are product marketers, sales engineers, and even founders.
If you are defining the problem better than anyone else, you are already doing the job of a category designer. And if you are not doing that, well, someone else is writing the narrative- and collecting the revenue too.
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Why B2B Needs to Steal From the Creator Playbook
If there is one thing that creators excel at, that is framing narratives. No features or roadmaps- just persuasive and audience-driven storytelling. The best creators do not sell products- they sell new ways of seeing the world. And this is exactly what you need to do in B2B if you want to escape the race to the bottom.
Take HubSpot, for instance. They did not try to be a better CRM. They reframed the entire approach to sales and marketing by inventing the category of Inbound Marketing.
They were not the first to market! They were not technically better than their counterparts. However, they told a story the market wanted to believe- and then built everything around that belief.
Now, think about your own space. Are you trying to win by shouting louder, offering discounts, or listing more features? Or are you reframing the problem so that your solution feels inevitable?
Designing a Category Means Designing Demand
In B2B, the best companies do not just compete for demand- they design it. Category design is about creating a new mental shelf in the buyer’s mind. And that shelf has your company’s name on it.
However, it is not enough to coin a term and hope it sticks. Successful category designers create entire ecosystems; new metrics, new language, new buyer personas, and often new success benchmarks.
The beauty of thinking like a creator is that you do not need to wait for a billion-dollar IPO to start. Just like creators on platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn, you can begin with content that reframes your category’s core problems. So start teaching before you start selling. Educate the market on why the old approach is broken and watch how attention starts to shift.
The Impact of Influence-Led Distribution
Creators have mastered the art of garnering attention. They know where to show up and how to make the algorithm work in their favor. In B2B, most companies are still trying to catch up.
Yes, you are not going to buy your way into thought leadership! However, amplification is very important. Sometimes, that means paid ads. Other times, it is smart syndication- podcast guest spots, niche newsletters, or even platforms that get your content seen faster, louder, and wider.
Some even use services like SubscriberZ to give their content a boost in visibility, which is no different from putting up a billboard. Attention is the main goal after all.
What matters is that your thinking and ideas are seen, and not just your ads or service features.
Being Different is Safer Than Being Better
Many B2B teams fall into the trap of building a product, launching it, and then trying to convince buyers that it is better. Better user experience, integrations, and pricing!
However, when you aim to be better, you are letting your competitor define the standard. You are playing in their arena, and the only way out is to be different- to change the game entirely.
Let’s say you have built a new kind of project management tool. Saying you are better than Asana just reinforces Asana as the gold standard. Instead, you emphasize how you have built a new solution that caters to buyers’ woes. This way, you are not in the same race anymore! You have created a new track!
How to Become a Category Leader from a Creator
So, how do you start behaving like a creator and thinking like a category designer?
· Define the enemy- what is the broken status quo that your category is replacing?
· Name the shift- Invent the term. Frame the trend and make it feel real.
· Educate before you pitch. Teach your market to see the problem your way.
· Align your product and company to the category. Features should serve the narrative
· Own the narrative consistently. In every channel, every message, and every piece of content- own your point of view like a creator does.
B2B success is not dependent on building better tech only! It is also about building belief. Creators already know how to do that. If you want to win long-term, take a page from their playbook; shape the story, define the category, and make the market come to you.
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