Wrong Market, Wrong Fight: Are you Even in the Game?
Ask most companies what market they play in, and you’ll get a confident answer: “We’re in cybersecurity,” “We’re in data analytics,” “We’re in customer experience platforms.”
But here’s the thing: categories are broad, and perception is everything. And just because you think you know your market doesn’t mean you’re actually competing where it counts.
The real question is—are you playing in the right market, against the right competitors, with the right positioning, for the right buyer? Because if you’re not, you’re fighting the wrong battle.
Misread the Market? Here’s What It’s Really Costing You
Getting your market wrong isn’t just a branding issue—it’s a business risk. When you don’t know who you’re truly competing against or what space you really play in, things can start to unravel fast:
Missing real competitors: You may be fixated on legacy players, while emerging challengers quietly steal your deals.
Poor product strategy: If you’re designing features to compete with the wrong products, you're burning cycles on things your target customers may not even care about.
Ineffective messaging: Your buyers may struggle to understand what problem you solve because you're speaking a different language from the one they’re listening for, tuning out before you finish your first sentence.
Misaligned sales efforts: Wrong market = wrong personas, wrong playbooks, wrong pitches—and lost deals you never saw coming.
This isn’t just a strategy gap. It’s a growth killer.
So—Who Are You Really Competing With?
Sometimes your biggest competitor isn’t the company you think it is. It might be:
A point solution doing just one thing really well.
A larger platform your buyers already pay for and haven’t fully tapped.
An internal home grown tool or process.
Status quo. (Yes, doing nothing is a competitor.)
Understanding this requires looking beyond your product’s category. You need to understand the buyer’s context. What are they trying to solve? Who else promises to solve it? What do they believe they need—and why?
How to Reset and Realign
If your company has been playing the wrong game, it’s not too late. Here’s what to do:
Pressure test your category
Does your current category actually serve your product’s strengths and your buyers’ needs? Or are you better positioned in a different space or subcategory?Map the real competitive landscape
Look beyond traditional players. Dive into adjacent solutions, rising disruptors, and new market entrants. Use win/loss analysis, customer interviews, and competitive intelligence to uncover what’s really influencing buyer decisions.Revisit your differentiation
What makes you different—and does it matter to your buyer?Realign your GTM strategy
Everything flows from knowing your true market: your messaging, campaigns, sales enablement, pricing, and roadmap priorities.
What If You’re Not in the Wrong Market—You’re Building a New One?
Sometimes, the issue isn’t misalignment. It’s that you’re early. Really early.
You’re not just playing in a new market—you’re creating it.
That’s not a misstep. It’s a massive opportunity—if you know how to harness it.
Being the first to define a new category can be powerful. It means:
You control the narrative
You define what matters and why it matters.You shape buyer expectations
You help customers see problems they didn’t know they had—and position your solution as the obvious answer.You escape the noise
When you're first, you're setting the tone—you're defining what matters.
But it’s also risky. Because if the category isn’t clear, buyers won’t understand where to put you—or why they need you. Confusion can kill momentum.
You’re not just selling a product—you’re selling a new way of thinking. That takes clarity, consistency, and a whole lot of market education.
Tapping Into Category Creation – and making it stick!
If you're forging a new path, here's how to avoid getting lost in the wild:
Anchor to a known problem
Don't sell the "new category"—sell the pain. Make sure you’re solving something real and urgent. Your buyers care about outcomes.Name it, define it, own it
Give your category a name, but make sure it resonates. Then educate the market—through thought leadership, analyst briefings, customer storytelling, and strategic messaging.Create comparison clarity
Even in a new category, buyers need to compare. Show them what you're not—and why what you offer is a fundamentally better way. Use storytelling and create your own competitive landscape.Evangelize early adopters
Early customers are your most powerful asset. Use them to validate the category, share success stories, and help make the intangible tangible.Enlist Product Marketing as your category captain
Your PMM team should lead the charge in defining the category narrative, educating internal teams, and aligning product roadmap and messaging to this new vision.
Reinventing or Redefining—Strategy Starts with Market Truth
Whether you’re misaligned with your current category or pioneering a new one, it all comes back to one thing:
Do you know your market?
Not what you hope it is.
Not what it used to be.
But what it actually is—right now, from the buyer’s perspective.
When you understand that, you can:
Focus on the right competitors
Build products that win
Craft positioning that resonates
Enable your sales team to dominate and win
And most importantly – you unlock real growth
Leverage Product Marketing to Drive Market Strategy
Your Product Marketing team is your strategic engine. Not just for messaging and launches, but for understanding the market deeply and helping the organisation pivot when needed. If you’re not tapping into them for competitive strategy, buyer insight, and category leadership, you’re not playing your best game.
Ready to Play at the Next Level?
Misread the market, and you’ll get outpaced, out positioned, and out of the deal.
But get it right—or better yet, create your own—and suddenly, you’re not just in the game… You’re running it.
So, ask yourself:
Do you really know the market you're playing in?
And if you're building a new one..., are you bold enough to lead it?
Market clarity isn’t optional. It’s your competitive edge.