Become a Category of One - Recommended Reading

February 2, 2005 by SMD

Here is a great book that I am currently reading. It’s called Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison by Joe Calloway.

“In todayâ€™s crowded consumer marketplace, customers know that virtually any product they desire can be bought from another company at about the same price or less. So how do companies differentiate themselves from the competition without getting stuck in the lowest price game? In Becoming a Category of One, Joe Calloway proves that breakthrough success lies in becoming a category buster and using differentiation and customer focus to transcend commodity and defy comparison. Using interviews with executives, managers, and frontline employees; case studies; and examples of well-known companies such as LensCrafters, as well as lesser known companies like Palm Harbor Homes, Tractor Supply Company, and the Quill, Calloway shows that any business can become a category of one.”

This book describes how companies distinguish themselves so thoroughly from their competition that they are in a league of there own. Here’s an example: last week my wife and I were going out for a coffee, it was very cold out and we had a coupon for free coffee at Second Cup, a national coffee place up here in Canada, rather than use the coupon we walked 2 blocks farther, freezing, right past the Second Cup, to go to Starbucks - where we had to pay 8 bucks for our drinks!

We both wondered why we did that and marveled at the strength of the Starbucks brand. In this book Joe Calloway demonstrates how companies like Starbucks and others, build this kind of success. This book is a must read for anyone in business. You can pick it up new or used on Amazon by clicking here.

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