Violet’s Anti-Category Creation Strategy: Why They Rejected Traditional B2B Marketing Playbooks
When Gartner’s ecommerce analyst tells you they can’t categorize your product, most B2B companies would panic. But for Violet, this moment of category confusion became the catalyst for a radically different marketing approach.
The Category Creation Conundrum
In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Brandon Schulz reveals an unexpected conversation with Gartner: “We talked through this for a while, and I kind of, you know, we’re having a really tough time defining what it is that we do or even what category we fit in… and he just paused and said, ‘well, I can see what you’re doing is definitely novel, but I don’t have a name for this yet.'”
Instead of trying to force a category definition, Violet made an unconventional choice: embrace the ambiguity and focus on clarity instead.
The Problem with Hype
This decision was partly driven by watching other companies struggle with premature category creation. “Today, a lot of that market positioning and hype has been counterproductive,” Brandon explains. “A lot of companies over-promising, miss-promising, and that’s been detrimental across the board.”
For companies burned by overpromising vendors, Violet’s straightforward approach became a refreshing change. As Brandon puts it, “Our main objective is we just want to be able to call the thing what it is.”
From Category to Architecture
Rather than focusing on marketing positioning, Violet concentrated on solving fundamental technical challenges. “Core to the problem that we’re solving is an architecture question,” Brandon notes. “What should the architecture of this next phase of ecommerce look like?”
This focus on architectural clarity helped them communicate with technical buyers who were tired of marketing buzzwords.
The Visual Breakthrough
Instead of crafting the perfect category name, Violet invested in visual communication. “We actually started with the images first, and I said, how do we land what it is that we do in two or three screens? What would that look like?” Brandon shares.
This visual-first approach led to their distinctive “x-ray view” that helps prospects immediately understand their solution without needing a category framework.
Measuring Success
The impact of this strategy shows in their sales conversations. Brandon notes, “We try to track how much time are we spending on the sales call trying to sell the product versus trying to explain how they use it…we’re at like six minutes of quote unquote sales discussion and then it turned into like, okay, so hang on. So what does my developer have to do?”
This rapid transition from explanation to implementation indicates their clear communication strategy is working. The results speak for themselves: “We tripled our customer base in the last twelve months or so.”
Beyond Categories
Violet’s approach suggests a different path for B2B companies: instead of trying to create and own a category, focus on solving real problems and communicating about them clearly.
As Brandon puts it, sometimes the best strategy is to “just want to stick with the old affiliate model, right? Where you have links and you click out and you go to some other website. And to some degree I respect those decisions. Right. Generally, humans are afraid of change.”
For B2B founders, especially those building complex technical products, Violet’s journey offers a compelling alternative to traditional category creation. Sometimes, the clearest path to growth isn’t creating a new category, but helping customers understand exactly how you solve their problems.