Growing your business as a Category Champion like Uber
Uber. Clearly a Category Champion, chosen by its customers every day. A company that designed, introduced and owned a new global market category by relentlessly focusing on the service the customer wants.
The work to become a Category Champion starts with relentless focus. Focus on the problem only you can solve that your customers didn't yet know they had. Focus is often the single biggest topic we work on with our clients and in our experience here at Forward Momentum it's also the earliest indicator of likely success or potential failure of Category Design projects.
But once you're past those initial stages and you're ruling your market category, where do you turn for growth?
Uber just announced an expansion, allowing UK customers to book planes, trains and buses in the app, starting this summer. Some pundits talk about Uber moving to become a so-called "super-app" (like WeChat or Alipay that integrate countless mini-apps under one roof). Maybe. Maybe not.
But what Uber is doing is a text-book example of a grown Category Champion expanding their business by returning to its core focus with a more expansive view.
When Uber launched, it was hated by cabbies (because it brought competition and forced them to adjust to customer expectations), now embraced by cabbies to bring in additional rides (e.g. in New York City). First loved by customers for the convenience and safety it introduced, then temporarily abandoned by some for erosion of trust in their executives, business practices and for their price hikes. In the pandemic, Uber pivoted to food delivery and supported immunization efforts, gaining back a lot of customer goodwill but also hurting its brand by often doubling the price of a simple meal with a laundry list of often shady-sounding fees.
So the return to passenger transportation is a smart move by Uber. It’s what their customers chose them for in the first place: simplifying transportation. And while these new verticals might seem ancillary to Uber’s original market, they’re not! Uber’s data tells them how many of its rides are moving people to and from airports, train and bus stations. It follows then as a logical next step to close the gap between those two rides.
From a customer perspective, Uber now simplifies the entire door-to-door trip, not just the cab ride. What’s not to love?
In addition to the economic benefits for Uber, and the elimination of hassle from a customer’s life, there’s even a potential climate benefit. A good portion of long individual car trips are taken to avoid the hassle of dealing with public options. A truly seamless experience in public door-to-door mobility can shift that portion of individual car traffic towards more climate friendly alternatives.
Meanwhile, Uber's partners will be forced to contend with giving up some control in favor of their (mutual) customers' experience and their publicly stated climate goals. I foresee a lot of moaning and nitpicking, especially in Europe, where every country operates their own small train networks. But passengers don’t care — they just want stuff to work seamlessly and they will choose the most convenient, reasonably priced option. Just think back to record labels and Apple’s iTunes Store. The same will happen here.
Done right, this move will cement Uber's status as the Category Champion of this space. I’m curious to see what the summer in the UK brings!
