What a Fractional CMO Actually Does

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   Could you make a clear explanation about the following marketing terminology? #1 PoE. Point of Entry. #2 CEP. Category Entry Point. #3 PoD. Point of Differentiation.

   These three concepts are closely related but serve different purposes in brand strategy. A useful way to think about them is:

   • PoE = Where the customer starts thinking
   • CEP = What triggers the customer to think about the category
   • PoD = Why the customer chooses your brand instead of another

   Here's a clear explanation of each.

   Term	Simple Meaning	Key Question
   PoE (Point of Entry)	The moment or situation where a customer begins their buying journey.	When does the customer first start looking?
   CEP (Category Entry Point)	The cue, need, or circumstance that makes someone think about an entire product category.	What makes them think of this type of product?
   PoD (Point of Differentiation)	The unique advantage that makes your brand preferable to competitors.	Why should they pick your brand?

   1. PoE – Point of Entry

   A Point of Entry is the point in the customer's journey when they first become open to buying.

   It's the doorway into the buying process.

   Examples:

   • "My phone battery dies before lunch."
   • "I'm planning a vacation."
   • "I need a birthday gift."
   • "My car needs servicing."

   At this stage, the customer isn't necessarily thinking about brands—they're recognizing a need.

   Example

   • Problem: "I need better coffee at home."
   • That's the Point of Entry into the purchase journey.

   ---

   2. CEP – Category Entry Point

   A Category Entry Point (CEP) is the specific situation, need, emotion, or context that causes someone to think about an entire product category.

   This concept, popularized by marketing scientists at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, focuses on building mental links between your brand and the situations in which customers buy.

   Examples for coffee:

   • When I need energy in the morning
   • When I'm working from home
   • When friends visit
   • When I want to relax
   • Before a long drive

   Each of these is a different CEP.

   A coffee brand wants customers to think of its brand whenever those situations occur.

   Think of CEPs as mental triggers.

   ---

   3. PoD – Point of Differentiation

   A Point of Differentiation answers the question:

   "Why choose us instead of the competition?"

   It is the unique benefit your brand owns.

   Examples:

   • Lowest price
   • Fastest delivery
   • Best customer service
   • Organic ingredients
   • Longest battery life
   • Strongest warranty

   Example

   Imagine three running shoe brands.

   All satisfy the CEP:

   "I need shoes for marathon training."

   But each has a different PoD:

   • Brand A: Maximum cushioning
   • Brand B: Lightest weight
   • Brand C: Most durable

   The CEP gets the brand into the customer's consideration set. The PoD helps it win the sale.

   ---

   Putting them together

   Imagine someone buying a laptop.

   PoE

   "My current laptop just broke."

   ↓

   CEP

   "I need a laptop for remote work."

   ↓

   Customer considers several brands.

   ↓

   PoD

   Brand X has the best battery life and security features.

   ↓

   Purchase decision.

   ---

   Another example: Pizza delivery

   PoE

   "I'm too tired to cook."

   CEP

   "I want takeout for dinner tonight."

   Possible brands

   • Domino's
   • Pizza Hut
   • Local pizza shop

   PoD

   • Domino's: Fast delivery
   • Pizza Hut: Stuffed crust
   • Local shop: Authentic wood-fired pizza

   ---

   A simple analogy

   Imagine you're planning a road trip.

   • PoE: Your car won't start, so you realize you need transportation.
   • CEP: You decide you need to rent a car rather than take a train or fly.
   • PoD: You choose one rental company because it offers unlimited mileage and the lowest total cost.

   ---

   The relationship

   Customer has a need
           │
           ▼
   Point of Entry (PoE)
   "When do I start looking?"
           │
           ▼
   Category Entry Point (CEP)
   "What situation makes me think about this category?"
           │
           ▼
   Customer considers brands
           │
           ▼
   Point of Differentiation (PoD)
   "Why choose this brand?"
           │
           ▼
   Purchase
   

   One important distinction

   In some organizations, PoE (Point of Entry) and CEP (Category Entry Point) are used almost interchangeably because both describe the beginning of the buying journey. However, a helpful distinction is:

   • PoE focuses on the stage in the customer journey where purchase consideration begins.
   • CEP focuses on the specific trigger or context (need, occasion, emotion, location, time, etc.) that brings the product category to mind.

   Marketing teams often map dozens of CEPs for a category and then design advertising to build strong mental associations between their brand and those entry points. Once the brand is recalled in those moments, a strong Point of Differentiation can increase the likelihood that it is ultimately chosen.

   

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   Based on the above definition, which is more important when we need to obtain new customer to increase particular brand's market share?

   If your objective is to acquire new customers and grow market share, then the order of importance is generally:

   1. Category Entry Points (CEPs) — Most important
   2. Point of Differentiation (PoD) — Important, but secondary
   3. Point of Entry (PoE) — Helpful as a planning framework, but not a competitive advantage by itself

   This ordering is supported by evidence from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science and its work on how brands grow.

   Why CEPs are the most important

   Brands grow primarily by increasing mental availability—being thought of in more buying situations by more people.

   Imagine the market for toothpaste. Consumers don't wake up thinking, "I want Brand X." Instead, they think:

   • "I'm out of toothpaste."
   • "I have sensitive teeth."
   • "I'm shopping at Costco."
   • "My child needs toothpaste."
   • "My dentist recommended whitening."

   These are Category Entry Points.

   If your brand is mentally linked to many of these situations, it has more chances to be considered.

   In other words:

   More CEPs = More buying opportunities = More new customers.

   Why PoDs are still important—but not enough

   Many marketers assume that differentiation is the main driver of growth.

   In reality, if people never think of your brand when they enter the category, your unique advantage doesn't get a chance to influence the decision.

   For example:

   Imagine a new bottled water brand has the world's best filtration technology (a strong PoD).

   But if consumers never think of that brand when they are:

   • buying water at the grocery store,
   • heading to the gym,
   • packing for a trip,

   then the PoD has little impact because the brand never enters the consideration set.

   A useful way to think about it is:

   A PoD only matters after your brand has been considered.

   Where PoE fits

   Point of Entry helps marketers understand when and where the buying journey begins, but it is mainly a planning tool.

   For example:

   PoE:

   "My child forgot a water bottle for school."

   The more actionable question is:

   Which Category Entry Point does this represent?

   • School lunch
   • Children's hydration
   • Convenience purchase
   • Morning routine

   Marketing strategy is built around strengthening those CEP associations.

   A simple funnel

   Customer encounters a buying situation
               │
               ▼
   Category Entry Point (CEP)
   "Which brands come to mind?"
               │
               ▼
   Mental Availability
   "Does my brand get considered?"
               │
               ▼
   Point of Differentiation (PoD)
   "Why choose my brand?"
               │
               ▼
   Purchase
   

   A practical example: Coca-Cola

   Consider The Coca-Cola Company.

   Its advertising doesn't focus only on product features. Instead, it builds associations with many different CEPs:

   • Having a meal
   • Watching sports
   • Celebrating holidays
   • Sharing with friends
   • Summer weather
   • Parties
   • Traveling
   • Taking a break

   By linking the brand to a wide range of consumption occasions, Coca-Cola increases the likelihood that it comes to mind in many buying situations. Its distinctive assets—such as its logo, bottle shape, and red color—then reinforce recognition and make the brand easy to identify. Product taste and brand heritage contribute to differentiation, but they become influential only after the brand is already in the consumer's consideration set.

   The key takeaway

   For brands seeking market share growth through customer acquisition, the strategic priority is:

   1. Expand the number of Category Entry Points your brand is associated with. This increases the number of situations in which people think of your brand.
   2. Build strong mental and physical availability. Make the brand easy to remember and easy to buy.
   3. Use Points of Differentiation to convert consideration into purchase. Differentiation helps win the sale once the brand is already being considered.

   This perspective reflects a central finding from modern evidence-based marketing: brands tend to grow more by being easy to think of and easy to buy across many buying situations than by relying solely on having a highly unique positioning.

   

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   Is there any way to measure whether we are on the right direction or not in terms developing PoE and CPE?

   Yes. In fact, one of the biggest advances in modern brand marketing is that Category Entry Points (CEPs) can be measured. Compared with PoDs, which are often measured through brand image studies, CEPs are measured by assessing whether consumers mentally connect your brand with the buying situations that matter most.

   Here's a practical framework.

   What you want to build	What to measure	KPI
   PoE / CEP	Mental availability	Brand association with key buying situations
   PoD	Brand preference	Perceived uniqueness and reasons for choice
   Business outcome	Market performance	Market share, penetration, and sales

   1. Measure "Mental Availability" (Most Important)

   Ask customers questions such as:

   "When you need a snack during work, which brands come to mind?"

   "When you need an energy drink before exercising, which brands do you think of?"

   "When buying coffee for guests, which brands would you consider?"

   The key metric is the percentage of people who mention your brand for each relevant CEP.

   For example:

   Category Entry Point	Your Brand	Competitor A	Competitor B
   Morning energy	42%	58%	25%
   Afternoon break	31%	28%	18%
   Before exercise	12%	47%	20%
   Long-distance driving	8%	35%	22%

   This immediately shows where your brand has strong or weak mental associations.

   ---

   2. Track the Number of CEPs You "Own"

   Rather than focusing on one buying occasion, assess how many important CEPs your brand is strongly associated with.

   For example:

   Suppose your category has ten major CEPs.

   CEP	Strong Association?
   Morning	✅
   Afternoon	✅
   Gym	❌
   Road trip	❌
   Study session	✅
   Party	❌
   Office	✅
   Family dinner	❌
   Travel	❌
   Weekend	✅

   You are strongly associated with 5 out of 10 key CEPs. Over time, the goal is to broaden that coverage.

   ---

   3. Measure Share of Mind

   This asks:

   "Which brand comes to mind first?"

   If 60% of consumers think of Competitor A first when they are thirsty after exercising, while only 10% think of your brand, your advertising has an opportunity to strengthen that association.

   ---

   4. Track Brand Penetration

   This is one of the most important business measures.

   Instead of asking:

   "How loyal are our customers?"

   Ask:

   "How many different people bought our brand this year?"

   According to the Ehrenberg-Bass perspective, penetration (reaching more buyers) is typically a stronger driver of growth than increasing loyalty among existing customers.

   ---

   5. Measure Physical Availability

   Even if your brand is mentally available, customers need to be able to buy it.

   Useful metrics include:

   • Numeric distribution (stores carrying the product)
   • Weighted distribution (distribution adjusted for store sales volume)
   • Out-of-stock rates
   • Online availability
   • Search visibility
   • Delivery coverage

   ---

   How companies usually do this

   Many large consumer goods companies build a CEP Scorecard.

   For example:

   Category Entry Point	Importance	Brand Association	Target
   Breakfast	High	58%	65%
   Lunch	Medium	34%	45%
   Road trip	High	18%	35%
   Family gathering	High	27%	40%
   Exercise	Medium	15%	30%

   This helps marketing teams identify where communications should focus to build stronger mental links.

   ---

   A Balanced Dashboard

   Rather than relying on a single measure, many marketers track four complementary indicators:

   Area	KPI	Question it answers
   Mental Availability	Brand association with each CEP	"Do people think of us in the right situations?"
   Physical Availability	Distribution, stock, and accessibility	"Can people buy us when they want to?"
   Brand Preference	Consideration and purchase preference	"If we're considered, do people choose us?"
   Business Results	Penetration, market share, and sales	"Are these efforts translating into growth?"

   One clarification: PoE vs. CEP

   If you adopt the distinction we discussed earlier, PoE itself is not usually measured as a KPI because it describes where the buying journey begins. Instead, marketers identify the key Points of Entry and then measure how strongly their brand is associated with the corresponding Category Entry Points.

   For that reason, in practice you'll see companies talking about "tracking CEPs" much more often than "tracking PoEs." The CEPs become the actionable, measurable framework for assessing whether marketing is increasing the brand's mental availability in the situations that drive category purchases.

   

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