Today I will be speaking at my alma mater in an entreprenuership class--the same one I took 8 years ago. I will tell my story and answer questions, but I also plan on talking about Blue Oceans.
First, order the book. It is obviously much better than one summary blog post.
Most businesses compete head on with their competition. The waters are red with blood, they are in the red ocean. You need to get out of that into a blue ocean.
A blue ocean is a new market that has not existed. You create the market and make new customers where there were none before. You avoid and ignore competition. Here's how:
In the industry you are in, list a few of the main players. List the different attributes of their offerings, such as quality, price, availability, social aspects, fun, wait time, etc. Now look at the alternatives of that industry. What attributes make them alternatives? What new attributes could you introduce?
Now chart each aspect. On the x-axis put the different attributes. On the Y axis, put "High" at the top and "Low" at the bottom. Draw a line for the average competitor in the industry, connecting the dots.
Now you need to identify how you will seperate yourself. Which attributes must you keep, which can you eliminate? Which can you decrease? Which should you raise and most importantly, which new attributes can you add?
Generally speaking, if you vertically FLIP the chart of the competition, you should have an idea of what to do. ie if their price is low and quality is low, you should be high priced with high quality.
One great example is Nintendo Wii. Here is their chart:
I would submit that the unique controllers were in the NEW category and should be added to this chart. (I did not create this chart).
Another great example is Circ De Sole:
Notice how they kept some core elements, such as "diversity of emotions and acts", "humor and fun", "danger and thrill", but eliminated star performers, 3 rings, aisle concessions, and animal shows. The increased unique venue and raised price (flipping it--competition was low/medium). They then added theme, refined watching environment, multiple productions and individualized music and dance.
If you haven't been to a circ de sole show, book it. They are amazing.
For practice, I challenge you to draw the strategy canvas for Starbucks. Here's some hints:
Where could you buy coffee before?
Was it priced high or low?
Were there many options on flavor or extras?
Is starbucks more or less convinient than gas stations?
Is starbucks more or less comfortable than gas stations?
Practice on this one, then apply it to your field. I love drawing strategy canvases by the way, so if you have one you'd like my help on, just post a comment here or email me. I'd be glad to help.
