Blue ocean strategy is a high-impact innovation process to help your business break away from the competition. Further, it creates new market space and captures more non-customers. However, it is also one of the most challenging, misunderstood, and debated strategic tools because it requires you to think differently. Adopting a blue ocean strategy may be your best chance to grow your business sooner rather than later. That is why more people are educating themselves on the strategy.
Many business leaders are looking to update their skills to learn more up-to-date business strategies. They are taking courses and even looking to develop advanced skills through an online MBA. As an example, Aston University is accredited and one of the leading institutions updating business leaders with the best innovation training.
What is a blue ocean strategy?
Blue ocean is an innovation strategy through which companies create uncontested market space and more value for their customers. A blue ocean strategy is about finding ways to make value people are not getting today. On the other hand, lots of competition exists in the so-called red oceans, making it extremely hard to grow a business. So, a blue ocean is an industry without competition — a land of opportunity.
A blue ocean strategy is a high-impact innovation process to help your business move beyond the competition. It is a creative process that helps you see beyond the status quo and uncover new market opportunities worth pursuing. In particular, these strategies are beneficial when you find yourself stuck fighting over market share and jostling for positions with few options.
Why use blue ocean strategy?
The primary reason for adopting the blue ocean strategy is to create a new market space. You can find blue oceans in industries with little or no competition. It is especially ripe when no one else has thought to add value to customers in an innovative way. As a result, you have more freedom in setting your own rules and growing your business.
So, while you may still operate in the same industry, you create a new market opportunity that is different enough to stand out from your rivals. In this way, a blue ocean strategy can help you grow your business sooner than later. It allows you to create a new market space where you are the leader. Moreover, this unique space is different enough from your rivals that you do not have to engage in the fiercely competitive race for market share. Instead, you can set your own rules.
The four steps of blue ocean strategy
If a blue ocean strategy seems like a great opportunity, you can achieve success for your business with these four steps:
- Identify the challenges of your industry. Consider what challenges your customers face that they cannot solve with any of your current offerings. What frustrations do they feel toward your company and your competitors? By getting to the heart of the issues your customers experience, you can start thinking of new ways to solve them.
- Challenge the status quo. What does the industry do (or not) that could be done better? What are the existing practices that you could change? By challenging the status quo, you can imagine a new way of doing business that is better for your customers and your company.
- Create a vision for your new blue ocean. With your challenges, status quo, and opportunities in mind, imagine a unique opportunity that does things better. What does it look like? What does it do? And, what benefits does it offer customers? Visualize a concrete example of your blue ocean. Doing so helps guide you in making strategic decisions for your business.
- Make the blue ocean a reality. Now that you have created a blue ocean and visualized it in detail, it is time to bring it to life. That means taking the necessary steps to make your blue ocean real. Once you get started, you need to keep an eye on your progress to keep it from becoming a blue dot.
Mistakes to avoid when using blue ocean strategy
One mistake you can make with blue ocean strategy is not committing to it fully. Before you can create a blue ocean, you need to understand your current business completely. What are its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Further, you need to keep your customers front and center. As a result, you need to find new ways to add essential value for customers that makes sense for them.
A successful blue ocean strategy means creating a win/win for everyone. So, while it is essential to create value for customers, you also need to create value for your company. Moreover, your team should develop a culture of learning and innovation. You should create a blue ocean strategy expecting change to happen and disrupt the status quo.
A final word about a blue ocean strategy
In sum, a blue ocean strategy is a business strategy that aims to reduce competition and create new market space. One of its aims is to shift the focus of a business from competing on price, for example, to finding new ways to add value to customers. That value is an opportunity to create a new market space where there is no competition.
Remember, you create blue oceans for your business when you innovate a new industry or way of doing business with little or no competition. To identify potential blue oceans, consider the opposite of your current strategy. And to successfully adopt the blue ocean strategy, challenge your current industry strategy. Commit to finding new ways to add value to customers. By doing so, you will find success with your blue ocean strategy and grow your business sooner rather than later.