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In the last article on Thinking about Blue Oceans we talked about three thinking process that will help us generate a new business strategy. In this article we'll talk about the opportunities that can come from releasing that tether.
If I ask you to picture a blue ocean, each of you will envision a slightly different image of a clear blue body of water that you are comfortable with. For some it represents calm and restful settings and place you want to frequent often. For others it represents unlimited opportunities because it stretches endlessly to all the horizons. And others gain energy from the power and majesty of endless waves thundering along the beach. Whatever it is to you, you need to visualize it clearly and often because it is the place that holds your new business strategy.
Now, if I ask you to envision a red ocean, your perception and image will not be as clear or as welcoming. That's because red oceans are not natural. Yet, as you will soon see, every day we conduct our business, we are languishing in a red ocean.
For most business today, differentiation is a strategy that focuses on one of two models; cut your price where you do the same amount of work for less money, or increase your services where you end up working harder to earn the same amount.
With either plan, you and your competition are cutting each other into pieces and turning the ocean red with the blood of your business. While this is going on, your other competitors have been watching your blood-letting activities and feel to survive they must get involved in the bloody event. If you have ever seen a nature program on sharks, you know that when there is blood in the water, sharks have a feeding frenzy. In the end, it is not an efficient, effective or enjoyable way to do business. Even Jacque Cousteau wouldn't get in the water during a shark feeding frenzy and yet we get up every day and jump into the mayhem.
At this point the Blue Ocean has even more appeal to you. But wait there's more . . . . Blue Oceans represent the markets where you have made your competition irrelevant. Think about that for a moment. In the Blue Ocean you are not fighting to stay alive by doing battle with someone that is just like you. In the Blue Ocean you are thriving because you are the only one there. Your competition doesn't exist in that environment.
Now, grab your fins and mask and we'll dive into how to thrive in the Blue Ocean.
The key to Blue Ocean happiness is making your competition irrelevant. In order to do that, rethink how you do business. The first step is to cut your tether and reconstruct your market boundaries.
Companies and business models often define their industry similarly and focus on being the best within it. In so doing they accept their industry's functional and/or emotional orientation along with all the excess baggage and overhead that comes with that business process.
If you are interested in a new way of doing business, you are not going to get any inspiration from a business that a just like yours. You will need insight from another source. Begin by looking across alternate business industries that have different function and form but similar purposes. Again, you are not trying to model your business after them. Instead, you want to use them to get inspiration on differentiating your business.
For example, the founder of Cirque du Soleil was a circus performer who wanted to open a new circus. Fortunately for Guy Laliberte' the circus industry as a whole was dying. So he was forced to do something different. He started by looking across alternate forms of entertainment ranging from urban live shows, to sporting events, to home entertainment. He then put together a themed entertainment event using a lot of circus type talent. The result was a truly unique audience experience that generated more revenue in 20 years than the combined powerhouses of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey were able to do in over 100 years.
He changed the boundaries of his business. In doing so, he acquired the existing circus goers and an entirely new chain of buyers, thereby eliminating his competition.
Think about your opportunities.
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