Create. Don’t Compete.” – W. Chan Kim
This succinctly captures the essence of the red ocean to blue ocean strategy. Crafting a successful strategy is not just about planning; it’s about envisioning a unique space where competition is irrelevant and you’re not just surviving but thriving.
As you embark on strategic planning, you must realise what makes your business special and how far you are willing to go to make that one thing even more special. Those are the hard questions to ask when planning your strategy, as written in a book by Eddie Yoon, Christopher Lochhead, and Katrina Kirsch. A rock-solid strategy can bring success to your entrepreneurial journey, even if your industry is facing storms and the market is dragging you down.
As explained by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in their book about the Blue Ocean Strategy, in the Red Ocean Strategy, you compete in existing market spaces and try to outperform rivals and grab a greater share of the market. The greatest mistake lies in staying within the boundaries. Often, success comes not from competing but from creating. The blue ocean strategy is where businesses aspire to be different with a unique value proposition, stepping into uncharted waters where competition is irrelevant.
A shining example is Apple’s move from the red ocean of traditional computers to the blue ocean of portable music with the iPod. By envisioning a different market space, Apple revolutionised the music industry. The uniqueness of the iPod lay in its innovation as a portable music player, allowing users to carry a vast music library on a compact device, which was a breakthrough in personal music consumption. This strategy didn’t just make them players; it made them game-changers.