Launching into the Deep

Space…the final frontier.  Fans of Star Trek all over the world will recognize those words in seconds.  The great starship Enterprise sails through deep space to discover new places, new people, new technologies, & new ways of doing things that have never been observed.  They do so in search of knowledge.

Here on Earth, we suggest you engage in your own voyage of discovery…to sail the great Blue Ocean.  And mind you, the quality of your discoveries & what you do with them will likely decide the future success of your business.

Blue Ocean Strategy, a term introduced by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne in a book by the same name, refers to the process of identifying opportunities in the marketplace where a business can seize leadership & establish its domain.  It’s a place that is relatively uncontested.  A preciously valuable niche.

Because finding your niche is one thing while profitably exploiting it is another, we turn to another classic book: Positioning: The Battle for the Mind.  In it, legendary marketing men Jack Trout & Al Ries discuss the value of being the first mover into a market niche.  Simply put, it’s one off the most powerful competitive advantages a business can establish.

5 Steps in Finding Your Blue Ocean:

  1. Assess the competitive landscape & think very much from the customer’s point of view
  2. Examine areas of differentiation like pricing, product features, distribution, & partnerships to uncover potential Blue Oceans to exploit
  3. Once you’ve discoverd a niche, dive deeply into that area to flesh it out
  4. Develop your marketing & sales plan in order to best seize upon the new opportunity
  5. Make sure the entire organization-from sales & marketing to operations & services-is in alignment with your strategy & ready to execute it well.

What’s Next?

Identifying these valuable niches & making them profitable though an effective marketing plan is what Burst’s strategy services are all about.  So you’ll find that Blue Ocean exercises are an integral part of the strategic “Marketing Blueprint” sessions we do with clients.

Since marketing strategy is so important to us, this will be the first post in our series on Blue Ocean Strategy.  Be sure to check out our other posts to learn how to find your Blue Ocean.