After hearing what I have to say you would agree with me that the way business is being at the moment is not sustainable and any interested in owning a sustainable, viable and profitable business would take the next logical step in getting trained in the art and science of application of the blue ocean strategy.
But first i have
a question for you all. And it is who amongst us knows the best way to boil a
frog?
It has been said
that the best way to boil a frog is slowly because if you put in a pot of boiling
water it would immediately jump out but i you put it in a pot of cold water and
boil slowly the chances are before the frog realizes what it happening it would
be dead because it was comfortable not realizing what was going on around it.
That is the state
many businesses find themselves today they are frogs being boiled slowly and
have no idea the heat would soon be too much for the business to survive with
imminent failure at hand.
It is common
knowledge that the key to business success is a situation whereby demand for a
product or service far exceeds the supply but in our current business
environment the reverse is the case for 3 basic reasons:
1.
Technological Advancement
2.
Increased Globalization
3.
Customer Evolution.
First we would
talk about technological advancement.
Accelerated technological advancements have made ordinarily specialized
processes simple enough for any tom dick and harry to carry out. For instance to promote a seminar or product
using a brochure or pamphlet in the past would have required the expertise of a
printer but now anyone with a computer and a basic knowledge of Microsoft
office could come up with a standard brochure in the comfort of his own
office. In such a situation it is
obvious that the supply has increased by the demand remains the same.
Another example is website design which in
the past required well trained programmers and web designers but now require no
skill at all as anyone using the basic templates available can create a website
in less than a day. Here also it is clear that the supply has increased but the
demand basically remains the same. This results in competition solely on the
basis of price because with increased supply the customer has a lot more
choices available to him so the only way to woo them is by slashing prices
which is not a sustainable way to run a business as to what extent can prices
be slashed.
Secondly we talk
about increased Globalization. We hear constantly that the world is a global
village and now more interconnected than ever before as such your competition
is not necessarily the shop next you but can be the shop in china who produce
and sell the same product you do at a cheaper price. It reminds of a cousin in
Lagos He is a bank manager and has a phone shop next to him. Off recent he
wanted change his phone and instead of going to the shop beside his office
decided to buy online. Why? For the simple fact that it was cheaper. So this
shop who thinks his competitors are other shops around him and might be
comparing his prices to them has no idea that his competitor is somewhere on
the internet. This also reinforces the fact that supply has again far
outweighed demand ensuring the only competitive factor again remains price.
Thirdly we talk
about customer evolution. In the 1980s
the customer mindset was give me what I want, how I want it, or I’ll buy from
someone who will not really bothering about the price as long as it was what
they wanted they were willing to buy at any price but in this new
millennium their mindset is give me what
i want, how i want it, when i want it at the lowest possible price because they
know that are a lot of people doing what you do already and if you don’t offer
a low price they would go to someone who will. Again the supply far exceeds
demand.
The question
then is what is the solution? How can you ensure you stand out from the crowd?
How can you ensure competition has no effect on your business?
The answer is
innovation but not just innovation as you know it innovation in the sense that
you come up with a product that simultaneously increases value and reduce cost
by a process known as value innovation which is the corner stone of blue ocean
strategy which if applied correctly ensures you come up with a product not in
existence and the moment hence a reduction in supply and in addition to
creating demand which restore the balance of demand exceeding supply which as
noted earlier is the key to a sustainable, viable and profitable business.
Finally Blue
Ocean Strategy is defined as a planned sequence of events or processes
specifically designed to create uncontested markets where you are the only
supplier thereby making the competition irrelevant.
To conclude if
you are in business already or would like to be in business someday you need to
know that with technological advancements, increased globalization and customer
evolution to succeed you need to learn and apply Blue Ocean Strategy.
Fortunately i am
one of the only people trained in Nigeria in the art and science of blue ocean
strategy at the Blue Ocean Region Center in Asia, Malaysia and my DVD trainings
are currently available.
To get a copy of my blue ocean dvd training. Click on the buy now button below and follow the required steps. you would receive a downloadable copy. Act now and begin your journey into the blue oceans of uncontested markets
