The Blue Ocean

Presented by Kate Dunn, Founder and President Digital Innovations Group (DIG)

Who Is This?

Stockdale Paradox

Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale (December 23, 1923–July 5, 2005)

• Highest-ranking naval officer held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam

• Imprisoned for 8 years

Source: Good to Great, Jim Collins

“This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Today’s Realities

• Midst of a worldwide recession• Other forms of communication are proving effective

and cost efficient• Overall print volume is shrinking• Price of print is declining• Operating costs continue to increase• Costs have been cut to highest levels• Smaller businesses do not have the critical mass to be

profitable in a commodity market• The printing industry will look very different at the end

of this recession

To Survive and Thrive

• Increase profitable sales• Print as a stand alone medium is becoming

marginalized• Profit comes from creating value• The industry must find NEW ways to create

value• Those ways will cannibalize our traditional

business• We need Blue Ocean!

Why Are You Here?

•Grow Profitable Sales!

Great Ideas

• A combination of 2, maybe 3 great thinkers!

Blue Ocean Strategy

Authors:W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

The Dip

Author:Seth Godin

Blue Ocean Strategy

• Value Innovation – focus is not on beating the competition but rather making the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers and your company, thereby opening up “new and uncontested market space.”

The DIP

• Quit the wrong stuff• Stick with the right stuff• Have the guts to do one

or the other

What is a Dip?

The long slog between starting and mastery.

The Dip

Why?

• We forget– Why were here– What we want to accomplish– Why people will buy from us

Your Competitive Advantages

• Differentiate your company• Give people a reason to buy from you• Help you stay focused

Jay B. Barney

• “A firm is said to have a sustained competitive advantage when it is implementing a value-creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors and when these firms are unable to duplicate the benefits of the strategy.

» Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage,Jay B. Barney

True Competitive Advantages

• Objective, not subjective– “Do business with us because we have great

quality and terrific customer service.”• Is quantifiable not arbitrary

– “95% of our business comes from referrals.”• Is different from the competition• Is not a cliché

– “We exceed customer expectations.”

• Sustainable!

5 Fatal Flaws of Most Companies

• They don’t have a competitive advantages but think they do

• They have a competitive advantage but don’t know what it is

• They know what their competitive advantage is but don’t communicate it to their clients

• They mistake strengths for competitive advantage

• They don’t concentrate on competitive advantages when making strategic and operational decisions

Another Key Concept

• The people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip become the best in the world

• Make the Dip longer, deeper and harder for all those who follow

The ‘Right’ One

Which Dip?

• The mass market is dying– Not just in communications in all things

• Today there are a million micro-markets• Each micro-market has a ‘best’• Best is subjective; the customer decides

Are We Getting This?

• What’s Apple’s market for personal computers?

“style-conscious, designer’s, multimedia, student, family computer.”

They Own This One!

And They Know How to Work It

Blue Ocean: Value Innovation

• Creates value simultaneously for both the buyer and the company

• Occurs when companies align innovation with utility, price and cost positions.

• Requires companies to orient the whole system toward achieving a leap in value for both buyers and themselves.

• Believes that market boundaries and industry structure are not given and can be reconstructed by the actions and beliefs of industry players.

What’s Remarkable

• Criticizes Michael Porter’s idea that successful businesses are either low cost providers or niche-players

• Proposed instead that value can be found by crossing conventional market segmentation and value and lower cost.

How?

• The innovation raises and creates value for the market while, simultaneously reducing or eliminating features or services that are less valued by the current or future market.

The Strategy Canvas

•

Southwest Airlines

Emphasize friendly service, speed, and frequent point to point departures

Focus

DivergencePrice against car transportationNo extra investments in meals, lounges, and seating choices

The Final Test…

• Compelling Tagline– Delivers a clear message– Advertises an offering truthfully– Promotes interest and trust from customers

"The speed of the plane at the price of the car—whenever you need it."

Southwest Airlines

How Did Airlines Get There?

• Their strategies were formed reactively as they tried to keep up with their competition

• They lost uniqueness

What makes you ‘Remarkable’?

Value Map for Printers

Value Map – Traditional Agency

A New Type of Company

A New Breed of Company

High

Low

Service Offering

Capitalizes on Trends

• Movement away from TV, Radio, Print advertising

• Focus on digital media• New media – social media• Provides automation for faster

implementation and analysis• Need to integrate all channels

Now Let’s Add the Spice

• Ingredients:– the right ‘micro’ niche– Clear competitive

advantages– Remark-ability

Violá

Blue Ocean

• Cross channel communication• Integrated channels

– Direct mail– Email– Landing pages– Search Engine Optimization– Social Media– Cell– video

• Automated tracking– Campaign Management

• Marketing Automation– Web to print for cross channel

communication

Combined with a Micro Niche

• Vertical Markets• Horizontal Applications• Delivery channels• Geographic/Regional• Company Characteristics

Reinforced by

• Clear Competitive Advantages

– Know them– Tell Them– Keep Them

Perseverance

Makes You the Best!

Remarkable! Money!