If a move into a new blue ocean is impossible, consider setting yourself up as an island in your red ocean. There are techniques you can use to establish yourself as the market leader and provide a level of insolation from attack.
- Never be satisfied with your current products – Always fight for new product innovations and be willing to incorporate your competitions’ successful ideas. This establishes you as a thought leader in the industry and new entrants will look to your company for inspiration.
- Set standards – Offer your way of doing things as an industry standard. VHS was the standard for video, MP3 for music, USB for computer peripherals. Here are two examples: Sony never allowed other companies to use the technology for Beta tapes. VHS quickly became the standard and noone uses Beta anymore, even though it has higher quality. Hewlitt-Packard has the best technology for making inkjet printer heads, and it created the standard for ALL inkjet printers. Now, HP sells its printer heads to other companies; even Canon, Epson, and Brother ink cartridges have HP-manufactured printer heads!
These are just two techniques your company can use. While they might sound simple enough, any undertaking can be difficult. Make a wise evaluation of the competitive landscape before declaring it a red ocean, and look to your competition first to see if they have already begun taking these positions.
