Chapter 5 Part II Developing a Blue Ocean Strategy Chapter III Rebuilding Market Boundaries
The first principle of the blue ocean strategy is to rebuild the boundaries of the market, thereby breaking the existing competitive situation and creating a blue ocean.This principle speaks to a search risk that many companies encounter on a regular basis.The difficulty lies in how to successfully select market opportunities with blue ocean characteristics from a large number of opportunities.This point is very important for business operators, because they cannot decide the strategy of the company through intuition or lottery like gamblers.
During our research, we tried to clarify some questions: Are there any systematic methods to rebuild market boundaries and create blue oceans?Are these approaches, if any, applicable to all industries (including consumer products, industrial products, financial services, telecommunications and information technology, pharmaceuticals, and e-commerce), or are they limited to specific industries?
We found a clear way to create blue oceans.Specifically, we have found 6 basic methods to reconstruct the market boundary, which we call "six-way analysis framework".These approaches apply to all industries, and they can lead companies to profitable blue oceans.None of these methods require any special foresight or some kind of predictive ability for the future, they are all obtained by looking at existing data through a new lens.
These six ways of thinking challenge the six basic assumptions behind many corporate strategies. Many companies formulate their own development strategies based on these six assumptions, but it is the inertial thinking that keeps companies trapped in the red sea of fierce competition.Specifically, companies usually take the following steps:
1. Define your own industry in a similar way to other companies, and want to be the best company in the industry;
2. Use generally accepted business classification methods (such as luxury cars, economy cars and family cars) to examine your own industry and strive to be the best in it;
3. Focus on the same customer base.Customers here may refer to buyers (such as in the office supplies industry), users (such as in the clothing industry), or influential people (such as in the pharmaceutical industry);
4. Use a similar method to define the range of products or services provided by the industry;
5. Accept the functional or emotional orientation of the industry;
6. Strategize at the same point in time (usually when a competitive threat is encountered),
The more companies adopt this conventional way of thinking to formulate competitive strategies, the more their competitiveness will converge.
To break the red ocean impasse, companies must first break down the established boundaries that limit their competition.Business operators should not always focus on the market within the boundaries, but should adopt a systematic approach to go beyond these boundaries to create blue oceans.They should focus on more industries, more strategic businesses, and more buying groups, provide complementary products and services, go beyond the industry's existing functional or emotional tendencies, and even go beyond time.Only in this way can enterprises gain a new perspective of rebuilding market space and creating blue oceans.Next, let's take a look at the specific content of these six methods.
Broadly speaking, a firm does not only compete with other firms in the same industry, but also faces competition from firms in other industries that produce substitute products or services.Alternative products do not simply refer to product replacements.If a product or service has a different form, but provides the same function or core utility, then of course it is a "substitute".But on the other hand, alternative products also include those products or services that have different functions and forms but achieve the same purpose.
For example, to sort out one's personal finances, one can buy a suite of financial software, hire a CPA, or simply do it on their own with pencil and paper.Financial software, CPAs, pencils are largely substitute products here.Although they have different forms, but the function is the same: all to help people manage their money.
In contrast, some products or services may have different forms and different functions, but the ultimate purpose is the same, such as movie theaters and restaurants.Compared with movie theaters, restaurants are basically a different form, and also have a different function: they provide the pleasure of conversation and food.This is quite different from the visual enjoyment provided by the cinema.Despite the vast difference in form and function, people go to a restaurant for the same reason as they go to a movie theater: to enjoy a good night out.They're not replacements for the same function, but they're both alternative options for people.
When making a purchasing decision, buyers usually compare different alternatives unconsciously.You want to relax for two hours?So how do you get there?Would you choose to go to the movies, get a massage, or read a favorite book at a nearby café?This thought process is subconscious for both individual consumers and group buyers.
However, for various reasons, when we become sellers, we often abandon this intuitive way of thinking.Those who sell products often give little conscious thought to how consumers choose among alternative industries.A change in price, a change in model number, or even a new advertisement may provoke a strong reaction from competitors in the same industry, but the same thing will seldom be noticed if it occurs in an alternate industry.Trade magazines, industry presentations, and consumer testimonials reinforce the boundaries between industries.But in fact, the space between alternative industries can often provide enterprises with opportunities for value creation.
Look at the example of NetJets breaking up ownership of aircraft to sell them, thereby creating a blue ocean.In less than 20 years, NetJets has outsized many airlines, operating more than 250,000 routes in more than 140 countries with a fleet of more than 500 aircraft. In 1998, it was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, and today NetJets is a multi-billion dollar business, with annual revenue growth of between 30-35% between 1993 and 2000 between. NetJets' success is due to its increased operational flexibility, reduced travel times, reduced travel hassle, enhanced travel reliability and strategic pricing.In fact, NetJets created blue oceans by looking at alternative industries, breaking down market boundaries.
The most profitable customer segment in the airline industry is the business traveler. NetJets first researched the current similar market and found that when business travelers want to travel, there are two main choices: on the one hand, senior managers of enterprises can choose to take the business class or first class of commercial airlines; on the other hand, Enterprises can purchase an aircraft by themselves to meet the needs of official travel.The strategic question is: Why did the firm choose an alternative?NetJets created its own blue ocean strategy by examining the key factors that influence a company's choice of alternatives.
Consider this: why do businesses choose commercial airlines?Of course, this is certainly not because of the following factors: long queues to get boarding passes and security checks, panic connecting flights, having to stay overnight, and crowded airports.Instead, they choose commercial airlines for one reason: cost.On the one hand, this method avoids the high fixed investment cost of aircraft that can cost millions of dollars; on the other hand, companies can purchase air tickets according to their needs, reducing variable costs and reducing the idle cost of owning aircraft.
In response to this situation, NetJets provides its solution: it divides the ownership of the aircraft into 16 equal shares, which are jointly owned by 16 customers, and each customer can enjoy 50 hours of travel time per year.Customers can buy a share of the $6 million aircraft for as little as $375,000 (plus pilots, maintenance and other fixed expenses).Commercial airlines have to use larger and larger planes to spread the cost, but for NetJets, it doesn't have to pay those high plane costs.Costs are kept to a minimum by using small aircraft, leasing small airports, and limiting the number of people.
To understand the rest of NetJets' business model, let's consider the other side of the question: Why would a business choose to buy a private jet instead of a commercial airline?It's certainly not about spending millions of dollars on an airplane; it's not about having a professional flight department dedicated to scheduling and other management; The cost of flying to the origin of the trip).On the contrary, the reason why companies buy private jets is to greatly reduce travel time, reduce the hassle of crowded airports, make point-to-point flights possible, and help top managers of companies to maintain more energy, so that they can travel in a short time. You can focus on your work with all your heart and soul.Therefore, NetJets looked for ways to strengthen these unique advantages. 70% of commercial airlines only cover about 30 U.S. airports, while NetJets provides more than 550 airports in the U.S. to choose from, and these airports are all conveniently located near business centers.In terms of international aviation, aircraft can directly send passengers to customs.
Since point-to-point travel services are provided and the number of airports that can be landed has increased substantially, there is no problem of connecting flights, and travel that would otherwise require an extra night stay can also be completed within one day.The time difference between when the customer gets off the car and when the plane takes off can be measured in minutes instead of hours as it used to be.For example, from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento, it takes 10.5 hours on a commercial flight, but only 5.2 hours on NetJets; from Palm Springs to Cabo San Lucas, the former takes 6 hours, while the latter takes only 2.1 hours. NetJets can drastically reduce travel time.
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Probably the most appealing thing is that the plane is always available, you only need 4 hours notice.If NetJets doesn't have an aircraft available, they will also lease one.Last but not least, with NetJets, you don't need to worry about safety issues, and you can enjoy personalized in-flight services, such as eating your favorite food when you board the plane.
By absorbing the advantages of commercial airlines and private jets, eliminating or reducing their disadvantages, NetJets has opened up a blue ocean market, where consumers can not only obtain the convenience and speed of private jets, but also fully enjoy the low fixed costs of commercial airlines. and variable costs (see Figure 3-1).What about the competition?According to NetJets, in the past seven years, 57 businesses have opened fractional aircraft ownership businesses, but all of them have closed down.
Japan's most successful telecommunications company since the 1980s has also done so in this way.Here we are talking about the i-mode service launched by NTT DoCoMo in 1999. i-mode service has changed the way people communicate and obtain information. NTT DoCoMo created a new blue ocean by thinking about why people cannot get high-quality mobile communication services and Internet services at the same time.As Japan deregulates the telecommunications industry, new competitors continue to enter the market, and price competition and technological competition are common occurrences.As a result, the average revenue a business receives from each customer continues to decline. NTT DoCoMo broke red oceans and created blue oceans by extending wireless transmission from voice to text, data, and images.
The question NTT DoCoMo ponders is: What are the unique advantages of the Internet and mobile phones?Although the Internet offers an unlimited amount of information and services, the most important ones are e-mail, simple information (such as news, weather forecasts, and telephone data), and entertainment (including games, events, and music).But the Internet's major drawbacks include the high cost of computer hardware, the sheer volume of information, the hassle of dialing up the Internet, and the fear of leaking credit card information online.On the other hand, the advantages of mobile phones are their mobility, sound transmission and convenience.
NTT DoCoMo does not introduce new technologies, but by giving full play to the advantages of both, and eliminating or reducing the disadvantages of both, thus breaking the balance of consumers' choice between the two.Its easy-to-use interface has only one "i-mode" key (that is, the i mode key, where i means interactive, Internet, information and the pronoun "I" in English), and users can get The main function of the Internet. The i-mode key does not simply present massive amounts of information on the Internet to consumers directly, but acts as an information steward, through which it will only connect to pre-customized and licensed websites to obtain the most commonly used services.This makes browsing the Internet faster and more convenient.At the same time, although the price of a mobile phone with i-mode function is 25% higher than that of a normal mobile phone, its price is much lower than that of a personal computer, and its mobility is unmatched.
In addition, in addition to the function of telephone, i-mode mobile phone service also provides a simple billing service, all online service fees generated through i-mode are placed on the same statement and sent to customers.This greatly reduces the number of bills that customers need to deal with, and also avoids the leakage of credit card information that may have been caused by using Internet services in the past.And since the i-mode service is automatically turned on as long as the user's mobile phone is turned on, the user can always stay online and does not need to log in as hard as before.
Neither ordinary mobile phones nor PCs can compete with i-mode phones due to their wide-ranging value curves.By the end of 2003, the number of users of i-mode had reached 40.1 million, and the revenue of data, picture and text transmission services had risen from 295 million yen (26 million U.S. dollars) in 1999 to 886.3 billion yen (8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2003. ). Rather than simply stealing customers from competitors, i-mode services quickly cultivated a large market, attracting young and high-end customers, and converting those who only use phone functions to use voice services as well. Customers using data transfer services.
Ironically, telecom operators in Europe and the US have also been vying for this blue ocean market, but have so far failed.What is the reason?Through investigation, we found that these telecommunication companies mainly focus on providing very complex technology, that is, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), rather than providing better value to customers.This makes what they offer too complicated to be accepted by the general public.
Many other successful examples have created new markets by looking at alternative products. Home Depot offers professional home improvement services for much less than the average store.By reinforcing the strengths of alternative industries (removing or reducing other characteristics), Home Depot has turned many home improvement potential needs into real needs, while also turning ordinary families into "do-it-yourself" enthusiasts.Southwest sees drive travel as an alternative industry to airlines, creating a blue ocean market for short-distance sailing by offering flying at the cost of drive travel.Similarly, Intuit, which sees the Pencil as its main personal-finance software counterpart, created a blue-ocean market by developing Quicken, a fun and intuitive software.
What are the alternatives to your business' industry?Why would customers choose between them?By examining these key factors that affect customers' choices between different industries, and eliminating or reducing the unfavorable factors, you can create a blue ocean, a new market space.
Just as blue oceans can be created by looking at alternative industries, so can this be done by considering different types of strategies within the same industry.The so-called strategic type refers to the enterprises in the same industry adopting similar strategies.In most industries, companies can be divided into several categories based on strategic differences.
Strategy types can generally be simply sorted by two dimensions: price and performance.A change in price will cause a corresponding change in performance.Most businesses focus on improving their competitive position within the same strategic category.For example, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Cheetah Motors are chasing each other in the field of luxury cars, while some other car companies are fighting each other in the field of economy cars.However, few firms pay attention to what other strategic types of firms are doing because they are not competitive in that area from a supply point of view.
The key to creating blue oceans from different strategy types is to break out of this narrow view and understand what are the main factors that determine a customer switching from one business category to another.
Let’s take the example of Curves, a women’s fitness company based in Texas.Since the chain operation began in 1995, Curves has spread rapidly like wildfire, with more than 6,000 business outlets, more than 2 million members, and a total revenue of more than 1 billion US dollars.On average, a new Curves fitness center opens every 4 hours.
Moreover, the rapid expansion of the customer base is achieved through referrals from friends and family.In the beginning, however, Curves was seen as entering an oversaturated market, offering a service customers didn't want, and being very poorly competitive.But in fact, Curves triggered an explosion of demand in the US fitness market and opened up a new huge market, a blue ocean market with a large number of women who want to keep fit through fitness but always fail. Curves leverages the strengths of two strategic categories within the US fitness industry (traditional health clubs and home exercise programs) while eliminating or reducing the impact of other factors.
On the one hand, the American fitness industry is full of traditional health clubs, which offer a full range of exercise and sports options for both men and women, and are usually located in urban areas with higher consumption levels.They attract a high-end clientele with sleek gadgets.They have a full line of cardio, strength machines, drink bars, fitness trainers, and enclosed showers and saunas, because their purpose is to allow customers to socialize in addition to exercising.After trudging across town to get to the health club, customers spend at least an hour there, usually two.Memberships are usually $100/month which is not cheap as they keep their client base high end and small.Membership in these clubs accounts for only 12% of the population and is usually concentrated in large urban areas.The investment to open one of these health clubs can range from $500,000 to more than $1 million, depending on downtown location.
On the other hand, the US fitness industry also includes those home fitness programs such as videos, books and magazines that teach workouts.These modalities are low cost, used at home, and generally require little or no medical assistance.There are very few fitness instructions, mainly demonstrations and explanations by sports stars in videos, books and magazines.
The question is: what are the key factors affecting women switching between traditional health clubs and home fitness programs?Most women don't choose a health club for the abundance of equipment, drink bars, enclosed saunas, swimming pools, and the chance to meet men.The average woman who is a non-athlete doesn't even want to touch a guy while she's working out, maybe because she doesn't want him to see her fat.She also doesn't want to be behind men using those machines because she has to adjust the weight or angle.In terms of time, this factor is increasingly important for the average woman, few of whom can spend a few hours a week in a health club.And for most women, traffic in urban areas is also a problem, which makes them lose interest in going to the gym.
It turns out that most women choose a health club for one main reason.When they are exercising at home, it is easy to relax their demands on themselves.If they don't regard themselves as sports enthusiasts, it is difficult for them to be strict with themselves at home.Exercising with others, rather than alone, is more likely to stimulate interest.On the contrary, those who choose to exercise alone at home mainly consider time saving, low cost and good privacy.
Curves creates blue ocean markets by absorbing the strengths of both strategic categories and eliminating and reducing the weaknesses (see Figure 3-2). Curves eliminates the services of traditional health clubs that do not appeal to most women.Removed those special equipment, food, beauty, swimming pool, and even some locked rooms, and replaced them with areas separated by curtains.
The Curves Club has a very different feel to your average health club.When entering the gym, members still see fitness equipment (usually about 10 sets), but unlike general fitness clubs, these equipment are not lined up in a row, and facing a TV, they are arranged in a circle, so that members They can fully communicate, making exercise a pleasure. The QuickFit circuit training system uses hydraulic equipment, requires no adjustment, and is safe and easy to use.Specifically designed for women, these machines reduce impact stress and enhance strength and muscle development.Members can talk to each other and take care of each other during their workouts in a relaxed, stress-free atmosphere that is nothing like a traditional health club.There are few mirrors on the walls and no males to stare at you.Members circle around the machine circle and cardio mat, completing the entire workout in less than 30 minutes.The result of reducing unnecessary services and focusing on providing essential services has brought the price down to $30/month, making this market accessible to ordinary women. Curves' slogan is: "For the price of a cup of coffee a day, you can enjoy the health brought by proper exercise."
Curves provides customers with superior value through lower prices (see Figure 3-2).Compared with the initial investment of up to $500,000 to $1 million for traditional fitness clubs, the initial investment to open a Curves fitness center is only $25,000 to $30,000 (not including the $20,000 license fee), because they remove many unnecessary things up.
The cost of change is also much lower, the cost of personnel and maintenance is greatly reduced, and the rent is also greatly reduced due to the reduced space. The original rent in the city center was as high as 35,000 to 100,000 US dollars per square foot, but now the rent in the suburban area is only 1,500 US dollars per square foot . Curves' low-cost business model lowered the cost of the chain, allowing it to grow like mushrooms after rain.Attracting an average of 100 members, a chain can start turning a profit within a few months.Already established Curves chain stores sell for between $100,000 and $150,000 on the secondary market.
The result is that Curves' chain stores are all over large, medium and small towns. Instead of directly competing with existing fitness concepts, it creates a new blue ocean demand.When the U.S. and North American markets began to saturate, the company's management began planning to expand to Europe.Expansion plans have already begun in Latin America and Spain.By the end of 2004, the number of Curves fitness centers will reach 8,500.
In addition to Curves, there are many companies that have created blue ocean markets in this way. Ralph Lauren has created a "high fashion without style" blue ocean market.Its designers, noble stores, and luxurious fabrics are all in line with the needs of customers in the high-end women's clothing market.At the same time, its on-trend classic shape and price are comparable to traditional clothing brands such as Brooks Brothers and Burberry.It is the combination of the most attractive factors of the two business categories, while eliminating or reducing other unfavorable factors, Polo Ralph Lauren not only gained a certain market share in these two categories, but also gained many new customers .
In the field of luxury cars, Toyota's Lexus provides the same product quality as high-end Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Cheetah at a price close to that of low-end Cadillac and Lincoln, thereby creating a new blue ocean market.Then there's Sony's Walkman, which created a new market for personal portable stereo systems in the late 1970s by combining the advantages of an inexpensive high-fidelity playback device with the mobility advantages of a crystal radio.The Walkman attracted customers in both of the above business categories, and, because of the increased value, it attracted many new customers, including joggers and frequent business travelers.
Michigan-based Champion Enterprises has similarly created a blue ocean in the housing market with this approach, and two business categories it considers are prefab housing suppliers and on-site job site developers.Prefab homes are less expensive and can be completed quickly, but it is a dull, standardized product and generally considered poor quality.On the contrary, the houses built by on-site developers can provide a variety of options and are of better quality, but they are more expensive and take a long time.
Champion combines the advantages of both to create a blue ocean market.It offers prefab homes that are easy to build and competitively priced thanks to economies of scale and lower costs, but Champion lets customers choose some of the home's components, including fireplaces, skylights, and even vaulted ceilings.In effect, Champion changed the definition of a prefab home.As a result, many low- and middle-income families prefer to buy prefab homes rather than rent or buy a home, and even some affluent segments of the population are drawn to the market.
What are the types of strategies in your business' industry?What are the reasons for customers to switch between high-end and low-end business types?
In most industries, competing companies have similar definitions of target customers.But, in fact, there is a chain of customers who are directly or indirectly involved in the purchasing decision.Buyers of a product or service may not coincide with end users and, in some cases, some very key influencers.Although these three categories may overlap, they are usually not the same person.When the three groups of people do not agree, their values are usually also different.For example, the purchasing personnel of the enterprise must be more concerned about the cost than the end users of the product, who may be more concerned about whether the product is easy to use.Similarly, product retailers want manufacturers to replenish inventory in a timely manner and provide better financing options.However, although consumers who buy products will be influenced by these product channels, they will not care about these things.
Enterprises in a certain industry usually choose different target customer groups, for example, they may be large customers or small customers.However, from the perspective of this industry, it is usually concentrated in a certain type of buying group.For example, the pharmaceutical industry mainly focuses on influential groups, namely doctors; the office supply industry mainly focuses on buyers, that is, the purchasing department of enterprises; and the clothing industry mainly sells products directly to users.Sometimes this focus makes economic sense, but more often than not it's just an industry convention that people usually don't question.
New blue oceans can be discovered by challenging conventional notions of target customer groups.By examining different buyer groups, companies can generate some new thinking, thereby reconstructing their own value curves, and finding those target customer groups that have been neglected in the past.
Look at the example of Novo Nordisk, a Danish insulin maker that has created a blue ocean in its own industry.People with diabetes use insulin to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood.In the past, the insulin production industry, like the rest of the pharmaceutical industry, focused on influential groups, namely doctors.Since physicians have a great deal of influence over which insulin a diabetic patient chooses, they are a natural target group for the industry.Accordingly, the industry has turned its attention to improving the purity of insulin, in response to demands from physicians to improve the quality of the drug.The problem is, by the late 1980s, newer purification techniques had improved considerably.As long as the purity of insulin is the main competitiveness index of the enterprise, it is difficult for the enterprise to improve. Novo itself has also been the first to develop so-called "human monomer" insulin, which is chemically identical to human insulin.Soon, the competitiveness among the main competitors gradually converged.
However, Novo Nordisk sees that it can break the current brutal competitive landscape and create a blue ocean: that is, to shift the attention from the doctors in the past to the users themselves, the patients.In the process of paying attention to patients, Novo Nordisk found that in the past, insulin was given to patients in bottles, which was very inconvenient for patients during use.Because it is bottled, handling syringes, needles, insulin and adjusting doses as needed is very complicated and inconvenient for patients.Needles and syringes also evoke bad associations with patients in some people.Therefore, patients are generally reluctant to use needles and syringes outside, but they have to inject several times a day because of the need.
It was this factor that enabled Novo Nordisk to find a blue ocean opportunity, and they launched the NovoPen in 1985. NovoPen is the first easy-to-use insulin solution that takes the inconvenience and worry out of using an insulin syringe. NovoPen looks like a pen, contains an insulin container, is very convenient to carry, and the dose of a tube can be used for almost a week.The pen uses an integrated touch mechanism, which makes it easy to control the dose and administer insulin even for blind people.This way, patients can take it with them without the hassle and embarrassment of needles and syringes.
In order to gain a dominant position in the new blue ocean market, Novo Nordisk launched NovoLet again in 1989, which is a disposable pre-filled insulin injection pen with a dose control system, which is more convenient and simple to use . In 1999, they introduced Innovo, an integrated syringe system with electronic memory. Innovo manages insulin injections through built-in memory, and can display the current dose, the last dose and the time it has been used. This information is very helpful in reducing the risk of patients and avoiding missed injections.
Novo Nordisk's blue ocean strategy has revolutionized the competitive landscape of the industry and has successfully transformed the corporate image from an insulin manufacturer to a diabetes patient care business. The NovoPen and later injection systems swept the insulin market.Insulin sold in prefabricated devices or pens already accounts for the vast majority in Europe and Japan, where patients take multiple daily insulin injections.Although Novo Nordisk itself has more than 60 percent of the insulin market in Europe and 80 percent in Japan, 70 percent of its turnover comes from diabetes care, a shift that comes as the company shifts its target customers from influencers to users.
A similar example is Bloomberg News.About 10 years ago, Bloomberg became the world's largest provider of business information.Before Bloomberg LP opened in the 1980s, the market for online financial information services was dominated by Reuters and Telerate, which provided real-time news and price information to brokers and the investment community.At that time, the entire industry targeted corporate IT managers who liked standardized systems because they made their jobs easier.
Bloomberg Intelligence thinks this makes no sense.It's the traders and analysts, not the IT managers, who make or break businesses every day.Differences in information mean profit opportunities.When markets are active, traders and analysts alike must make quick decisions and every second counts.
Therefore, Bloomberg has specially designed a system for traders. Its terminal is easy to operate, and familiar financial terms are marked on the keyboard.The system also has two flat-panel monitors so traders can see all the information they need without having to keep opening and closing countless windows.Because traders must analyze the information they have before taking action, Bloomberg has a built-in analysis module that can be done with just a keystroke.In the past, traders and analysts had to download data and use pencils and calculators to perform all-important financial calculations.Now, users can quickly run scenario analysis to calculate the return on different investments, and they can also conduct longitudinal historical data analysis.
By focusing on users, Bloomberg LP has also uncovered tensions in the lives of traders and analysts.They earn a lot of money, but they need to spend a lot of time at work and have no time to spend.Bloomberg found that few trades occurred in the market at the same time every day, so they decided to add some information and shopping services to enrich the personal life of traders.Traders can use these services to buy things like flowers, clothing and jewelry, make travel plans, get information on wine, or search for real estate.
By shifting the focus from buyers to users, Bloomberg LP has created a value curve that was completely absent in the industry before.交易员和分析师利用在企业里的影响力促使IT经理购买彭博的终端。
许多行业都存在这样的蓝海机会。通过质疑目标客户的传统定义，企业通常可以发现创造价值的全新方法。佳能也是通过将复印机行业的目标客户从企业采购者转到使用者，从而开创了小型台式复印机行业；还有SAP，通过将企业应用软件行业的客户重心从部门用户转移到企业采购者，从而在实时一体化软件市场获得了巨大成功。
你所处行业的购买者都有那些呢？传统上，整个行业的目标客户通常是哪一类人群呢？如果你转变目标客户群，你如何才能创造新的价值呢？
很少产品或服务会单独使用。很多情况下，他们的价值会受到别的产品或服务的影响。但是，在大多数的行业中，企业生产的产品或提供的服务都局限于行业范围内。我们来看看电影院的例子。请保姆和停车的便利性和成本会影响人们对看电影的价值判断。但是，这些互补性的服务是传统电影放映行业无法提供的。很少有电影院会去考虑人们请一个婴儿保姆有多难或多贵。但是实际上他们应该考虑，因为这会影响他们的生意。想象一下，如果一家电影院提供保姆服务会是什么情况。
在互补产品或服务背后常常隐藏着巨大的价值。关键是要弄清楚消费者在选择产品或服务时需要的整个解决方案是什么。一个简单的方法就是考虑一下消费者在使用你们的产品前、使用过程中和使用后会发生些什么事情。人们在去看电影之前，一般都要先解决保姆和停车的问题。操作系统软件和应用软件要和计算机硬件一起使用。在航空业中，旅客在飞行结束后才会需要地面交通，但是旅行中这种服务肯定是必要的。
看看NABI的例子，它是匈牙利一家汽车公司。它将这种思维方式用到了美国价值10亿美元的汽车运输行业。这个行业的主要客户包括公共交通集团、在主要城镇提供固定线路公交服务的市属交通运输公司。
在行业竞争法则驱使下，汽车公司都通过价格来竞争。造成的后果是，汽车设计过时，交货时间延迟，质量下降，而且在行业竞争条件下不允许期货交易。但是对NABI来说，这些都无关紧要。通常城镇的汽车使用年限平均为12年，在这种情况下，为什么汽车公司只关注汽车的初始采购价呢？通过这种思维去审视市场，NABI对这个行业有了全新的看法。
NABI发现，对市政当局来说，最重要的成本因素并不是作为行业竞争武器的汽车价格本身，而是汽车购买之后的成本，即汽车在12年使用期限内的维护费用。出事故后的修理，燃料，由于汽车重量因素导致的配件磨损，为防生锈采取的一些预防性措施，以及其它类似的费用，这些才是市政当局最沉重的负担。由于对城市空气质量的要求，公共交通面临额外的成本支出，尽管这些成本大大高于汽车的初始购置价，但是整个行业一直都忽视了具有互补意义的车辆维护工作，以及车辆的生命周期成本。
NABI意识到，汽车运输行业不是一定会演变为价格驱动型的行业，而是汽车制造公司自己把它变成这样的，他们尽可能地以最低价格销售产品。通过思考所有互补性工作的整体解决方案，NABI造出了以往行业中从来没有出现过的汽车。通常，汽车都是由钢铁制造的，很重，易腐蚀，并且一旦发生事故很难修理，因为整个底盘都需要更换。NABI采用了玻璃纤维作为汽车的材料，达到了“一石五鸟”的效果。因为完全不会腐蚀，玻璃纤维的车体大大降低了维护成本。因为发生事故或出现凹陷后，玻璃纤维的材质不需要更换整个底盘，它使得维修更快、更省、更容易，只需要将破损的部分切去，然后将新的材料焊接上即可。同时，它超轻的重量（比钢铁造的车轻30－35％）更省油，也大大降低了废气排放，从而使汽车更环保。另外，重量的减轻，使NABI不仅可以使用更小的发动机，而且还可以使用更少的轴承，从而降低了制造成本，也使车内空间更大。
通过这种方面，NABI创造了一条去行业平均情况完全不同的价值曲线。在图3－3中，可以看到，通过采用玻璃纤维作为汽车材料，NABI消除或者大大降低了在防止腐蚀、日常维护和汽车燃料方面的成本。结果呢，尽管NABI的汽车初始要价高于行业平均，但是市政当局在汽车上花费的整体成本大大降低。由于废气排放量大幅度减少，NABI生产的汽车的环保标准大大高于行业平均水平。而且价格的提高使得NABI可以做一些史无前例的创造，比如具有现代美感的设计和便民设施，包括将车厢地板降低便于上车、增加座位减少站立。这些设计也激发了汽车运输服务的需求，提高了市政当局的收入。NABI改变了市政当局审视汽车运输服务收益和成本的方法。通过降低整个车辆生命周期的成本，NABI为购买者（包括市政当局和乘客）创造了极大的价值。
毫无疑问，市政当局和乘客都非常喜欢这款新车。从1993年引进美国后，NABI已经占据了20％的市场份额，迅速获得了市场占有率、业务增长率和盈利能力的第一位。来自匈牙利的NABI通过开创蓝海避免了美国市场的恶性竞争，为所有人营造了多赢局面：它自己、市政当局和市民。它已经获得了价值超过10亿美元的订单，而且在2002年10月被Economist Intelligence Unit组织评为世界上最成功的30家公司之一。
同样的，我们来看看英国的茶具市场，这一行业虽然在英国文化中占有非常重要的地位，但是销售额几乎停滞，利润率不断下降，直到飞利浦电器公司带着一套新的茶具进入这个市场，将红海竞争变成了蓝海。从互补性产品和服务的角度进行思考，飞利浦发现，英国人泡茶时遇到的最大问题并不是茶壶，而是与茶壶互补的水，因为他们必须把水放在茶壶里烧开。问题出在自来水中的碳酸钙含量。当烧水过程中，碳酸钙不断沉积，最后会混入泡好的茶中。冷静的英国人在喝自己泡的茶时，通常先用一个茶匙把这些令人讨厌的碳酸钙捞出来。对茶具行业来说，水的问题与他们无关，它是另一个行业——自来水行业的问题。
从解决顾客整体方案中的主要问题角度思考，飞利浦把水的问题视为它的一个机会。结果呢，飞利浦发明了一个新的茶壶，茶壶口有一个过滤器，在倒水的时候能够有效地过滤碳酸钙。这样，英国人在喝自己泡的茶时，就不会在茶水中看到漂浮的碳酸钙杂质了。人们纷纷将旧茶壶换成带过滤嘴的新茶壶，这个行业又进入了高速增长时期。
还有很多其它的公司遵循这种思路创造了蓝海。Borders和B&N超市将他们提供的服务范围进行重新定位，由单纯的卖图书转变为提供阅读和智力探险的乐趣，通过在店里增加舒服的长沙发、有学识的店员和咖啡屋，营造了一个阅读和学习的良好氛围。在不到6年的时间里，Borders和B&N就成为美国最大的两家连锁书店，两者共拥有超过1070家店面。Virgin Entertainment的大型超市同时提供CD、影碟、电脑游戏、音响设备，以满足顾客的所有娱乐要求。Dyson设计的吸尘器不需要更换纸袋，从而减少了成本和麻烦。Zeneca建立的Salick癌症中心将癌症病人需要的各种治理服务都放到一起，避免病人要从一个地方跑到另一个地方、为每一种检查单独预约的麻烦。
你们企业的产品或服务的使用背景是什么？在产品或服务的使用前、使用中、使用后都会发生什么事情？你能找到客户的烦恼吗？你们企业怎么样能够通过提供互补性的产品或服务消除这些烦恼呢？
行业竞争不仅在产品或服务的范围上趋同，而且在两个基本的诉求上也很类似。一些行业主要通过价格和功能来竞争，关注的是给客户带来的效用，他们的诉求是功能性的；其它一些行业主要以客户感觉为竞争手段，他们的诉求是情感性的。
但是，大多数的产品或服务的诉求并不是一定非此即彼。相反，它是企业竞争方式的结果，企业的竞争方式会在无意中培育客户的预期，这种影响具有不断加强的效果。随着时间的推移，功能导向型行业会变得越来越注重功能；情感导向型行业会变得越来越注重情感。因为这个，我们就不难理解为什么市场调查很少会找到吸引客户的新因素。行业实际上在训练顾客应该期待什么，当接受调查的时候只是简单反馈回来，通常与企业预想的差不多。
当企业愿意挑战行业中已经存在的功能或情感诉求时，常常会发现新的市场机会。我们发现了两种普遍模式。情感导向型的行业会提供很多多余的产品或服务，只是提高了价格但对功能没有帮助。去掉这些多余的东西，就会创造一个简单、低价、低成本的业务模式，从而受到客户欢迎。反过来，功能导向型行业可以通过添加一些情感因素使产品获得新生，刺激新的需求。
两个有名的例子是斯沃奇和Body Shop。斯沃奇把一个功能导向型的低价表市场转变为一个情感导向型的行业；相反，Body Shop则把一个情感导向型的化妆品行业转变为一个功能导向型的、注重价值的化妆品店。另外，我们还可以看看QB美发店的例子。QB店在日本理发行业创造了一个蓝海市场，并借此在整个亚洲迅速成长。QB美发店成立于1996年，由一家店面发展到2003年的200多家。顾客数量从1996年的5.7万迅速上升到2002年的350万。它的业务已经扩展到新加坡和马来西亚，计划到2013年在亚洲开设超过1000家店。
QB美发店蓝海战略的核心在于将亚洲美发行业从一个情感导向型行业转变成高度功能导向型行业。在日本，成年男子理发通常要1个小时左右。why?理发的过程中包含了一系列活动，使得理发变成了一种仪式。在这过程中，要用许多热毛巾，有人会帮你按摩肩膀，顾客可以喝点茶和咖啡，理发师也按照一定的仪式进行，包括对头发和皮肤进行特别护理，如吹干和剔胡须。结果造成理发的时间在总的时间中只是很少一部分。而且，这些过程也造成了顾客排队的现象。理发的价格在3000－5000日元之间（27－45美元）。
QB美发店改变了这一切。它意识到，许多人，特别是职业人士，不愿意花一个小时在理发上。因此，QB美发店去掉了那些情感性的因素，如热毛巾、按摩肩膀、茶和咖啡。它还大大地简化了对头发的特殊护理，专注于最基本的理发过程。然后，QB美发店采取了进一步举措，去掉了毫时较长的传统洗吹过程，引入了“空气清洗系统”，每次剪完头发，理发师只需将头顶的一个软管拉下即可完成清洗。这一方法要更快和更好，也不需要把顾客的头发弄湿。这些变革将理发的时间由原来的1个小时缩短到10分钟。而且，在每一间美发店门口都有一个交通灯系统，向顾客指示是否有空位。这种方法消除了等候时间的不确定性，也不需要接待员了。
通过这种方法，QB美容店将理发的价格降到了1000日元（9美元），同时将每个理发师每个小时实现的收入提高了50％，而每个理发师分摊的的人力成本和营业面积都降低了。QB美发店创造了这一卫生标准更好的“无多余”理发服务。它不仅为每个顾客提供一套卫生设施，而且还实行一次性原则，即每个客户使用一套新的毛巾和梳子。其蓝海战略具体见图3－4。
全球第三大水泥生产商Cemex也用这种方法创造了一个蓝海，不过它的做法刚好相反，将行业由功能主导型转变为情感主导型。在墨西哥，以零售包装形式出售给普通自己动手爱好者的水泥超过了全部水泥市场的85％ 。但是，这个市场看起来并不具备吸引力。非客户的数量远远大于客户的数量。尽管大多数贫穷的家庭都拥有自己的土地，而且水泥也是作为一种廉价的建筑材料，但是在很长的一段时间里，墨西哥人都住得比较拥挤。很少家庭会去扩建，即使那些选择了扩建的家庭通常也要花4－7年才能新建一间屋。Why is this so?墨西哥家庭的大多数余钱都花在了乡村节日、女孩15岁成年仪式、洗礼和婚礼上了。多花点钱在这些重要的事件上会让人在社区内很有面子，如果不这样做就会被认为傲慢和无礼。
所以，尽管拥有一间水泥造的房子是许多墨西哥穷人的梦想，但是大多数人都没有足够和连续的储蓄去购买建筑材料。Cemex相信，如果能够释放这部分潜在的需求，保守估计每年的市场价值在5－6亿美元。
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1998年，Cemex提供了解决这个难题的办法，它推出了Patrimonio Hoy计划，从而把水泥从功能性产品转变为梦想的礼物。当人们购买水泥后，他们就准备建造充满爱的房子，一家人可以在里面分享欢乐与幸福，还有什么礼物比这更好呢？Patrimonio Hoy计划的基础是墨西哥传统的互助系统（tandas），它是一种传统的社区储蓄计划。在tandas里面，比如说有10个人，每个星期每人交100比索，连续10个星期。在第一个星期里，大家抽签决定谁将在10个星期内每次得到这1000比索（93美元）。每个参与者都只有一次获得这1000比索的机会，但一旦他们获得这个机会，他们就有了一大笔钱可以用于大笔的支出。
在传统的tandas里面，幸运的家庭通常都把这笔钱用于节日或宗教活动，比如洗礼和婚礼。但是，在Patrimonio Hoy里面，幸运的家庭将把这笔钱指定用于购买水泥兴建新的房子。你可以把它看作某种形式的婚礼登记，只不过Cemex给予的不是诸如银器之类的婚礼礼品，而且把水泥当作一种爱的礼物。
Cemex组建的Patrimonio Hoy建材俱乐部由大约70人的小组构成，每个人平均每个星期交纳120比索，一直持续70个星期。但是每个星期的幸运者并不是得到现金，而且得到等值的建筑材料用于修建一间新的房子。幸运者还可以获得Cemex提供的送货上门、建房课程和全程的专业技术服务。
在其它竞争者都在卖成袋的水泥时，Cemex却是在销售梦想，它的业务模式还包含了融资方式创新和建筑方面的诀窍。Cemex还更进一步，当一间房子竣工时，在小镇上举行一个小小的节日，从而强化了这个计划带给人们的幸福感。
自从公司推出这项附带融资和技术服务的情感导向型Cemex水泥计划，需求迅速增长。选择建造新房子的家庭增加了20％，而且很多人计划修建的房子比原来要多2－3间。在一个以价格竞争为主的低成长行业，Cemex获得了每月15％的增长率，而且可以以更高的价格卖水泥（约高3.5比索）。到目前为止，Cemex让自助建房者的水泥消费量增长了2倍，从每4年2300磅提高到每15个月2300磅。由于通过互助计划卖出的水泥具有可预测性，这使得Cemex的成本下降，因为存货成本降低、生产流程更畅顺、资金成本降低。而社会压力的存在使得互助计划很少出现违约的情形。总的来说，Cemex创造了一个情感型的蓝海水泥市场，以更低的成本实现了差异化。
同样，在大受欢迎的伟哥的帮助下，辉瑞制药将关注点从药物治疗转移到生活质量改善。还有星巴克，它将纯粹的咖啡销售转变为一种带有情感的氛围，消费者可以在里面尽情享受咖啡。
在一些服务行业，人们正在用这种蓝海战略，只不过是将情感导向转变为功能导向。注重关系培养的行业，如保险业、银行业和投资业，非常依赖于经纪人和客户之间的紧密关系。他们在需求变革。比如，英国的一家保险公司，Direct Line集团，就取消了传统的经纪人。它认为，如果公司把工作做好，比如迅速完成理赔和取消复杂的表格，客户并不需要传统经纪人给予人的那种情感上的舒适感。因此，Direct Line没有用经纪人和区域办公室，而是利用信息技术提高理赔的处理效率，并且将节省的成本返还给客户，为他们提供更优惠的保险费率。在美国，投资界的Vanguad集团（指数基金）和嘉信理财（经纪服务）都在做同样的事情，将以往建立在个人关系上的情感主导型业务模式转变为业绩好、成本低的功能导向型业务模式，从而开创蓝海。
你的企业所在的行业是功能导向型还是情感导向型？如果你的企业选择的是情感诉求模式，那么你能否剔除一些不必要的因素使其成为功能导向型呢？如果你的企业选择的是功能型诉求，那么你能否添加一些因素进去使其成为情感导向型呢？
在所有的行业中，企业的经营都会受到外部趋势变化的影响。看看互联网迅速崛起和全球环保运动的兴起的例子。如果企业能够正确预测到这些趋势，就可能会找到蓝海市场机会。
当事件发生后，多数企业都只会逐渐适应，甚至是被动的接受。不管是新技术的出现，还是政策的变化，企业经营者通常比较注重预测趋势本身。也就是说，他们通常关心技术会朝哪个方向演变，如何应用，能否大规模应用。他们根据技术发展的趋势来调整自己行动的步伐。
但是，蓝海战略主要并不来源于预测趋势本身。相反，他们来自深入分析这一趋势会如何影响客户价值和企业的业务模式。通过放眼未来，即从关注市场现在的价值转到未来的价值，企业经营者可以主动调整，抢先找到新的蓝海。这种方法可能比前面讨论的方法难一些，但是它的思维方式还是类似的。我们不是说要预言未来，这是不可能的。我们是说要从目前可以观察到的趋势中获得远见。
在预测未来趋势的时候，有三个原则非常重要。为了形成蓝海战略，这些趋势必须对企业的业务有决定性作用、必须不可逆、必须具有清晰的路线。在任何一个时间点上，都可以看到很多趋势，比如，技术的淘汰、新的生活方式的诞生、法律或社会环境的改变。但是，通常只有一两个趋势对某个特定的行业产生重大影响。并且有时候可能只会看到趋势或重大事件，但是无法预测发展方向。
比如，1998年的亚洲金融危机，大家都看到了这个重要的事件肯定会对金融服务业产生重大影响。但是，要想预测事态的发展方向却不大可能，因此如果一个企业将一个蓝海战略建立在这样的假设之上是非常冒险的。相反，欧元发展的轨迹是非常明确的，它已经取代了欧元区国家的多种货币。这对金融服务业是一个重大的、不可逆的和发展的趋势，随着欧盟的不断扩容，企业可以考虑从中挖掘蓝海战略机会。
发现了这样一种趋势之后，接下来你就可以放眼未来，思考一下如果这个趋势按照其逻辑发展下去，市场会变成什么样。通过这样一种思维方式来考虑，你就会知道如果要找到蓝海战略，目前你需要作什么变革。
比如，从20世纪90年代末开始，非法共享音乐的行为泛滥，苹果公司看到了这个趋势。诸如Napster、Kazaa和LimeWire等音乐共享计划在互联网上创造了一个音乐爱好者的网络，他们可以在全球范围内自由但非法地共享音乐。到2003年底，通过这种非法方式传播的音乐文件平均每个月超过200万首。尽管音乐制作业努力打击这种非法拷贝CD的行为，但是非法的数码音乐下载行为屡禁不止。
由于技术上允许每个人自由地下载数码音乐，而不需要支付19美元买一张普通的CD，因而数码音乐流行趋势非常明显。用于播放数码音乐的MP3播放器，比如广受欢迎的苹果iPod，需求不断上升，从一个侧面反应了这种趋势。顺应这个重要的潮流，苹果公司在2003年开设了iTunes网上音乐商店。
通过与5大主要音乐制作公司，宝丽金、百代、索尼、环球和华纳，签订协议，iTunes在网上提供合法的、便利的、一站式的音乐下载服务。在iTunes上，顾客可以自由浏览多达20万首歌曲，免费听30秒钟的样板，单独下载一首歌要99美分，一张专辑的价格为9.99美元。通过允许顾客单独购买一首歌曲，并且非常合理地进行策略性定价，iTunes打破了困扰顾客的一个重要因素：当他们只想要其中一首或两首歌时，却不得不把整张CD买下来。
iTunes还提供了免费的重下载服务，在保证音乐质量的同时，为顾客提供便利的浏览、搜索功能。在非法下载音乐的时候，你必须首先搜索歌曲、专辑或演唱者。如果你要找到整张专辑，你还必须知道每首歌的名字和他们的顺序。通常，要想在一个地方下载到整张专辑是非常困难的。音乐的质量通常也比较差，因为人们在复制CD音乐的时候为了节省空间采用了较高的压缩比。而且能够找到的许多歌曲都很陈旧，所以理论上你可以在网上免费找到成千上万的歌曲，但范围是有限的。
相反，苹果提供的搜索和浏览功能公认为是业界最棒的。而且，iTunes的音乐编辑们还将原本在唱片店里才会有的一些附加功能引进来，包括最佳发型乐队、最佳爱情歌曲、员工至爱、名人推荐和歌曲排行榜。iTunes的音效质量也是最高，因为他们采用了AAC的格式，它比MP3的质量高，即使是那些采用较高采样比率的MP3。
顾客被iTunes吸引过来了，而唱片公司和艺术家们也都获利。在iTunes上，顾客每下载一首歌，他们可以获得价格的65％，通过这种方式他们终于可以从数码下载的狂潮中盈利了。另外，苹果还采取了一些措施保护唱片公司的版权，对习惯了后Napster时代免费下载音乐的客户来说，这增加了不便，但这对行业发展有利。iTunes允许用户将歌曲录制到iPod和CD上，但最多不超过7次，这对音乐爱好者来说绰绰有余，但又不会造成盗版问题。
目前，iTunes音乐商店提供的歌曲超过70万首，第一年就卖出了7000万首歌，用户平均每个星期下载的歌曲超过250万首。通过尼尔森咨询公司的NetRatings估计，iTunes音乐商店已经占领了合法音乐下载服务市场70％的份额。苹果的iTunes打开了数码音乐的蓝海市场，而且也为已经非常畅销的iPod播放器提供了新的优势。随着其它网上音乐商店的进入，苹果面临着新的挑战，苹果将继续关注大众市场的发展，而不是仅仅将眼光放在高端市场。
同样地，思科公司通过思考趋势而创造了一个新的市场机会。这个想法来源这样一个重大的、不可逆的发展趋势：对数据高速传输的需求在不断上升。思科首先审视现状，它发现，随着互联网用户的快速增长（每一百天增加一倍）和其它一些因素，人们对高速数据传输服务的需求不断上升，而低速的数据传输和不兼容的电脑网络阻碍了这一发展。因此，思科预计到问题会变得越来越严重。思科设计了路由器、网络开关和其它网络设备，为客户创造重要价值，在无缝网络环境中提供快速的数据传输。因此，思科的远见无论在技术还是在价值创造上都同样重要。目前，超过80％的网络传输都是采用思科的产品，在这个新市场里，思科的毛利润率为60％。
还有许多其它的公司在使用这种方式开创蓝海市场。CNN看到了全球化的趋势，首创了全球24小时实时新闻网络。HBO看到越来越多的城市成功女性在为爱情和婚姻大事挣扎，于是推出了大受欢迎的电视系列剧“Sex and the City”。
什么趋势将很可能影响你的行业、不可逆、具有清晰的发展方向？这些趋势将如何影响你的行业？这些都弄清楚之后，那么你怎么样才能从中挖掘客户价值呢？
通过超越传统竞争范围的思维，你可以找到打破常规的战略行动，重新构筑市场边界，开创蓝海市场。发现和开创蓝海市场机会的过程不是预测和占卜行业趋势，也不是试验企业经营者偶然想到的一些疯狂的新业务的试错过程。相反，它是企业经营者以一种全新的方式重新构建市场状况的有序过程。通过重新构建现有的行业和市场边界，他们就可以将企业从打破头的红海竞争中解脱出来。图3－5对“六方式分析框架”作了一个小结。
现在，我们就可以通过这六种方式开始企业的战略策划过程。接下去，我们来看看你如何重构战略策划过程，将重心放在主要方面，并且运用这些思维方式来制定你自己的蓝海战略。
Japan's most successful telecommunications company since the 1980s has also done so in this way.Here we are talking about the i-mode service launched by NTT DoCoMo in 1999. i-mode service has changed the way people communicate and obtain information. NTT DoCoMo created a new blue ocean by thinking about why people cannot get high-quality mobile communication services and Internet services at the same time.As Japan deregulates the telecommunications industry, new competitors continue to enter the market, and price competition and technological competition are common occurrences.As a result, the average revenue a business receives from each customer continues to decline. NTT DoCoMo broke red oceans and created blue oceans by extending wireless transmission from voice to text, data, and images.
The question NTT DoCoMo ponders is: What are the unique advantages of the Internet and mobile phones?Although the Internet offers an unlimited amount of information and services, the most important ones are e-mail, simple information (such as news, weather forecasts, and telephone data), and entertainment (including games, events, and music).But the Internet's major drawbacks include the high cost of computer hardware, the sheer volume of information, the hassle of dialing up the Internet, and the fear of leaking credit card information online.On the other hand, the advantages of mobile phones are their mobility, sound transmission and convenience.
NTT DoCoMo does not introduce new technologies, but by giving full play to the advantages of both, and eliminating or reducing the disadvantages of both, thus breaking the balance of consumers' choice between the two.Its easy-to-use interface has only one "i-mode" key (that is, the i mode key, where i means interactive, Internet, information and the pronoun "I" in English), and users can get The main function of the Internet. The i-mode key does not simply present massive amounts of information on the Internet to consumers directly, but acts as an information steward, through which it will only connect to pre-customized and licensed websites to obtain the most commonly used services.This makes browsing the Internet faster and more convenient.At the same time, although the price of a mobile phone with i-mode function is 25% higher than that of a normal mobile phone, its price is much lower than that of a personal computer, and its mobility is unmatched.
In addition, in addition to the function of telephone, i-mode mobile phone service also provides a simple billing service, all online service fees generated through i-mode are placed on the same statement and sent to customers.This greatly reduces the number of bills that customers need to deal with, and also avoids the leakage of credit card information that may have been caused by using Internet services in the past.And since the i-mode service is automatically turned on as long as the user's mobile phone is turned on, the user can always stay online and does not need to log in as hard as before.
Neither ordinary mobile phones nor PCs can compete with i-mode phones due to their wide-ranging value curves.By the end of 2003, the number of users of i-mode had reached 40.1 million, and the revenue of data, picture and text transmission services had risen from 295 million yen (26 million U.S. dollars) in 1999 to 886.3 billion yen (8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2003. ). Rather than simply stealing customers from competitors, i-mode services quickly cultivated a large market, attracting young and high-end customers, and converting those who only use phone functions to use voice services as well. Customers using data transfer services.
Ironically, telecom operators in Europe and the US have also been vying for this blue ocean market, but have so far failed.What is the reason?Through investigation, we found that these telecommunication companies mainly focus on providing very complex technology, that is, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), rather than providing better value to customers.This makes what they offer too complicated to be accepted by the general public.
Many other successful examples have created new markets by looking at alternative products. Home Depot offers professional home improvement services for much less than the average store.By reinforcing the strengths of alternative industries (removing or reducing other characteristics), Home Depot has turned many home improvement potential needs into real needs, while also turning ordinary families into "do-it-yourself" enthusiasts.Southwest sees drive travel as an alternative industry to airlines, creating a blue ocean market for short-distance sailing by offering flying at the cost of drive travel.Similarly, Intuit, which sees the Pencil as its main personal-finance software counterpart, created a blue-ocean market by developing Quicken, a fun and intuitive software.
What are the alternatives to your business' industry?Why would customers choose between them?By examining these key factors that affect customers' choices between different industries, and eliminating or reducing the unfavorable factors, you can create a blue ocean, a new market space.
Just as blue oceans can be created by looking at alternative industries, so can this be done by considering different types of strategies within the same industry.The so-called strategic type refers to the enterprises in the same industry adopting similar strategies.In most industries, companies can be divided into several categories based on strategic differences.
Strategy types can generally be simply sorted by two dimensions: price and performance.A change in price will cause a corresponding change in performance.Most businesses focus on improving their competitive position within the same strategic category.For example, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Cheetah Motors are chasing each other in the field of luxury cars, while some other car companies are fighting each other in the field of economy cars.However, few firms pay attention to what other strategic types of firms are doing because they are not competitive in that area from a supply point of view.
The key to creating blue oceans from different strategy types is to break out of this narrow view and understand what are the main factors that determine a customer switching from one business category to another.
Let’s take the example of Curves, a women’s fitness company based in Texas.Since the chain operation began in 1995, Curves has spread rapidly like wildfire, with more than 6,000 business outlets, more than 2 million members, and a total revenue of more than 1 billion US dollars.On average, a new Curves fitness center opens every 4 hours.
Moreover, the rapid expansion of the customer base is achieved through referrals from friends and family.In the beginning, however, Curves was seen as entering an oversaturated market, offering a service customers didn't want, and being very poorly competitive.But in fact, Curves triggered an explosion of demand in the US fitness market and opened up a new huge market, a blue ocean market with a large number of women who want to keep fit through fitness but always fail. Curves leverages the strengths of two strategic categories within the US fitness industry (traditional health clubs and home exercise programs) while eliminating or reducing the impact of other factors.
On the one hand, the American fitness industry is full of traditional health clubs, which offer a full range of exercise and sports options for both men and women, and are usually located in urban areas with higher consumption levels.They attract a high-end clientele with sleek gadgets.They have a full line of cardio, strength machines, drink bars, fitness trainers, and enclosed showers and saunas, because their purpose is to allow customers to socialize in addition to exercising.After trudging across town to get to the health club, customers spend at least an hour there, usually two.Memberships are usually $100/month which is not cheap as they keep their client base high end and small.Membership in these clubs accounts for only 12% of the population and is usually concentrated in large urban areas.The investment to open one of these health clubs can range from $500,000 to more than $1 million, depending on downtown location.
On the other hand, the US fitness industry also includes those home fitness programs such as videos, books and magazines that teach workouts.These modalities are low cost, used at home, and generally require little or no medical assistance.There are very few fitness instructions, mainly demonstrations and explanations by sports stars in videos, books and magazines.
The question is: what are the key factors affecting women switching between traditional health clubs and home fitness programs?Most women don't choose a health club for the abundance of equipment, drink bars, enclosed saunas, swimming pools, and the chance to meet men.The average woman who is a non-athlete doesn't even want to touch a guy while she's working out, maybe because she doesn't want him to see her fat.She also doesn't want to be behind men using those machines because she has to adjust the weight or angle.In terms of time, this factor is increasingly important for the average woman, few of whom can spend a few hours a week in a health club.And for most women, traffic in urban areas is also a problem, which makes them lose interest in going to the gym.
It turns out that most women choose a health club for one main reason.When they are exercising at home, it is easy to relax their demands on themselves.If they don't regard themselves as sports enthusiasts, it is difficult for them to be strict with themselves at home.Exercising with others, rather than alone, is more likely to stimulate interest.On the contrary, those who choose to exercise alone at home mainly consider time saving, low cost and good privacy.
Curves creates blue ocean markets by absorbing the strengths of both strategic categories and eliminating and reducing the weaknesses (see Figure 3-2). Curves eliminates the services of traditional health clubs that do not appeal to most women.Removed those special equipment, food, beauty, swimming pool, and even some locked rooms, and replaced them with areas separated by curtains.
The Curves Club has a very different feel to your average health club.When entering the gym, members still see fitness equipment (usually about 10 sets), but unlike general fitness clubs, these equipment are not lined up in a row, and facing a TV, they are arranged in a circle, so that members They can fully communicate, making exercise a pleasure. The QuickFit circuit training system uses hydraulic equipment, requires no adjustment, and is safe and easy to use.Specifically designed for women, these machines reduce impact stress and enhance strength and muscle development.Members can talk to each other and take care of each other during their workouts in a relaxed, stress-free atmosphere that is nothing like a traditional health club.There are few mirrors on the walls and no males to stare at you.Members circle around the machine circle and cardio mat, completing the entire workout in less than 30 minutes.The result of reducing unnecessary services and focusing on providing essential services has brought the price down to $30/month, making this market accessible to ordinary women. Curves' slogan is: "For the price of a cup of coffee a day, you can enjoy the health brought by proper exercise."
Curves provides customers with superior value through lower prices (see Figure 3-2).Compared with the initial investment of up to $500,000 to $1 million for traditional fitness clubs, the initial investment to open a Curves fitness center is only $25,000 to $30,000 (not including the $20,000 license fee), because they remove many unnecessary things up.
The cost of change is also much lower, the cost of personnel and maintenance is greatly reduced, and the rent is also greatly reduced due to the reduced space. The original rent in the city center was as high as 35,000 to 100,000 US dollars per square foot, but now the rent in the suburban area is only 1,500 US dollars per square foot . Curves' low-cost business model lowered the cost of the chain, allowing it to grow like mushrooms after rain.Attracting an average of 100 members, a chain can start turning a profit within a few months.Already established Curves chain stores sell for between $100,000 and $150,000 on the secondary market.
The result is that Curves' chain stores are all over large, medium and small towns. Instead of directly competing with existing fitness concepts, it creates a new blue ocean demand.When the U.S. and North American markets began to saturate, the company's management began planning to expand to Europe.Expansion plans have already begun in Latin America and Spain.By the end of 2004, the number of Curves fitness centers will reach 8,500.
In addition to Curves, there are many companies that have created blue ocean markets in this way. Ralph Lauren has created a "high fashion without style" blue ocean market.Its designers, noble stores, and luxurious fabrics are all in line with the needs of customers in the high-end women's clothing market.At the same time, its on-trend classic shape and price are comparable to traditional clothing brands such as Brooks Brothers and Burberry.It is the combination of the most attractive factors of the two business categories, while eliminating or reducing other unfavorable factors, Polo Ralph Lauren not only gained a certain market share in these two categories, but also gained many new customers .
In the field of luxury cars, Toyota's Lexus provides the same product quality as high-end Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Cheetah at a price close to that of low-end Cadillac and Lincoln, thereby creating a new blue ocean market.Then there's Sony's Walkman, which created a new market for personal portable stereo systems in the late 1970s by combining the advantages of an inexpensive high-fidelity playback device with the mobility advantages of a crystal radio.The Walkman attracted customers in both of the above business categories, and, because of the increased value, it attracted many new customers, including joggers and frequent business travelers.
Michigan-based Champion Enterprises has similarly created a blue ocean in the housing market with this approach, and two business categories it considers are prefab housing suppliers and on-site job site developers.Prefab homes are less expensive and can be completed quickly, but it is a dull, standardized product and generally considered poor quality.On the contrary, the houses built by on-site developers can provide a variety of options and are of better quality, but they are more expensive and take a long time.
Champion combines the advantages of both to create a blue ocean market.It offers prefab homes that are easy to build and competitively priced thanks to economies of scale and lower costs, but Champion lets customers choose some of the home's components, including fireplaces, skylights, and even vaulted ceilings.In effect, Champion changed the definition of a prefab home.As a result, many low- and middle-income families prefer to buy prefab homes rather than rent or buy a home, and even some affluent segments of the population are drawn to the market.
What are the types of strategies in your business' industry?What are the reasons for customers to switch between high-end and low-end business types?
In most industries, competing companies have similar definitions of target customers.But, in fact, there is a chain of customers who are directly or indirectly involved in the purchasing decision.Buyers of a product or service may not coincide with end users and, in some cases, some very key influencers.Although these three categories may overlap, they are usually not the same person.When the three groups of people do not agree, their values are usually also different.For example, the purchasing personnel of the enterprise must be more concerned about the cost than the end users of the product, who may be more concerned about whether the product is easy to use.Similarly, product retailers want manufacturers to replenish inventory in a timely manner and provide better financing options.However, although consumers who buy products will be influenced by these product channels, they will not care about these things.
Enterprises in a certain industry usually choose different target customer groups, for example, they may be large customers or small customers.However, from the perspective of this industry, it is usually concentrated in a certain type of buying group.For example, the pharmaceutical industry mainly focuses on influential groups, namely doctors; the office supply industry mainly focuses on buyers, that is, the purchasing department of enterprises; and the clothing industry mainly sells products directly to users.Sometimes this focus makes economic sense, but more often than not it's just an industry convention that people usually don't question.
New blue oceans can be discovered by challenging conventional notions of target customer groups.By examining different buyer groups, companies can generate some new thinking, thereby reconstructing their own value curves, and finding those target customer groups that have been neglected in the past.
Look at the example of Novo Nordisk, a Danish insulin maker that has created a blue ocean in its own industry.People with diabetes use insulin to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood.In the past, the insulin production industry, like the rest of the pharmaceutical industry, focused on influential groups, namely doctors.Since physicians have a great deal of influence over which insulin a diabetic patient chooses, they are a natural target group for the industry.Accordingly, the industry has turned its attention to improving the purity of insulin, in response to demands from physicians to improve the quality of the drug.The problem is, by the late 1980s, newer purification techniques had improved considerably.As long as the purity of insulin is the main competitiveness index of the enterprise, it is difficult for the enterprise to improve. Novo itself has also been the first to develop so-called "human monomer" insulin, which is chemically identical to human insulin.Soon, the competitiveness among the main competitors gradually converged.
However, Novo Nordisk sees that it can break the current brutal competitive landscape and create a blue ocean: that is, to shift the attention from the doctors in the past to the users themselves, the patients.In the process of paying attention to patients, Novo Nordisk found that in the past, insulin was given to patients in bottles, which was very inconvenient for patients during use.Because it is bottled, handling syringes, needles, insulin and adjusting doses as needed is very complicated and inconvenient for patients.Needles and syringes also evoke bad associations with patients in some people.Therefore, patients are generally reluctant to use needles and syringes outside, but they have to inject several times a day because of the need.
It was this factor that enabled Novo Nordisk to find a blue ocean opportunity, and they launched the NovoPen in 1985. NovoPen is the first easy-to-use insulin solution that takes the inconvenience and worry out of using an insulin syringe. NovoPen looks like a pen, contains an insulin container, is very convenient to carry, and the dose of a tube can be used for almost a week.The pen uses an integrated touch mechanism, which makes it easy to control the dose and administer insulin even for blind people.This way, patients can take it with them without the hassle and embarrassment of needles and syringes.
In order to gain a dominant position in the new blue ocean market, Novo Nordisk launched NovoLet again in 1989, which is a disposable pre-filled insulin injection pen with a dose control system, which is more convenient and simple to use . In 1999, they introduced Innovo, an integrated syringe system with electronic memory. Innovo manages insulin injections through built-in memory, and can display the current dose, the last dose and the time it has been used. This information is very helpful in reducing the risk of patients and avoiding missed injections.
Novo Nordisk's blue ocean strategy has revolutionized the competitive landscape of the industry and has successfully transformed the corporate image from an insulin manufacturer to a diabetes patient care business. The NovoPen and later injection systems swept the insulin market.Insulin sold in prefabricated devices or pens already accounts for the vast majority in Europe and Japan, where patients take multiple daily insulin injections.Although Novo Nordisk itself has more than 60 percent of the insulin market in Europe and 80 percent in Japan, 70 percent of its turnover comes from diabetes care, a shift that comes as the company shifts its target customers from influencers to users.
A similar example is Bloomberg News.About 10 years ago, Bloomberg became the world's largest provider of business information.Before Bloomberg LP opened in the 1980s, the market for online financial information services was dominated by Reuters and Telerate, which provided real-time news and price information to brokers and the investment community.At that time, the entire industry targeted corporate IT managers who liked standardized systems because they made their jobs easier.
Bloomberg Intelligence thinks this makes no sense.It's the traders and analysts, not the IT managers, who make or break businesses every day.Differences in information mean profit opportunities.When markets are active, traders and analysts alike must make quick decisions and every second counts.
Therefore, Bloomberg has specially designed a system for traders. Its terminal is easy to operate, and familiar financial terms are marked on the keyboard.The system also has two flat-panel monitors so traders can see all the information they need without having to keep opening and closing countless windows.Because traders must analyze the information they have before taking action, Bloomberg has a built-in analysis module that can be done with just a keystroke.In the past, traders and analysts had to download data and use pencils and calculators to perform all-important financial calculations.Now, users can quickly run scenario analysis to calculate the return on different investments, and they can also conduct longitudinal historical data analysis.
By focusing on users, Bloomberg LP has also uncovered tensions in the lives of traders and analysts.They earn a lot of money, but they need to spend a lot of time at work and have no time to spend.Bloomberg found that few trades occurred in the market at the same time every day, so they decided to add some information and shopping services to enrich the personal life of traders.Traders can use these services to buy things like flowers, clothing and jewelry, make travel plans, get information on wine, or search for real estate.
By shifting the focus from buyers to users, Bloomberg LP has created a value curve that was completely absent in the industry before.交易员和分析师利用在企业里的影响力促使IT经理购买彭博的终端。
许多行业都存在这样的蓝海机会。通过质疑目标客户的传统定义，企业通常可以发现创造价值的全新方法。佳能也是通过将复印机行业的目标客户从企业采购者转到使用者，从而开创了小型台式复印机行业；还有SAP，通过将企业应用软件行业的客户重心从部门用户转移到企业采购者，从而在实时一体化软件市场获得了巨大成功。
你所处行业的购买者都有那些呢？传统上，整个行业的目标客户通常是哪一类人群呢？如果你转变目标客户群，你如何才能创造新的价值呢？
很少产品或服务会单独使用。很多情况下，他们的价值会受到别的产品或服务的影响。但是，在大多数的行业中，企业生产的产品或提供的服务都局限于行业范围内。我们来看看电影院的例子。请保姆和停车的便利性和成本会影响人们对看电影的价值判断。但是，这些互补性的服务是传统电影放映行业无法提供的。很少有电影院会去考虑人们请一个婴儿保姆有多难或多贵。但是实际上他们应该考虑，因为这会影响他们的生意。想象一下，如果一家电影院提供保姆服务会是什么情况。
在互补产品或服务背后常常隐藏着巨大的价值。关键是要弄清楚消费者在选择产品或服务时需要的整个解决方案是什么。一个简单的方法就是考虑一下消费者在使用你们的产品前、使用过程中和使用后会发生些什么事情。人们在去看电影之前，一般都要先解决保姆和停车的问题。操作系统软件和应用软件要和计算机硬件一起使用。在航空业中，旅客在飞行结束后才会需要地面交通，但是旅行中这种服务肯定是必要的。
看看NABI的例子，它是匈牙利一家汽车公司。它将这种思维方式用到了美国价值10亿美元的汽车运输行业。这个行业的主要客户包括公共交通集团、在主要城镇提供固定线路公交服务的市属交通运输公司。
在行业竞争法则驱使下，汽车公司都通过价格来竞争。造成的后果是，汽车设计过时，交货时间延迟，质量下降，而且在行业竞争条件下不允许期货交易。但是对NABI来说，这些都无关紧要。通常城镇的汽车使用年限平均为12年，在这种情况下，为什么汽车公司只关注汽车的初始采购价呢？通过这种思维去审视市场，NABI对这个行业有了全新的看法。
NABI发现，对市政当局来说，最重要的成本因素并不是作为行业竞争武器的汽车价格本身，而是汽车购买之后的成本，即汽车在12年使用期限内的维护费用。出事故后的修理，燃料，由于汽车重量因素导致的配件磨损，为防生锈采取的一些预防性措施，以及其它类似的费用，这些才是市政当局最沉重的负担。由于对城市空气质量的要求，公共交通面临额外的成本支出，尽管这些成本大大高于汽车的初始购置价，但是整个行业一直都忽视了具有互补意义的车辆维护工作，以及车辆的生命周期成本。
NABI意识到，汽车运输行业不是一定会演变为价格驱动型的行业，而是汽车制造公司自己把它变成这样的，他们尽可能地以最低价格销售产品。通过思考所有互补性工作的整体解决方案，NABI造出了以往行业中从来没有出现过的汽车。通常，汽车都是由钢铁制造的，很重，易腐蚀，并且一旦发生事故很难修理，因为整个底盘都需要更换。NABI采用了玻璃纤维作为汽车的材料，达到了“一石五鸟”的效果。因为完全不会腐蚀，玻璃纤维的车体大大降低了维护成本。因为发生事故或出现凹陷后，玻璃纤维的材质不需要更换整个底盘，它使得维修更快、更省、更容易，只需要将破损的部分切去，然后将新的材料焊接上即可。同时，它超轻的重量（比钢铁造的车轻30－35％）更省油，也大大降低了废气排放，从而使汽车更环保。另外，重量的减轻，使NABI不仅可以使用更小的发动机，而且还可以使用更少的轴承，从而降低了制造成本，也使车内空间更大。
通过这种方面，NABI创造了一条去行业平均情况完全不同的价值曲线。在图3－3中，可以看到，通过采用玻璃纤维作为汽车材料，NABI消除或者大大降低了在防止腐蚀、日常维护和汽车燃料方面的成本。结果呢，尽管NABI的汽车初始要价高于行业平均，但是市政当局在汽车上花费的整体成本大大降低。由于废气排放量大幅度减少，NABI生产的汽车的环保标准大大高于行业平均水平。而且价格的提高使得NABI可以做一些史无前例的创造，比如具有现代美感的设计和便民设施，包括将车厢地板降低便于上车、增加座位减少站立。这些设计也激发了汽车运输服务的需求，提高了市政当局的收入。NABI改变了市政当局审视汽车运输服务收益和成本的方法。通过降低整个车辆生命周期的成本，NABI为购买者（包括市政当局和乘客）创造了极大的价值。
毫无疑问，市政当局和乘客都非常喜欢这款新车。从1993年引进美国后，NABI已经占据了20％的市场份额，迅速获得了市场占有率、业务增长率和盈利能力的第一位。来自匈牙利的NABI通过开创蓝海避免了美国市场的恶性竞争，为所有人营造了多赢局面：它自己、市政当局和市民。它已经获得了价值超过10亿美元的订单，而且在2002年10月被Economist Intelligence Unit组织评为世界上最成功的30家公司之一。
同样的，我们来看看英国的茶具市场，这一行业虽然在英国文化中占有非常重要的地位，但是销售额几乎停滞，利润率不断下降，直到飞利浦电器公司带着一套新的茶具进入这个市场，将红海竞争变成了蓝海。从互补性产品和服务的角度进行思考，飞利浦发现，英国人泡茶时遇到的最大问题并不是茶壶，而是与茶壶互补的水，因为他们必须把水放在茶壶里烧开。问题出在自来水中的碳酸钙含量。当烧水过程中，碳酸钙不断沉积，最后会混入泡好的茶中。冷静的英国人在喝自己泡的茶时，通常先用一个茶匙把这些令人讨厌的碳酸钙捞出来。对茶具行业来说，水的问题与他们无关，它是另一个行业——自来水行业的问题。
从解决顾客整体方案中的主要问题角度思考，飞利浦把水的问题视为它的一个机会。结果呢，飞利浦发明了一个新的茶壶，茶壶口有一个过滤器，在倒水的时候能够有效地过滤碳酸钙。这样，英国人在喝自己泡的茶时，就不会在茶水中看到漂浮的碳酸钙杂质了。人们纷纷将旧茶壶换成带过滤嘴的新茶壶，这个行业又进入了高速增长时期。
还有很多其它的公司遵循这种思路创造了蓝海。Borders和B&N超市将他们提供的服务范围进行重新定位，由单纯的卖图书转变为提供阅读和智力探险的乐趣，通过在店里增加舒服的长沙发、有学识的店员和咖啡屋，营造了一个阅读和学习的良好氛围。在不到6年的时间里，Borders和B&N就成为美国最大的两家连锁书店，两者共拥有超过1070家店面。Virgin Entertainment的大型超市同时提供CD、影碟、电脑游戏、音响设备，以满足顾客的所有娱乐要求。Dyson设计的吸尘器不需要更换纸袋，从而减少了成本和麻烦。Zeneca建立的Salick癌症中心将癌症病人需要的各种治理服务都放到一起，避免病人要从一个地方跑到另一个地方、为每一种检查单独预约的麻烦。
你们企业的产品或服务的使用背景是什么？在产品或服务的使用前、使用中、使用后都会发生什么事情？你能找到客户的烦恼吗？你们企业怎么样能够通过提供互补性的产品或服务消除这些烦恼呢？
行业竞争不仅在产品或服务的范围上趋同，而且在两个基本的诉求上也很类似。一些行业主要通过价格和功能来竞争，关注的是给客户带来的效用，他们的诉求是功能性的；其它一些行业主要以客户感觉为竞争手段，他们的诉求是情感性的。
但是，大多数的产品或服务的诉求并不是一定非此即彼。相反，它是企业竞争方式的结果，企业的竞争方式会在无意中培育客户的预期，这种影响具有不断加强的效果。随着时间的推移，功能导向型行业会变得越来越注重功能；情感导向型行业会变得越来越注重情感。因为这个，我们就不难理解为什么市场调查很少会找到吸引客户的新因素。行业实际上在训练顾客应该期待什么，当接受调查的时候只是简单反馈回来，通常与企业预想的差不多。
当企业愿意挑战行业中已经存在的功能或情感诉求时，常常会发现新的市场机会。我们发现了两种普遍模式。情感导向型的行业会提供很多多余的产品或服务，只是提高了价格但对功能没有帮助。去掉这些多余的东西，就会创造一个简单、低价、低成本的业务模式，从而受到客户欢迎。反过来，功能导向型行业可以通过添加一些情感因素使产品获得新生，刺激新的需求。
两个有名的例子是斯沃奇和Body Shop。斯沃奇把一个功能导向型的低价表市场转变为一个情感导向型的行业；相反，Body Shop则把一个情感导向型的化妆品行业转变为一个功能导向型的、注重价值的化妆品店。另外，我们还可以看看QB美发店的例子。QB店在日本理发行业创造了一个蓝海市场，并借此在整个亚洲迅速成长。QB美发店成立于1996年，由一家店面发展到2003年的200多家。顾客数量从1996年的5.7万迅速上升到2002年的350万。它的业务已经扩展到新加坡和马来西亚，计划到2013年在亚洲开设超过1000家店。
QB美发店蓝海战略的核心在于将亚洲美发行业从一个情感导向型行业转变成高度功能导向型行业。在日本，成年男子理发通常要1个小时左右。why?理发的过程中包含了一系列活动，使得理发变成了一种仪式。在这过程中，要用许多热毛巾，有人会帮你按摩肩膀，顾客可以喝点茶和咖啡，理发师也按照一定的仪式进行，包括对头发和皮肤进行特别护理，如吹干和剔胡须。结果造成理发的时间在总的时间中只是很少一部分。而且，这些过程也造成了顾客排队的现象。理发的价格在3000－5000日元之间（27－45美元）。
QB美发店改变了这一切。它意识到，许多人，特别是职业人士，不愿意花一个小时在理发上。因此，QB美发店去掉了那些情感性的因素，如热毛巾、按摩肩膀、茶和咖啡。它还大大地简化了对头发的特殊护理，专注于最基本的理发过程。然后，QB美发店采取了进一步举措，去掉了毫时较长的传统洗吹过程，引入了“空气清洗系统”，每次剪完头发，理发师只需将头顶的一个软管拉下即可完成清洗。这一方法要更快和更好，也不需要把顾客的头发弄湿。这些变革将理发的时间由原来的1个小时缩短到10分钟。而且，在每一间美发店门口都有一个交通灯系统，向顾客指示是否有空位。这种方法消除了等候时间的不确定性，也不需要接待员了。
通过这种方法，QB美容店将理发的价格降到了1000日元（9美元），同时将每个理发师每个小时实现的收入提高了50％，而每个理发师分摊的的人力成本和营业面积都降低了。QB美发店创造了这一卫生标准更好的“无多余”理发服务。它不仅为每个顾客提供一套卫生设施，而且还实行一次性原则，即每个客户使用一套新的毛巾和梳子。其蓝海战略具体见图3－4。
全球第三大水泥生产商Cemex也用这种方法创造了一个蓝海，不过它的做法刚好相反，将行业由功能主导型转变为情感主导型。在墨西哥，以零售包装形式出售给普通自己动手爱好者的水泥超过了全部水泥市场的85％ 。但是，这个市场看起来并不具备吸引力。非客户的数量远远大于客户的数量。尽管大多数贫穷的家庭都拥有自己的土地，而且水泥也是作为一种廉价的建筑材料，但是在很长的一段时间里，墨西哥人都住得比较拥挤。很少家庭会去扩建，即使那些选择了扩建的家庭通常也要花4－7年才能新建一间屋。Why is this so?墨西哥家庭的大多数余钱都花在了乡村节日、女孩15岁成年仪式、洗礼和婚礼上了。多花点钱在这些重要的事件上会让人在社区内很有面子，如果不这样做就会被认为傲慢和无礼。
所以，尽管拥有一间水泥造的房子是许多墨西哥穷人的梦想，但是大多数人都没有足够和连续的储蓄去购买建筑材料。Cemex相信，如果能够释放这部分潜在的需求，保守估计每年的市场价值在5－6亿美元。
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1998年，Cemex提供了解决这个难题的办法，它推出了Patrimonio Hoy计划，从而把水泥从功能性产品转变为梦想的礼物。当人们购买水泥后，他们就准备建造充满爱的房子，一家人可以在里面分享欢乐与幸福，还有什么礼物比这更好呢？Patrimonio Hoy计划的基础是墨西哥传统的互助系统（tandas），它是一种传统的社区储蓄计划。在tandas里面，比如说有10个人，每个星期每人交100比索，连续10个星期。在第一个星期里，大家抽签决定谁将在10个星期内每次得到这1000比索（93美元）。每个参与者都只有一次获得这1000比索的机会，但一旦他们获得这个机会，他们就有了一大笔钱可以用于大笔的支出。
在传统的tandas里面，幸运的家庭通常都把这笔钱用于节日或宗教活动，比如洗礼和婚礼。但是，在Patrimonio Hoy里面，幸运的家庭将把这笔钱指定用于购买水泥兴建新的房子。你可以把它看作某种形式的婚礼登记，只不过Cemex给予的不是诸如银器之类的婚礼礼品，而且把水泥当作一种爱的礼物。
Cemex组建的Patrimonio Hoy建材俱乐部由大约70人的小组构成，每个人平均每个星期交纳120比索，一直持续70个星期。但是每个星期的幸运者并不是得到现金，而且得到等值的建筑材料用于修建一间新的房子。幸运者还可以获得Cemex提供的送货上门、建房课程和全程的专业技术服务。
在其它竞争者都在卖成袋的水泥时，Cemex却是在销售梦想，它的业务模式还包含了融资方式创新和建筑方面的诀窍。Cemex还更进一步，当一间房子竣工时，在小镇上举行一个小小的节日，从而强化了这个计划带给人们的幸福感。
自从公司推出这项附带融资和技术服务的情感导向型Cemex水泥计划，需求迅速增长。选择建造新房子的家庭增加了20％，而且很多人计划修建的房子比原来要多2－3间。在一个以价格竞争为主的低成长行业，Cemex获得了每月15％的增长率，而且可以以更高的价格卖水泥（约高3.5比索）。到目前为止，Cemex让自助建房者的水泥消费量增长了2倍，从每4年2300磅提高到每15个月2300磅。由于通过互助计划卖出的水泥具有可预测性，这使得Cemex的成本下降，因为存货成本降低、生产流程更畅顺、资金成本降低。而社会压力的存在使得互助计划很少出现违约的情形。总的来说，Cemex创造了一个情感型的蓝海水泥市场，以更低的成本实现了差异化。
同样，在大受欢迎的伟哥的帮助下，辉瑞制药将关注点从药物治疗转移到生活质量改善。还有星巴克，它将纯粹的咖啡销售转变为一种带有情感的氛围，消费者可以在里面尽情享受咖啡。
在一些服务行业，人们正在用这种蓝海战略，只不过是将情感导向转变为功能导向。注重关系培养的行业，如保险业、银行业和投资业，非常依赖于经纪人和客户之间的紧密关系。他们在需求变革。比如，英国的一家保险公司，Direct Line集团，就取消了传统的经纪人。它认为，如果公司把工作做好，比如迅速完成理赔和取消复杂的表格，客户并不需要传统经纪人给予人的那种情感上的舒适感。因此，Direct Line没有用经纪人和区域办公室，而是利用信息技术提高理赔的处理效率，并且将节省的成本返还给客户，为他们提供更优惠的保险费率。在美国，投资界的Vanguad集团（指数基金）和嘉信理财（经纪服务）都在做同样的事情，将以往建立在个人关系上的情感主导型业务模式转变为业绩好、成本低的功能导向型业务模式，从而开创蓝海。
你的企业所在的行业是功能导向型还是情感导向型？如果你的企业选择的是情感诉求模式，那么你能否剔除一些不必要的因素使其成为功能导向型呢？如果你的企业选择的是功能型诉求，那么你能否添加一些因素进去使其成为情感导向型呢？
在所有的行业中，企业的经营都会受到外部趋势变化的影响。看看互联网迅速崛起和全球环保运动的兴起的例子。如果企业能够正确预测到这些趋势，就可能会找到蓝海市场机会。
当事件发生后，多数企业都只会逐渐适应，甚至是被动的接受。不管是新技术的出现，还是政策的变化，企业经营者通常比较注重预测趋势本身。也就是说，他们通常关心技术会朝哪个方向演变，如何应用，能否大规模应用。他们根据技术发展的趋势来调整自己行动的步伐。
但是，蓝海战略主要并不来源于预测趋势本身。相反，他们来自深入分析这一趋势会如何影响客户价值和企业的业务模式。通过放眼未来，即从关注市场现在的价值转到未来的价值，企业经营者可以主动调整，抢先找到新的蓝海。这种方法可能比前面讨论的方法难一些，但是它的思维方式还是类似的。我们不是说要预言未来，这是不可能的。我们是说要从目前可以观察到的趋势中获得远见。
在预测未来趋势的时候，有三个原则非常重要。为了形成蓝海战略，这些趋势必须对企业的业务有决定性作用、必须不可逆、必须具有清晰的路线。在任何一个时间点上，都可以看到很多趋势，比如，技术的淘汰、新的生活方式的诞生、法律或社会环境的改变。但是，通常只有一两个趋势对某个特定的行业产生重大影响。并且有时候可能只会看到趋势或重大事件，但是无法预测发展方向。
比如，1998年的亚洲金融危机，大家都看到了这个重要的事件肯定会对金融服务业产生重大影响。但是，要想预测事态的发展方向却不大可能，因此如果一个企业将一个蓝海战略建立在这样的假设之上是非常冒险的。相反，欧元发展的轨迹是非常明确的，它已经取代了欧元区国家的多种货币。这对金融服务业是一个重大的、不可逆的和发展的趋势，随着欧盟的不断扩容，企业可以考虑从中挖掘蓝海战略机会。
发现了这样一种趋势之后，接下来你就可以放眼未来，思考一下如果这个趋势按照其逻辑发展下去，市场会变成什么样。通过这样一种思维方式来考虑，你就会知道如果要找到蓝海战略，目前你需要作什么变革。
比如，从20世纪90年代末开始，非法共享音乐的行为泛滥，苹果公司看到了这个趋势。诸如Napster、Kazaa和LimeWire等音乐共享计划在互联网上创造了一个音乐爱好者的网络，他们可以在全球范围内自由但非法地共享音乐。到2003年底，通过这种非法方式传播的音乐文件平均每个月超过200万首。尽管音乐制作业努力打击这种非法拷贝CD的行为，但是非法的数码音乐下载行为屡禁不止。
由于技术上允许每个人自由地下载数码音乐，而不需要支付19美元买一张普通的CD，因而数码音乐流行趋势非常明显。用于播放数码音乐的MP3播放器，比如广受欢迎的苹果iPod，需求不断上升，从一个侧面反应了这种趋势。顺应这个重要的潮流，苹果公司在2003年开设了iTunes网上音乐商店。
通过与5大主要音乐制作公司，宝丽金、百代、索尼、环球和华纳，签订协议，iTunes在网上提供合法的、便利的、一站式的音乐下载服务。在iTunes上，顾客可以自由浏览多达20万首歌曲，免费听30秒钟的样板，单独下载一首歌要99美分，一张专辑的价格为9.99美元。通过允许顾客单独购买一首歌曲，并且非常合理地进行策略性定价，iTunes打破了困扰顾客的一个重要因素：当他们只想要其中一首或两首歌时，却不得不把整张CD买下来。
iTunes还提供了免费的重下载服务，在保证音乐质量的同时，为顾客提供便利的浏览、搜索功能。在非法下载音乐的时候，你必须首先搜索歌曲、专辑或演唱者。如果你要找到整张专辑，你还必须知道每首歌的名字和他们的顺序。通常，要想在一个地方下载到整张专辑是非常困难的。音乐的质量通常也比较差，因为人们在复制CD音乐的时候为了节省空间采用了较高的压缩比。而且能够找到的许多歌曲都很陈旧，所以理论上你可以在网上免费找到成千上万的歌曲，但范围是有限的。
相反，苹果提供的搜索和浏览功能公认为是业界最棒的。而且，iTunes的音乐编辑们还将原本在唱片店里才会有的一些附加功能引进来，包括最佳发型乐队、最佳爱情歌曲、员工至爱、名人推荐和歌曲排行榜。iTunes的音效质量也是最高，因为他们采用了AAC的格式，它比MP3的质量高，即使是那些采用较高采样比率的MP3。
顾客被iTunes吸引过来了，而唱片公司和艺术家们也都获利。在iTunes上，顾客每下载一首歌，他们可以获得价格的65％，通过这种方式他们终于可以从数码下载的狂潮中盈利了。另外，苹果还采取了一些措施保护唱片公司的版权，对习惯了后Napster时代免费下载音乐的客户来说，这增加了不便，但这对行业发展有利。iTunes允许用户将歌曲录制到iPod和CD上，但最多不超过7次，这对音乐爱好者来说绰绰有余，但又不会造成盗版问题。
目前，iTunes音乐商店提供的歌曲超过70万首，第一年就卖出了7000万首歌，用户平均每个星期下载的歌曲超过250万首。通过尼尔森咨询公司的NetRatings估计，iTunes音乐商店已经占领了合法音乐下载服务市场70％的份额。苹果的iTunes打开了数码音乐的蓝海市场，而且也为已经非常畅销的iPod播放器提供了新的优势。随着其它网上音乐商店的进入，苹果面临着新的挑战，苹果将继续关注大众市场的发展，而不是仅仅将眼光放在高端市场。
同样地，思科公司通过思考趋势而创造了一个新的市场机会。这个想法来源这样一个重大的、不可逆的发展趋势：对数据高速传输的需求在不断上升。思科首先审视现状，它发现，随着互联网用户的快速增长（每一百天增加一倍）和其它一些因素，人们对高速数据传输服务的需求不断上升，而低速的数据传输和不兼容的电脑网络阻碍了这一发展。因此，思科预计到问题会变得越来越严重。思科设计了路由器、网络开关和其它网络设备，为客户创造重要价值，在无缝网络环境中提供快速的数据传输。因此，思科的远见无论在技术还是在价值创造上都同样重要。目前，超过80％的网络传输都是采用思科的产品，在这个新市场里，思科的毛利润率为60％。
还有许多其它的公司在使用这种方式开创蓝海市场。CNN看到了全球化的趋势，首创了全球24小时实时新闻网络。HBO看到越来越多的城市成功女性在为爱情和婚姻大事挣扎，于是推出了大受欢迎的电视系列剧“Sex and the City”。
什么趋势将很可能影响你的行业、不可逆、具有清晰的发展方向？这些趋势将如何影响你的行业？这些都弄清楚之后，那么你怎么样才能从中挖掘客户价值呢？
通过超越传统竞争范围的思维，你可以找到打破常规的战略行动，重新构筑市场边界，开创蓝海市场。发现和开创蓝海市场机会的过程不是预测和占卜行业趋势，也不是试验企业经营者偶然想到的一些疯狂的新业务的试错过程。相反，它是企业经营者以一种全新的方式重新构建市场状况的有序过程。通过重新构建现有的行业和市场边界，他们就可以将企业从打破头的红海竞争中解脱出来。图3－5对“六方式分析框架”作了一个小结。
现在，我们就可以通过这六种方式开始企业的战略策划过程。接下去，我们来看看你如何重构战略策划过程，将重心放在主要方面，并且运用这些思维方式来制定你自己的蓝海战略。