Finding the flow

Lauren Mathys teaches companies how to manoeuvre to blue oceans. Photo: Johnny Syversen

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Lauren Mathys teaches companies how to manoeuvre to blue oceans. Photo: Johnny Syversen

Apple’s new mobile phone – the iPhone – is an excellent example of a product where additional value has been created in a market where competition is fierce. By doing so, Apple found its Blue Ocean. Courtesy of Apple

The term Blue Ocean Strategy was launched in 2005, by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, both of whom are professors at INSEAD, when they published a book with the same name.

 

Swiss strategic adviser, Lauren Mathys, lectured at the Norwegian Design Council’s Business Day on how companies can manoeuvre to waters where market competition doesn’t suffocate innovation, also called Blue Ocean Strategy.

“Often it’s not that difficult to give your product new qualities. What can be more difficult, however, is removing what strictly speaking is unnecessary,” says Lauran Mathys, a Blue Ocean Strategy advisor, who lives in i Crans-près-Céligny in Switzerland. The term Blue Ocean Strategy was launched in 2005, by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, both of whom are professors at INSEAD, when they published a book with the same name.
“This way of thinking turns everything we has previously learned about strategy in the business world on its head,” says, Lauren Mathys, a certified advisor in this field.

Creating unique value.
A company may find itself in two types of waters, according to the strategy advisor. In a traditional market, which is called the Red Ocean, there are many competitors constantly battling to stay afloat. In order to avoid going under, one needs to constantly improve on one’s products, lower prices, or both. However, there are also huge markets where one can virtually operate alone, without fear of being torpedoed by one’s competitors. These are called Blue Oceans.
“You don’t necessarily have to invent anything new in order to find these Blue Oceans. You need to give your product or service a unique value that puts you on your own in the market, thus ensuring that market competition is not the most important issue,” says Lauren Mathys.

Less is more.
This usually means that you need to add something while taking something else away, to give your product a unique value for the user. Lauren Mathys cites mobile phones as one example. How many of the functions on your mobile phone have you never used? Would you miss them if they disappeared?
”The trick is to identify which product elements have little or no significance to your customers.
Once you have identified these elements, you can remove them. The money you save can be spent on something else, something your users really want. Apple’s new mobile phone – the iPhone – is an excellent example of a product where additional value has been created in a market where competition is fierce. By doing so, Apple found its Blue Ocean.

Design highly important.
“The enormous success of the iPhone is largely due to its highly user-friendly design,” says Ms. Mathys. For this reason, active and targeted use of designers is extremely important for companies wishing to benefit from the Blue Ocean Strategy. If you wish to continue sailing alone on your Blue Ocean, you must constantly develop your products and use designers to give your products a unique value.
“Any company can use the Blue Ocean Strategy, provided it adopts the right attitude. I have worked with everything from small start-ups to gigantic corporations,” Lauren Mathys concludes.