Marketing strategists agree that there are different waters for swimming in as a business. If your business is in a blue ocean, you are in water with little competition. You have a new product or have discovered a new market and you call the shots, set the price, and are “well fed.” If you’re in a red ocean, the water is full of competition where many are after a limited resource and most go hungry.
Ideally, your business needs to play in light blue or purple oceans. If you’re in water that is too blue, it means that the new opportunity you have to offer is so “out there” that people won’t see the need for it. They won’t know that they should be super excited to get it… so the dilemma is like that of Henry Ford coming up with the first car. People didn’t know that they needed a car; they were after faster horses. If the water is too red, it’s too bloody and the competition is fierce. All opportunities in a red ocean are price driven. Only the business that can offer the lowest price wins. For all others, it’s a race to the bottom.
