Just Like the real ocean, many SaaS entrepreneurs aspire to capture the blue ocean market. 

The reasons are evident: the SaaS market is expanding, and winning in a never-ending competition is becoming increasingly difficult. Founders who envision a Blue Ocean market with no competition frequently believe they should offer cutting-edge technology. Many people give up if they don’t have any novel technological ideas. For them, the Blue Ocean is still a dream.

But what if you were told that you don’t always have to rely on innovative solutions or even be the first to use them to create a Blue Ocean? True visionaries, on the other hand, understand that it is unique ideas that drive change, not technology. And sometimes, to create a Blue Ocean, you must be able to see things from a different perspective and provide a new value.

What is the Blue Ocean Strategy?

W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne introduced the concept of the Blue Ocean in their book Blue Ocean Strategy. The authors believe that the Red Ocean represents a crowded market, whereas the Blue Ocean represents an unknown market with no competitors. While many businesses in the Red Ocean sell similar products and compete primarily through different pricing strategies, companies in the Blue Ocean try to create new demand.

Advantages of a Blue Ocean Strategy

• Possibility of providing previously unknown value to users
• Little or no competition
• You are a forerunner in a new market or niche

If you choose to aim for the Blue Ocean, your goal is not to out perform your competitors by switching from Red to Blue Ocean. Your goal is to eliminate all competition by establishing a new market niche. And to do so, you must provide users with a unique value.

The significance of value innovation in the Blue Ocean

One of the key traits of the Blue Ocean Strategy is finding innovative solutions to users’ challenges that no one had anticipated, which is required for everyone. This is referred to as value innovation.

In their book, Chan Kim and Mauborgne emphasize the importance of value innovation, providing various tools and frameworks for the Blue Ocean Strategy.
Companies that aim to dominate the Blue market can sometimes fall into this trap. They have terrific latest technology and ideas for incorporating it into a product, but they jump to market and forget to connect their technological innovations
to value.

Here are some suggestions or ideas for successfully implementing the Blue Ocean Strategy to avoid becoming one of them.

Ideas for using the Blue Ocean Strategy

Let us now discuss how to apply the Blue Ocean Strategy using the iconic ERRC guidelines established in Chan Kim and Mauborgne’s book as an example. It consists of four major steps and some preliminary work.

Examine industries

To identify a new trend or demand, you should first conduct a thorough analysis of the industry. Check to see if customers are completely satisfied with existing services.

Identify a problem

As soon as you discover something that isn’t as good as it could be, consider what you can do to alleviate the customer’s pain and make them happier with your offer. Instead of focusing on what your competitors have done wrong, consider how you can make your customers’ lives easier.
Follow the four Blue Ocean Strategy framework actions. The authors of the book Blue Ocean Strategy present us with the following strategy:

To fully understand how the blue ocean theory can be applied in practice, consider companies that have successfully completed this task.

Examples of blue ocean strategies

Here are some examples of companies that established undisputed markets:

• Did you know that Netflix was one of many DVD rentals before uncovering a blue ocean? Netflix did not create movies but provided an incredible opportunity to watch them online.
• Instead of competing with taxi drivers, Uber developed an app that connects drivers and customers in seconds.
• Airbnb revolutionized the travel industry by simply providing a platform for people looking for lodging to connect with those who can provide it.
• Apple is widely regarded as the most innovative company. However, none of their products were the first to use the technology they utilize.