What is the common link among all the companies that are successful in creating Blue Oceans? The answer can be distilled down to two words: Lifestyle enrichment. Companies that understand that they are not in the business of selling certain products or services, but rather in the business of delivering lifestyle enrichment to customers, are the ones that prosper. Blue Ocean Strategy helps to instill this perspective, and once it takes root, a company can continue to stay highly relevant to customers, drive lifestyle changes, and continuously create blue oceans.
Take, for example, the contrast between two well-known, global QSR chains, McDonald’s and Burger King. While McDonald’s has actively sought out new ways to deliver value and stay relevant to customers, it seems that its archrival is drowning in a tide of red ocean-like thinking.From CNN:
But besides blaming the economy in general for its woes (a disingenuous stance), executives last week noted that young men have been hit particularly hard by the recession, as jobs in manufacturing and construction have vanished. Nevertheless, the company has doggedly pursued the demographic, even as McDonald's has carefully constructed its menu to appeal to a wide range of people with a wide range of tastes -- families, professional women, executives on the go, as well as young men.
[Image via CNN.]
