Blue Ocean Strategy, business change, business innovation, Podcast

080: Ask Andi—Blue Ocean Strategy® Step 2

Posted on by Andrea Simon

 Listen now to my podcast about how to go visually exploring! 

Recently, I did an Ask Andi session on Blue Ocean Strategy Part 1, and I’ve gotten wonderful feedback on it. People want to know, what do they do next? They’ve done their strategic canvas but where do they go from there? Once you have a visual awakening, you’re ready to go visually exploring, which is a very exciting part of the Blue Ocean Strategy methodology. Here’s how.

How do you go out into the field and see, feel and think in new ways?

How do you take a look at your business with fresh eyes? This is crucially important because it’s how we see that we will be able to really understand what’s happening, and why it’s happening, and where we can find nonusers with unmet needs. Visual awakening therefore becomes a very important part of your Blue Ocean Strategy.  

If you’ve done your visual awakening strategic canvas properly, you’re thinking about unmet needs and nonusers. But first, who’s a nonuser? Why aren’t they using you? Are they using a substitute for you, a competitor? Your job is to find out why. Also, ask yourself: who could be your customer tomorrow, or even today, and how can you see, feel and think about them in new ways?

Your task now is to look for things that might be all around you that you’ve been ignoring

This could really open up some new nonusers for you. Go visually exploring to see who will be your customer tomorrow and what they are doing and not doing. What’s changing in how they buy? Are there people struggling with problems that you could help solve? What are they searching for online right now? Could Google Analytics and Inbound Marketing help you see what they are searching for and where they’re going for it? Are they staying on your site or are they leaving you quickly? And the big question is, why aren’t they using you now?

How to go visually exploring using anthropology

As anthropologists, our job is to hang out, step out, observe and look at things with fresh eyes, listen to the conversations and storytelling, and try and find the themes, or threads, or pain points, or opportunities. Here’s an introduction to how we do this.

Remember, people cannot tell you what they’re doing. They will always tell you what they think you want to hear. But if you watch them, you will see what they’re actually doing, and it will be transformative for you. Hang out and begin to better understand what nonusers are doing and how you could possibly solve their problems or serve their needs.

You’ve got to change the story in your mind so that your brain map will sort a new reality for you.

You’re trying to find out a deeper meaning, a bigger idea, something that’s right before you that you’re just not seeing yet. Sit on the phones, or search the internet, or hang out with clients. Take pictures. Ask people what they mean.

Once you begin to see, feel, and think about things with fresh eyes, you will all of a sudden listen to things that are coming at you and say, “Oh my, that’s a Blue Ocean possibility.” And then, you can start to change the way you see things.

New ideas are all around you

Don’t discount these observations and new discoveries about consumer behavior because they could point to your nonusers and open up a huge market space for you. So get ready, get set, and go visually exploring!

In this episode, I discuss:

  • How to go visually exploring
  • Who are your nonusers
  • What are consumers’ pain points that you could solve
  • How to look at your business with fresh eyes
  • Ways to overcome the habits and biases of your mind map
  • How to recognize untapped markets that you could capitalize on
  • Observing people’s behaviors like an anthropologist

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Get the full transcript of this Ask Andi episode here.