Blue Ocean Strategy Term - Noncustomers

Noncustomers - Blue Ocean Strategy Glossary

Noncustomers are customer groups who are either not served by the current industry's offering, or in the case of first-tier noncustomers, are existing customers who are about to turn away from the current industry's offering. Noncustomers can be grouped into three categories:
1. First-tier noncustomers are soon-to-be noncustomers: they use the current industry offering minimally, while searching for better options. They are waiting to jump ship and will leave this market as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

2. Second-tier noncustomers refuse the industry's offerings. These are buyers who have seen what the current industry has to offer as an option to fulfill their needs but have chosen against them.

3. Third-tier noncustomers have never thought of the current industry's offerings as an option. As such, they do not feel concerned by its offering. They are the farthest from the current market.

Often, companies focus on their existing customers and ignore noncustomers. They believe that their needs are too different from what they can offer or that they belong to other industries. To unlock untapped demand, managers must look outside of their typical customer base. By expanding their worldview beyond their current customers, they can reach beyond existing demand and unlock a new mass of customers that did not exist before.

Source: Business Strategy Terms, Blue Ocean Strategy Glossary at Blueoceanstrategy.com