Can You Spot Common Needs Across All Your Customers?

Blue Ocean Strategy is all about challenging conventional wisdom – questioning taken-for-granted assumptions, and overstepping industry boundaries. It’s a frame of mind of continuously questioning and searching for a different angle and fresh perspective. You can draw inspiration from everyday life, and train your mind by having a discerning view of the world around you. Consider the following bit of comic insight as example of challenging conventional wisdom.

Most businesses are focused on market segmentation and customization, in an effort to better differentiate customers. This is an increasingly complex and costly proposition. Instead, why not seek out commonalities, needs and aspirations that all your customers and even non-customers may share, thus creating a foundation for mass appeal as Blue Ocean Strategy suggests?

In the early 90's when foreign eateries began penetrating Eastern Europe in larger numbers, a Mexican restaurant opened in Budapest. Craving some basic Tex-Mex while living there, we went to the restaurant during its first week of operation and ordered a taco with high anticipation.

Much to our surprise, instead of a crunchy taco, I was presented a traditional Hungarian-style, thick eggy crepe. When asked about the apparent mix-up, the proprietor energetically retrieved a pack of real taco shells from the kitchen and exclaimed "Who in their right mind would ever want to eat this hard, dried-out piece of nothing?" He had obviously took it upon himself to question the appropriateness of Mexican culinary tradition for his clientele, and opted to mix in strong local elements in order to make his food selection sizzle with mass appeal.