Marketing-Blue Ocean Case
Answer 1:
The case assigned to us for the purpose of answering a few questions talks about the concepts of innovation, blue ocean strategy, first mover and second mover advantages or disadvantages. The case also highlights four proposed strategies which organizations can follow to ensure success in the short and long run. We know that every business believes in carrying out innovation on a continuous basis. This is because competition in the business arena is increasing at a strong pace and in order to fight and win in the era of globalization; almost all organizations belonging to any industry have to bring innovation at small and large scales. In the sector of technology, new advancements are taking place on a continuous basis-customers show readiness to adapt to innovations in technology and reject the previous ones. Some companies believe that they can attract considerable market share by making the first move in the market. Logically, it appears to be true that when a company is the first one to introduce a product, service or a concept, it does so after carrying out significant analysis of the environment and internal needs and identification of market trends, therefore, the first mover is likely to succeed. On the contrary, some critics believe that first mover strategy is risky and can fail to generate a favorable response from the market and as a result, the cost spent on research and launch goes wasted. The concept of blue ocean strategy has also been introduced by the authors. The concept details that all organizations are basically carrying out their activities in the red zone which mean an area where the competition is fierce and ever organization is trying its best to reach the winning line. However, the red zone playing does no good to anyone except that it intensifies competition and makes the competitors lose their identity. Blue ocean strategy focuses on doing business in a space where there is no competition and an organization can easily pull in the considerable amount of market share (Chan and Mauborgne 47). However, research has shown that sub market domination can be achieved by innovation by making use of four breakthrough frameworks. These frameworks can be used separately or in combination to ensure success. Technological breakthrough, process breakthroughs, business breakthroughs and design breakthroughs make up the most efficient and practical breakthrough framework.
Answer 2:
The two types of differentiation strategies which organizations usually take up include first mover advantage and second fast. The idea of the first mover is based on the notion that if a company introduces itself to the target market as a pioneer, it will be able to dominate the market and capture substantial share. The strategy has served to be helpful for many multinational giants. On the contrary, second fast means that an organization must not only consider pioneering as the only way to dominate the market. The organization must make entry into the market right after the pioneer has identified needs and set up segments. Second fast can be considered to be an intelligent move by organizations because of several reasons. For instance, the cost of market research which the pioneer spent before making launch is saved; the failures in target market identification are readily available for analysis; risks and uncertainties are eliminated and; an understanding of correct promotional methods is established. The second mover ensures that its products or services are better in quality and functionality as compared to those of pioneers. In order to do so, it incorporates specialized technology, sound designs and process and workable business models.
Let us look at the example of Google. Google has not been the pioneer of internet search engines. AltaVista and Yahoo! were the pioneers but they are not used by internet users. Why? This is because they have failed to keep up with the increasing technological demands. In addition to this, they did not innovate their systems and processes in line with the demands of target customers. Google entered into the search engine category with confidence as a fast second. Google turned the weaknesses of pioneers into its strengths and till present it is keeping up with innovation and offering the target market with the best level of service and quality.
Reference
Kim, W. Chan, and Renée Mauborgne. "Blue ocean strategy: from theory to practice." California management review 47.3 (2005): 105-121.
