Competitive Differentiation
Bruce McAlpine, CPC
President, Fulcrum Search Science Inc.
ACSESS 10th Anniversary Conference
Toronto, May 7-9, 2008
3 Big Questions
1.
2.
3.
How can I develop and price my company’s
bundle of services to create uncontested
market space and render my competition
irrelevant?
(Assuming this will involve internal changes)
How can I “sell” this to my staff to get their
buy-in and adoption?
How can I ensure that we are consistently
delivering this unique bundle of services to our
clients, thereby ensuring competitive
differentiation, and hence “brand”?
The “Blue Ocean Strategy” Theory

“Companies have long engaged in head-to-head
competition in search of sustained profitable
growth. They have fought for competitive
advantage, battled over market share, and
struggled for differentiation. Tomorrow’s leaders
will succeed not by battling competitors, but by
creating ‘blue oceans’ of uncontested market
space ripe for growth.” (Chan Kim & Renee
Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy)
Red vs Blue Ocean Strategy

Red Ocean Strategy





Compete in existing market
space
Beat the competition
Exploit existing demand
Make the value-cost tradeoff
Align the firm’s activities
with its strategic choice of
differentiation or low cost

Blue Ocean Strategy





Create uncontested market
space
Make the competition
irrelevant
Create and capture new
demand
Break the value-cost tradeoff
Align the firm’s activities
with its strategic choice of
differentiation and low cost
Step 1

Identify the Factors on Which your
Industry Currently Competes


On what basis has our industry traditionally
competed?
What are the factors our competitors think
are important to our customers?
Example – Cirque du Soleil
(ref “Blue Ocean Strategy” – Kim & Mauborgne)
Step 2

Examine the Factors using the EliminateReduce-Raise-Create Grid

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Looking at these factors, which ones really are
important to our customers?
What other products/services currently being offered
by industries close to ours would be of value to our
customers?
What other factors not currently offered are really
important to our customers, if them only knew they
existed?
The Four Actions Framework
(ref “Blue Ocean Strategy” – Kim & Mauborgne)
Step 3

Build your New Strategic Offering
Bundle



Develop your new bundle of products/services
Package it
Take it to the marketplace
The Cirque du Soleil Strategy Canvas
(ref “Blue Ocean Strategy” – Kim & Mauborgne)
Now It’s YOUR Turn!
Getting “Buy In”

Staff Workshop – Part 1 – Setting the Stage
 How are we feeling about our competitive
position?
 What would it mean to us collectively and
personally if we could improve our
competitive position?
 What are we prepared to do, to get there?
 “Are we in this together? (the precondition of
strategy)” – David Maister
Getting “Buy In”

Staff Workshop – Part 2 – Blue Ocean Strategy


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Theory of Blue Ocean Strategy
Current Factors of Competition in the Industry
The 4 Actions Framework
Your new Strategic Offering Bundle
Making it Real

The work of taking the ideas and making
them real:


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Operating procedures and policies
Pricing
Compensation implications
Internal documentation
Promotion plan, including marketing
Legalities
Consistency

“You can’t achieve a competitive
differentiation through things you do
‘reasonably well, most of the time.’”
(David Maister, Strategy & the Fat
Smoker)
Considerations


Change is never easy - old habits die hard,
particularly with the more established
consultants
Keys to success:



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An inside champion
Continual communication
Consistent inspection
Positive reinforcement
Client QC calls on successful AND unsuccessful
assignments
Formal review 3 months out
Summary

You CAN achieve long term competitive
differentiation (BRAND), but it will take:



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
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Dreaming
Discussion and buy-in
Staff work
Consistent delivery
“If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt
Disney
Dreams aren’t things to be wishes for, but
worked for.