What needs to be finished first
A basic competitive and market analysis is available so the relevant competitive factors of the industry are known.
A clear understanding of customer jobs, pains, and gains is available so the factors can be aligned to customer value.
What needs to be ready before start
Strategy canvas template as a line chart (X-axis: factors, Y-axis: investment level high/low); market research on the top 3 competitors; ERRC grid.
One moderator with strategy experience; three to six participants from strategy, product, marketing, and ideally one person with direct customer contact; one scribe.
Industry definition and buyer group; known competitive factors of the industry (standard features, price level, service aspects); current strategy and investment focus; identified noncustomers and their reasons.
3-5 h workshop, possibly split into two sessions
Label the X-axis with 8-12 competitive factors, ordered from standard on the left to differentiation on the right. Use a 1-5 scale on the Y-axis. Prepare three colored value curves for us, top competitor A, and top competitor B. Place the ERRC grid next to it.
The one question this method answers
Which competitive factors can we reduce or eliminate, which can we raise or create, in order to build a distinct value curve?
Marker: Phase
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
1Phase 1: As-is strategy canvas | 45 min | List the industry's competitive factors, typically 8-12. Assign a value from 1 to 5 for each competitor and for our current position, then connect the points into a line. Add a data source for each point. | If all lines are almost identical, the industry is in red-ocean competition. That is exactly the starting point for change. |
2Phase 2: Identify noncustomers | 30 min | Define three tiers of noncustomers: soon-to-switch, consciously rejecting, and unexplored. Name concrete example segments per tier and gather their reasons for not using the offer. | Blue Ocean usually emerges from noncustomers, not from better competitor offerings. Anyone who only asks existing customers is optimizing the red ocean. |
3Phase 3: Fill the ERRC grid | 60 min | Decide per factor: Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, or Create. Justify each decision with the expected customer effect and cost effect. | If the grid contains only Raise and Create entries, the cost structure rises without enough differentiation. Reduce and Eliminate matter just as much as Raise and Create. |
4Phase 4: To-be value curve | 45 min | Draw the new value curve on the canvas based on the ERRC decisions. Apply three tests: Focus, Divergence, and a compelling tagline in one sentence. | If the tagline needs three clauses, Focus is missing. If the line looks like the competitor curve plus 10%, Divergence is missing. |
5Phase 5: Consequences and cost structure | 30 min | Estimate the cost-structure effect per ERRC decision as a rough value. Sketch a three-step realization path. Name the risks, especially for Eliminate decisions. | Eliminate decisions consume political capital because existing customers or internal stakeholders defend what should disappear. Name risks concretely, not abstractly. |
What comes out at the end
Strategy canvas diagram with as-is and to-be value curves plus 2-3 competitor curves, ERRC grid table, tagline, three noncustomer tiers with example segments, and a realization path with cost effect.
Date and version for each strategic decision. Archive the as-is snapshot and save each update of the to-be curve as a new version. Keep the old tagline with the reason for the shift when strategy changes.
Compact working template for Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
What is this method used for?
Which question should be answered at the end?
Which data, observations, or materials are available?
Owner, date, success signal.
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Competitive factors (X-axis): price, trainer selection, class variety, live sessions, equipment, community, app UX, personal coaching.
As-is curves:
ERRC:
To-be value curve: emphasis on live coaching and the AI weekly plan, clearly lower on hardware and trainer count.
Tagline: 'Weekly live coaching with an AI plan, without devices and without subscription lock-in.'
Noncustomer tier 1: gym members who want to cancel because of their commute (example segment Berlin/Munich, 35-45 years).
Realization path: Q3 AI weekly plan beta, Q4 build the live coaching pool, Q1/2027 retire the hardware assortment.
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
The X-axis contains only the standard industry factors and new factors, especially Create factors, never appear.
Brainstorm at least one potential new factor per noncustomer tier. Factors that no competitor measures are candidates for Create.
The to-be curve is higher everywhere than the as-is curve, and every factor is raised with no reduce or eliminate choice.
Use a strict rule: every Raise needs at least one Reduce or Eliminate in return. Otherwise you create an expensive red ocean, not a blue one.
Noncustomer tiers are guessed without talking to real noncustomers.
Conduct at least five noncustomer interviews before finalizing the value curve. Strategy built on noncustomer hypotheses without data is built on sand.
The tagline reads 'A, B, C, D, and E' instead of a focused statement.
Force the tagline to a maximum of 12 words and one central differentiation idea. If that is not possible, the value curve lacks Focus.
Eliminate proposals are softened immediately in discussion because internal defenders are present.
Resolve Eliminate decisions separately with the decider, not in consensus. The decider must handle political conflict, not the workshop group.
The to-be curve assumes competitors will not react and does not discuss imitation risk.
Name an imitation barrier for each differentiation move, such as network effects, IP, brand trust, or scale advantage. If no barrier exists, competitors can copy in 6-12 months.
Done signals checkable in under a minute
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