The Opportunity Might Be Somewhere Else

When a business isn’t working, our instinct is usually to push harder.

Sell more.

Advertise more.

Post more.

Lower the price.

Find more customers.

Sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed.

But sometimes the better question is:

What if we’re competing in the wrong place?

I’ve always been fascinated by businesses that find a slightly different way into a market.

Not necessarily a revolutionary invention.

Maybe they serve a customer everyone else ignores.

Package an existing service differently.

Remove something customers don’t really value.

Combine two things that normally aren't offered together.

Or solve an annoying little problem everyone else has simply accepted.

There’s a name for some of this: Blue Ocean Strategy.

The basic idea is that instead of fighting competitors for a share of an existing market, you look for new market space where there’s less competition.

I like that way of thinking.

When I look at a struggling business—or sometimes even a successful one—I often find myself wondering:

What are customers asking for that nobody is offering?

What part of the experience is unnecessarily difficult?

Who isn't being served particularly well?

What could we eliminate, simplify or do differently?

What business are we actually in?

Those questions can lead somewhere more interesting than simply figuring out how to sell more of what already exists.

And you don't always have to invent something new.

Sometimes the opportunity is sitting right beside the existing business.

A different customer.

A different use.

A different delivery model.

A different partnership.

A problem hiding in plain sight.

There are plenty of times when the answer really is better execution.

But before spending more money, working harder or pushing an existing offering further, I think it’s worth looking around.

Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn’t doing more of what you're already doing.

It’s noticing what everyone else has overlooked.