Create Your Own Market: How Blue Ocean Strategy Helps Small and Mid-Sized Businesses Escape the Competition Trap

In today’s saturated markets, most small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) fight an uphill battle—competing on price, features, and marketing budgets against larger players. This struggle often traps entrepreneurs in a relentless “red ocean” of bloody competition, where growth is limited, and margins are squeezed.

But what if you didn’t have to compete at all?

That’s the promise of Blue Ocean Strategy—a powerful approach that helps businesses escape crowded markets by creating entirely new demand in an uncontested space. Instead of fighting competitors head-on, companies using this strategy rewrite the rules, often by rethinking who they serve, how they deliver value, and what problem they solve.

What Is Blue Ocean Strategy?

Coined by professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy is about moving away from cutthroat competition (red oceans) and toward innovation and value creation (blue oceans). It's not about beating the competition—it's about making the competition irrelevant.

Successful examples include:

• Cirque du Soleil, which reinvented the circus by blending theater and artistry for adults.

• Yellow Tail Wine, which created a fun, easy-to-drink wine targeting beer and cocktail drinkers—not traditional wine connoisseurs.

While these examples are well-known, the real power of Blue Ocean Strategy lies in its accessibility to small and mid-sized businesses.

Why It Matters for SMBs and Entrepreneurs

As a business owner, your resources are limited—but your ability to think differently isn’t. Blue Ocean Strategy allows you to sidestep expensive marketing battles and instead focus on creating unique value.

For example:

• A local cleaning company could offer subscription-based “home wellness” services, bundling cleaning with air purification and plant care.

• A custom clothing brand might target eco-conscious shoppers by offering an on-demand tailoring model with zero inventory waste.

• A bookkeeping service could niche down to digital creators and develop AI-powered tools tailored to that audience.

In each case, the business isn’t just doing what others do better—it’s doing something different.

How Our Consulting Services Can Help

At Expandable, we specialize in helping small and mid-sized companies uncover their blue oceans. Through a step-by-step process, we help you:

• Analyze your current market landscape and customer base

• Identify underserved segments and overlooked value drivers

• Redesign your offering to unlock new demand

• Build an implementation roadmap using tools like the Strategy Canvas and Four Actions Framework

Whether you're a startup looking for a bold entry strategy or an established business feeling stuck in a commoditized market, we’ll help you innovate smarter—not just hustle harder.

Ready to Stop Competing and Start Creating?Let’s talk about how we can help you find your blue ocean and unlock growth that isn’t dependent on fighting the competition.

Ready to Stop Competing and Start Creating?

Let’s talk about how we can help you find your blue ocean and unlock growth that isn’t dependent on fighting the competition.