Blue Ocean Strategy: Making a Blue Ocean Shift at Thunder Bay Public Library

摘要

Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) was in a Red Ocean of competition, particularly from online services. Personal visits and physical competition had fallen by 30% over a ten-year period. TBPL needed to create a new Blue Ocean of uncontested market space. They achieved this by using Blue Ocean Strategy to reconstruct market boundaries, focus on the big picture not the numbers, reach beyond existing demand, get the strategic sequence right, overcome key organizational hurdles, and build execution into strategy. TBPL applied this strategy to achieve a Blue Ocean Shift, using an analytical framework and tools: choose the right place to start with a Pioneer-Migrator-Settler Map; collectively build one simple picture that captures the current state of play with a Strategy Canvas; discover the pain points of patrons imposed by TBPL with a Buyer Utility Map; develop alternative strategic options that achieve differentiation and low cost with a Four Actions Framework; select a blue ocean move, conduct rapid market tests, and launch the move. The TBPL Blue Ocean shift was from a stand-alone single-purpose public library to a partnership driven multiple purpose community hub.