Blue Ocean Tools

Three Tiers of Noncustomers

W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne created the three tiers of noncustomers. Typically, to grow their share of a market, companies strive to retain and expand their existing customer base.

Customers of your industry.
1
 “Soon-to-be” noncustomers who are on the hedge of your market waiting to jump ship.
2
 “Refusing” noncustomers who consciously choose against your market.
3
 “Unexplored” noncustomers who are in markets distant from yours.

© Kim & Mauborgne. All rights reserved.

Although the universe of noncustomers typically offers blue ocean opportunities, few companies have keen insight into who noncustomers are and how to unlock them. To convert this huge latent demand into real demand in the form of new customers, companies need to deepen their understanding of the universe of noncustomers.

The first tier of noncustomers is closest to the current market, sitting just on the edge. They are buyers who minimally purchase an industry’s offering out of necessity but are mentally noncustomers of the industry.

The second tier of noncustomers is people who refuse to use an industry’s offering. These are buyers who have seen the current offering as an option to fulfill their needs but have decided against participating.

The third tier of noncustomers is farthest from the market. They are noncustomers who have never considered the market’s offering as an option.

By focusing on key commonalities across these noncustomers and existing customers, companies can understand how to pull them into their new market.

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W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne created a comprehensive set of analytic tools and frameworks to create blue oceans of new market space. In their just released New York Times Bestselling book, BLUE OCEAN SHIFT (September 2017), Kim and Mauborgne share how to put these practical market-creating tools into practice to move from red to blue oceans and to do so in a way that people own and drive the process.

Brimming with battle-tested lessons and the stories of organizations from around the world that put their ideas into practice, Kim and Mauborgne highlight what works, what doesn’t, the potential pitfalls along the way and how to avoid them to achieve the best results in your organization. Get your copy of BLUE OCEAN SHIFT now, and get all these answers plus so much more including exercise templates you can use to apply the tools in your organization.

All analytic tools © Kim & Mauborgne. All rights reserved.

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Don’t just check out the tools. Learn how to put them in practice. Find out what works, what doesn’t, the potential pitfalls along the way and how to avoid them to achieve the best results in your organization. Get your copy of BLUE OCEAN SHIFT now, and get all these answers plus so much more including exercise templates you can use to apply each tool in your organization.

Red Ocean vs. Blue Ocean Strategy
Value Innovation
Visualizing Strategy
Strategy Canvas
Four Actions Framework
ERRC Grid
Six Paths Framework
Pioneer Migrator Settler Map
Three Tiers of Noncustomers
Sequence of Blue Ocean Strategy
Buyer Utility Map
Price Corridor
of the Mass
Four Hurdles to Strategy Execution
Tipping Point Leadership
Fair Process

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