July 2023 2nd: Prepare for the Red Ocean
Many people who are in business complain that "business is hard", "it used to be good in the past", "my job was taken away by a company that entered later", "customers are more demanding these days", and "when I was young, I received a lot of orders in this way...". Many of those people weren't prepared for the changing and tougher market.
The market is basically getting tougher and tougher. Customer demands are steadily increasing. Competitors come up with new and attractive products and services. Price competition is getting tougher every year.
A monopoly might control the market and keep making money. But in free competition, you can't say that.
If you find a blue ocean, you may make easy money for a while. But eventually the market will turn into a red ocean.
There are three ways to survive as a business.
The first is to constantly seek and chase the blue ocean market forever. You should be able to make easy money in a less competitive market by continuing to chase the blue ocean.
The second method is to increase market share to the extent that it is in a position to have some control over the market, even if not a monopoly. If you are in a position where you can control the market to some extent, you will also have an advantage in competing in the market. Contributions to politicians are also considered one of the ways to implement laws and regulations that are advantageous to the company.
The third method is to improve operational efficiency and improve corporate strength and market competitiveness so that profits can be secured even in the red ocean market. This requires steady efforts, and the entire company, including management, must be stoic. However, many of the companies that have survived in the market for a long time are making efforts to the point of being stoic.
Managers need to be serious about all three of these methods. Business owners who have had a sweet taste in the blue ocean market tend to neglect preparations for the future. However, the market will soon become a red ocean. Let's prepare for the red ocean market from now on before we start complaining when business becomes difficult.
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