Market Invention or Blue Ocean Strategy, what’s the difference? This article is not about how one approach is better than the other. Instead, we’ll add more clarity by pointing out the key distinctions that make Market Invention a viable method in helping usher in a new Karmic Capitalism-based economy.
Real-world
When flying in a plane, would you rather have pilots with experience through thousands of hours of flight time or just academic experience through research and interviews? Market Invention is based on real-world first hand and secondary experiences. And it’s backed up by thousands of hours of identifying customer challenges while adding value and recruiting a community of stakeholders to solve these challenges together. One of the biggest complaints about any marketing or strategy executive is the ivory tower syndrome created by academic thinking. This occurs when executives make decisions without being on the ground with the customer. At the center of Market Invention, is the customer pain, challenge, beliefs and hope that is shared with the entire ecosystem. By working with customers and uncovering their pain around shared beliefs, you uncover a potential market everyone may grow together.
Ecosystem Focused
Market Invention is about collaboration and creating a new inclusive economy. One that requires bridge building not silos and barriers to entry. To move ahead as a more consciousness based economy we must co-create a more abundant future, which means looking at the ecosystem as the shared economy. This includes eliminating the idea that competitors are competition. The traditional definition of competition implies fear of lack, whether that be the lack of resources, market share or any other scarcity-based thinking. In the new economy, based on a higher understanding of consciousness, the propagation of fear does not exist. The only competition in Market Invention is the legacy market beliefs that hold back the industry from an inclusive and sustainable future. Additionally, Market Invention is about the abundance and collaboration of the entire ecosystem (customers, employees, investors, partners, government, media, academia), not just the company selling the new product or service.
Holistic Life Cycle
Market Invention considers the full life cycle of a market, its participants and how it matures over time. This methodology doesn’t end with identifying a market opportunity like Blue Ocean. Instead it guides practitioners how to effectively validate, empower, recruit and grow a market long after its initial definition.
Purpose Driven
Inventing a market is based on a shared understanding and a strong purpose to solve challenges as a stakeholder group. Traditional models end with the customer exchange of value. “I sell you a product and you give me the money.” Market Invention rewards all stakeholder participants based on their level of activity within the market community.
Open
We are all students and when we’re able to share notes, short cuts and truths openly — everyone gets better and wealthier. Market Invention is meant to be a shared truth and open knowledge base for all business leaders looking to solve pain through stakeholder ecosystems. Decentralization is core to Market Invention thinking. As the community grows, the amount of experiences grows to ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn from each other. Although Merit organized and named the Market Invention methodology, it launched The Merit Foundation to make the methodology and its knowledge base open source for anyone interested in learning for free.
Sustainability Minded
There’s nothing more sustainable than an ecosystem that grows, nurtures, evolves and profits on itself based on a shared purpose and consciousness evolution. After all, this is the end result of a successful Market Invention. Market Inventors are a group of people who believe in shared abundance through environmental and elevated human consciousness. A successful Market Invention sustains itself and the ecosystem through its customers, employees, partners, media and investors.
Overall, Market Invention and Blue Ocean are different and they are the same. Both seek to create new markets and industry leadership. However, there are key differences. Market Invention is about shared prosperity, community building and the entire market life-cycle and ecosystem, while Blue Ocean is simply looking for and identifying a niche opportunity on paper. Either way, you should consider both depending on your business beliefs. Market Inventors believe that these key distinctions matter. It’s not to say that one is better than the other, just different beliefs, and that’s okay. You just need to decide which approach shares your beliefs the best, since both will improve your success as an entrepreneur or business executive.
