Blue Ocean Strategy
Companies have long engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. Yet in today’s overcrowded industries, competing head-on results in nothing but a bloody “red ocean” of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. In a book that challenges everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne contend that while most companies compete within such red oceans, this strategy is increasingly unlikely to create profitable growth in the future. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than a hundred years and thirty industries, Kim and Mauborgne argue that tomorrow’s leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by creating “blue oceans” of uncontested market space ripe for growth . Such strategic moves—termed “value innovation”—create powerful leaps in value for both the firm and its buyers, rendering rivals obsolete and unleashing new demand.

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition
Consumers today have an endless number of choices among products that are virtually identical. Short of slashing your prices and wrecking your margins, differentiating is the only way to gain market share and win. Since its original publication, Differentiate or Die has become the bible for marketers who must find a way to separate their products and brands from the competition. Meanwhile, competition among similar products and services has only intensified—making differentiation even more important. Full of practical case studies that show great differentiation in action, including new case studies from Russia and China, Differentiate or Die, Second Edition, shows you how to tap into core differentiating ideas like heritage, market leadership, and being first to emotionally connect customers to your products. In addition, this revision includes new research on brand commoditization, new insight on using buzz to your advantage, a new chapter on differentiating absolutely anything, and a detailed look at the perils of line extension in today's marketplace. These are only a few of the valuable, proven differentiation strategies included in the book, giving you unparalleled insight into one of marketing's most intractable problems. From the classic "unique selling proposition" approach to the ins and outs of product positioning, this book contains all the best, most effective strategies for differentiating your product from the competition in tight quarters.