The Secret to Selling in a Crowded Market

Jose Raven • September 12, 2024

How do you sell your boats in this saturated and unpredictable market?



What if you didn’t have to compete at all?

“Stop looking at the competition. Value-innovate and let the competition worry about you.“

Kim, W. Chan, and Renée Mauborgne. Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business Review Press, 2015.

Last Sunday, I made a stop at Barnes & Noble. I was just about to pay for a book when a set of highlighters caught my eye.


They weren’t the familiar Sharpies or Bics that are usually the obvious choice. In fact, I wasn’t even shopping for highlighters. So, how did these highlighters manage to stand out from a shelve in such a crowded product category? In marketing, we often talk about two key strategies: Red Ocean and Blue Ocean.


The Red Ocean strategy is all about competing in the existing market space—where the water is red with blood from fierce competition. Here, companies battle it out, trying to outdo one another on price, quality, and innovation to capture more market share. But what if you didn’t have to compete at all? What if you could create a Blue Ocean—an uncontested market space where the competition becomes irrelevant? This strategy is about offering something so unique and valuable that customers can’t help but notice.


So, what was it that caught my attention and made me stop and wonder? Bible Highlighters!

These aren’t your average highlighters. They’re specifically designed to solve a common problem—smudging and bleeding through a Bible's delicate, thin pages. If you are one of the millions of people who read the Bible, you no longer have to worry about damaging your Bible.


But these highlighters do more than just prevent a mess; they enhance your study experience. Each of the six colors is carefully chosen to represent key themes within the Bible, helping you create meaningful, color-coded connections as you read.

This product is completely tailored to the needs and desires of a very specific type of customer.


The secret to standing out in a saturated market? Don’t just compete—create. When you promote a product in a way that not only meets a specific need but also taps into a deeper purpose, you’re doing more than just selling—you’re crafting an experience. And that’s how you make your competition irrelevant.


So, the next time you’re thinking about how to market your products and services, ask yourself: Are you fighting in a Red Ocean, or are you creating your own Blue Ocean?

Struggling to Stand out in the Saturated Boat Market?

Competing is a losing game when you can create your own lane. Discover how to craft a unique brand experience that turns heads and makes competition irrelevant.


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