Evaluating Competitive Strategies: Ansoff, Porter, Blue Ocean Models

This essay provides an analysis of competitive strategies, focusing on the Ansoff Matrix, Porter's Generic Strategies, and the Blue Ocean Strategy. The Ansoff Matrix is presented as a tool for identifying growth alternatives through market development, market penetration, product development, and diversification. Porter's Generic Strategies, including cost leadership, differentiation, and market focus, are examined in the context of generating competitive advantages for businesses like Estia Health. The Blue Ocean Strategy is discussed as a means for creating new market opportunities through innovation, exemplified by the potential for Think Child Care to develop online support systems. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of strategic moves and innovation in achieving a competitive edge in today's business environment. Desklib provides access to this and many other student-contributed assignments.

Running head: COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Competitive strategy
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Ansoff matrix
Figure: 1
Ansoff matrix
Ansoff matrix is one of the most popular business tools used by the business
organizations. This tool is mainly used by the business organizations in order to identify different
possible alternatives for future growth. According to this matrix, there are mainly four options
available for the business organizations to enhance their future growth. The first element is the
market development (Hussain et al. 2013). This strategy refers to the concept of entering in new
market with the existing products or services portfolio. Thus, the market size for the organization
will get increased for their existing offerings. The next element is the market penetration.
According to this strategy, business organizations can further penetrate in their existing market
with their existing offerings. Thus, the cost of developing business will be lower in this case.
Penetrating in the existing market with the existing offerings can be initiated by offering same
products in different variants, type and different price levels.
The next element is the product development. According to this strategy, organizations
can develop new products or services for their existing markets in order to increase the different
customer segments. The more will be the product development, the larger will be the target
customer segment in the existing market. The last element is diversification. This is the most

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radical strategy in the Ansoff matrix. According to this strategy, business organizations can enter
in new business line by offering different services and products in new countries. This strategy
will also be the most expensive and risky strategies among all the elements of Ansoff matrix.
Top education institute is the one of the leading educational institutes in Australia. They
offer learning streams in law and management. Anosff matrix can be applicable in their business
operation (www.top.edu.au 2018). According to the first element of the matrix, they can have
more branches across Australia and in some other countries along with offering law and
management streams. This will help them to have more students for their existing market and
will increase their market. Initiation of the product development strategy will enable them to
offer learning streams other than the law and management in the Australian market. This will
help them to have more diverse students in their existing market by developing new services.
With the help of the market penetration strategy, Top education institute can have different fast
track and crash courses that can be offered in lower fees. This will enable them to have more
market penetration by targeting customers across every income level. Initiation of the market
diversification strategy will enable them to have more scattered business risks. They can initiate
schools and medical institutes in different regions. This will reduce their dependency on
education institute. Thus, Ansoff matrix can help them in having different probable strategies for
their future sustainability.
Porter generic strategy

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Figure: 2
Porter generic strategies
Porter generic strategies are used by the business organizations in order to generate
competitive advantages in their business operation. According to this theory, there are three main
strategies that can be used by the business operation in order to have competitive advantages in
the market (Tanwar 2013). One of the major strategies is the cost leadership. According to this
strategy, cost leadership will help the business organizations to have more profitability in their
business operation along with having the ability to offer their offerings in lower costs. The next
strategy is the differentiation strategy. According to this strategy, it is important for the business
organizations to have distinctive business and marketing approach in order to have more
attractiveness in the market. The last strategy is the market focus, which refers to the niche
marketing strategy.
Estia health care is the leading aged health care service providers in the Australian region
(Estia Health 2018). They specialize and expertise in providing health and personal care for the
aged people. However, with the increase in competition, they are having the need of gaining
competitive advantages in order to stay ahead. In this case, porter generic strategies will help
them to gain the competitive advantages. Initiation of the cost leadership strategy will help them
to offer their services in lowest price in the market. This also enables them to design their
internal business approach in accordance to the cost leadership strategy. This will also help them
in reducing their cost of operation in order to have cost leadership in the market. Estia health care
already offers services in different price levels including the lower range segments. Thus, it is
helping them to stay ahead from their competitors.
Initiation of the differentiation strategy will help Estia health care to have distinctive
approach in the market. This strategy helps them to determine the strengths of their competitors
and design their business approaches accordingly. As per the reports, Estia offer more diverse
services compared to their competitors including enhanced wellbeing and lifestyle and
customized services. This helps them to have added preferences among their target customers
maintaining differentiated brand image in the market. The last strategy of market focus also
helps them in meeting the requirement of their target customers effectively. The target customers

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for Estia health care are the older aged people who can afford luxurious health and personal care
services. Thus, focusing only on this target market enables Estia health care to have their
business approach according to the need and preferences of the target customers. This enhances
the added level of satisfaction among the target customers.
Blue ocean strategy
Blue ocean strategy refers to the importance for the contemporary business organizations
in having effective strategic moves to create unlimited possibilities in the market (Rebon et al.
2015). This is important in the current business scenario due to the reason that competition is
higher in the present and major business organizations have to operate in lower profitability. On
the other hand, with the initiation of the blue ocean strategy, organizations can open up new
business potentialities with having no or few competition by the means of new innovating ideas.
This strategy is mainly used by the business organizations in order to have new potential
market opportunities to cater to untapped and new markets. Think child care is the leading child
care centers in Australia (Thinkchildcare.com.au 2018). However, currently they are operating in
the red ocean market due to the fact that there are number of child care centers in Australia.
Thus, initiation of the blue ocean strategy will help them to identify the new business
opportunities in relation to their existing business. For instance, think childcare centre can have
online support systems apart from their existing system. According to the criterion of blue ocean
strategy, the business approach of the organizations should have unique and distinctive practices
in place. Thus, in the case of the Think child care centre, initiation of the online support system
will be one of a kind service in the market and it will help them to have a completely new
potential market.
Thus, initiation of the blue ocean strategy helps the business organizations to identify the
potential market opportunities where still there is no competition will get emerged. Blue ocean
strategy also lays the way for initiating innovation in the organization. The more will be the
innovative approaches, the more will be the effectiveness of the blue ocean strategy.

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Reference
Estia Health. (2018). www.estiahealth.com.au. [online] Available at:
http://www.estiahealth.com.au/who-is-estia-health/about-us [Accessed 16 Apr. 2018].
Hussain, S., Khattak, J., Rizwan, A. and Latif, M.A., 2013. ANSOFF matrix, environment, and
growth-an interactive triangle. Management and Administrative Sciences Review, 2(2), pp.196-
206.
Rebón, F., Ocariz, G., Gerrikagoitia, J.K. and Alzua-Sorzabal, A., 2015. Discovering insights
within a blue ocean based on business intelligence. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 175, pp.66-74.
Tanwar, R., 2013. Porter’s generic competitive strategies. Journal of business and
management, 15(1), pp.11-17.
Thinkchildcare.com.au. (2018). www.thinkchildcare.com.au. [online] Available at:
http://www.thinkchildcare.com.au/about [Accessed 16 Apr. 2018].
www.top.edu.au. (2018). www.top.edu.au. [online] Available at: https://www.top.edu.au/about-
us.