Blue Ocean Four Actions (ERRC)
Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create grid for value curve innovation.
PURPOSE
Companies often compete in overcrowded markets and try to differentiate through marginal improvements instead of creating new market spaces. The ERRC Grid helps radically reshape the value curve of an offering by deliberately eliminating, reducing, raising, and creating elements. It enables innovation that breaks free from competition rather than merely beating it.
HOW TO USE
The four actions are systematically applied to the own offering: Eliminate (which industry factors can be eliminated?), Reduce (which can be lowered below the standard?), Raise (which can be raised above the standard?), and Create (which entirely new factors can be created?). The result is visualized as a new value curve and compared to the industry standard.
WHAT IT IS
The Blue Ocean Four Actions Framework (ERRC Grid) is a central tool of the Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. ERRC stands for Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, and Create, forming a systematic grid for reconstructing value curves. The framework is closely connected to the Strategy Canvas and aims at creating uncontested market spaces.
EXAMPLE
Example: Your hotel chain management wants to stand out from the competition but is battling in a market where all hotels offer similar star categories and prices. You use the Blue Ocean ERRC Grid and analyze: What can we eliminate (traditional reception), reduce (room furnishings), raise (personalized experience), and create (community spaces for digital nomads)?