What an ERRC grid is
An ERRC grid is a four-box table that turns a strategy canvas into decisions. For each factor a category competes on, you choose one of four moves: eliminate it, reduce it below the industry, raise it above the industry, or create a factor the industry has never offered. The result is a value curve that looks different from everyone else's.
The grid comes from Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, where it is the working tool behind the four actions framework. The canvas shows where everyone competes. The grid says where you will not.
How the grid works
The four boxes answer four questions, and two of them are about cutting:
| Box | The question | What it does to cost and value |
|---|---|---|
| Eliminate | Which factors that the industry takes for granted should go entirely? | Cuts cost |
| Reduce | Which factors should drop well below the industry standard? | Cuts cost |
| Raise | Which factors should rise well above the industry standard? | Adds value |
| Create | Which factors should exist that the industry has never offered? | Adds value |
The discipline is in the left half. Most teams can list what to raise. Few will name what to stop doing, and without that the grid is a wish list with a higher cost base.
Its link to the strategy canvas
The strategy canvas plots the factors along the bottom and the level each company offers up the side. The ERRC grid takes those same factors and assigns each a move. Then you redraw your line. If the new line runs parallel to the leader's, the grid has not done its job.
Worked example: a challenger against Loop Earplugs
Loop Earplugs' report reads six factors off public data. On 24 September 2026, each was scaled against whichever brand leaned on it hardest, which sits at 100.
| Factor | Loop, measured | Loop on the canvas |
|---|---|---|
| Range breadth | 68 products | 100 |
| Price level | Median $34.95 across every variant | about 80 |
| Weight of proof | 18,984 reviews on Quiet alone | 100 |
| Review score | 4.33, weighted by review count | about 90 |
| Published pages | 10,024 in the sitemap | 100 |
| In stock right now | 92% of variants | 100 |
Loop Earplugs' strategy canvas factors, read from their catalogue, review widget and sitemap on 24 September 2026. The live canvas and its numbers sit on Loop's benchmark.
That is a curve pinned to the top on four of six factors. Nobody beats Loop by drawing the same line a little higher.
Now picture a hypothetical challenger: a new earplug brand, a year old, with a few thousand reviews. The facts above are Loop's. The moves below are our proposal for that challenger, not something Loop or anyone else has done.
Eliminate: bundles and the range race
Loop sells 68 products. Of the 42 with both a price and a review score, the two lowest-rated are bundles: the Good Night Bundle at $110.95 and the Travel Bundle at $179.95, each at 3.8 stars on 24 September 2026. A challenger gains nothing by matching a shelf that already drags down its owner's score. Cut bundles entirely and launch with as few products as the jobs require.
Reduce: pages and review volume as a goal
10,024 published pages is a head start that no challenger closes by publishing faster. Reduce content to the questions buyers actually ask. The same goes for proof: 18,984 reviews on one product is out of reach. Stop treating review count as a target and let score and recency carry the proof.
Raise: the score and the stock
Loop's line dips on review score, at 4.33. The score sits on every product page, so it is the one factor where a small range helps: fewer products means more attention per product. Raise stock to every variant, every day. Loop is at 92%, and a narrow range makes 100% cheap to hold.
Create: fit before you pay
None of the six factors measures fit, and fit is what Loop's unhappy buyers write about most. Of 282 reviews at three stars or below out of 2,500 read on 24 September 2026, 30 were about fit and seal, 25 about not blocking enough and 23 about comfort.
Only 10 were about price. The proposal: a factor nobody offers, such as a sizing kit sent before the purchase, so the buyer knows the fit before paying for the product. It is the challenger's own line, not a better version of Loop's.
A second created factor: one product per job, named after the job. The voice of customer note shows what those buyers say.
Three more ERRC grid examples
Hypothetical companies, written to show the pattern, not measured.
A neighbourhood gym. Eliminate: long contracts and the sales tour. Reduce: machine variety. Raise: coaching per member. Create: a class timetable built around school drop-off.
A B2B scheduling app. Eliminate: the enterprise sales call. Reduce: integrations to the five that matter. Raise: setup speed. Create: a free tier that works inside the client's email.
A coffee subscription. Eliminate: the 40-origin catalogue. Reduce: packaging design. Raise: roast freshness. Create: a pause button that sits in the delivery email.
How to make one
- Draw the strategy canvas first, with factors you can read from public data rather than score by hand.
- Put every factor into one of the four boxes. None may stay outside.
- Fill Eliminate and Reduce before Raise and Create. If the left half is empty, start again.
- For each Create, write the buyer complaint or job it answers, with a count or a quote behind it.
- Redraw your line on the canvas. It should cross the leader's, not run above it.
- Check the cost. The cuts should pay for most of what you raise and create.
- Measure the leader again next quarter. A factor they abandon can change your grid.
What it cannot tell you
The grid does not test anything. It records choices, and the choices can be wrong. Whether buyers want a fit kit is a question for a pilot, not for a table.
It also only knows the factors you put on the canvas. Loop's six are what a store, a review widget and a sitemap can show. Service, brand and retail distribution are not in them, and a real challenger would need to judge those before committing.
And the Create box is the hardest to fill honestly. A factor nobody measures may be missing because nobody wants it.
FAQ
What does ERRC stand for?
Eliminate, reduce, raise, create. They are the four actions of Blue Ocean Strategy, applied factor by factor.
What is the difference between the ERRC grid and the four actions framework?
The four actions framework is the set of four questions. The ERRC grid is the table where you write the answers down, one factor per box.
Is an ERRC grid the same as a SWOT?
No. A SWOT describes your position. An ERRC grid commits you to moves on named factors, including what to stop doing.
How many factors should go in each box?
There is no fixed number. At least one in Eliminate or Reduce, and every Create backed by evidence, is a better test than symmetry.
Pick one competitor. See what we find.
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