As you look at what you know (or assume) about the problem you are seeking to solve for your target customers, consider the following questions around the alternatives they have to help them accomplish their job to be done/solve the problem your innovative idea can help with.
- Who/What do we believe are the top DIRECT COMPETITORS to our innovative idea that are available to our target customers?
- Who/What do we believe are the top INDIRECT COMPETITORS that offer our target customers options to meet their needs?
- For each direct and indirect competitor (alternative) that currently provides options to serve your target customers, consider these questions:
- What is the alternate solution(s)?
- What benefits does the alternate solution(s) offer our target customer?
- What do we know about how satisfied our customers are with the alternative solution(s)?
- What else do we need to understand about the current solution(s) to identify opportunities for a demonstrably better, innovative solution for our customers?
In your customer discovery efforts, consider:
What you need to learn from your target customers about the solutions they are currently using to accomplish their job to be done/solve their problem, such as.:
- Their current solution
- Why are they use /how they decided on this solution.
- Their satisfaction with the current solution
- Other ways have they tried to accomplish their job to be done/solve their problem
- If there is any motivation to find better alternatives
- If so, what underpins this motivation
- If there is any motivation to find better alternatives
- Etc.