Why on earth did I call it ‘Competitive Alternatives’?

It may have been simpler to just use the terms 'Competition' or 'Competitors' instead of the long phrase we commonly use. However, I find that these terms don't encompass all the alternatives that compete with our product. Competitors are usually seen as products in the market that directly compete with us, but we tend to overlook the solutions our target market uses to solve the problem we are trying to address. 

For example, I once had an idea to alert fashion brands as soon as a celebrity wore one of their outfits. This would give them an opportunity to gain exposure through celebrity endorsement. Although our technology was already in place, and I couldn't find any direct competitors, I discovered that there was already a simple, cost-effective solution used by fashion brands. They hired interns to go through hundreds of photos a day to identify celebrities wearing their outfits. 

This is why I use the term 'Competitive Alternatives'. Other examples of competitive alternatives include well-known tools such as Excel, Google Sheets, WhatsApp, Slack, and LinkedIn. By overlooking these alternatives, we may miss opportunities to differentiate ourselves, which is vital for true innovation.

So, when considering our competition, we should also think about these competitive alternatives.

There is a reason I called it Competitive Alternatives