What if questions in Competitive Intelligence offers the answer?

What if questions in Competitive Intelligence offers the answer?

In business, it’s important to be proactive in your thinking. This can mitigate the impact of what-ifs. Helping you find answers for your competitive advantage. We ask in this article what-if questions in Competitive Intelligence offers the answer?

But you’ve been in your industry for years. And you know what you know. Until you don’t.

Watch the jab

We love asking ‘what-if” questions when conducting Competitive Intelligence for our happy clients. 

The ” what-ifs ” come from nowhere and smack the back of your legs. These “what-ifs” offer little warning. And they always raise their ugly head at the wrong time. Some are annoying, but some can knock you for six. Like:

• What if my competitor brings out a fabulous new product?
• What if a new competitor hits the market with a game-changing piece of tech?
• What if my competitor uses Competitive Intelligence? And what if they know more about our weaknesses than we do. The shortcomings your customers think about.
• What if Amazon acquires them?

Assuming the above questions are negative, there are just as many positive “what-if” questions to take you to the next level. Such as:

• What if we take over that company?
• What if we move into that market?
• What if we add this feature to the product?
• What if that product launch is a success? What do we need to do?
• What if your biggest competitor goes bust tomorrow?

Asking questions opens up our thinking. Great questions make our minds think as we are inbuilt to find an answer for them. But poor questions tend to give you unsatisfactory answers. Why? Well, our brains are designed to look back at when we last asked the question. And our brain is trained to find or quickly create an answer. 

If hunting mammoth and a sabre tooth tiger pops up out of the bushes, your brain has already learned the answer. Yes, run away. The question, of course, was that big-toothed beast dangerous?

Asking what-if questions is powerful

So asking questions is excellent. We get that, but why are what-if questions so powerful? Usually, a what-if question should stump your mind, and this is because there is no previous precedent or real-life example in your database. So the question forces you to think and then create an answer from a different part of your brain. At a base level, “what-if” can transform a boring question into a powerful aspirational one. And remove the assumption that it’s not possible. 

Actively looking for these what-ifs and other types of questions will mitigate the impact. And put you on the front foot. Asking what-if questions assists your creative thinking. And it helps you find the answers you need to enhance your competitive advantage. 

You could transform your world and just maybe change everyone’s lives. Ok, admittedly a bit dramatic. But we don’t want to go all Gary Vee on you.

If you’re like most businesses, your day-to-day focus is on what you can control. But what if there are things you couldn’t control? What if customers stopped buying your product or services? What if competitors caught up to you? You’d be in trouble, right? But worry not! It’s important to actively look for these what-ifs in order to mitigate their impact.

What if questions in Competitive Intelligence offers the answer?

In conclusion, by looking for what-ifs, you can mitigate their impact. Finding the answers to your competitive advantage. Creative thinking about potential risks helps you stay ahead of the curve. And maintain your edge in the market.