Most customers are spoilt for choice, so knowing who you're competing against is essential. Sounds bloody obvious right? But many businesses don’t know who their true rivals are. Answer these three questions and the results might surprise you:

1. If we didn’t exist, who would our customers spend their money with?

This one encourages you to think more laterally about how customers might otherwise satisfy their needs. It often reveals a plethora of substitutes or even cobbled together solutions across multiple categories that might represent be your real competition.

2. If we had a magic net that could make anyone’s customers ours, which business would we use it on?

This reveals your assumptions about the kind of customers you’d like to have. It also says a lot about who you really wish you were as a business, and who you really think you’re better than — both are good to know.

3. Who would use their magic net on us?

This one should help you pin down your biggest threats, and who you should be wary of.

Gather answers from your team for all three questions and you’ll probably find the answers vary a lot. Even better, pretend you’re five years into the future then answer all three again. It’s a really useful exercise.

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