The Unexpected is the Underexploited

Do you have a product or service selling more than expected, or in a market you never thought would be interested? Is something not selling that you thought would sell out instantly?

You have an opportunity here to capitalise on something your competitors may not realise. Often an industry will have an understanding of their market and won't consider approaches outside their agreed conclusions (e.g. groupthink). Sometimes this can be the right thing to do. You may have done your research and made the right conclusions. But, have things changed? When was the last time you considered these issues?

This is a great chance to pick up innovative ideas for a number of reasons:

• The market may have changed and you might now have first mover advantage.


• Demographics may have moved and you can be ready to capitalise on this.


• Often the unexpected outcome is the only way to identify these opportunities, and most of your competitors don't track them.


• It is in the nature of your competitors to ignore anomalies and move on to what they know.

So, how to take advantage of the situation? First, you need to talk to customers to find out why they bought or didn't. Don't navel gaze and worry too much - just ask! When you have the data, consider how you can optimise what you have to fit the current trend. Finally, why not start to have part of your management meetings cover things that went really well so you can pick up these chances to increase your profits.