The big idea: Comparing competing and similar products on the same measured criteria shows where the gaps are.
The opportunity is not the column with the best score. It is the row where every product is weak — because that is a need nobody in the market has met.
Four kettles on four criteria: a saturated row, a gap to close, and two rows where the whole market is weak.
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| What the row looks like | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Everybody scores well | A saturated criterion — the need is already met across the market | Nothing. Improving it costs money and buys no advantage |
| One rival is ahead of you | A gap to close — a reason not to buy yours | Match it. It removes an objection; it will not win anybody over |
| You are ahead of everybody | A genuine strength — but check whether users care about it | Protect and market it, and do not spend more improving it |
| Everybody scores badly | An unmet need — the opportunity the statement is asking for | Design against it. No rival can match it by tuning what they have |
Same criteria, same tests, or nothing follows: A comparison only means something if every product is measured the same way — the same load, the same users, the same conditions.
Collecting figures from manufacturers' websites and putting them in one table compares four marketing departments, not four products.
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From an empty row to a requirement
Check the need is real, not just unmet
Sometimes everybody is weak on something because nobody wants it. Confirm with users before designing against it.
Ask why nobody has done it
Cost, a patent, a standard, or a genuine technical difficulty. If there is a reason, you need to beat it rather than be surprised by it.
Write it as a measurable requirement
"Usable one-handed when full" with a test. The whole point is that it can be shown to have been achieved.
Check it does not break a saturated row
A kettle that is one-handed and takes five minutes to boil has traded an unmet need for a met one. That is a step backwards.
Similar products, not only competing ones: The statement says competing AND similar. A watering can, a fuel can and a drinks dispenser all pour liquid one-handed, and none of them competes with a kettle.
That is often where the principle comes from, because the market you are in has usually converged on one answer.
How this is tested — comparing competing and similar products to identify opportunities. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Identify what a row where all products score badly indicates.
- Pick the flaw in a stated comparison method.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Compare named competing products and identify an opportunity.
- Explain why a market-wide weakness is the best opportunity.
The trap: Picking the product with the highest total and copying it. That produces a fifth version of what already exists — the opportunity is the row nobody has answered.
Four kettles are scored on the same four criteria. Every one scores badly on one-handed use when full and on element replaceability; all score well on boiling speed; one rival is clearly easiest to clean. Analyse what this comparison shows.
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