Competing alternatives are all the alternative ways a target market can choose to address their need or job. They include direct competitors, substitutes in adjacent categories, potential entrants, and — always — the status quo, or do-nothing option. BRI insists on the last one because the most common reason a new offering fails is not that a rival wins, but that the customer decides the problem isn't worth changing for.
Competing alternatives anchor the Competitive Differentiation work in the BRI Strategy Framework and feed the Desirability lens of the DFV evaluation: a solution is only desirable if it beats the alternatives the customer would otherwise choose, including inertia. They are defined relative to the same jobs to be done the solution targets. For the full treatment, see the Strategy Framework pillar at /supporting/strategy-framework. Related Terminology Index entries: Substitutes; Potential Entrants; Jobs to Be Done (JTBD); Desirability; Value Network.
