Your idea already existing is not the problem. Not being able to say who would choose you over what they use today, and why, is the problem. That answer comes from research, and a lot of it is sitting in your competitors' reviews.

An idea nobody has had is rare, and when it does exist it is usually harder, because you have to create the market as well as the product.

It is not the idea that sells anyway. If it were, the first person out of the gate would be the only one who ever made money, and that is plainly not how any market you can name has worked.

Why "nobody has done this" is the wrong thing to hope for

If there are no competitors at all, that is a red flag rather than an opening. Sometimes there is a gap because there is no market there. Demand has to be validated before you invest your time in it, and it might turn out to be a flame that burns bright and fast.

Competitors mean somebody has already proven that people will spend money on this problem. That is a gift.

The question that replaces "is it unique"

For every existing solution, ask: why is this person choosing this over everything else they could choose?

That single question does two jobs. It shows you what you would need to address in your own product, and sometimes it shows you that this person is not your user at all.

Different products attract different people, whether or not their makers realise it. Headspace is bright and busy and full of things. Calm is not. They are both meditation apps and they are not competing for the same person.

Where the answer already lives

Read the reviews of the products people already use, especially the critical ones. People describe exactly what a product fails to do, in their own words, with the frustration attached. That is your product direction, written by your future users, for free.

For an app store competitor, look at their listing and work out what would make yours the one people pick, then lean into that harder so they cannot catch up. You are not trying to beat them on everything.

What real differentiation looks like

Not a longer feature list. Usually one of:

• A specific group of people served properly instead of approximately
• A price that lets people in who cannot afford the alternatives
• Doing less, but doing it without the confusion
• Reaching people the others are not reaching
• Knowing something about the user that the others clearly do not

On the last one: I looked at a parenting app once and could tell it was made by a dad and not a mum, because things every mother asks me about were missing. That is a real opening, and it costs nothing but talking to the right people.

Say the difference in a sentence

If you are in a crowded space, someone will ask what makes you different from the two biggest names in it, and you need an answer. A product that copies the market leader and adds reviews will not beat the market leader. Either you are competing with them or you are differentiating from them, and you should know which.

Your unique value proposition is your whole strategy in one line, and everything you build should support it.

Keep reading

How Do I Know If My App Idea Already Exists?

I Have an App Idea But I Don't Know How to Code. What Do I Do First?

Is My App Idea Good Enough? Here's How to Actually Find Out

Learn this with me

Competitive research is class 5 of From Passion to Product, my free six-week live course. It covers sorting competitors into game changers, niche players and established players, experiencing their apps as a user before analysing them, and the market gaps that come out of it.

By the end of it you have a feature analysis of your competitors that you can hand to a developer later, which is the difference between believing your idea is different and being able to show it.

Join the waitlist for the next free cohort. If you would rather not wait, the App Strategy Workbook covers the same six weeks at your own speed.