If you’re a small business healthcare provider, you probably have plans for how to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Remember, however, that smart strategic planning is more than you. Preparing your next business move means taking time to understand your competition better.

According to John Horn,[1] economics professor and author of Inside the Competitor’s Mindset, whenever a company expands, acquires a new company, or changes their pricing, they should ask — like in a game — “If I make this move, what will my opponent do in response?”

The Value of Understanding Your Competitor’s Mindset

Curiosity about your competitor’s mindset is an important ingredient in developing a competitive advantage. When doing competitive intelligence, leaders can make the common mistake of believing their competitors are behaving irrationally.[1] Psychology helps explain: it’s easy to see our choices as right, and someone else’s as wrong. Empathy is one way to bridge the gap, according to Horn.[2]

These ideas can apply to the healthcare field, too, where empathy is a premium skill. Leaders can gain an important perspective for strategic decision-making when they place themselves in their competitors’ shoes. Read on to learn how you can develop a competitive advantage.

Looking Outside Your Industry

Many industries — like restaurants or retail — have customer-driven business models. In a world where customers are used to shopping around for the best choice, it’s only natural they have begun to place service expectations from other industries on healthcare providers.[3]

Looking outside your industry to analyze trends can maximize customer experience. You typically can’t ask your direct competitor their secrets, but you can ask customers about their preferences, which is a real advantage.

Building Diverse Teams

Whether you want to understand your competitor’s point of view or your customer's, one way to do so is to harness empathy and leverage diversity. In the process of strategic decision-making, working with a team of people who have diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can help you uncover new possibilities and reach customers who value a wealth of options.

Optimizing Analytics

Competitive intelligence relies on high-quality information and a smart strategy. You need to start with quality research and data and then ask the right questions when applying that data and conducting analysis. Otherwise, you may fail to observe a pattern that could otherwise inform important resource decision-making. Mistakes can lead to incorrect insights and missed opportunities.

Horn recommends starting small and asking, “Who are the major competitors you want to track and what do you want to track about them? Is it about product innovation, pricing moves, acquisitions, talent management, or supply chain? You figure that out by asking people in the organization where they have seen the competitor surprise or challenge them in terms of their response.”[1]

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