12 ways to brainstorm your idea’s potential

11 April 2023

Yellow lightbulb against a cartoon blue sky with clouds

Brainstorming is an essential process that can help you generate new ideas and refine existing ones, although sometimes traditional brainstorming techniques can sometimes feel stale and unproductive. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 12 innovative ways to brainstorm your business idea’s potential.

  1. Mind mapping: This technique involves creating a visual representation of your idea by drawing a diagram that shows the various components and their relationships. Mind mapping can help you see new connections and potential applications for your idea.
  2. SWOT analysis: SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This technique involves analysing your idea in terms of these four categories to identify potential areas for improvement or expansion.
  3. Competitor analysis: Look at what your competitors are doing and identify areas where your idea could differentiate itself. Consider how you can add value to your idea to make it stand out in the marketplace.
  4. Customer feedback: Talk to potential customers and get their feedback on your idea. Listen to their needs and concerns, use this feedback to refine your idea.
  5. Brainwriting: This technique involves writing down your idea and then passing it around to other people for feedback and suggestions. Brainwriting can help you generate new ideas and identify potential applications for your idea.
  6. Reverse brainstorming: In this technique, you brainstorm ways to make your idea fail. This can help you identify potential weaknesses or areas for improvement.
  7. Analogies: Use analogies to think about your idea in a new way. Compare it to something else and see if this helps you come up with new insights or applications.
  8. Role-playing: Pretend to be a customer or investor and think about how you would respond to your idea. This can help you identify potential objections or areas for improvement.
  9. Visual brainstorming: Use images, videos, or other visual aids to help you brainstorm potential applications for your idea.
  10. Random word association: Write down a list of random words and try to connect them to your idea. This can help you generate new ideas and think about your idea in a different way.
  11. Questioning assumptions: Challenge your assumptions about your idea and see if this leads you to new insights or potential applications.
  12. Scenario planning: Think about different scenarios and how your idea could be applied in each one. This can help you identify potential opportunities and challenges for your idea.

Feel free to reach out to one of our team to help provide guidance on your specific situation – info@businesshq.org.au or 1300 249 482.

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