competitive-analysis skill

---
name: competitive-analysis
description: Research competitors and compare positioning, messaging, content strategy, and market presence. Use when analyzing a competitor, building battlecards, identifying content gaps, comparing feature messaging, or preparing competitive positioning recommendations.
---

# Competitive Analysis Skill

Frameworks and methodologies for researching competitors, comparing positioning, and identifying market opportunities.

## Competitive Research Methodology

### Research Sources

Gather intelligence from these categories of sources:

#### Primary Sources (Direct from Competitor)
- **Website**: homepage, product pages, pricing, about page, careers
- **Blog and resource center**: content themes, publishing frequency, depth
- **Social media profiles**: messaging, engagement, content strategy
- **Product demos and free trials**: UX, features, onboarding experience
- **Webinars and events**: topics, speakers, audience engagement
- **Press releases and newsroom**: announcements, partnerships, milestones
- **Job postings**: hiring signals that reveal strategic priorities (e.g., hiring for a new product line or market)

#### Secondary Sources (Third-Party)
- **Review sites**: G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, Product Hunt — customer sentiment themes
- **Analyst reports**: Gartner, Forrester, IDC — market positioning and category placement
- **News coverage**: TechCrunch, industry publications — funding, partnerships, narrative
- **Social listening**: mentions, sentiment, share of voice across social platforms
- **SEO tools**: keyword rankings, organic traffic estimates, content gaps
- **Financial filings**: revenue, growth rate, investment areas (for public companies)
- **Community forums**: community forums (e.g. Reddit, Discourse), industry chat groups (e.g. Slack communities) — user sentiment

### Research Process
1. **Set scope**: define which competitors and what aspects to analyze
2. **Gather data**: systematically collect information from sources above
3. **Organize findings**: structure by competitor, then by dimension
4. **Analyze patterns**: identify themes, strengths, weaknesses, and trends
5. **Compare to your position**: map findings against your own positioning and capabilities
6. **Synthesize insights**: extract actionable takeaways and opportunities
7. **Date-stamp everything**: competitive intelligence has a short shelf life

### Research Cadence
- **Deep competitive analysis**: quarterly (full research across all sources)
- **Competitive monitoring**: monthly (scan for new announcements, content, messaging changes)
- **Real-time alerts**: ongoing (set up alerts for competitor brand mentions, press, job postings)

## Messaging Comparison Frameworks

### Messaging Matrix

Compare messaging across competitors on key dimensions:

| Dimension | Your Company | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|-----------|-------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Tagline/Headline | | | | |
| Core value proposition | | | | |
| Primary audience | | | | |
| Key differentiator claim | | | | |
| Tone/Voice | | | | |
| Proof points used | | | | |
| Category framing | | | | |
| Primary CTA | | | | |

### Value Proposition Comparison

For each competitor, document:
- **Promise**: what they promise the customer will achieve
- **Evidence**: how they prove the promise (data, testimonials, demos)
- **Mechanism**: how their product delivers on the promise (the "how it works")
- **Uniqueness**: what they claim only they can do

### Narrative Analysis

Identify each competitor's story arc:
- **Villain**: what problem or enemy they position against (status quo, legacy tools, complexity)
- **Hero**: who is the hero in their story (the customer? the product? the team?)
- **Transformation**: what before/after do they promise?
- **Stakes**: what happens if you do not act?

This reveals positioning strategy and emotional appeals.

### Messaging Strengths and Vulnerabilities

For each competitor's messaging, assess:
- **Clarity**: can a first-time visitor understand what they do in 5 seconds?
- **Differentiation**: is their positioning distinct or generic?
- **Proof**: do they back up claims with evidence?
- **Consistency**: is messaging consistent across channels?
- **Resonance**: does their messaging address real customer pain points?

## Content Gap Analysis

### Content Audit Comparison

Map content across competitors by:

| Topic/Theme | Your Content | Competitor A | Competitor B | Gap? |
|-------------|-------------|--------------|--------------|------|
| [Topic 1] | Blog post, ebook | Blog series, webinar | Nothing | Opportunity for B |
| [Topic 2] | Nothing | Whitepaper | Blog post, video | Gap for you |
| [Topic 3] | Case study | Nothing | Case study | Parity |

### Content Type Coverage

| Content Format | You | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|----------------|-----|--------|--------|--------|
| Blog posts | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Case studies | Y | Y | N | Y |
| Ebooks/Whitepapers | N | Y | Y | N |
| Webinars | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Podcast | N | N | Y | N |
| Video content | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Interactive tools | N | N | N | Y |
| Templates/Resources | Y | N | Y | N |

### Identifying Content Opportunities
1. **Topics they cover that you do not**: potential gaps in your content strategy
2. **Topics you cover that they do not**: potential differentiators to amplify
3. **Formats they use that you do not**: format gaps that could reach new audiences
4. **Audience segments they address that you do not**: underserved audiences
5. **Search terms they rank for that you do not**: SEO content gaps

### Content Quality Assessment
- Depth: surface-level or comprehensive?
- Freshness: regularly updated or stale?
- Engagement: do posts get comments, shares, links?
- Production value: text-only or multimedia?
- Thought leadership: original insights or rehashed content?

## Positioning Strategy

### Positioning Statement Framework

For your company and each competitor, define (or reverse-engineer) their positioning statement:

> For [target audience], [product/company] is the [category] that [key benefit/differentiator] because [reason to believe].

Example:
> For mid-market SaaS marketing teams, Acme is the campaign management platform that unifies planning and execution in one workspace because it is built on a single data model that eliminates tool fragmentation.

### Positioning Map

Plot competitors on a 2x2 matrix using the two most important dimensions for your market:

Common axis pairs:
- **Price vs. Capability** (low cost / basic vs. premium / full-featured)
- **Ease of Use vs. Power** (simple / limited vs. complex / flexible)
- **SMB Focus vs. Enterprise Focus** (self-serve / individual vs. sales-led / team)
- **Point Solution vs. Platform** (does one thing well vs. does many things)
- **Innovative vs. Established** (new approach vs. proven track record)

Identify which quadrant is underserved or where your differentiation is strongest.

### Category Strategy
- **Create a new category**: if you do something genuinely different, define and own the category (high risk, high reward)
- **Reframe the existing category**: change how buyers evaluate the category to favor your strengths
- **Win the existing category**: compete directly on recognized criteria and out-execute
- **Niche within the category**: own a specific segment, use case, or audience

### Positioning Pitfalls to Avoid
- Positioning against a competitor rather than for a customer need
- Claiming too many differentiators (pick 1-2 that matter most)
- Using category jargon the customer does not use
- Positioning on features rather than outcomes
- Changing positioning too frequently (confuses the market)

## Battlecard Creation

### Battlecard Structure

A competitive battlecard is a one-page reference for sales and marketing teams. Include:

#### Header
- Competitor name and logo
- Last updated date
- Competitive win rate (if tracked)

#### Quick Overview
- What they do (one sentence)
- Their target customer
- Pricing model summary
- Key recent developments

#### Their Pitch
- How they describe themselves
- Their primary tagline
- Their top 3 claimed differentiators

#### Strengths (Be Honest)
- Where they genuinely compete well
- What customers like about them (from reviews)
- Features or capabilities where they lead

#### Weaknesses
- Consistent customer complaints (from reviews)
- Technical limitations
- Gaps in their offering
- Areas where customers report dissatisfaction

#### Our Differentiators
- 3-5 specific ways your product or approach is different
- For each: the differentiator, why it matters to the customer, and proof

#### Objection Handling
| If the prospect says... | Respond with... |
|------------------------|----------------|
| "[Competitor] does X too" | "Here is how our approach differs..." |
| "[Competitor] is cheaper" | "Here is what that price difference gets you..." |
| "I've heard good things about [Competitor]" | "They are strong at X. Where we differ is..." |

#### Landmines to Set
Questions to ask prospects early that highlight your advantages:
- "How do you currently handle [area where competitor is weak]?"
- "How important is [capability you have that they lack]?"
- "Have you considered [risk that your product mitigates]?"

#### Landmines to Defuse
Questions competitors might encourage prospects to ask you, with prepared responses.

#### Win/Loss Themes
- Common reasons deals are won against this competitor
- Common reasons deals are lost to this competitor
- What types of prospects favor them vs. you

### Battlecard Maintenance
- Review and update quarterly at minimum
- Update immediately after major competitor announcements
- Incorporate win/loss feedback from sales team
- Track which objection-handling responses are most effective