- name
- competitor-research
- description
- Research competitors systematically. Analyze positioning, pricing, features, marketing, and gaps. Generate competitive intelligence reports with actionable insights. Use when analyzing market competition, benchmarking products, or finding market opportunities. Triggers on "competitor", "competition", "benchmark", "market analysis", "competitive intelligence".
Competitor Research
Systematic competitive analysis to understand your market position and find opportunities.
Research Framework
1. Identify Competitors
Direct Competitors:
- Same product category
- Same target market
- Similar features/pricing
Indirect Competitors:
- Different product, same need
- Alternative solutions
- Adjacent markets
Emerging Competitors:
- New entrants
- Startups
- Platform expansions
How to Find:
- Search "[product] alternatives"
- Check review sites (G2, Capterra)
- Industry reports
- Customer suggestions
- Social media mentions
- App store categories2. Analyze Positioning
Value Proposition:
- What do they claim?
- Who do they target?
- What problem do they solve?
- How do they differentiate?
Positioning Map:
Premium
│
┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
│ │ │
│ Competitor A Competitor B
│ │ │
Enterprise ───────┼─────── SMB
│ │ │
│ Competitor C You
│ │ │
└──────────────┼──────────────┘
│
Commodity3. Evaluate Features
Feature Matrix:
| Feature | You | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Feature 1 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Core Feature 2 | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Advanced Feature | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Integration X | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Mobile App | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Gap Analysis:
- Features only you have → Differentiation
- Features everyone has → Table stakes
- Features you lack → Competitive disadvantage
- Features no one has → Opportunity
4. Pricing Analysis
Pricing Models:
- Free tier + Premium
- Per-seat pricing
- Usage-based
- Enterprise contracts
- One-time purchase
Price Comparison:
| Plan | You | Comp A | Comp B |
|------|-----|--------|--------|
| Free | 5 users | 3 users | 10 users |
| Pro | $29/user | $25/user | $35/user |
| Enterprise | Custom | $99/user | Quote |Pricing Strategy:
- Undercut? Risk race to bottom
- Premium? Need clear differentiation
- Match? Compete on features
5. Marketing Analysis
Channels:
- Where do they advertise?
- What content do they create?
- Which communities are they in?
- Who are their partners?
Messaging:
- Keywords they target
- Tone and voice
- Claims and promises
- Social proof used
Content Strategy:
- Blog frequency
- Content types
- Distribution channels
- Engagement metrics
6. Technical Analysis
Technology Stack:
- Framework/Language
- Cloud provider
- Third-party integrations
- Open source dependenciesPerformance:
- Load time
- Uptime
- Scale limits
- Security posture
Developer Experience:
- API quality
- Documentation
- SDK availability
- Community support
Research Methods
Public Sources
Company Website:
- About page
- Pricing page
- Feature pages
- Case studies
- Blog
- Press releases
Review Sites:
- G2
- Capterra
- Product Hunt
- AlternativeTo
- TrustRadius
Social Media:
- Twitter/X
- Reddit communities
- Discord servers
- YouTube
Industry Sources:
- News sites
- Podcasts
- Conference talks
- Investor updates
- SEC filings (public companies)
Technical Sources
Built With:
- BuiltWith.com
- Wappalyzer
- GitHub repos
- Package dependencies
Job Postings:
- Required skills reveal stack
- Growth areas
- Strategic priorities
API Documentation:
- Capabilities
- Rate limits
- Integration options
Customer Intelligence
Reviews:
- What customers love
- What they complain about
- Feature requests
- Switching reasons
Customer Interviews:
- Why they chose competitor
- What they'd improve
- Switching costs
- Unmet needs
Community:
- Forum discussions
- Support tickets (public)
- Feature request boards
- User groups
Analysis Templates
SWOT Analysis
COMPETITOR: [Name]
Strengths:
- What they do well
- Resources they have
- Market position
- Unique advantages
Weaknesses:
- Product gaps
- Customer complaints
- Technical debt
- Market limitations
Opportunities:
- Markets they could enter
- Features they could add
- Partnerships possible
- Trends they could leverage
Threats:
- New entrants
- Technology shifts
- Market changes
- Regulatory risksCompetitor Profile
## [Competitor Name]
### Basic Info
- Founded: [Year]
- Funding: [Amount/Round]
- Employees: [Count]
- Location: [HQ]
- Market: [Segment]
### Product
- Core offering: [Description]
- Key features: [List]
- Pricing: [Model]
- Target: [Customer]
### Positioning
- Value prop: [One line]
- Differentiation: [How]
- Messaging: [Tone/Style]
### Traction
- Users: [Count]
- Revenue: [Estimate]
- Growth: [Rate]
- Markets: [Geography]
### Strengths
- [Top 3 strengths]
### Weaknesses
- [Top 3 weaknesses]
### Strategy Implications
- How should we respond?
- What can we learn?
- Where can we win?Actionable Outputs
Competitive Report
# [Industry] Competitive Analysis
## Executive Summary
[2-3 paragraphs on market position and key findings]
## Market Overview
- Market size: $X billion
- Growth rate: Y%
- Key trends: [List]
## Competitor Landscape
### Direct Competitors
#### [Competitor A]
[Profile]
#### [Competitor B]
[Profile]
### Indirect Competitors
[Brief profiles]
## Feature Comparison
[Matrix]
## Pricing Comparison
[Table]
## Gap Analysis
- Features only we have: [List]
- Features we lack: [List]
- Opportunities: [List]
## Recommendations
1. [Priority action]
2. [Priority action]
3. [Priority action]
## Appendix
[Detailed data]Battle Card
# [Competitor Name] Battle Card
## When They Come Up
- [Scenario where prospect mentions them]
## How We Win
- [Key differentiator 1]
- [Key differentiator 2]
- [Key differentiator 3]
## Common Objections
| Objection | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| "They're cheaper" | [Response] |
| "They have X feature" | [Response] |
| "They're bigger" | [Response] |
## Proof Points
- [Case study]
- [Testimonial]
- [Metric]
## Don't Say
- [What to avoid]
## Do Say
- [Key messages]Continuous Monitoring
Set Up Alerts
Google Alerts:
- "[competitor name]"
- "[competitor product]"
- "[competitor CEO]"
Social Mentions:
- Twitter lists
- LinkedIn follows
- Reddit saves
- NewslettersTrack Changes
Weekly:
- News mentions
- Social activity
- Blog posts
Monthly:
- Pricing changes
- Feature releases
- Hiring patterns
Quarterly:
- Full re-analysis
- Strategy update
- Report to stakeholders
Ethical Guidelines
Do:
- Use public sources
- Cite sources properly
- Focus on facts
- Update regularly
- Share internally only
Don't:
- Misrepresent yourself
- Access private information
- Share confidential data
- Make false claims
- Use for defamation
Tools
Research:
- Google (search, alerts, trends)
- Social media monitoring
- Review aggregators
- News aggregators
Analysis:
- Spreadsheets
- SWOT templates
- Positioning maps
- Feature matrices
Monitoring:
- RSS readers
- Newsletter subscriptions
- Social lists
- Calendar reminders