Market Scan

Structured market analysis for a product category or business domain. Produces a comprehensive market map with competitive positioning and entry strategy.

Iron Law

Every factual claim must cite a source URL. No exceptions. Unsourced claims get deleted.

Input

Describe the market segment, product category, or business domain to analyze. Include any known players, target audience, or specific angles to investigate.

Process

Phase 1: Market Definition

Define the boundaries of the analysis:

1. State the market segment in one sentence
2. Identify the target audience (who buys/uses products in this space)
3. List 3-5 known players as starting points (ask the user if none are obvious)
4. Define 2-3 adjacent markets that overlap or compete for the same buyers

Phase 2: Landscape Mapping

Use mcp__jina__parallel_search_web with diverse queries to find ALL players, not just the obvious ones. Run at least three rounds of parallel searches:

Round 1 -- Direct discovery:

• "[category] companies"
• "[category] tools"
• "[category] platforms"
• "[category] open source"
• "[category] startups"

Round 2 -- Alternative angles:

• "[category] alternatives to [known player]"
• "[category] market report 2026"
• "[category] comparison"
• "best [category] for [target audience]"

Round 3 -- Community signals:

• "[category] reddit recommendations"
• "[category] hacker news"
• "[category] product hunt"
• "[category] G2 reviews"

Use mcp__jina__deduplicate_strings to collapse duplicate company mentions across all search results.

Phase 3: Deep Analysis

For the top 5-10 players identified in Phase 2, conduct deep analysis on each:

1. Use mcp__jina__read_url on their homepage, pricing page, and about page
2. Use mcp__jina__capture_screenshot_url on landing pages for visual positioning analysis
3. Use mcp__jina__search_web for "[company] funding", "[company] revenue", "[company] customers"
4. Catalog: positioning, pricing model, target segment, key differentiators

For companies with open source products, also check GitHub for stars, contributor count, and release activity.

Phase 4: Opportunity Identification

Synthesize findings to identify:

• White spaces: needs that no current player addresses well
• Underserved niches: segments that existing players ignore or deprioritize
• Pricing gaps: price points with no strong offering (too cheap for enterprise tools, too expensive for indie tools)
• Technical gaps: capabilities that are missing or poorly implemented across the market
• Trend alignment: where the market is heading vs. where current players are positioned

Phase 5: Synthesis

Produce the final market scan report with the structure below. Save to: research/YYYY-MM-DD-market-scan-{topic}.md (create the research/ directory if it does not exist).

Output Structure

# Market Scan: {Market Segment}
Date: YYYY-MM-DD

## Market Definition
- Segment: {one sentence}
- Target Audience: {who buys/uses}
- Market Size Signals: {any available data on TAM/SAM/SOM, with source URLs}
- Adjacent Markets: {overlapping or competing spaces}

## Competitive Landscape

### Market Map
{Position each player on two axes relevant to the market, e.g., price vs. feature depth, or enterprise vs. individual focus. Use a text-based visualization.}

### Player Profiles
{For each of the top 5-10 players:}
#### {Company Name}
- **URL**: {website}
- **Founded**: {year, if known}
- **Funding**: {amount and stage, if known}
- **Positioning**: {one sentence on their market position}
- **Pricing**: {model and tiers}
- **Strengths**: {2-3 bullet points}
- **Weaknesses**: {2-3 bullet points}
- **Sources**: {list of URLs used}

## Opportunity Analysis
- **White Spaces**: {unaddressed needs}
- **Underserved Niches**: {ignored segments}
- **Pricing Gaps**: {unoccupied price points}
- **Technical Gaps**: {missing capabilities}

## Recommended Entry Strategy
{Based on the analysis, where should we position? What niche to target first? What differentiator to lead with?}

## Sources
{Complete list of all URLs cited in this report}

Anti-Patterns

• Do NOT produce a report with unsourced claims. If you cannot find a source, state that the data is unavailable.
• Do NOT limit discovery to the first page of search results. Run multiple query rounds to surface less obvious players.
• Do NOT confuse marketing positioning with actual market position. Cross-reference claims against community sentiment and real usage signals.
• Do NOT skip the opportunity analysis. The whole point of a market scan is to find where to play, not just to list who is playing.