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Competitive Analysis Mode

Philosophy

A feature comparison table is not competitive analysis. Checking boxes tells you what competitors HAVE. It doesn't tell you what they're GOOD at, where they're GOING, or why customers choose them over you.

Competitive analysis should answer three questions:

1. Why do we win? (Our actual advantages, not what we wish were advantages)
2. Why do we lose? (The real reasons, not the comfortable ones)
3. What should we do about it? (Specific product and positioning actions)

If your competitive analysis doesn't change at least one product decision or one sales talking point, it was a waste of time.

Input

Ask the user (via AskUserQuestion):

What kind of competitive analysis do we need?

RECOMMENDATION: Choose A for a comprehensive landscape analysis. Choose C if you have an urgent deal situation.

A) Full landscape — analyze our competitive position across the market B) Head-to-head — deep dive on 1-2 specific competitors C) Battlecard — sales-ready competitive talking points for active deals D) Market positioning — help us find/refine our positioning

Full Landscape Analysis

Step 1: Market Map

MARKET MAP: [Category Name]
═══════════════════════════

Market size: [TAM/SAM/SOM if available, or order of magnitude]
Growth rate: [% YoY or trend]
Key trends: [3-5 forces reshaping this market]

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Enterprise                        │
│                                                      │
│    [Competitor A] ●              ● [Competitor B]    │
│                                                      │
│                        ● [US]                        │
│                                                      │
│    [Competitor C] ●              ● [Competitor D]    │
│                                                      │
│                      SMB                             │
├───────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┤
│    Point Solution │           Platform               │
└───────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┘

Positioning axis rationale:
- X-axis: [Why this dimension matters]
- Y-axis: [Why this dimension matters]

Choose axes that reveal strategic insight. "Features vs. Price" is boring. "Time-to-value vs. Customizability" or "Self-serve vs. High-touch" reveals actual competitive dynamics.

Step 2: Competitor Deep Dives

For each significant competitor:

COMPETITOR: [Name]
══════════════════
Overview: [1-2 sentences — what they do, who they serve]
Founded: [Year] | Funding: [Amount/Stage] | Est. Revenue: [Range]
Target customer: [Who they sell to — be specific]
Pricing model: [How they charge]

STRENGTHS (things they're genuinely better at):
1. [Strength] — Evidence: [How you know — reviews, market share, win/loss data]
2. [Strength] — Evidence: [Source]
3. [Strength] — Evidence: [Source]

WEAKNESSES (honest gaps — not just things they don't have):
1. [Weakness] — Evidence: [Source]
2. [Weakness] — Evidence: [Source]

STRATEGIC DIRECTION (where they're heading):
- Recent moves: [Product launches, partnerships, hiring patterns, funding]
- Likely next: [What they'll probably do in 6-12 months]
- Threat level: [Low/Med/High] — [Why]

WIN/LOSS AGAINST THEM:
- We win when: [Specific scenarios — buyer profile, use case, evaluation criteria]
- We lose when: [Specific scenarios — be honest]
- Key differentiator: [The one thing that swings deals]

Step 3: Differentiation Matrix

DIFFERENTIATION MATRIX
═══════════════════════
| Dimension | Us | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|-----------|-----|--------|--------|--------|
| [Dimension 1] | [Rating + note] | [Rating] | [Rating] | [Rating] |
| [Dimension 2] | [Rating + note] | [Rating] | [Rating] | [Rating] |
| [Dimension 3] | [Rating + note] | [Rating] | [Rating] | [Rating] |

Rating: ●●●●● (5=leader) to ● (1=lagging)

UNIQUE to us (no competitor has this):
- [Capability/approach]

PARITY (everyone has this — not a differentiator):
- [Capability] — Don't lead with this in sales

TABLE STAKES (must have but doesn't win deals):
- [Capability]

Differentiation rules:

• "We have more features" is not differentiation. Everyone claims that.
• Differentiation must be valued by the buyer. Being different in a way nobody cares about is irrelevant.
• The best differentiation is architectural (hard for competitors to copy), not feature-level (easy to copy).

Step 4: Strategic Implications

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
═════════════════════
PRODUCT:
1. [Build/invest in X] — because: [competitive reasoning]
2. [Don't build Y] — because: [competitive reasoning — let competitor own this]
3. [Accelerate Z] — because: [competitive window is closing]

POSITIONING:
1. [Lead with this narrative] — because: [it highlights our strength and their weakness]
2. [Stop saying this] — because: [competitor is stronger here, it invites comparison]
3. [Reframe this] — from [old framing] to [new framing] because [reason]

SALES:
1. [When competing against A, emphasize...] — because: [A is weak here]
2. [When competing against B, emphasize...] — because: [B can't match this]
3. [Avoid this topic against C] — because: [C wins this comparison]

Battlecard Mode

Quick, sales-ready competitive cards. One page per competitor.

BATTLECARD: [Competitor Name]
═════════════════════════════
Updated: [Date] | Deals encountered: [N] | Win rate against them: [%]

IN 30 SECONDS:
[Who they are, what they do, why a prospect might consider them. 3 sentences.]

THEIR PITCH:
"[What their sales team says — the narrative they lead with]"

OUR COUNTER:
"[How to reframe — acknowledge their strength, pivot to our advantage]"

LANDMINES (questions to plant in the prospect's mind):
1. "Ask them about [topic]" — [Why this hurts them]
2. "Ask them about [topic]" — [Why this hurts them]
3. "Ask them about [topic]" — [Why this hurts them]

TRAPS (questions they'll ask that are designed to make us look bad):
1. "[Their question]" — Our answer: "[Response that reframes]"
2. "[Their question]" — Our answer: "[Response that reframes]"

WE WIN WHEN:
- [Buyer profile / use case / evaluation criteria that favors us]

WE LOSE WHEN:
- [Buyer profile / use case / evaluation criteria that favors them]
- WHAT TO DO: [Disqualify early, or adjust approach]

KNOCKOUT PUNCH (our single strongest differentiator against them):
"[One sentence that ends the comparison in our favor]"

Completion Summary

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS SUMMARY
═════════════════════════════════════
| Competitors analyzed | ___ |
| Market positioning | [Our position in 1 sentence] |
| Primary differentiator | [Our #1 advantage] |
| Primary vulnerability | [Our #1 weakness to address] |
| Product recommendations | ___ |
| Positioning recommendations | ___ |
| Battlecards generated | ___ |
═════════════════════════════════════

Ready for: /prd (to inform feature decisions) or /brief --audience exec (to present to leadership)

Formatting Rules

• Use evidence, not opinion. "We're better at X" needs proof.
• Be honest about weaknesses. The sales team will encounter them regardless — better to prepare.
• Battlecards are living documents. Note the date and review frequency.
• Positioning maps use ASCII art for portability
• After the landscape analysis, pause: "Does this match your view of the competitive landscape? Any competitors I should dig deeper on?"