Competitive Analysis
Strategic competitive analysis with SWOT and positioning
- • Clear market definition and ICP before any comparisons.
- • Side‑by‑side comparisons that focus on outcomes, not checkbox features.
- • Honest weaknesses and switching costs—yours and theirs.
- • Differentiation framed as moats (distribution, data, network effects), not slogans.
- • Pricing/packaging analysis with real plan pages and notes on add‑ons.
- • Treating differentiation as a feature checklist—users buy outcomes.
- • Using stale sources from last year's deck.
- • Ignoring substitutes and “do nothing” as real competitors.
- • Cherry‑picking categories where you already win.
- • Confusing table stakes with differentiators (login ≠ advantage).
What should I include in a competitive analysis?
Include the market definition, target customer, pricing, positioning, switching costs, and reasons for wins and losses. Cite sources and distinguish evidence from assumptions.
How often should I update competitive analysis?
Choose a review cadence based on how quickly the market changes, and check current pricing before launch or a pricing decision.
How do I find indirect competitors?
Look at jobs‑to‑be‑done and existing workflows: spreadsheets, agencies, internal tools. “Do nothing” is a competitor too—show why switching is worth it.
How do I compare features fairly?
Define scenarios and compare how well each product supports them, including time to value. Feature availability alone does not show how useful it is.
What if I don't have good public data?
Use pricing pages, job postings, release notes, review sites, and customer interviews. Triangulate. Say what's assumed vs. known.
Which frameworks actually help?
SWOT for clarity, 2×2 positioning for strategy, JTBD for real differentiation. Use as lenses, not crutches.
How do I avoid bias?
Ask sales and customer success to challenge the findings. Include specific areas where competitors perform better.
How do I turn this into roadmap decisions?
Group gaps by “table stakes vs advantage”. Table stakes get minimal parity; advantages get doubled down with moats (data, distribution).
How do I compare pricing apples‑to‑apples?
Normalize by unit (per user, per seat, per event). Include add‑ons and overage. Total cost at realistic usage beats headline prices.
Should we copy competitor X?
Consider it if the feature meets an important customer need or removes a barrier to switching. Compare that work with other ways to improve the product.
When to use it
Use this ahead of strategy reviews, pricing changes, or GTM planning. It covers positioning updates and decisions about feature parity and differentiation.
Before you use the output
- •Fill in the variables with the facts and constraints you have.
- •Check the output against your source material and revise any mistakes.
- •Enable web search where available and check the dates and sources it returns.
Expected output
Strategic analysis with recommendations