Competitive Intelligence

Comprehensive competitive analysis including landscape mapping, battlecards, and ongoing tracking.

Purpose

Competitive intelligence informs strategic decisions:

• Positioning requires understanding competitive alternatives
• Messaging requires competitive differentiation
• Sales requires battlecards for objection handling
• Strategy requires tracking competitor movements

Competitive intel should be refreshed regularly, not one-time.

Process

Phase 1: Competitive Landscape

Map the competitive ecosystem:

## Competitive Landscape

### Competitor Categories
| Category | Definition | Examples |
|----------|------------|----------|
| Direct | Same product category, same buyer | [Competitors] |
| Indirect | Different product, same problem | [Alternatives] |
| Potential | Could enter market | [Threats] |

### Competitor Profiles

#### [Competitor 1 Name]
**Overview:**
- Company: [Description]
- Founded: [Year]
- Funding: [Amount/Stage]
- Size: [Employees, Revenue if known]
- HQ: [Location]

**Product:**
- Core offering: [Description]
- Key features: [List]
- Technology: [Stack if known]
- Integrations: [Key integrations]

**Market Position:**
- Target segment: [Who they target]
- Positioning: [How they position]
- Pricing: [Model and price points]
- Market share: [Estimate if available]

**Strengths:**
1. [Strength 1]
2. [Strength 2]
3. [Strength 3]

**Weaknesses:**
1. [Weakness 1]
2. [Weakness 2]
3. [Weakness 3]

**Recent Activity:**
- [Date]: [Activity/announcement]
- [Date]: [Activity/announcement]

#### [Competitor 2 Name]
[Repeat structure]

Phase 2: Feature Comparison

Detailed feature analysis:

## Feature Comparison

### Feature Matrix
| Feature Category | Feature | Us | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|-----------------|---------|-----|--------|--------|--------|
| [Category 1] | [Feature 1] | YES/NO/PARTIAL | ... | ... | ... |
| | [Feature 2] | YES/NO/PARTIAL | ... | ... | ... |
| [Category 2] | [Feature 3] | YES/NO/PARTIAL | ... | ... | ... |
| | [Feature 4] | YES/NO/PARTIAL | ... | ... | ... |

### Legend
- YES: Full feature parity or better
- PARTIAL: Feature exists but limited
- NO: Feature not available
- SUPERIOR: Feature advantage over competitors

### Unique Features
**Our Unique Features:**
| Feature | Competitive Advantage | Customer Value |
|---------|----------------------|----------------|
| [Feature 1] | [Why unique] | [Why customers care] |
| [Feature 2] | [Why unique] | [Why customers care] |

**Competitor Unique Features:**
| Competitor | Feature | Threat Level | Our Response |
|------------|---------|--------------|--------------|
| [Comp A] | [Feature] | HIGH/MED/LOW | [How we counter] |
| [Comp B] | [Feature] | HIGH/MED/LOW | [How we counter] |

Phase 3: Win/Loss Analysis

Understand competitive dynamics:

## Win/Loss Analysis

### Win Scenarios
| Scenario | Why We Win | Key Proof Points |
|----------|------------|------------------|
| [Scenario 1] | [Reasons] | [Evidence] |
| [Scenario 2] | [Reasons] | [Evidence] |
| [Scenario 3] | [Reasons] | [Evidence] |

### Loss Scenarios
| Scenario | Why We Lose | Improvement Needed |
|----------|-------------|-------------------|
| [Scenario 1] | [Reasons] | [Gap to address] |
| [Scenario 2] | [Reasons] | [Gap to address] |
| [Scenario 3] | [Reasons] | [Gap to address] |

### Head-to-Head Analysis
| Competitor | Win Rate | Common Win Reasons | Common Loss Reasons |
|------------|----------|-------------------|---------------------|
| [Comp A] | X% | [Reasons] | [Reasons] |
| [Comp B] | X% | [Reasons] | [Reasons] |
| [Comp C] | X% | [Reasons] | [Reasons] |

### Competitive Triggers
**When to Engage:**
- [Signal that indicates opportunity]
- [Signal that indicates opportunity]

**When to Walk Away:**
- [Signal that indicates poor fit]
- [Signal that indicates poor fit]

Phase 4: Battlecards

Create sales enablement:

## Battlecards

### Battlecard: [Competitor Name]

**Quick Facts**
| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| Company | [Name] |
| HQ | [Location] |
| Founded | [Year] |
| Funding | [Amount] |
| Employees | [Count] |
| Pricing | [Range] |

**Their Positioning**
> "[Their tagline or positioning statement]"

**Their Strengths (What They'll Say)**
1. [Strength 1]
2. [Strength 2]
3. [Strength 3]

**Their Weaknesses (What They Won't Say)**
1. [Weakness 1]
2. [Weakness 2]
3. [Weakness 3]

**Why Customers Choose Them**
- [Reason 1]
- [Reason 2]

**Why Customers Choose Us Instead**
- [Reason 1]
- [Reason 2]

**Objection Handling**
| Their Claim | Our Response | Proof Point |
|-------------|--------------|-------------|
| "[Claim 1]" | [Response] | [Evidence] |
| "[Claim 2]" | [Response] | [Evidence] |
| "[Claim 3]" | [Response] | [Evidence] |

**Landmines to Set**
- Question to ask: "[Question that exposes their weakness]"
- Question to ask: "[Question that highlights our strength]"

**Trap Questions They'll Set**
- "[Question]" → Our response: "[How to handle]"
- "[Question]" → Our response: "[How to handle]"

**Win Strategy**
1. [First step]
2. [Second step]
3. [Close approach]

[Repeat for each major competitor]

Phase 5: Tracking and Updates

Establish ongoing intelligence:

## Competitive Tracking

### Monitoring Sources
| Source | Type | Frequency | Owner |
|--------|------|-----------|-------|
| [Source 1] | News/Social/Product | Daily/Weekly | [Owner] |
| [Source 2] | News/Social/Product | Daily/Weekly | [Owner] |
| [Source 3] | News/Social/Product | Daily/Weekly | [Owner] |

### Alert Triggers
| Trigger | Action | Owner |
|---------|--------|-------|
| New funding announcement | Update battlecard, assess threat | [Owner] |
| Major feature launch | Feature comparison update | [Owner] |
| Pricing change | Pricing analysis update | [Owner] |
| Key hire/departure | Profile update | [Owner] |
| Acquisition/partnership | Strategy reassessment | [Owner] |

### Update Cadence
| Deliverable | Frequency | Owner |
|-------------|-----------|-------|
| Battlecard refresh | Monthly | [Owner] |
| Feature matrix update | Quarterly | [Owner] |
| Full competitive review | Bi-annually | [Owner] |
| Ad-hoc alerts | As needed | [Owner] |

### Intelligence Gaps
| Gap | Impact | Plan to Address |
|-----|--------|-----------------|
| [Gap 1] | HIGH/MED/LOW | [How to fill] |
| [Gap 2] | HIGH/MED/LOW | [How to fill] |

Output Format

# Competitive Intelligence: [Market/Product]

## Executive Summary
- **Primary Competitors:** [Top 3]
- **Competitive Position:** [Strong/Moderate/Weak]
- **Key Differentiator:** [Primary advantage]
- **Biggest Threat:** [Primary concern]

## Competitive Landscape
[Phase 1 output]

## Feature Comparison
[Phase 2 output]

## Win/Loss Analysis
[Phase 3 output]

## Battlecards
[Phase 4 output]

## Tracking Plan
[Phase 5 output]

## Recommendations
1. **Positioning Implications:** [What this means for positioning]
2. **Product Gaps:** [Features to prioritize]
3. **Sales Enablement:** [Training/tools needed]
4. **Watch List:** [Competitors to monitor closely]

## Last Updated
- **Date:** [Date]
- **Owner:** [Name]
- **Next Review:** [Date]

Blocker Criteria

Anti-Rationalization Table

See shared-patterns/anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations.

Gate-Specific Anti-Rationalizations

Pressure Resistance

See shared-patterns/pressure-resistance.md for universal pressure scenarios.

Gate-Specific Pressures

Execution Report

Base metrics per shared-patterns/execution-report.md:

Gate-Specific Details

• competitors_profiled: N
• features_compared: N
• battlecards_created: N
• sources_referenced: N
• intelligence_gaps: N
• update_cadence_defined: YES/NO