competitive-intelligence-analyst

# Competitive Intelligence Analyst

## Overview

Transform competitive intelligence from ad-hoc research into systematic, actionable insights that drive positioning decisions, enable sales wins, and inform product strategy. This skill encodes the frameworks and procedures that separate reactive competitor monitoring from proactive competitive advantage.

## When to Use This Skill

- **Competitor deep-dives** — Comprehensive analysis of a specific competitor's positioning, strengths, weaknesses
- **Battle card creation** — Sales enablement content with talk tracks and objection handling
- **Market mapping** — Understanding competitive landscape and whitespace opportunities
- **Win/loss analysis** — Extracting patterns from competitive deals won and lost
- **Positioning updates** — Responding to competitor moves (pricing, features, messaging)
- **Strategic planning** — Informing product roadmap and go-to-market decisions

## Core Analysis Frameworks

### Framework 1: Positioning Deconstruction

Systematically decode a competitor's market position by analyzing their public-facing materials.

#### Data Collection Checklist

| Source | What to Extract |
|--------|-----------------|
| **Homepage** | Hero message, primary value proposition, social proof, primary CTA |
| **Pricing page** | Tier structure, feature gates, target customer signals, pricing model |
| **Product pages** | Feature emphasis, benefit framing, use case positioning |
| **About/Company** | Mission statement, company narrative, funding/growth signals |
| **Blog/Content** | Topic focus, thought leadership angles, SEO strategy |
| **Case studies** | Target industries, customer size, outcomes emphasized |
| **Careers** | Hiring priorities, team size, growth signals |

#### Positioning Statement Extraction

Reconstruct their implicit positioning statement:

> For [target customer] who [has this problem], [Company] is a [category] that [key differentiator]. Unlike [competitors], we [unique value].

**Example:**
> For mid-market sales teams who struggle with pipeline visibility, Gong is a revenue intelligence platform that provides AI-powered conversation analytics. Unlike basic CRM reporting, we surface insights from actual customer conversations.

### Framework 2: Competitive Strength/Weakness Matrix

Rate each competitor on key dimensions that matter to buyers.

| Dimension | Weight | Competitor A | Competitor B | Us |
|-----------|--------|--------------|--------------|-----|
| **Product completeness** | 25% | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| **Ease of use** | 20% | 3/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| **Price/value** | 20% | 2/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| **Integration ecosystem** | 15% | 5/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| **Customer support** | 10% | 3/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| **Brand/trust** | 10% | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| **Weighted score** | 100% | 3.45 | 3.55 | 3.85 |

**Weighting methodology:**
- Survey sales team on what buyers prioritize
- Analyze win/loss data for decision factors
- Review G2/analyst reports for evaluation criteria

### Framework 3: Porter's Competitive Forces Analysis

#### 1. Direct Competitors
- Who competes for the same budget and buyer?
- What's their primary differentiation angle?
- Where do they win vs. where do we win?

#### 2. Substitute Solutions
- What alternatives exist outside our category?
- Why might buyers choose "do nothing" or "build internally"?
- What triggers movement from substitutes to our category?

#### 3. New Entrants
- Who's entering the market?
- What's their beachhead strategy?
- Do they compete on price, feature, or positioning?

#### 4. Supplier Power
- What dependencies do competitors have?
- Are there platform risks (e.g., AI model providers)?
- What partnerships give competitive advantage?

#### 5. Buyer Power
- How consolidated is the buyer base?
- What's the switching cost reality?
- How price-sensitive is the market?

### Framework 4: Blue Ocean Canvas

Map competitive factors on two axes:
1. **Eliminate** — What can we remove that competitors over-invest in?
2. **Reduce** — What can we downgrade below industry standard?
3. **Raise** — What should we elevate above industry standard?
4. **Create** — What new factors should we introduce?

**Example (simplified):**

| Factor | Industry Norm | Competitor A | Competitor B | Our Strategy |
|--------|---------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Feature breadth | High | High | High | **Reduce** |
| Ease of setup | Low | Low | Medium | **Raise** |
| Enterprise security | High | High | Low | Match |
| AI-native | Low | Low | Low | **Create** |
| Price | High | High | Medium | **Reduce** |

## Battle Card Creation Process

### Battle Card Structure

Every battle card should contain these sections:

#### 1. Quick Reference (Top of Card)
- Competitor name and logo
- One-line positioning
- Primary target market
- Pricing range
- Key differentiator

#### 2. Competitive Overview
- Company background (founding, funding, size)
- Product offering summary
- Market positioning
- Recent news/developments

#### 3. Where They Win
- Scenarios where competitor has advantage
- Customer types that prefer them
- Features/capabilities where they excel
- Be honest — sales reps need to know when to disengage

#### 4. Where We Win
- Our differentiators with proof points
- Customer types that prefer us
- Use cases where we excel
- Specific feature advantages

#### 5. Common Objections & Responses

| They Say | We Say | Proof Point |
|----------|--------|-------------|
| "[Competitor] has more features" | "More features doesn't mean better fit. Our focus on [X] means you get [specific benefit] without complexity." | "[Customer] chose us over [competitor] specifically because..." |
| "[Competitor] is cheaper" | "Let's compare total value. When you factor in [implementation time/support costs/productivity], our customers see [X]% better ROI." | "ROI study shows..." |
| "I've heard [competitor] is easier to use" | "For [specific use case], we've invested heavily in UX. Here's what [customer] said about implementation..." | Customer quote or G2 review |

#### 6. Landmine Questions

Questions to ask prospects that expose competitor weaknesses:

- "How important is [our strength] to your evaluation?"
- "Have you asked [competitor] about their approach to [their weakness]?"
- "What's your timeline for implementation? I ask because..."
- "How will you handle [scenario where competitor struggles]?"

#### 7. Trap-Setting Narratives

Stories that reframe the conversation in our favor:

> "Before I share more about us, I'm curious — have you seen how [competitor] handles [scenario]? We've heard from customers who switched that [pain point] was a bigger issue than they expected. Specifically, [example]..."

### Battle Card Update Triggers

Update battle cards when:
- Competitor releases major feature
- Competitor changes pricing
- New win/loss patterns emerge
- Competitor receives significant funding/acquisition
- Major customer wins or losses on either side
- Analyst report changes positioning
- G2/review site sentiment shifts

## Win/Loss Analysis Framework

### Data Collection

For every competitive deal (won or lost), capture:

| Field | Won Deals | Lost Deals |
|-------|-----------|------------|
| Competitor(s) involved | Yes | Yes |
| Primary decision factor | Yes | Yes |
| Secondary factors | Yes | Yes |
| Decision maker role | Yes | Yes |
| Deal size | Yes | Yes |
| Sales cycle length | Yes | Yes |
| Evaluation criteria stated | Yes | Yes |
| What changed their mind? | Why us? | Why them? |
| Would they consider us again? | N/A | Yes |

### Analysis Questions

#### Pattern Detection
- Which competitors do we consistently beat? Lose to?
- What deal sizes favor us vs. competitors?
- Which personas favor us vs. competitors?
- What industries/use cases favor us?
- At what stage do we typically win/lose competitive deals?

#### Root Cause Analysis
- When we lose on price, is it list price or perceived value?
- When we lose on features, is it real gaps or positioning?
- When we lose on trust, is it brand awareness or sales execution?
- When we win, what's the recurring theme?

### Competitive Win Rate Dashboard

Track monthly/quarterly:

| Metric | This Period | Last Period | Trend |
|--------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| Overall competitive win rate | 45% | 42% | ↑ |
| Win rate vs. Competitor A | 52% | 48% | ↑ |
| Win rate vs. Competitor B | 38% | 40% | ↓ |
| Competitive deal volume | 34 | 29 | ↑ |
| Average competitive deal size | $45K | $38K | ↑ |

## Monitoring and Intelligence Gathering

### Automated Monitoring Setup

| Source | Frequency | What to Track |
|--------|-----------|---------------|
| **Website changes** | Weekly | Pricing, positioning, feature pages |
| **LinkedIn** | Daily | Hiring, posts, company updates |
| **G2/Capterra** | Weekly | New reviews, rating changes, mentions |
| **News/PR** | Daily | Funding, partnerships, customer wins |
| **Glassdoor** | Monthly | Employee sentiment, strategic hints |
| **Job postings** | Weekly | Investment areas, growth signals |
| **Patent filings** | Quarterly | Innovation direction |
| **SEC filings** | Quarterly | Financial health (public companies) |

### Manual Research Cadence

| Activity | Frequency | Output |
|----------|-----------|--------|
| Competitor product demo | Quarterly | Feature comparison update |
| Pricing mystery shop | Quarterly | Pricing intelligence update |
| Customer reference calls | Monthly | Win/loss insights |
| Sales team debriefs | Weekly | Real-time competitive intel |
| Analyst briefings | Quarterly | Market positioning validation |

## Competitive Response Playbooks

### Response to Competitor Price Cut

1. **Assess impact** — Does this affect our target market?
2. **Gather context** — Why did they cut prices? (Desperation? Land-grab? New tier?)
3. **Test messaging** — Update battle card with value-based counter
4. **Arm sales** — Provide ROI calculator, case studies showing TCO
5. **Monitor** — Track win rate impact over 30-60 days
6. **Decide** — Strategic response (match, ignore, differentiate harder)

### Response to Competitor Feature Launch

1. **Assess parity** — Do we have this? Is it different?
2. **Evaluate demand** — Are our customers asking for this?
3. **Position** — "We chose not to build this because..." or "We're investing in..."
4. **Counter-message** — What do we do better that matters more?
5. **Brief sales** — Same-day email with talk tracks
6. **Product input** — Feed into roadmap discussion

### Response to Competitor Customer Win

1. **Determine if public** — How much attention is this getting?
2. **Analyze the loss** — Did we compete? Why did we lose?
3. **Counter-program** — Can we announce a similar win?
4. **Extract learnings** — Update battle card, brief sales
5. **Follow up** — Set calendar reminder to check on their success in 6 months

## Output Templates

### Competitive Briefing Document Structure

1. Executive Summary (1 paragraph)
2. Competitive Landscape Overview (1 page)
3. Detailed Competitor Profiles (1 page each)
4. Competitive Positioning Matrix (1 page)
5. Battle Cards (1-2 pages per competitor)
6. Recommended Actions (half page)

### Sales Enablement Slack/Email Update

> **🎯 Competitive Alert: [Competitor] [Action]**
>
> **What happened:** [1-2 sentences]
>
> **Why it matters:** [Impact on deals]
>
> **What to say:** [Talk track]
>
> **Full details:** [Link to battle card]

## Resources

### references/
- **analysis-templates.md** — Detailed templates for each analysis framework
- **data-sources.md** — Comprehensive list of competitive intelligence sources
- **interview-guides.md** — Scripts for win/loss interviews and customer research

### scripts/
- **website-diff-monitor.py** — Detects and reports competitor website changes
- **review-sentiment-tracker.py** — Aggregates and trends G2/Capterra sentiment

### assets/
- **battle-card-template.pptx** — Formatted battle card template
- **competitive-matrix.xlsx** — Pre-built competitive analysis spreadsheet
- **win-loss-tracker.xlsx** — Win/loss data collection template