| name | Market Analysis |
| description | Synthesizes competitive research into strategic insights, SWOT analyses, and positioning recommendations. Activates when the user wants a competitive analysis, market positioning review, competitor comparison matrix, or asks 'how do we stack up against the competition?' Identifies market gaps and strategic opportunities. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
Market Analysis
Synthesize competitive research data into strategic insights. This skill takes structured competitor data (from the competitive-research skill) and produces SWOT analyses, positioning characterizations, multi-competitor matrices, and actionable strategic recommendations.
SWOT Synthesis
Building from Research Data
Construct SWOT analysis from gathered data rather than guessing. Each quadrant maps to specific data signals:
Strengths (infer from):
- High review scores (>4.2/5.0 on G2/Capterra) with specific praise themes
- Differentiating features users explicitly highlight
- Strong free tier that drives adoption
- Clear market leadership signals (high review count = established user base)
- Pricing advantage (lower than comparable alternatives)
Weaknesses (infer from):
- Recurring complaint themes in reviews (e.g., "complex setup", "poor mobile app")
- Missing features competitors commonly offer
- Pricing higher than alternatives without clear justification
- Low review count relative to age (indicates slow adoption)
- "Contact Sales" only pricing (barrier to self-serve adoption)
Opportunities (infer from):
- Complaints competitors can't address (e.g., "we wish it had X" = unmet need)
- High pricing creating room for affordable alternative
- No strong player in specific segment (enterprise vs. SMB gap)
- Recent news showing pivots away from certain segments
Threats (infer from):
- Recent product launches closing feature gaps
- Pricing reductions increasing competitive pressure
- Funding announcements enabling faster development
- New entrants targeting same positioning
SWOT Output Format
Present SWOT as a 2x2 matrix summary followed by bulleted details. Consult skills/compete/market-analysis/references/analysis-frameworks.md for SWOT templates and inference rules.
Competitive Positioning Framework
Positioning Archetypes
Classify each competitor into a primary positioning archetype based on messaging and target audience signals:
| Archetype | Signals | Example Messaging |
|---|
| Enterprise Leader | "Security", "compliance", "scale", complex pricing | "Built for teams of all sizes" |
| SMB Friendly | Affordable pricing, simple UI focus, self-serve | "Get started in minutes" |
| Developer-First | API-first, technical docs, GitHub integration | "Built by developers, for developers" |
| Non-Technical Founder | No-code, templates, guided setup | "No coding required" |
| Vertical Specialist | Industry-specific features, compliance focus | "Built for [industry]" |
| Challenger/Disruptor | "vs [category leader]", price disruption | "Everything [X] does, at half the price" |
Messaging Analysis
Analyze tagline, value prop, and homepage content to extract:
- Primary claim: What single benefit do they lead with?
- Audience signal: Who are they addressing? ("for teams", "for developers", "for agencies")
- Differentiation angle: How do they claim to be different?
- Proof points: What evidence do they cite? (customer logos, statistics, awards)
Market Segmentation
Identify which market segments each competitor targets:
- Size: Solo/freelancer → SMB → Mid-market → Enterprise
- Technical level: Technical → Semi-technical → Non-technical
- Vertical: General → Industry-specific (legal, healthcare, e-commerce, etc.)
- Geography: Global → Regional focus
'vs You' Analysis
When --your-product is Provided
Activate self-comparison analysis when the user provides --your-product="description". Use the description to:
- Infer the product's pricing tier, target audience, and feature set
- Identify where the product likely overlaps with each competitor
- Identify where the product differs from each competitor
- Surface positioning whitespace
Feature Gap Analysis
Build a feature comparison across key dimensions.
For each research dimension, assess:
- You win: Feature/capability where the user's product is notably stronger
- They win: Feature/capability where the competitor is notably stronger
- Parity: Comparable capability (no meaningful advantage)
- Neither has it: Potential unmet market need
Prioritize gaps that appear in competitor review complaints — these are unmet needs users actively express.
Differentiation Opportunities
Identify positioning whitespace by mapping:
- Which archetypes are overcrowded (multiple strong competitors)
- Which archetypes have no strong player
- Which price points are underserved
- Which audience segments are underserved
The most valuable differentiation opportunity = overcrowded segment with high user complaints + underserved segment with demand signals.
Pricing Positioning
Assess price positioning relative to competitors:
- Below market: Potential price-to-win angle, but check feature parity first
- At market: Requires feature or experience differentiation to win
- Above market: Requires clear premium justification (enterprise features, compliance, support SLA)
Recommend pricing angle based on the product description and competitive gaps found.
Strategic Recommendations
Recommendation Generation Rules
Generate 3-5 actionable recommendations. Each recommendation must:
- Be specific: "Offer a freemium tier with 3 projects" > "Consider a free plan"
- Be grounded: Tied to a specific competitive data finding
- Have a clear action: A founder can act on it this quarter
- State the rationale: "Because X competitor's users complain about Y..."
Recommendation Types
| Type | Trigger Signal | Example |
|---|
| Pricing adjustment | Competitors significantly cheaper/pricier | "Introduce a $19/month solo tier to capture self-serve market" |
| Feature gap | Competitors missing feature users want | "Add Slack integration — top complaint across 3 competitors" |
| Messaging pivot | Positioning whitespace identified | "Lead with 'for agencies' messaging — no competitor owns this segment" |
| Market segment | Underserved segment found | "Target freelancers — no competitor has self-serve pricing below $30/month" |
| Competitive defense | Competitor directly threatening position | "Highlight [differentiator] in onboarding — competitor X just launched similar feature" |
Prioritization Framework
Order recommendations by: Impact x Urgency
- High impact + high urgency: Do first (competitive threats, pricing gaps)
- High impact + low urgency: Plan for next quarter (feature gaps, messaging)
- Low impact + high urgency: Quick wins (copy changes, positioning tweaks)
- Low impact + low urgency: Monitor (emerging threats, niche opportunities)
Matrix Building (for /founder-os:compete:matrix)
Matrix Dimensions
Use these 7 dimensions as matrix rows when comparing multiple competitors:
| Dimension | What to Include |
|---|
| Pricing | Starting price, pricing model, free tier |
| Target Market | Primary audience and company size |
| Key Features | 3-5 standout capabilities |
| Positioning | Primary messaging angle and archetype |
| Review Score | Composite score with platform breakdown |
| Strengths | Top 2-3 competitive advantages |
| Weaknesses | Top 2-3 notable gaps or complaints |
Normalization for Comparison
Make matrix entries scannable by normalizing:
- Pricing: Always include
per user/month or flat/month for comparability
- Review scores: Show as
X.X/5.0 (N reviews on G2)
- Features: Use consistent feature names across rows (do not call it "API" for one and "Integrations" for another)
- Strengths/Weaknesses: 3-5 word phrases, not sentences
'You' Column
When --your-product is provided, add a rightmost "You" column. For each dimension:
- Pricing: State the price/model or "TBD"
- Other dimensions: Assess based on the user's product description
- Highlight cells where the product has a clear advantage with a checkmark marker
- Note whitespace opportunities (where no competitor excels) with a lightbulb marker
Analysis Quality Standards
Data Sufficiency Checks
Before generating analysis, verify minimum data thresholds:
- SWOT: Requires at least 3 data signals per quadrant; mark quadrants as "Insufficient data" when below threshold
- Positioning archetype: Requires homepage messaging + at least 1 other signal; default to "Unclear" if only one signal exists
- Recommendations: Only generate recommendations grounded in actual research findings; never fabricate competitive signals
Confidence Levels
Assign confidence levels to major conclusions:
- High confidence: Based on 3+ independent signals (e.g., review themes + pricing page + feature page)
- Medium confidence: Based on 2 signals or 1 strong signal (e.g., homepage messaging only)
- Low confidence / inferred: Based on 1 weak signal or logical inference; flag clearly as "inferred from..."
Avoiding Fabrication
When research data is sparse or ambiguous:
- State what is known vs. what is inferred explicitly
- Do not invent competitor features or pricing not found in research
- Use hedging language: "Based on available data...", "Signals suggest...", "Could not verify..."
- Flag data gaps as research opportunities: "Recommend checking G2 reviews directly for complaint themes"
Synthesis Workflow
When called after /founder-os:compete:research or with structured competitor data, follow this sequence:
- Inventory the data: List all competitors researched and the data fields gathered for each
- Normalize fields: Standardize pricing formats, review score formats, and feature terminology
- Classify archetypes: Assign each competitor a positioning archetype with 2-3 supporting signals
- Run SWOT per competitor: Apply inference rules from
skills/compete/market-analysis/references/analysis-frameworks.md
- Build matrix: Compile normalized data into comparison matrix
- Identify whitespace: Map overcrowded vs. underserved positions
- Generate recommendations: Apply recommendation heuristics, prioritize by Impact x Urgency
- Self-comparison (if --your-product provided): Run feature gap analysis and differentiation mapping — see
skills/compete/market-analysis/references/analysis-frameworks.md Section 5 for step-by-step process
