competitive-intelligence

name	competitive-intelligence
description	Use when the user wants to understand the competitive landscape from a product perspective, build competitive battlecards, analyze competitor product strategy, track competitor moves, or prepare for competitive sales situations. Also use when the user mentions 'competitive analysis,' 'battlecards,' 'win/loss,' 'how do we compare,' 'competitor features,' or 'what is X building.'

Competitive Intelligence

Competitive intelligence is not a feature comparison spreadsheet. It is an ongoing practice of understanding why customers choose you, why they choose competitors, and where the category is going.

Win/Loss Analysis

The most valuable competitive intelligence comes from your own deals.

Win interviews: Call customers who chose you in a competitive evaluation.

• "What made you choose us over [competitor]?"
• "What almost made you go with [competitor]?"
• "What did [competitor] do better?"

Loss interviews: Call prospects who chose a competitor.

• "What made you go with [competitor] instead?"
• "What would have had to be true for you to choose us?"
• "What did we do better? (anything?)"

Do 5 wins and 5 losses per quarter. Patterns emerge fast.

Battlecard Structure

One page per competitor, usable in a sales conversation:

Section 1: When we see them

• What deals do they show up in? (segment, size, use case)
• What are their sales triggers? (what do they lead with?)

Section 2: Their strengths (honest)

• What do they genuinely do better?
• What objections will you hear: "[competitor] has [capability] and you don't"?

Section 3: Our advantages

• Where do we win? Be specific and evidence-based.
• What proof points support each advantage? (case studies, G2 reviews, metrics)

Section 4: Handle the comparison

• If prospect says "[competitor] is cheaper": [response]
• If prospect says "[competitor] has [feature] and you don't": [response]
• The landmine question they will ask: [question + answer]

Competitor Monitoring

Set up a system to catch competitor moves before they affect deals:

Source	What it reveals	Cadence
G2 / Capterra reviews	Feature gaps, customer pain, churn signals	Weekly
LinkedIn job postings	Hiring priorities = product investment signals	Monthly
Product changelog / blog	What they're shipping	Weekly
Crunchbase / funding news	Strategic direction, runway	Monthly
Glassdoor	Internal culture, engineering capacity	Quarterly
Social listening	Customer sentiment, complaints	Weekly

Positioning Against Competitors

Never position by tearing down. Position by creating a different category or reframing the choice.

Competitive reframe: "If you need [what competitor is best at], they're a good choice. If you need [what you're best at], we're the right fit."

This works because:

1. It's honest — builds trust
2. It pre-qualifies the prospect
3. It anchors the comparison on your terms

Common Rationalizations

Rationalization	Reality
"We don't really have competitors"	Every buyer has an alternative. Name what they'd do if you didn't exist.
"Competitive analysis is a distraction"	Not knowing why you lose deals is a distraction. Win/loss analysis takes 2 hours/quarter.
"We shouldn't mention competitors in sales"	Prospects already know. Addressing the comparison builds credibility.
"Their G2 reviews don't apply to us"	G2 reviews for competitors reveal what customers in your category care about.

Verification

• Win/loss interviews conducted this quarter (minimum 3 wins, 3 losses)
• Battlecard exists for each competitor appearing in > 10% of deals
• Battlecards updated in last 90 days
• Competitor monitoring system active with at least 3 sources
• Sales team can articulate competitive reframe without reading from notes