business-researcher

name	business-researcher
description	Business Researcher - Complete market research, competitive analysis, customer research, and data synthesis. Use when: researching markets, analyzing competitors, understanding customers, gathering data for decisions. Include: market research, competitive intelligence, customer insights, data synthesis, reports. Works with: Claude Code, OpenCode, Cursor, Any SKILL.md agent.
version	1.0.0
author	Business Brain
license	MIT
tags	["research","market-analysis","competitive-intelligence","customer-insights"]
agents	["universal"]

Business Researcher Skill

Complete business research for data-driven decision making.

Research Types

Type	Purpose	Methods
Market Research	Size, trends, opportunity	Reports, data, surveys
Competitive Analysis	Who, what, how they win	Scraping, reviews, analysis
Customer Research	Pain points, needs	Interviews, surveys
Product Research	Feasibility, validation	Testing, analysis
Technology Research	Tech landscape, tools	Documentation, testing

Research Methodology

Primary Research

Method	Best For	Sample	Cost
Surveys	Quant data	100-1000	$
Interviews	Deep insights	10-30	$$
Focus Groups	Reactions	5-10 groups	$$
Observations	Behavior	10+ sessions	$$

Secondary Research

Source	Data	Cost
Industry reports	Market data	$$$
Company filings	Financials	Free/$
News/Press	Trends	Free
Academic papers	Deep dives	Free
Social media	Sentiment	Free

Market Research Framework

Standard Report Structure

# Market Research: [Market Name]

## Executive Summary
[1-page overview with key findings]

## Market Sizing
- TAM: $[X]
- SAM: $[Y]
- SOM: $[Z]

## Growth Dynamics
- Historical: [% YoY]
- Projected: [% YoY]
- Drivers: [List]

## Key Players
| Company | Market Share | Revenue | Focus |
|---------|--------------|---------|-------|
| [A] | [%] | $[X] | [Y] |
| [B] | [%] | $[X] | [Y] |

## Customer Segments
| Segment | Size | Needs | Willingness |
|---------|-----|------|-------------|
| [A] | [%] | [Needs] | [High/Med/Low] |

## Trends
1. [Trend 1]
2. [Trend 2]

## Opportunities
1. [Opportunity 1]
2. [Opportunity 2]

## Risks
1. [Risk 1]
2. [Risk 2]

## Conclusion
[Summary + Recommendations]

Competitive Intelligence

Competitive Analysis Matrix

Dimension	Us	Comp A	Comp B
Product	[X]	[X]	[X]
Pricing	[X]	[X]	[X]
Distribution	[X]	[X]	[X]
Marketing	[X]	[X]	[X]
Strengths	[X]	[X]	[X]
Weaknesses	[X]	[X]	[X]

Win/Loss Analysis Framework

## Win Analysis (Last 10 deals)

Wins:
- [Reason]: [Count]
- [Reason]: [Count]

Losses:
- [Reason]: [Count]
- [Reason]: [Count]

### Win Themes:
1. [Theme]
2. [Theme]

### Loss Themes:
1. [Theme]
2. [Theme]

Customer Research

Interview Guide Template

## Customer Interview: [Company]

### Context
- Interviewee: [Name, Role]
- Company: [Name, Size]
- Interview Date: [Date]

### Questions

#### Current State
1. What's your biggest challenge with [area]?
2. How are you solving this today?
3. What's working/not working?

#### Evaluation
4. What would make [solution] ideal?
5. What hesitations do you have?
6. What's your decision process?

#### Value
7. What's this worth to you?
8. What's the cost of not solving it?

### Key Quotes
- "[Quote 1]"
- "[Quote 2]"

### Themes
- [Theme 1]
- [Theme 2]

### Next Steps
[Actions]

Survey Questions by Stage

Stage	Questions
Discovery	Problem awareness, current solutions
Validation	Feature priorities, pricing
Commitment	Purchase intent, objections

Data Synthesis

Analysis Frameworks

PESTLE

• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Technological
• Legal
• Environmental

Porter's Five Forces

• New entrants
• Suppliers
• Buyers
• Substitutes
• Competitors

SWOT

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

Research Delivery

Executive Summary Template

# Research: [Topic]

## TL;DR
[One sentence]

## Key Findings
1. [Finding 1] - [Impact]
2. [Finding 2] - [Impact]
3. [Finding 3] - [Impact]

## Recommendations
1. [Recommendation 1] - Rationale
2. [Recommendation 2] - Rationale

## Supporting Evidence
- [Evidence 1]
- [Evidence 2]

## Appendix
- Methodology
- Sources
- Limitations

Sources & Tools

Research Sources

Source	Type	Best For
Crunchbase	Database	Companies, funding
G2/Capterra	Reviews	Product comparisons
SimilarWeb	Traffic	Market share
LinkedIn	Network	Customer research
Google Alerts	News	Trends
PitchBook	Private market	B2B data
CB Insights	AI research	Industry

Research Tools

Tool	Use
Google Forms	Surveys
Typeform	Customer interviews
Notion	Research repository
Airtable	Data organization
Miro	Visual synthesis

Usage Examples

User: "Research the CRM market"
Agent: Comprehensive market analysis with size, players, opportunities

User: "Why did we lose to [Competitor]?"
Agent: Win/loss analysis, competitor breakdown

User: "What do our customers want?"
Agent: Synthesize research, key themes, priorities

User: "Is there demand for [feature]?"
Agent: Validate with market analysis, customer data

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Compatible Agents

All SKILL.md compatible agents ✅

See Also

• competitive-strategist (competitor deep-dive)
• opportunity-finder (opportunity identification)
• product-researcher (product-specific research)