competitor-response

user-invocable	true
name	competitor-response
description	Assess competitive threats and decide how to respond
tokens	~400
cloud-ok	true

Competitor Response

#claudeai

When to Use

A competitor launched something, raised money, made noise, or a customer asked "what about [competitor]?"

What I Need

• What happened? (launch, funding, feature, PR)
• Which competitor?
• Why are you concerned?

First: Don't Panic

Most competitive moves matter less than you think. The question isn't "should I worry?" but "does this change what I should do?"

Assessment Framework

1. Threat Level

Signal	Threat Level
PR/announcement with no product	Low - vapor
Feature you don't have	Medium - evaluate
Feature that's your core differentiator	High - respond
They're winning YOUR customers	Critical - act now
They raised money	Context-dependent

2. The Key Questions

For a feature launch:

• Do our customers actually want this?
• Is this our core value prop or adjacent?
• How long to replicate if needed?
• Does this change our positioning?

For a funding round:

• Does money alone threaten us? (usually no)
• Will they outspend us on sales/marketing?
• Does this validate the market? (often good for you)

For customer loss:

• Why did they switch? (get the real reason)
• Is this a pattern or one-off?
• What segment is vulnerable?

3. Response Options

Option	When to Use
Ignore	Doesn't affect your customers or positioning
Monitor	Interesting but not urgent
Differentiate	They're going one direction, you go another
Match	Table stakes feature you're missing
Leapfrog	Build something better, not equivalent
Communicate	Customers are asking - address it proactively

Output Format

## Competitive Assessment: [Competitor] - [Event]

**What happened:** [Facts only]

**Threat level:** LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH / CRITICAL

**Impact on us:**
- Customers: [Will they care?]
- Positioning: [Does this change our story?]
- Roadmap: [Should we adjust?]

**Recommended response:** [IGNORE / MONITOR / DIFFERENTIATE / MATCH / LEAPFROG]

**Action items:**
1. [Specific action]
2. [Specific action]

**Talking points (if customers ask):**
- [How to address this]

What NOT to Do

• Panic-ship a half-baked response
• Copy their feature exactly (you'll always be behind)
• Trash-talk them publicly
• Ignore customers asking about it
• Assume your customers care (ask them)

Quick Reframe

• Competitor success often validates your market
• Features are easier to copy than distribution
• Your unfair advantage is what they CAN'T copy
• Focus on your game, not theirs