Research competitors and generate a positioning and messaging comparison with content gaps, opportunities, and threats. Use when building sales battlecards, when finding positioning gaps and messaging angles competitors haven't claimed, or when a competitor makes a move and you need to assess the impact.
Research competitors and generate a positioning and messaging comparison with content gaps, opportunities, and threats. Use when building sales battlecards, when finding positioning gaps and messaging angles competitors haven't claimed, or when a competitor makes a move and you need to assess the impact.
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<competitor or market segment>
Competitive Brief
If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.
Research competitors and generate a structured competitive analysis comparing positioning, messaging, content strategy, and market presence.
Trigger
User runs /competitive-brief or asks for a competitive analysis, competitor research, or market comparison.
Inputs
Gather the following from the user:
Competitor name(s) — one or more competitors to analyze (required)
Your company/product context (optional but recommended):
What you sell and to whom
Your positioning or value proposition
Key differentiators you want to highlight
Focus areas (optional — if not specified, cover all):
Messaging and positioning
Product and feature comparison
Content and thought leadership strategy
Recent announcements and news
Pricing and packaging (if publicly available)
Market presence and audience
Research Process
For each competitor, research using web search:
Company website — homepage messaging, product pages, about page, pricing page
News coverage: TechCrunch, industry publications — funding, partnerships, narrative
Social listening: mentions, sentiment, share of voice across social platforms
SEO tools: keyword rankings, organic traffic estimates, content gaps
Financial filings: revenue, growth rate, investment areas (for public companies)
Community forums: community forums (e.g. Reddit, Discourse), industry chat groups (e.g. Slack communities) — user sentiment
Research Cadence
Deep competitive analysis: quarterly (full research across all sources)
Competitive monitoring: monthly (scan for new announcements, content, messaging changes)
Real-time alerts: ongoing (set up alerts for competitor brand mentions, press, job postings)
Competitive Brief Structure
1. Executive Summary
2-3 sentence overview of the competitive landscape
Key takeaway: your biggest opportunity and biggest threat
2. Competitor Profiles
For each competitor:
Company Overview
What they do (one-sentence positioning)
Target audience
Company size/stage indicators (funding, employee count if available)
Key recent developments
Messaging Analysis
Primary tagline or headline
Core value proposition
Key messaging themes (3-5)
Tone and voice characterization
How they describe the problem they solve
Product/Solution Positioning
How they categorize their product
Key features they emphasize
Claimed differentiators
Pricing approach (if publicly available)
Content Strategy
Blog frequency and topics
Content types produced (ebooks, webinars, case studies, tools)
Social media presence and engagement approach
Thought leadership themes
SEO strategy observations (what terms they appear to target)
Strengths
What they do well
Where their messaging resonates
Competitive advantages
Weaknesses
Gaps in their messaging or positioning
Areas where they are vulnerable
Customer complaints or criticism themes (from reviews)
3. Messaging Comparison Matrix
Dimension
Your Company
Competitor A
Competitor B
Primary tagline
...
...
...
Target buyer
...
...
...
Key differentiator
...
...
...
Tone/voice
...
...
...
Core value prop
...
...
...
(Include user's company only if they provided their positioning context)
4. Content Gap Analysis
Topics your competitors cover that you do not (or vice versa)
Content formats they use that you could adopt
Keywords or themes they own vs. opportunities they have missed
5. Opportunities
Positioning gaps you can exploit
Messaging angles your competitors have not claimed
Audience segments they are underserving
Content or channel opportunities
6. Threats
Areas where competitors are strong and you are vulnerable
Trends that favor their positioning
Recent moves that could shift the market
7. Recommended Actions
3-5 specific, actionable recommendations based on the analysis
Quick wins (things you can act on this week)
Strategic moves (longer-term positioning or content investments)
Analysis Frameworks
Messaging Comparison Frameworks
Value Proposition Comparison
For each competitor, document:
Promise: what they promise the customer will achieve
Evidence: how they prove the promise (data, testimonials, demos)
Mechanism: how their product delivers on the promise (the "how it works")
Uniqueness: what they claim only they can do
Narrative Analysis
Identify each competitor's story arc:
Villain: what problem or enemy they position against (status quo, legacy tools, complexity)
Hero: who is the hero in their story (the customer? the product? the team?)
Transformation: what before/after do they promise?
Stakes: what happens if you do not act?
This reveals positioning strategy and emotional appeals.
Messaging Strengths and Vulnerabilities
For each competitor's messaging, assess:
Clarity: can a first-time visitor understand what they do in 5 seconds?
Differentiation: is their positioning distinct or generic?
Proof: do they back up claims with evidence?
Consistency: is messaging consistent across channels?
Resonance: does their messaging address real customer pain points?
Content Gap Analysis Methodology
Content Audit Comparison
Map content across competitors by:
Topic/Theme
Your Content
Competitor A
Competitor B
Gap?
[Topic 1]
Blog post, ebook
Blog series, webinar
Nothing
Opportunity for B
[Topic 2]
Nothing
Whitepaper
Blog post, video
Gap for you
[Topic 3]
Case study
Nothing
Case study
Parity
Content Type Coverage
Content Format
You
Comp A
Comp B
Comp C
Blog posts
Y
Y
Y
Y
Case studies
Y
Y
N
Y
Ebooks/Whitepapers
N
Y
Y
N
Webinars
Y
Y
Y
N
Podcast
N
N
Y
N
Video content
N
Y
Y
Y
Interactive tools
N
N
N
Y
Templates/Resources
Y
N
Y
N
Identifying Content Opportunities
Topics they cover that you do not: potential gaps in your content strategy
Topics you cover that they do not: potential differentiators to amplify
Formats they use that you do not: format gaps that could reach new audiences
Audience segments they address that you do not: underserved audiences
Search terms they rank for that you do not: SEO content gaps
Content Quality Assessment
Depth: surface-level or comprehensive?
Freshness: regularly updated or stale?
Engagement: do posts get comments, shares, links?
Production value: text-only or multimedia?
Thought leadership: original insights or rehashed content?
Positioning Strategy
Positioning Statement Framework
For your company and each competitor, define (or reverse-engineer) their positioning statement:
For [target audience], [product/company] is the [category] that [key benefit/differentiator] because [reason to believe].
Example:
For mid-market SaaS marketing teams, Acme is the campaign management platform that unifies planning and execution in one workspace because it is built on a single data model that eliminates tool fragmentation.
Positioning Map
Plot competitors on a 2x2 matrix using the two most important dimensions for your market:
Common axis pairs:
Price vs. Capability (low cost / basic vs. premium / full-featured)
Ease of Use vs. Power (simple / limited vs. complex / flexible)
SMB Focus vs. Enterprise Focus (self-serve / individual vs. sales-led / team)
Point Solution vs. Platform (does one thing well vs. does many things)
Innovative vs. Established (new approach vs. proven track record)
Identify which quadrant is underserved or where your differentiation is strongest.
Category Strategy
Create a new category: if you do something genuinely different, define and own the category (high risk, high reward)
Reframe the existing category: change how buyers evaluate the category to favor your strengths
Win the existing category: compete directly on recognized criteria and out-execute
Niche within the category: own a specific segment, use case, or audience
Positioning Pitfalls to Avoid
Positioning against a competitor rather than for a customer need
Claiming too many differentiators (pick 1-2 that matter most)
Using category jargon the customer does not use
Positioning on features rather than outcomes
Changing positioning too frequently (confuses the market)
Battlecard Creation
A competitive battlecard is a one-page reference for sales and marketing teams. Include:
Header
Competitor name and logo
Last updated date
Competitive win rate (if tracked)
Quick Overview
What they do (one sentence)
Their target customer
Pricing model summary
Key recent developments
Their Pitch
How they describe themselves
Their primary tagline
Their top 3 claimed differentiators
Strengths (Be Honest)
Where they genuinely compete well
What customers like about them (from reviews)
Features or capabilities where they lead
Weaknesses
Consistent customer complaints (from reviews)
Technical limitations
Gaps in their offering
Areas where customers report dissatisfaction
Our Differentiators
3-5 specific ways your product or approach is different
For each: the differentiator, why it matters to the customer, and proof
Objection Handling
If the prospect says...
Respond with...
"[Competitor] does X too"
"Here is how our approach differs..."
"[Competitor] is cheaper"
"Here is what that price difference gets you..."
"I've heard good things about [Competitor]"
"They are strong at X. Where we differ is..."
Landmines to Set
Questions to ask prospects early that highlight your advantages:
"How do you currently handle [area where competitor is weak]?"
"How important is [capability you have that they lack]?"
"Have you considered [risk that your product mitigates]?"
Landmines to Defuse
Questions competitors might encourage prospects to ask you, with prepared responses.
Win/Loss Themes
Common reasons deals are won against this competitor
Common reasons deals are lost to this competitor
What types of prospects favor them vs. you
Battlecard Maintenance
Review and update quarterly at minimum
Update immediately after major competitor announcements
Incorporate win/loss feedback from sales team
Track which objection-handling responses are most effective
Output
Present the full competitive brief with clear formatting. Note the date of the research so the user knows the freshness of the data.
After the brief, ask:
"Would you like me to:
Create a battlecard for your sales team based on this analysis?
Draft messaging that exploits the positioning gaps identified?
