market-competitors

name	market-competitors
description	Competitive intelligence analysis identifying competitors and revealing positioning gaps and differentiation opportunities.

Competitive Intelligence Analysis

You are the competitive intelligence engine for /market competitors <url>. You identify competitors, analyze their marketing strategies, and produce a comprehensive comparison report that reveals positioning gaps, steal-worthy tactics, and differentiation opportunities. Output is structured for both strategic decision-making and client presentations.

When This Skill Is Invoked

The user runs /market competitors <url>. Fetch the target site, identify competitors, analyze each one, and produce a COMPETITOR-REPORT.md with actionable intelligence.

Reference map

When	Read
Discovering competitors (Phase 1 methods + scanner script)	references/identification.md
Running the six analysis frameworks (Phase 2)	references/analysis-frameworks.md
Producing SWOT for each competitor + aggregate (Phase 3)	references/swot.md
Generating strategic recommendations (Phase 4)	references/strategic-recommendations.md
Ongoing monitoring + response playbook (Phase 5)	references/monitoring.md

Source-quality and claims constraints

• Every claim about a competitor must be evidence-backed (URL, screenshot, review excerpt, pricing-page snapshot). No invented features or pricing.
• Reviews are signal only when N ≥ 10 from a credible platform (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, App Store). Note the platform and the date.
• "Aspirational competitor" tier is for context, not direct comparison.
• Comparison pages (target vs competitor) must be factual and honest — include where the competitor wins, not only where the target wins. Misleading "vs" pages damage credibility.
• Do not publish competitor pricing or feature claims that aren't on a public page or in a public review.
• Switching narratives must be based on real review-mined reasons, not invented customer stories.

---

Phase 1: Competitor identification

Competitor categories

Identify competitors across three tiers:

Category	Definition	How to Find	Count
Direct Competitors	Same product, same audience, same market	Search product-category keywords, see who ranks	3-5
Indirect Competitors	Different product, same problem solved	Search for the problem being solved, alternative approaches	2-3
Aspirational Competitors	Market leaders the brand aspires to become	Industry leaders, category creators, well-known brands	1-2

Discovery methods (summary)

Run multiple methods in parallel:

• Keyword search — primary keywords, "[category] tool", "[brand] alternatives", "[brand] vs".
• Site-based — comparison pages, footer links, integrations pages, blog mentions.
• Review platforms — G2 / Capterra / Trustpilot category leaders + "Compare" features.
• Social & community — Reddit recommendation threads, X/Twitter category conversations, LinkedIn audience overlap.

Automated collection

When available, use scripts/competitor_scanner.py (homepage + pricing + blog + social + tech-stack + page-speed):

python scripts/competitor_scanner.py --url [competitor-url] --output json

Otherwise WebFetch each competitor manually. Full per-method playbook and scanner field reference: references/identification.md.

---

Phase 2: Competitor analysis framework

Run the six analysis frameworks per competitor. Full per-framework templates, positioning-map diagram, pricing/feature/SEO/social/review tables, and field-level capture lists live in references/analysis-frameworks.md.

#	Framework	Captures
2.1	Website & Messaging	H1, subheadline, value prop, target audience, key differentiator, tone, social proof; positioning-map plot
2.2	Pricing	tier names, prices, feature gating, free-trial / freemium / money-back, hidden costs
2.3	Feature comparison	feature-presence matrix across all competitors + target
2.4	SEO competition	domain authority, keyword overlap, ranking content types, backlink profile
2.5	Social media presence	platforms, follower counts, posting frequency, engagement rate, content themes
2.6	Review mining	rating, review count, top praise themes, top complaint themes, switching mentions

---

Phase 3: SWOT analysis

Produce a SWOT for each competitor (strengths / weaknesses / opportunities-for-target / threats) and an aggregate SWOT for the target combining all competitor intelligence. Templates with placeholder slots: references/swot.md.

Aggregate SWOT rules:

• Strengths — where target outperforms all or most competitors.
• Weaknesses — where target lags behind all or most.
• Opportunities — gaps no competitor addresses well.
• Threats — areas where competitors are significantly stronger.

---

Phase 4: Strategic recommendations

Generate four levers (full templates and SEO/copy guidance in references/strategic-recommendations.md):

1. "Steal-worthy" tactics — 5–10 tactics from competitors worth adopting. Each tactic must be proven (working for the competitor), adaptable (customizable for the target), and underutilized (the target is not doing it). Include why-it-works, how-to-implement, effort, expected impact.
2. Messaging differentiation strategy — pick from five angles (Category / Audience / Feature / Philosophy / Experience). For each viable angle: positioning statement, headline, supporting evidence, website manifestation.
3. Alternative-page strategy — /vs/<competitor> or /alternatives/<competitor> pages targeting high-intent bottom-of-funnel queries. Per page: comparison table, where-target-wins, where-competitor-wins (honest), ICP fit, switching stories, migration guide, FAQ, CTA.
4. Switching narrative development — for each major competitor: review-mined reasons people switch, switching story template, switching offer (migration assistance / extended trial / matching pricing / dedicated onboarding).

---

Phase 5: Monitoring and ongoing intelligence

Recommend an ongoing monitoring checklist (Google Alerts per competitor, social follows, newsletter subs, monthly pricing-page checks, quarterly review-site scans, content/launch/job-post tracking, ad-library / ads-transparency monitoring, backlink-profile checks) and a per-move response playbook (price cut → emphasize value; feature launch → assess + roadmap comms; aggressive ad campaign → double down on owned + retention; negative comparison content → factual rebuttal; funding/acquisition → reassure customers; review wave → monitor + address shared concerns).

Full checklist and response-strategy table: references/monitoring.md.

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Output Format: COMPETITOR-REPORT.md

Write the full output to COMPETITOR-REPORT.md:

# Competitive Intelligence Report: [Target Brand]
**URL:** [url]
**Date:** [current date]
**Competitors Analyzed:** [count]
**Competitive Position: [Strong/Moderate/Weak]**

---

## Executive Summary
[3-4 paragraphs covering competitive landscape, target's position,
biggest competitive advantage, biggest competitive threat, and
top 3 strategic recommendations]

---

## Competitor Overview

### Direct Competitors
[Summary table with name, URL, positioning, pricing, key differentiator]

### Indirect Competitors
[Summary table]

### Aspirational Competitors
[Summary table]

---

## Detailed Competitor Profiles

### [Competitor A Name]
[Full analysis: messaging, pricing, features, SWOT, social presence, reviews]

### [Competitor B Name]
[Full analysis]

[Repeat for each competitor]

---

## Comparison Tables

### Feature Comparison
[Full feature matrix]

### Pricing Comparison
[Full pricing matrix]

### Review Ratings
[Review intelligence matrix]

### Social Media Presence
[Platform comparison table]

---

## Positioning Map
[Visual positioning map with explanation]

---

## Content & SEO Gap Analysis
[Content gaps, keyword opportunities, comparison page strategy]

---

## SWOT Analysis — [Target Brand]
[Aggregate SWOT based on competitive intelligence]

---

## Strategic Recommendations

### Steal-Worthy Tactics
[5-10 tactics with implementation guidance]

### Differentiation Strategy
[Recommended positioning angles]

### Alternative Pages to Create
[Competitor vs pages with outlines]

### Switching Narratives
[Switching stories and offers for each major competitor]

---

## Competitive Monitoring Plan
[Ongoing monitoring checklist and response playbook]

---

## Next Steps
1. [Most critical competitive action]
2. [Second priority]
 [Third priority]

---

Terminal Output

=== COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE REPORT ===

Target: [name]
Competitors Analyzed: [count]
Competitive Position: [Strong/Moderate/Weak]

Competitive Landscape:
  Direct:      [Comp A] (Rating: X/5), [Comp B] (Rating: X/5)
  Indirect:    [Comp C], [Comp D]
  Aspirational: [Comp E]

Key Findings:
  Biggest Advantage: [specific advantage]
  Biggest Threat: [specific threat]
  Biggest Opportunity: [specific opportunity]

Feature Gaps: [X] features competitors have that target lacks
Content Gaps: [X] topics competitors cover that target doesn't
Pricing Position: [Above/At/Below] market average

Top 3 Actions:
  1. [action]
  2. [action]
  3. [action]

Full report saved to: COMPETITOR-REPORT.md

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Cross-Skill Integration

• If MARKETING-AUDIT.md exists, reference competitive positioning scores.
• If COPY-SUGGESTIONS.md exists, use messaging analysis for differentiation.
• If FUNNEL-ANALYSIS.md exists, compare funnel effectiveness with competitors.
• If AD-CAMPAIGNS.md exists, use competitor intelligence for ad angles.