competitive-intel

Competitive Intelligence

Systematic competitor tracking. Not obsession — intelligence that drives real decisions.

Keywords

competitive intelligence, competitor analysis, battlecard, win/loss analysis, competitive positioning, competitive tracking, market intelligence, competitor research, SWOT, competitive map, feature gap analysis, competitive strategy

Quick Start

/ci:landscape         — Map your competitive space (direct, indirect, future)
/ci:battlecard [name] — Build a sales battlecard for a specific competitor
/ci:winloss           — Analyze recent wins and losses by reason
/ci:update [name]     — Track what a competitor did recently
/ci:map               — Build competitive positioning map

Framework: 5-Layer Intelligence System

Layer 1: Competitor Identification

Direct competitors: Same ICP, same problem, comparable solution, similar price point. Indirect competitors: Same budget, different solution (including "do nothing" and "build in-house"). Future competitors: Well-funded startups in adjacent space; large incumbents with stated roadmap overlap.

The 2x2 Threat Matrix:

	Same ICP	Different ICP
Same problem	Direct threat	Adjacent (watch)
Different problem	Displacement risk	Ignore for now

Update this quarterly. Who's moved quadrants?

Layer 2: Tracking Dimensions

Track these 8 dimensions per competitor:

Dimension	Sources	Cadence
Product moves	Changelog, G2/Capterra reviews, Twitter/LinkedIn	Monthly
Pricing changes	Pricing page, sales call intel, customer feedback	Triggered
Funding	Crunchbase, TechCrunch, LinkedIn	Triggered
Hiring signals	LinkedIn job postings, Indeed	Monthly
Partnerships	Press releases, co-marketing	Triggered
Customer wins	Case studies, review sites, LinkedIn	Monthly
Customer losses	Win/loss interviews, churned accounts	Ongoing
Messaging shifts	Homepage, ads (Facebook/Google Ad Library)	Quarterly

Layer 3: Analysis Frameworks

SWOT per Competitor:

• Strengths: What do they do well? Where do they win?
• Weaknesses: Where do they lose? What do customers complain about?
• Opportunities: What could they do that would threaten you?
• Threats: What's their existential risk?

Competitive Positioning Map (2 axis): Choose axes that matter for your buyers:

• Common: Price vs Feature Depth; Enterprise-ready vs SMB-ready; Easy to implement vs Configurable
• Pick axes that show YOUR differentiation clearly

Feature Gap Analysis:

Feature	You	Competitor A	Competitor B	Gap status
[Feature]	✅	✅	❌	Your advantage
[Feature]	❌	✅	✅	Gap — roadmap?
[Feature]	✅	❌	❌	Moat
[Feature]	❌	❌	✅	Competitor B only

Layer 4: Output Formats

For Sales (CRO): Battlecards — one page per competitor, designed for pre-call prep. See templates/battlecard-template.md

For Marketing (CMO): Positioning update — message shifts, new differentiators, claims to stop or start making.

For Product (CPO): Feature gap summary — what customers ask for that we don't have, what competitors ship, what to reprioritize.

For CEO/Board: Monthly competitive summary — 1-page: who moved, what it means, recommended responses.

Layer 5: Intelligence Cadence

Monthly (scheduled):

• Review all tier-1 competitors (direct threats, top 3)
• Update battlecards with new intel
• Publish 1-page summary to leadership

Triggered (event-based):

• Competitor raises funding → assess implications within 48 hours
• Competitor launches major feature → product + sales response within 1 week
• Competitor poaches key customer → win/loss interview within 2 weeks
• Competitor changes pricing → analyze and respond within 1 week

Quarterly:

• Full competitive landscape review
• Update positioning map
• Refresh ICP competitive threat assessment
• Add/remove companies from tracking list

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Win/Loss Analysis

This is the highest-signal competitive data you have. Most companies do it too rarely.

When to interview:

• Every lost deal >$50K ACV
• Every churn >6 months tenure
• Every competitive win (learn why — it may not be what you think)

Who conducts it:

• NOT the AE who worked the deal (too close, prospect won't be candid)
• Customer success, product team, or external researcher

Question structure:

1. "Walk me through your evaluation process"
2. "Who else were you considering?"
3. "What were the top 3 criteria in your decision?"
4. "Where did [our product] fall short?"
5. "What was the deciding factor?"
6. "What would have changed your decision?"

Aggregate findings monthly:

• Win reasons (rank by frequency)
• Loss reasons (rank by frequency)
• Competitor win rates (by competitor, by segment)
• Patterns over time

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The Balance: Intelligence Without Obsession

Signs you're over-tracking competitors:

• Roadmap decisions are primarily driven by "they just shipped X"
• Team morale drops when competitors fundraise
• You're shipping features you don't believe in to match their checklist
• Pricing discussions always start with "well, they charge X"

Signs you're under-tracking:

• Your AEs get blindsided on calls
• Prospects know more about competitors than your team does
• You missed a major product launch until customers told you
• Your positioning hasn't changed in 12+ months despite market moves

The right posture:

• Know competitors well enough to win against them
• Don't let them set your agenda
• Your roadmap is led by customer problems, informed by competitive gaps

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Distributing Intelligence

Audience	Format	Cadence	Owner
AEs + SDRs	Updated battlecards in CRM	Monthly + triggered	CRO
Product	Feature gap analysis	Quarterly	CPO
Marketing	Positioning brief	Quarterly	CMO
Leadership	1-page competitive summary	Monthly	CEO/COO
Board	Competitive landscape slide	Quarterly	CEO

One source of truth: All competitive intel lives in one place (Notion, Confluence, Salesforce). Avoid Slack-only distribution — it disappears.

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Red Flags in Competitive Intelligence

Signal	What it means
Competitor's win rate >50% in your core segment	Fundamental positioning problem, not sales problem
Same objection from 5+ deals: "competitor has X"	Feature gap that's real, not just optics
Competitor hired 10 engineers in your domain	Major product investment incoming
Competitor raised >$20M and targets your ICP	12-month runway for them to compete hard
Prospects evaluate you to justify competitor decision	You're the "check box" — fix perception or segment

Integration with C-Suite Roles

Intelligence Type	Feeds To	Output Format
Product moves	CPO	Roadmap input, feature gap analysis
Pricing changes	CRO, CFO	Pricing response recommendations
Funding rounds	CEO, CFO	Strategic positioning update
Hiring signals	CHRO, CTO	Talent market intelligence
Customer wins/losses	CRO, CMO	Battlecard updates, positioning shifts
Marketing campaigns	CMO	Counter-positioning, channel intelligence

References

• references/ci-playbook.md — OSINT sources, win/loss framework, positioning map construction
• templates/battlecard-template.md — sales battlecard template