Competitor Brief Skill
Use this skill when a competitor launches something new, you enter a new market segment, or you prepare for a strategy review. It builds a structured competitor brief that informs product strategy, feature prioritisation, and positioning.
---name: competitor-brief-skilldescription: Create competitive analysis documents for product strategy decisions, feature prioritisation, and differentiation. Use when a competitor launches something new, entering a new market segment, or preparing for a strategy review. Trigger with "competitive brief on", "what is [competitor] doing", "compare us to [competitor]".---
# Competitor Brief Skill
Build competitive intelligence briefs that inform product strategy, feature prioritisation, and market positioning. All competitive data must come from you, companyRAG collections, or web search — never from training data.
## Where the Data Comes From
| Source | What It Adds || --- | --- || **MCP servers** (e.g. CRM like HubSpot/Salesforce, analyst or review platforms) | Sales-call notes, churn interviews, prospect objections, RFP responses || **companyRAG collections / file upload** | Analyst reports, customer reviews, technical assessments, your own feature documentation || **Web search** | Public product documentation, press coverage, job postings, patent applications, conference talks |
> **No connected source?** Provide the data in chat or upload the relevant files — the skill works the same way.
## Competitive Brief Workflow
Run these four phases in order. Each phase feeds the next.
### Phase 1: Intelligence Gathering
Before analysis, establish what is known and what needs investigation.
**Source inventory** — for each competitor being analysed:
| Source Type | Examples | Reliability || --- | --- | --- || **Primary** | Direct product usage, free trials, public demos, published documentation | Highest — first-hand observation || **Secondary** | Analyst reports, customer reviews (G2, Capterra), press coverage, blog posts | High — but may be outdated or biased || **Field intelligence** | Sales-call notes, customer churn interviews, prospect objections, RFP responses | High for intent signals — but anecdotal || **Public filings** | SEC filings, job postings, patent applications, conference talks | High for strategic direction — low for product detail |
**Gap identification**: After inventorying sources, explicitly list what is NOT known. Unknown areas become research tasks, not assumptions.
```INTELLIGENCE INVENTORY — [Competitor Name] Known (sourced): [List with source and recency date] Partially known: [List with gaps identified] Unknown: [List — these are research tasks, not areas to guess about] Last updated: [Date]```
### Phase 2: Feature Comparison Matrix
Build a structured comparison of capabilities across evaluation dimensions relevant to your product category.
**Matrix construction process**:
1. Define dimensions: Use your product's own feature categories, not the competitor's marketing language. Dimensions should reflect how customers evaluate the category.2. Score capabilities: For each dimension, assess each player (your product + competitors): - Strong: Fully addresses the need; no significant gaps - Adequate: Addresses the core need; some limitations - Weak: Partially addresses or does not address the need - Unknown: Insufficient data — flag for research3. Add evidence: Every score must cite its source. Unsourced scores are assumptions.
```FEATURE COMPARISON — [Category]| Dimension | Your Product | Competitor A | Competitor B | Notes ||---|---|---|---|---|| [dimension] | [score + source] | [score + source] | [score + source] | [key differences] |```
**Scoring discipline**:
- Score based on current shipped product, not announced roadmap- Do not give your own product favourable scores without evidence — self-serving analysis is worse than no analysis- "Unknown" is a valid and honest score — never fill gaps with assumptions- Refresh scores when any player ships a significant update
### Phase 3: Strategic Analysis
Move from feature comparison to strategic interpretation.
#### Positioning Analysis
Map each competitor's positioning along the dimensions that matter to your target segments:
1. Value proposition: What problem do they lead with? Who is their ideal customer?2. Go-to-market motion: Self-serve vs. sales-led vs. partner-led? SMB vs. enterprise vs. both?3. Pricing model: Per-seat vs. usage-based vs. flat-rate? Free tier? Premium positioning?4. Differentiation claim: What do they say makes them different? Is the claim substantiated?
#### Threat / Opportunity Assessment
For each competitor, classify the strategic situation:
| Signal | Classification | Implication || --- | --- | --- || Competitor strong where you are weak, in a dimension customers care about | **Threat — Active** | Requires response: build, partner, or reposition || Competitor investing in your stronghold area (hiring, features, marketing) | **Threat — Emerging** | Monitor closely; prepare defensive positioning || Competitor weak where you are strong, in a dimension customers care about | **Opportunity — Differentiation** | Amplify in positioning and sales enablement || Competitor ignoring a segment or use case you serve well | **Opportunity — White space** | Lean into the underserved segment || Competitor and you are equally strong | **Parity** | Compete on other dimensions (price, experience, trust, ecosystem) |
#### Market Movement Indicators
Track signals that indicate strategic direction shifts:
- Hiring patterns: What roles are they hiring for? (Engineering in new areas, sales in new geographies, specific domain expertise)- Partnership announcements: New integrations, channel partners, platform plays- Pricing changes: Lowering prices (land-grab), raising prices (value extraction), new tiers (segment expansion)- Acquisition activity: What capabilities are they buying?- Customer segment shifts: Are they moving upmarket, downmarket, or into adjacent segments?
### Phase 4: Recommended Response
For each active threat or actionable opportunity, structure a response recommendation:
```RESPONSE RECOMMENDATION: Trigger: [What competitive action prompted this?] Classification: [Threat — Active / Threat — Emerging / Opportunity] Impact: [Which of your segments, metrics, or positioning is affected?] Response options: 1. [Build] — [What to build + rough scope + timeline implication] 2. [Partner] — [Partnership that could close the gap] 3. [Reposition] — [Messaging change to reframe the dimension] 4. [Monitor] — [Watch and reassess at next review cycle] Recommended option: [number + rationale] Decision owner: [Who should approve this response?] Urgency: [Immediate / This quarter / Next planning cycle]```
**Response selection criteria**:
- Build when the gap is in a must-win dimension and you have the capacity- Partner when the gap is real but not your core competency- Reposition when the competitor's advantage matters less than they claim, or when you can reframe the evaluation criteria- Monitor when the threat is emerging but not yet impacting customers or pipeline
## Output Template — Competitive Brief
```# Competitive Brief — [Competitor Name]Date: [date] | Author: [name] | Classification: [Internal / Confidential]
## 1. Executive Summary[2-3 sentence overview: who they are, what changed, why it matters to us]
## 2. Intelligence Inventory[Sources consulted, recency, known gaps]
## 3. Feature Comparison Matrix[Structured comparison — see Phase 2]
## 4. Positioning Analysis[Value proposition, GTM, pricing, differentiation — see Phase 3]
## 5. Threat & Opportunity Assessment[Classified signals — see Phase 3]
## 6. Recommended Response[Action items with owners and urgency — see Phase 4]
## 7. Open Questions[What we still need to learn, with assigned research tasks]
## 8. Review Cadence[When to revisit this brief — typically quarterly or after major competitor moves]```
## Competitive Review Cadence
| Trigger | Action || --- | --- || **Competitor launches major feature** | Update affected feature matrix rows; reassess threats || **Quarterly planning** | Full brief refresh for top 2-3 competitors || **Lost deal to competitor** | Post-mortem to update threat assessment and response || **Entering new market segment** | Build new brief for segment-specific competitors || **Competitor funding / acquisition** | Update market movement indicators and strategic analysis |
## Guardrails
- NEVER generate competitor features, pricing, market share, or positioning from training data. All competitive claims must come from you, companyRAG collections, or web search with cited sources.- NEVER claim "market standard" or "typical" for any competitive dimension. Every assertion must be sourced.- When no competitor data is provided, generate the blank brief template and list the specific data needed — do not fill gaps with assumptions.- Source-label every assertion as `[From user / companyRAG]`, `[From web search — {date}]`, `[Analysis framework]`, or `[AI assessment — verify]`.
> **Tip:** Ask for DOCX, Markdown, or PPTX output via companyFILES to get a formatted brief ready to share.