Competitive Brief

# Competitive Brief

> If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [CONNECTORS.md](../../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:

1. **Competitor name(s)** — one or more competitors to analyze (required)

2. **Your company/product context** (optional but recommended): - What you sell and to whom - Your positioning or value proposition - Key differentiators you want to highlight

3. **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:

1. **Company website** — homepage messaging, product pages, about page, pricing page 2. **Recent news** — press releases, funding announcements, product launches, partnerships (last 6 months) 3. **Content strategy** — blog topics, resource types, social media presence, webinars, podcasts 4. **Review sites and comparisons** — third-party comparisons, analyst mentions, customer review themes 5. **Job postings** — hiring signals that indicate strategic direction (optional)

### Research Sources

Gather intelligence from these categories of sources:

#### Primary Sources (Direct from Competitor) - **Website**: homepage, product pages, pricing, about page, careers - **Blog and resource center**: content themes, publishing frequency, depth - **Social media profiles**: messaging, engagement, content strategy - **Product demos and free trials**: UX, features, onboarding experience - **Webinars and events**: topics, speakers, audience engagement - **Press releases and newsroom**: announcements, partnerships, milestones - **Job postings**: hiring signals that reveal strategic priorities (e.g., hiring for a new product line or market)

#### Secondary Sources (Third-Party) - **Review sites**: G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, Product Hunt — customer sentiment themes - **Analyst reports**: Gartner, Forrester, IDC — market positioning and category placement - **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