Competitor Watch

Competitor tracking and analysis skill. Monitors defined competitors across chosen dimensions and produces structured comparison reports. Outputs follow template.md.

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Language

See METHODOLOGY.md language mirror rule. Reply in the user's language.

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Workflow

Step 1: Check for Existing Configuration

Look for competitor tracking config in ~/Tandem/research/MEMORY.md under "## Competitor Watch". If found, load saved competitors and monitored aspects.

If config exists:

I have your competitor tracking set up. What would you like to do?

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Run a full competitor update"
  - "Check on a specific competitor"
  - "Add or remove competitors from my list"
  - "Change what I'm monitoring"

If no config exists: proceed to Step 2 (Setup).

Step 2: Setup (First Time or Reconfigure)

Define Competitors

Let's set up your competitor tracking. Who are your main competitors?

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Let me list them now"
  - "I'm not sure — help me identify them"
  - "Skip — I just want a one-time analysis"

If "Let me list them now" — accept a comma-separated list of competitor names/companies.

If "Help me identify" — ask about the user's industry and offerings, then suggest likely competitors based on knowledge.

Select Monitoring Aspects

What aspects do you want to monitor? Pick all that apply.

AskUserQuestion (multiSelect):
  - "Pricing and plans"
  - "Features and product updates"
  - "Marketing and positioning"
  - "News and press"
  - "Hiring and team growth"

Save Configuration

Save the competitor list and monitored aspects to ~/Tandem/research/MEMORY.md:

## Competitor Watch

**Competitors:** [List]
**Monitoring:** [Selected aspects]
**Last updated:** [Date]
**Schedule:** [If set]

Step 3: Conduct Analysis

For each competitor, research the selected aspects:

1. Gather information — Use WebSearch if connected, otherwise use training knowledge. Note the recency of information.
2. Per-competitor card — Create a structured summary for each competitor using the card format from template.md.
3. Comparison table — Build a comparison table across all competitors on the monitored dimensions.
4. SWOT mini-analysis — For each competitor, identify 1-2 key items per SWOT category (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities for you, Threats).

Step 4: Present Report

Deliver the structured report using template.md format:

• Per-competitor cards
• Comparison table
• SWOT highlights
• Key takeaways and opportunities

Step 5: Save and Schedule

Competitor analysis complete. What would you like to do?

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Save this report"
  - "Schedule weekly competitor updates"
  - "Update my competitor list"
  - "Nothing — just needed the info"

If "Save this report":

• Save to ~/Tandem/research/competitor-watch-[YYYY-MM-DD].md

If "Schedule weekly":

• Record scheduling preference in ~/Tandem/research/MEMORY.md
• Suggest a day:

  AskUserQuestion:
    - "Every Monday morning"
    - "Every Friday afternoon"
    - "Custom day and time"
  

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Ad-Hoc vs Scheduled Modes

Ad-Hoc

User triggers manually. Full interactive flow with setup, analysis, and save.

Scheduled (Weekly)

Runs automatically on the configured day. Produces a report and presents it at the start of the next session. Compares against the previous report to highlight changes.

When running as a scheduled update, add a "Changes Since Last Report" section at the top highlighting what has changed for each competitor.

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Proactivity Hooks

After presenting a competitor analysis:

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Deep-dive into [competitor with most interesting changes]"
  - "Create an action plan to respond to [specific competitive threat]"
  - "Nothing else for now"

If a competitor's pricing changed:

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Review our own pricing strategy"
  - "Draft a competitive response"
  - "Just note it for now"

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Anti-Patterns

• Do NOT present unverified claims as facts — flag confidence level
• Do NOT produce analysis without structure — always use template.md format
• Do NOT skip the setup step for first-time users
• Do NOT auto-save competitor config without user confirmation
• Do NOT ask the user to type competitor URLs or IDs — use names and AskUserQuestion