Market and competitive analysis toolkit. Research competitors, analyze market positioning, identify differentiation opportunities, and create comprehensive competitive landscape assessments for software projects.
Researches competitors and analyzes market positioning to identify differentiation opportunities for software projects.
/plugin marketplace add flight505/claude-project-planner/plugin install claude-project-planner@claude-project-plannerThis skill is limited to using the following tools:
Competitive analysis is a systematic process for understanding the market landscape, identifying competitors, and finding differentiation opportunities. Research existing solutions, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, understand market positioning, and inform product strategy with evidence-based insights.
This skill should be used when:
When documenting competitive analysis, always include visualizations.
Use the project-diagrams skill to generate:
python .claude/skills/project-diagrams/scripts/generate_schematic.py "diagram description" -o diagrams/output.png
| Component | Purpose | Key Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Market Overview | Understand the market | What is the market size? Who are the players? |
| Competitor Profiles | Deep dive on competitors | What do they do? How are they positioned? |
| Feature Analysis | Compare capabilities | What features exist? What's missing? |
| Positioning Analysis | Understand market positions | Where do competitors position themselves? |
| Differentiation Strategy | Find your angle | How can we be different and better? |
Identify the market landscape:
Define the market category
Search for competitors
research-lookup to find existing solutionsCategorize competitors
| Category | Description | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | Same problem, same solution approach | High |
| Indirect | Same problem, different solution | Medium |
| Potential | Could enter this space easily | Monitor |
| Substitute | Alternative ways to solve the problem | Awareness |
For each significant competitor, research:
competitor_profile:
name: "Competitor Name"
website: "https://..."
category: "direct | indirect | potential | substitute"
priority: "primary | secondary | tertiary"
company_info:
founded: YYYY
headquarters: "City, Country"
funding: "Series X / Public / Bootstrapped"
employees: "Range"
valuation_revenue: "If known"
product:
description: "What they do in 1-2 sentences"
target_market: "Who they serve"
positioning: "How they position themselves"
pricing:
model: "SaaS / Usage / One-time / Freemium"
tiers: ["Free", "Pro: $X/mo", "Enterprise: Custom"]
strengths:
- "Key strength 1"
- "Key strength 2"
weaknesses:
- "Key weakness 1"
- "Key weakness 2"
market_presence:
estimated_customers: "If known"
notable_customers: ["Company A", "Company B"]
geographic_focus: "Global / Regional"
technology:
platform: "Web / Mobile / Desktop / API"
tech_stack: "If known"
integrations: ["Integration 1", "Integration 2"]
recent_developments:
- date: "YYYY-MM"
event: "What happened"
sources:
- "URL where information was found"
Create a feature comparison matrix:
feature_comparison:
categories:
- name: "Core Features"
features:
- name: "Feature A"
description: "What this feature does"
importance: "critical | important | nice_to_have"
competitors:
"Competitor 1": "full | partial | none"
"Competitor 2": "full | partial | none"
"Our Plan": "full | partial | none | future"
- name: "Feature B"
# ...
- name: "Advanced Features"
features:
# ...
- name: "Platform & Integration"
features:
# ...
Feature rating definitions:
Map competitors on positioning dimensions:
Common positioning axes:
Positioning Map:
High Price
│
┌─────────────┼─────────────┐
│ Premium │ Enterprise │
│ [Comp C] │ [Comp A] │
│ │ │
Simple ───┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─── Advanced
│ │ │
│ Budget │ Power User │
│ [Comp D] │ [Comp B] │
└─────────────┼─────────────┘
│
Low Price
Identify white space:
For each major competitor:
swot_analysis:
competitor: "Competitor Name"
strengths:
- factor: "Strong brand recognition"
impact: "high"
evidence: "Top-of-mind in category, high search volume"
- factor: "Extensive integrations"
impact: "medium"
evidence: "500+ integrations listed"
weaknesses:
- factor: "Complex pricing"
impact: "medium"
evidence: "Frequent complaints in reviews about unexpected costs"
- factor: "Poor mobile experience"
impact: "high"
evidence: "2.5 star app store rating"
opportunities:
- factor: "Underserved SMB segment"
impact: "high"
evidence: "Pricing starts at $50/user, reviews mention 'too expensive for small teams'"
threats:
- factor: "Strong network effects"
impact: "high"
evidence: "Viral adoption within organizations"
Aggregate into market SWOT:
Identify differentiation opportunities:
Feature Gaps
Market Segment Gaps
Experience Gaps
Technology Gaps
Differentiation Strategy Options:
| Strategy | When to Use | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Leadership | Can sustainably be cheaper | Race to bottom |
| Differentiation | Clear unique value | Hard to communicate |
| Focus (Niche) | Specific segment underserved | Limited market |
| Innovation | New approach is possible | Execution risk |
| Experience | Can be significantly better UX | Easily copied |
# Competitive Analysis: [Market Category]
## Executive Summary
- Market overview (2-3 sentences)
- Number of competitors analyzed
- Key insights (3-5 bullets)
- Recommended positioning
## Market Overview
### Market Size and Growth
[TAM, SAM, SOM if available]
### Market Segments
[Key customer segments and their characteristics]
### Market Trends
[Important trends affecting the market]
## Competitor Landscape
### Primary Competitors
[Detailed profiles of direct competitors]
### Secondary Competitors
[Brief profiles of indirect competitors]
### Competitive Positioning Map
[Visual representation of market positions]
## Feature Comparison
[Feature matrix comparing capabilities]
## Analysis and Insights
### Market Opportunities
[Where gaps exist]
### Competitive Threats
[What to watch out for]
### Differentiation Opportunities
[How to stand out]
## Recommended Strategy
[Positioning recommendation with rationale]
## Appendix
- Detailed competitor profiles
- Data sources
- Feature comparison data
# Competitor Profile: [Name]
## Overview
**Website:** [URL]
**Category:** Direct / Indirect
**Founded:** [Year]
**Funding:** [Amount or status]
**Employees:** [Range]
## Product Description
[What they do and who they serve]
## Pricing
| Tier | Price | Key Features |
|------|-------|--------------|
| | | |
## Strengths
- [Strength 1]
- [Strength 2]
## Weaknesses
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]
## Key Features
[List of notable features]
## Customer Reviews Summary
**Positive themes:**
- [Theme 1]
**Negative themes:**
- [Theme 1]
## Recent News
- [Date]: [Event]
## Sources
- [URL 1]
- [URL 2]
Product information:
Customer sentiment:
Market data:
Feature details:
Before completing competitive analysis:
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