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Analyze competition, identify differentiation opportunities, and develop winning market positioning strategies using Porter's Five Forces, Blue Ocean Strategy, and positioning maps. Use this skill when evaluating competitors, assessing market positioning, identifying sustainable competitive advantages, or preparing competitive strategy analysis for a startup or investor pitch.
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$ npx agentshq add wshobson/agents --agent competitive-landscapeAnalyze competition, identify differentiation opportunities, and develop winning market positioning strategies using Porter's Five Forces, Blue Ocean Strategy, and positioning maps. Use this skill when evaluating competitors, assessing market positioning, identifying sustainable competitive advantages, or preparing competitive strategy analysis for a startup or investor pitch.
Comprehensive frameworks for analyzing competition, identifying differentiation opportunities, and developing winning market positioning strategies.
Understand competitive dynamics using proven frameworks (Porter's Five Forces, Blue Ocean Strategy, positioning maps) to identify opportunities and craft defensible competitive advantages.
Analyze industry attractiveness and competitive intensity.
Barriers to Entry:
High Threat: Low barriers, easy to enter (e.g., simple SaaS tools) Low Threat: High barriers (e.g., regulated industries, hardware)
Analysis Questions:
Supplier Power Factors:
High Power: Few suppliers, critical inputs (e.g., cloud infrastructure providers) Low Power: Many alternatives, commoditized (e.g., generic services)
Analysis Questions:
Buyer Power Factors:
High Power: Few large customers, standardized products (e.g., enterprise deals) Low Power: Many small customers, differentiated product (e.g., consumer subscriptions)
Analysis Questions:
Substitute Considerations:
High Threat: Many alternatives, low switching cost (e.g., productivity software) Low Threat: Unique solution, high switching cost (e.g., ERP systems)
Analysis Questions:
Rivalry Intensity Factors:
High Rivalry: Many competitors, slow growth, commoditized (e.g., email marketing) Low Rivalry: Few competitors, fast growth, differentiated (e.g., emerging AI tools)
Analysis Questions:
Create a scorecard:
| Force | Intensity (1-5) | Impact | Key Factors | | -------------- | --------------- | ------ | --------------------------------- | | New Entrants | 3 | Medium | Low barriers but network effects | | Supplier Power | 2 | Low | Many cloud providers | | Buyer Power | 4 | High | Enterprise customers concentrated | | Substitutes | 3 | Medium | Manual processes alternative | | Rivalry | 4 | High | 10+ direct competitors |
Overall Assessment: Moderate industry attractiveness with high rivalry and buyer power
Identify uncontested market space through value innovation.
Eliminate: What factors can be eliminated that the industry takes for granted?
Reduce: What factors can be reduced well below industry standard?
Raise: What factors can be raised well above industry standard?
Create: What factors can be created that the industry never offered?
Map your offering vs. competitors on key factors.
Example: Budget Hotels
High | ★ Traditional Hotels
| ★ Budget Hotels (new)
|
Low |___________________________________
Price Luxury Convenience Cleanliness
Budget Hotel Strategy:
- Eliminate: Luxury amenities, room service
- Reduce: Lobby size, staff
- Raise: Cleanliness, online booking
- Create: Self-service kiosks, mobile app
Find the sweet spot: Lower cost + higher value
Steps:
Plot competitors on 2-3 key dimensions.
Example Dimensions:
How to Create:
Example:
High Price
|
| ★ Enterprise A ★ Enterprise B
|
| ● Our Position (gap)
|
| ★ Competitor C ★ Competitor D
|
Low Price |____________________________________________
Simple Complex
How to Differentiate:
Product Differentiation
Service Differentiation
Brand Differentiation
Price Differentiation
For [target customer]
Who [statement of need or opportunity]
Our product is [product category]
That [statement of key benefit]
Unlike [primary competitive alternative]
Our product [statement of primary differentiation]
Example:
For e-commerce companies
Who struggle with email marketing automation
Our product is an AI-powered email platform
That increases conversion rates by 40%
Unlike Klaviyo and Mailchimp
Our product uses AI to personalize at scale
Public Sources:
Direct Research:
For each key competitor, document:
Company Overview:
Product:
Go-to-Market:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Strategy:
Premium (Top 25%):
Mid-Market (Middle 50%):
Value (Bottom 25%):
| Competitor | Entry Price | Mid Tier | Enterprise | Model | | ------------ | ----------- | -------- | ---------- | ------------ | | Competitor A | $29/mo | $99/mo | Custom | Subscription | | Competitor B | $49/mo | $199/mo | $499/mo | Subscription | | Us | $39/mo | $129/mo | Custom | Subscription |
Analysis:
Direct Competition:
Niche Focus:
Disruptive Innovation:
Platform Play:
Characteristics of Good Beachhead:
Example: Instead of "project management software", target "project management for construction teams"
Network Effects:
Switching Costs:
Economies of Scale:
Brand:
Proprietary Technology:
Regulatory:
Ask:
If "no" to any, it's not a sustainable advantage.
Product Changes:
Market Signals:
Performance Metrics:
Weekly:
Monthly:
Quarterly:
Annually:
To analyze competitive landscape: