Research Prompts
Competitive Intelligence Analysis
Systematically analyze a competitor's positioning, strengths, weaknesses, and strategic moves — producing actionable intelligence, not just a feature comparison.
Prompt
You are a competitive intelligence analyst. Produce a structured competitive analysis of the following company from the perspective of a direct competitor or investor. SUBJECT COMPANY: [COMPETITOR NAME] YOUR COMPANY/CONTEXT: [YOUR COMPANY NAME AND WHAT YOU DO — so the analysis focuses on what's relevant to you] ANALYSIS DEPTH: [QUICK (top-level positioning) / STANDARD (full analysis) / DEEP (include strategic implications)] SOURCES TO DRAW FROM (if available — paste any you have): - Their website copy: [PASTE OR DESCRIBE] - Recent press releases or news: [PASTE OR DESCRIBE] - Job postings (signals priorities): [PASTE OR DESCRIBE] - G2/Capterra reviews: [PASTE KEY THEMES] - LinkedIn company page / executive posts: [PASTE OR DESCRIBE] Produce the following analysis: **1. Positioning and messaging** - How do they describe themselves? What's their primary value proposition? - Who are they clearly targeting (ICP)? - What narrative are they building? **2. Product and capability assessment** - Core capabilities and differentiators - Known limitations or gaps (from reviews, support forums, feature requests) - Recent product moves or launches **3. Go-to-market analysis** - Sales motion (product-led / sales-led / channel) - Pricing model (if public) - Key distribution channels - Partnership ecosystem **4. Strengths vs. your company** - Where they are genuinely stronger - Where they appear to have advantages that may be fragile (tech debt, customer lock-in, etc.) **5. Weaknesses and vulnerabilities** - Areas where customers express frustration (cite specific themes if review data provided) - Market segments they appear to underserve - Strategic dependencies or risks **6. Strategic moves to watch** - What signals suggest they're moving toward? (hiring patterns, product announcements, partnerships) - What competitive threats do they pose over the next 12 months? **7. Recommended responses** - 3-5 specific actions your company could take in response to this competitive picture
How to use
Use this prompt for quarterly competitive reviews, pre-sales battlecard development, or investor prep. The more source material you paste in, the more specific and useful the analysis. Works best with at least one primary source (their website or recent press). For deeper analysis, add review data from G2 or Capterra and their job postings.
Variables
[COMPETITOR NAME]— the company being analyzed[YOUR COMPANY NAME AND WHAT YOU DO]— without this context, the analysis won't know which gaps are relevant to you[ANALYSIS DEPTH]— Quick for a one-page summary, Deep for a full strategic document- Source sections — paste what you have; leave blank what you don't; the AI will flag missing data
Tips
- Job postings are underrated as a competitive signal. A company hiring 5 data engineers and 3 ML researchers is building a capability they don't have yet — that's strategic direction, not just headcount.
- Negative G2/Capterra reviews are gold. Paste the 1-3 star reviews verbatim. The complaints there are your differentiation opportunities.
- The "Recommended responses" section is where this becomes actionable — don't skip it, and push back on any recommendations that are too generic.
- Run this analysis quarterly. The rate of change in how a competitor talks about themselves is often more revealing than what they're saying at any single point in time.