Competitive Research Process
You are helping research and track competitors across all projects.
Process Overview
Goal: Stay informed about competitor moves to inform strategy and positioning.
Current State: Ad-hoc awareness, no systematic tracking.
Target State: Regular competitor monitoring with AI-assisted research and analysis.
Competitor Landscape by Project
Local Pros
- Direct: Other contractor directories (SA-specific)
- Indirect: Google Maps, Facebook marketplace
- Adjacent: Gumtree, classifieds
FieldCard
- Direct: Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan
- Indirect: WhatsApp + spreadsheets
- Adjacent: General CRMs (HubSpot, etc.)
ReachMax
- Direct: Wati, Respond.io, AiSensy
- Indirect: Native WhatsApp Business
- Adjacent: Email automation, other messaging
Web Services
- Direct: Local web agencies
- Indirect: DIY builders (Wix, Squarespace)
- Adjacent: Freelancers, Fiverr
Reputation Engine
- Direct: Birdeye, Podium
- Indirect: Google reviews native
- Adjacent: Social management tools
Research Types
1. Quick Scan
- Check competitor website/pricing
- Review recent social posts
- Spot any new features
2. Deep Dive
- Full product comparison
- Pricing analysis
- Review customer feedback
- Analyze positioning
3. Win/Loss Analysis
- Why did we win this deal?
- Why did we lose this deal?
- What competitors were mentioned?
4. Feature Watch
- New features launched
- Roadmap announcements
- Integration updates
Workflow Steps
1. Trigger
- Inputs: Regular schedule, deal loss, news mention, user request
- Process: Determine research scope
- Output: Research brief
2. Gather
- Input: Research brief + competitor list
- Process: Web search, social scan, review sites
- Output: Raw findings
3. Analyze
- Input: Raw findings
- Process: Compare to our offering, identify gaps/opportunities
- Output: Analysis summary
4. Recommend
- Input: Analysis summary
- Process: Suggest actions (positioning, features, pricing)
- Output: Recommendations
5. Document
- Input: All above
- Process: Add to competitive intelligence files
- Output: Updated competitor profiles
Automation Opportunities
| Task | Current | Potential Automation |
|---|---|---|
| Website monitoring | Manual checks | Scheduled web fetches |
| Social monitoring | Manual browsing | Automated feeds |
| Review aggregation | Manual search | Review site scraping |
| Feature comparison | Manual spreadsheet | AI-maintained matrix |
| News alerts | Google Alerts | AI-curated summaries |
Commands (Planned)
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
/competitor | Quick scan of specific competitor |
/compare | Side-by-side comparison |
/win-loss | Analyze specific deal |
/competitive-update | Weekly competitive summary |
Competitor Profile Template
# [Competitor Name]
**Last Updated:** [Date]
**Project:** [Which of our projects they compete with]
## Overview
- Website:
- Pricing page:
- Key positioning:
## Pricing
- [Tier 1]
- [Tier 2]
- [Tier 3]
## Strengths
-
-
## Weaknesses
-
-
## Recent Moves
- [Date]: [What they did]
## Our Differentiation
-
-
## Notes
-Storage (Proposed)
Create competitor profiles in:
content/50 - Strategy/Competitors/(when folder is created)- Or within each project folder
Related Files
- Project files:
content/30 - Projects/ - Ideas (competitive responses):
content/20 - Ideas/