--- title: "Competitive Teardown" description: "Competitive Teardown - Claude Code skill from the Product domain." --- # Competitive Teardown
:material-lightbulb-outline: Product :material-identifier: `competitive-teardown` :material-github: Source
Install: claude /plugin install product-skills
**Tier:** POWERFUL **Category:** Product Team **Domain:** Competitive Intelligence, Product Strategy, Market Analysis --- ## When to Use - Before a product strategy or roadmap session - When a competitor launches a major feature or pricing change - Quarterly competitive review - Before a sales pitch where you need battle card data - When entering a new market segment --- ## Teardown Workflow Follow these steps in sequence to produce a complete teardown: 1. **Define competitors** — List 2–4 competitors to analyze. Confirm which is the primary focus. 2. **Collect data** — Use `references/data-collection-guide.md` to gather raw signals from at least 3 sources per competitor (website, reviews, job postings, SEO, social). _Validation checkpoint: Before proceeding, confirm you have pricing data, at least 20 reviews, and job posting counts for each competitor._ 3. **Score using rubric** — Apply the 12-dimension rubric below to produce a numeric scorecard for each competitor and your own product. _Validation checkpoint: Every dimension should have a score and at least one supporting evidence note._ 4. **Generate outputs** — Populate the templates in `references/analysis-templates.md` (Feature Matrix, Pricing Analysis, SWOT, Positioning Map, UX Audit). 5. **Build action plan** — Translate findings into the Action Items template (quick wins / medium-term / strategic). 6. **Package for stakeholders** — Assemble the Stakeholder Presentation using outputs from steps 3–5. --- ## Data Collection Guide > Full executable scripts for each source are in `references/data-collection-guide.md`. Summaries of what to capture are below. ### 1. Website Analysis Key things to capture: - Pricing tiers and price points - Feature lists per tier - Primary CTA and messaging - Case studies / customer logos (signals ICP) - Integration logos - Trust signals (certifications, compliance badges) ### 2. App Store Reviews Review sentiment categories: - **Praise** → what users love (defend / strengthen these) - **Feature requests** → unmet needs (opportunity gaps) - **Bugs** → quality signals - **UX complaints** → friction points you can beat them on **Sample App Store query (iTunes Search API):** ``` GET https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=&entity=software&limit=1 # Extract trackId, then: GET https://itunes.apple.com/rss/customerreviews/id=/sortBy=mostRecent/json?l=en&limit=50 ``` Parse `entry[].content.label` for review text and `entry[].im:rating.label` for star rating. ### 3. Job Postings (Team Size & Tech Stack Signals) Signals from job postings: - **Engineering volume** → scaling vs. consolidating - **Specific tech mentions** → stack (React/Vue, Postgres/Mongo, AWS/GCP) - **Sales/CS ratio** → product-led vs. sales-led motion - **Data/ML roles** → upcoming AI features - **Compliance roles** → regulatory expansion ### 4. SEO Analysis SEO signals to capture: - Top 20 organic keywords (intent: informational / navigational / commercial) - Domain Authority / backlink count - Blog publishing cadence and topics - Which pages rank (product pages vs. blog vs. docs) ### 5. Social Media Sentiment Capture recent mentions via Twitter/X API v2, Reddit, or LinkedIn. Look for recurring praise, complaints, and feature requests. See `references/data-collection-guide.md` for API query examples. --- ## Scoring Rubric (12 Dimensions, 1-5) | # | Dimension | 1 (Weak) | 3 (Average) | 5 (Best-in-class) | |---|-----------|----------|-------------|-------------------| | 1 | **Features** | Core only, many gaps | Solid coverage | Comprehensive + unique | | 2 | **Pricing** | Confusing / overpriced | Market-rate, clear | Transparent, flexible, fair | | 3 | **UX** | Confusing, high friction | Functional | Delightful, minimal friction | | 4 | **Performance** | Slow, unreliable | Acceptable | Fast, high uptime | | 5 | **Docs** | Sparse, outdated | Decent coverage | Comprehensive, searchable | | 6 | **Support** | Email only, slow | Chat + email | 24/7, great response | | 7 | **Integrations** | 0-5 integrations | 6-25 | 26+ or deep ecosystem | | 8 | **Security** | No mentions | SOC2 claimed | SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001 | | 9 | **Scalability** | No enterprise tier | Mid-market ready | Enterprise-grade | | 10 | **Brand** | Generic, unmemorable | Decent positioning | Strong, differentiated | | 11 | **Community** | None | Forum / Slack | Active, vibrant community | | 12 | **Innovation** | No recent releases | Quarterly | Frequent, meaningful | **Example completed row** (Competitor: Acme Corp, Dimension 3 – UX): | Dimension | Acme Corp Score | Evidence | |-----------|----------------|---------| | UX | 2 | App Store reviews cite "confusing navigation" (38 mentions); onboarding requires 7 steps before TTFV; no onboarding wizard; CC required at signup. | Apply this pattern to all 12 dimensions for each competitor. --- ## Templates > Full template markdown is in `references/analysis-templates.md`. Abbreviated reference below. ### Feature Comparison Matrix Rows: core features, pricing tiers, platform capabilities (web, iOS, Android, API). Columns: your product + up to 3 competitors. Score each cell 1–5. Sum to get total out of 60. **Score legend:** 5=Best-in-class, 4=Strong, 3=Average, 2=Below average, 1=Weak/Missing ### Pricing Analysis Capture per competitor: model type (per-seat / usage-based / flat rate / freemium), entry/mid/enterprise price points, free trial length. Summarize: price leader, value leader, premium positioning, your position, and 2–3 pricing opportunity bullets. ### SWOT Analysis For each competitor: 3–5 bullets per quadrant (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities for us, Threats to us). Anchor every bullet to a data signal (review quote, job posting count, pricing page, etc.). ### Positioning Map 2x2 axes (e.g., Simple ↔ Complex / Low Value ↔ High Value). Place each competitor and your product. Bubble size = market share or funding. See `references/analysis-templates.md` for ASCII and editable versions. ### UX Audit Checklist Onboarding: TTFV (minutes), steps to activation, CC-required, onboarding wizard quality. Key workflows: steps, friction points, comparative score (yours vs. theirs). Mobile: iOS/Android ratings, feature parity, top complaint and praise. Navigation: global search, keyboard shortcuts, in-app help. ### Action Items | Horizon | Effort | Examples | |---------|--------|---------| | Quick wins (0–4 wks) | Low | Add review badges, publish comparison landing page | | Medium-term (1–3 mo) | Moderate | Launch free tier, improve onboarding TTFV, add top-requested integration | | Strategic (3–12 mo) | High | Enter new market, build API v2, achieve SOC2 Type II | ### Stakeholder Presentation (7 slides) 1. **Executive Summary** — Threat level (LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH/CRITICAL), top strength, top opportunity, recommended action 2. **Market Position** — 2x2 positioning map 3. **Feature Scorecard** — 12-dimension radar or table, total scores 4. **Pricing Analysis** — Comparison table + key insight 5. **UX Highlights** — What they do better (3 bullets) vs. where we win (3 bullets) 6. **Voice of Customer** — Top 3 review complaints (quoted or paraphrased) 7. **Our Action Plan** — Quick wins, medium-term, strategic priorities; Appendix with raw data ## Related Skills - **Product Strategist** (`product-team/product-strategist/`) — Competitive insights feed OKR and strategy planning - **Landing Page Generator** (`product-team/landing-page-generator/`) — Competitive positioning informs landing page messaging