# Competitive Analysis Templates

## 1. SWOT Analysis Template

### Company/Product: [Competitor Name]
**Date:** [Analysis Date] | **Analyst:** [Name] | **Version:** [1.0]

#### Strengths (Internal Advantages)
| # | Strength | Evidence | Impact |
|---|----------|----------|--------|
| 1 | [e.g., Strong brand recognition] | [Source/data point] | High/Med/Low |
| 2 | | | |
| 3 | | | |

#### Weaknesses (Internal Limitations)
| # | Weakness | Evidence | Exploitability |
|---|----------|----------|---------------|
| 1 | [e.g., Limited API capabilities] | [Source/data point] | High/Med/Low |
| 2 | | | |
| 3 | | | |

#### Opportunities (External Favorable)
| # | Opportunity | Timeframe | Our Advantage |
|---|------------|-----------|---------------|
| 1 | [e.g., Competitor slow to adopt AI] | Short/Med/Long | [How we capitalize] |
| 2 | | | |
| 3 | | | |

#### Threats (External Unfavorable)
| # | Threat | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|--------|-----------|-----------|
| 1 | [e.g., Competitor acquired by larger company] | High/Med/Low | [Our response plan] |
| 2 | | | |
| 3 | | | |

---

## 2. Porter's Five Forces (Product Application)

### Market: [Your Product Category]

#### Force 1: Competitive Rivalry (Intensity: High/Med/Low)
- Number of direct competitors: ___
- Market growth rate: ___% annually
- Product differentiation level: High/Med/Low
- Switching costs for customers: High/Med/Low
- Exit barriers: High/Med/Low
- **Assessment:** [Summary of competitive rivalry intensity]

#### Force 2: Threat of New Entrants (Intensity: High/Med/Low)
- Capital requirements: High/Med/Low
- Technology barriers: High/Med/Low
- Network effects strength: Strong/Moderate/Weak
- Regulatory barriers: High/Med/Low
- Brand loyalty in market: Strong/Moderate/Weak
- **Assessment:** [Summary of new entrant threat]

#### Force 3: Threat of Substitutes (Intensity: High/Med/Low)
- Alternative solutions: [List substitutes]
- Price-performance of substitutes: Better/Same/Worse
- Switching costs to substitutes: High/Med/Low
- Customer propensity to switch: High/Med/Low
- **Assessment:** [Summary of substitute threat]

#### Force 4: Bargaining Power of Buyers (Power: High/Med/Low)
- Buyer concentration: Concentrated/Fragmented
- Price sensitivity: High/Med/Low
- Information availability: Full/Partial/Limited
- Switching costs: High/Med/Low
- Volume of purchases: High/Med/Low
- **Assessment:** [Summary of buyer power]

#### Force 5: Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Power: High/Med/Low)
- Key technology dependencies: [List]
- Cloud provider lock-in: High/Med/Low
- Talent market tightness: Tight/Balanced/Loose
- Data source dependencies: Critical/Important/Optional
- **Assessment:** [Summary of supplier power]

#### Overall Industry Attractiveness: [Score 1-10]

---

## 3. Competitive Positioning Map

### Axis Definitions
- **X-Axis:** [e.g., Ease of Use] (Low to High)
- **Y-Axis:** [e.g., Feature Completeness] (Low to High)

### Competitor Positions

| Competitor | X Score (1-10) | Y Score (1-10) | Quadrant |
|-----------|---------------|---------------|----------|
| Your Product | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| Competitor A | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| Competitor B | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| Competitor C | ___ | ___ | ___ |
| Competitor D | ___ | ___ | ___ |

### Quadrant Definitions
- **Top-Right (Leaders):** High on both axes - market leaders
- **Top-Left (Feature-Rich):** High features, lower ease of use - complex tools
- **Bottom-Right (Simple):** Easy to use, fewer features - niche players
- **Bottom-Left (Laggards):** Low on both axes - disruption candidates

### Positioning Insights
- **White space opportunities:** [Areas with no competitor presence]
- **Crowded areas:** [Where competition is fiercest]
- **Our trajectory:** [Direction we're moving on the map]

---

## 4. Win/Loss Analysis Template

### Deal: [Opportunity Name]
**Date:** [Close Date] | **Result:** Won / Lost | **Competitor:** [Name]

#### Deal Context
- **Deal Size:** $___
- **Sales Cycle:** ___ days
- **Segment:** SMB / Mid-Market / Enterprise
- **Industry:** ___
- **Decision Makers:** [Roles involved]
- **Evaluation Criteria:** [What mattered most to buyer]

#### Competitive Comparison (Buyer Perspective)

| Factor | Us (Score 1-5) | Competitor (Score 1-5) | Decisive? |
|--------|---------------|----------------------|-----------|
| Product Fit | | | Yes/No |
| Pricing | | | Yes/No |
| Ease of Use | | | Yes/No |
| Support Quality | | | Yes/No |
| Integration | | | Yes/No |
| Brand/Trust | | | Yes/No |
| Implementation | | | Yes/No |

#### Win/Loss Factors
- **Primary reason for outcome:** [Single most important factor]
- **Secondary factors:** [Supporting reasons]
- **Buyer quotes:** ["Direct quotes from debrief"]

#### Action Items
| # | Action | Owner | Due Date |
|---|--------|-------|----------|
| 1 | [e.g., Improve onboarding flow] | [Name] | [Date] |
| 2 | | | |

---

## 5. Battle Card Template

### Competitor: [Name]
**Last Updated:** [Date] | **Confidence:** High/Med/Low

#### Quick Facts
- **Founded:** ___
- **Funding:** $___
- **Employees:** ___
- **Customers:** ___
- **HQ:** ___

#### Elevator Pitch (Their Positioning)
> [How the competitor describes themselves in one sentence]

#### Our Positioning Against Them
> [How we differentiate - our one-liner against this competitor]

#### Where They Win
| Strength | Our Counter |
|----------|------------|
| [e.g., Lower price point] | [e.g., Emphasize TCO including implementation costs] |
| [e.g., Larger integration marketplace] | [e.g., Highlight quality over quantity, key integrations] |
| | |

#### Where We Win
| Our Strength | Evidence |
|-------------|----------|
| [e.g., Superior onboarding experience] | [Metric or customer quote] |
| [e.g., Better enterprise security] | [Certification or feature] |
| | |

#### Landmines to Set
Questions to ask prospects that expose competitor weaknesses:
1. "Have you evaluated how [specific capability] scales beyond [threshold]?"
2. "What's their approach to [area where competitor is weak]?"
3. "Can you share their uptime SLA and historical performance?"

#### Objection Handling
| Objection | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| "[Competitor] is cheaper" | [Value-based response] |
| "[Competitor] has more features" | [Quality/relevance response] |
| "We already use [Competitor]" | [Migration/coexistence story] |

#### Trap Questions They Set
Questions competitors ask about us, and how to respond:
1. **Q:** "[Our known weakness]?" **A:** [Honest, redirect response]
2. **Q:** "[Feature gap]?" **A:** [Roadmap or alternative approach]

#### Recent Intel
- [Date]: [Notable change - pricing, feature, hire, funding]
- [Date]: [Notable change]