jordangaston Needs Stack Competitive Strategy Analysis
This skill guides a structured competitive analysis using the Needs Stack framework. The core idea: every customer has a hierarchy of needs — your product addresses one level, but the customer's real goal is higher up. Products that address a higher-level need make the lower-level needs obsolete for that customer.
Read references/framework.md before running the analysis — it contains the full framework logic,
the analysis template, and worked examples you need to produce a high-quality output.
How to run the analysis
Step 1: Gather context
Ask the user for the following (check conversation history first — some may already be present):
- What is the product/business? — Name, what it does, who it's for.
- Who is the target customer persona? — Give them a name (like "Charlie" in the original framework). What's their role, situation, and motivation?
- What does the customer hire this product to do? — The immediate job-to-be-done.
- Who are the known competitors? — Direct and indirect.
If the user provides a URL or product description, use web search/fetch to research the product and competitive landscape before proceeding. Be proactive about filling in gaps — don't make the user do all the work.
Step 2: Build the Needs Stack
Using the framework in references/framework.md, construct 4–6 levels of the customer's Needs Stack, from the lowest infrastructure-level need up to the highest aspirational/life-goal-level need. Each level should include:
- The need at that level (what the customer wants)
- Products/companies that serve that level
- Whether the user's product operates at this level
Present this as a clear visual stack (highest need on top) using the Visualizer tool. Make it clear which level the user's product currently occupies.
Step 3: Derive strategic insights
Walk through each of these lenses (details in references/framework.md):
- Disruption risk from above — Who targets a higher need and could make your level irrelevant?
- Disruption opportunity upward — Could you move up a level? What would that require?
- Marketing & positioning — Sell features at your level, benefits from one level up.
- Making lower levels irrelevant — How to position competitors below you as unnecessary.
- Strategic metrics — What metric one level above yours would predict long-term customer success?
- Higher purpose — What's the aspirational story at the top of the stack?
Step 4: Deliver the output
Produce a structured analysis document. For complex analyses, create a deliverable file (markdown or docx). For quick analyses, present inline with a Visualizer diagram of the stack.
Always end with 2–3 concrete, actionable recommendations ranked by impact.