# Competitive Teardown

> > **Note:** Bundled scripts ship as Markdown reference (`.md`) — copy the code out of the `.md` file to run it.

- Skill: `neekware/competitive-teardown-2` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add neekware/competitive-teardown-2`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/neekware/competitive-teardown-2/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: neekware (https://skillmd.com/u/neekware)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/neekware/competitive-teardown-2

---

> **Note:** Bundled scripts ship as Markdown reference (`.md`) — copy the code out of the `.md` file to run it.

# Competitive Teardown

**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=<competitor_name>&entity=software&limit=1
# Extract trackId, then:
GET https://itunes.apple.com/rss/customerreviews/id=<trackId>/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

> **Creator:** Product Team
> **License:** MIT
> **Source Repo:** `neekware/dojo-skills`
> **Source Bucket:** `product-team`
> **Original Path:** `product-team/competitive-teardown`