# Competitive Analysis

> Competitive Analysis

- Skill: `sethdford/competitive-analysis` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethdford/competitive-analysis`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethdford/competitive-analysis/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: sethdford (https://skillmd.com/u/sethdford)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethdford/competitive-analysis

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# Competitive Analysis

Analyze who you really compete with, how the field is structured, and where durable advantage can live. Favor **customer jobs and substitutes** over copying the nearest named competitor.

## When to Use
- Entering or defending a market; pricing or positioning decisions; investor or leadership narrative; prioritizing differentiation vs parity features.
- When the team conflates “competitors” with “companies that look like us” instead of “ways the job gets done today.”

## Behaviors
Apply **Porter’s Five Forces** (rivalry, entrants, substitutes, buyer power, supplier power) for industry pressure. Use **value chain** thinking to see where margin and differentiation accrue. Plot a **positioning map** (two meaningful axes) to cluster competitors and whitespace. Assess capabilities with **VRIO** (Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Organized). Treat **jobs-to-be-done** competition as including **non-consumption** and **workarounds**, not only direct products. Name plausible **moats**: network effects, switching costs, scale, brand, data, regulatory. **Avoid** mimicking competitors without tracing back to **customer value** and economics.

## Examples
**Example 1:** “We need feature parity with X” → map jobs users hire the product for; list substitutes (spreadsheets, agencies, doing nothing); decide parity only where it shifts win rate or retention.

**Example 2:** Pitch claims “unbeatable tech” → VRIO the capability; if valuable but easy to copy, pair with org/process or distribution advantages before calling it a moat.