# Competitor analysis Human Guide

## What This Is For
Analyze competitive landscape to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for competitive research: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Competitor analysis agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for competitor analysis.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Competitor analysis guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- [Reference Guides](#reference-guides)
- [Best Practices](#best-practices)
- Product strategy development
- Analyze current and emerging competitors
- Monitor competitor activities regularly
- Understand customer perception of competition
- Use competitive insights to inform strategy
- Focus on differentiation, not just comparison
- Include market trends in analysis
- Update competitive analysis quarterly
- Share insights across organization
- Consider indirect competitors too

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Table of Contents, Overview, When to Use, Quick Start, Reference Guides, Best Practices, ✅ DO, ❌ DON'T, Supporting file: references/competitive-insights-report.md, Competitive Insights Report.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Starting without a clear audience or goal.
- Asking for a final artifact before sharing examples or constraints.
- Accepting a generic first draft without checking it against the intended use.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Competitor analysis human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts skill entry for `competitor-analysis`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Competitor Analysis

## Table of Contents

- [Overview](#overview)
- [When to Use](#when-to-use)
- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
- [Reference Guides](#reference-guides)
- [Best Practices](#best-practices)

## Overview

Systematic competitor analysis reveals market positioning, identifies competitive advantages, and informs strategic product decisions.

## When to Use

- Product strategy development
- Market entry planning
- Pricing strategy
- Feature prioritization
- Market positioning
- Threat assessment
- Investment decisions

## Quick Start

Minimal working example:

```python
# Identify and categorize competitors

class CompetitorAnalysis:
    COMPETITOR_TYPES = {
        'Direct': 'Same market, same features',
        'Indirect': 'Different approach, same problem',
        'Adjacent': 'Related market, potential crossover',
        'Emerging': 'New entrants, potential disruptors'
    }

    def identify_competitors(self, market_segment):
        """Find all competitors"""
        return {
            'direct_competitors': [
                {'name': 'Competitor A', 'market_share': '25%', 'founded': 2015},
                {'name': 'Competitor B', 'market_share': '18%', 'founded': 2012}
            ],
            'indirect_competitors': [
                {'name': 'Different Approach A', 'method': 'AI-powered'}
            ],
            'emerging_threats': [
                {'name': 'Startup X', 'funding': '$10M Series A', 'differentiator': 'Mobile-first'}
            ]
        }

// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)
```

## Reference Guides

Detailed implementations in the `references/` directory:

| Guide | Contents |
|---|---|
| [Competitor Identification](references/competitor-identification.md) | Competitor Identification |
| [Competitive Matrix](references/competitive-matrix.md) | Competitive Matrix |
| [SWOT Analysis](references/swot-analysis.md) | SWOT Analysis |
| [Competitive Insights Report](references/competitive-insights-report.md) | Competitive Insights Report |

## Best Practices

### ✅ DO

- Analyze current and emerging competitors
- Monitor competitor activities regularly
- Understand customer perception of competition
- Use competitive insights to inform strategy
- Focus on differentiation, not just comparison
- Include market trends in analysis
- Update competitive analysis quarterly
- Share insights across organization