Template · Competitive Analysis
Most competitive analysis is a feature list that proves you’re winning.
A structure for mapping the competitive field by positioning and perception — the things that decide markets — rather than a feature grid that flatters you.
The typical competitive analysis is a spreadsheet of features where, remarkably, you win. It’s comforting and useless. This structure maps what actually moves buyers: how each player is positioned, what they own in the customer’s mind, and where the genuinely unclaimed ground is.
If your competitive analysis concludes that you’re winning, you analysed the wrong thing.
1 · Positioning, not features
For each competitor, write the one thing they own in the customer’s mind — not their feature list. Markets are won in perception, and perception is what you’re mapping.
2 · The customer’s view, not yours
Base it on how customers actually describe the options, from reviews and conversations — not how each company describes itself. The gap between the two is often the opportunity.
3 · Find the unclaimed ground
Plot everyone on the two dimensions that matter to buyers. The valuable space is the credible position nobody has taken — and it’s usually visible once you stop listing features.
4 · Honest self-placement
Put yourself on the same map, by the same customer-based rules. Where you think you are and where customers place you is the most useful line in the whole exercise.
Do the customer-language research before you fill anything in. A competitive map built from company websites just re-prints everyone’s marketing back at you.
Common questions
What should a competitive analysis include?
How each competitor is positioned and what they own in the customer’s mind, based on how customers describe them — plus an honest placement of yourself and the unclaimed ground.
Why do most competitive analyses fail?
They compare feature lists from company websites and conclude you’re winning. Markets move on perception and positioning, which only customer language reveals.
The practice: brand strategy · the framework: brand strategy framework.