This prompt takes the competitor landscape identified in Step 2 and drills into the 3–5 rivals that matter most to your business. It researches their positioning, product, pricing, customer reviews, and growth signals. Then it finds the gaps, white space, and vulnerabilities your company can actually act on. Every finding is grounded in real sources, from G2 reviews to Crunchbase to competitor websites.
Read the full prompt below, upload your two context files from Steps 1 and 2, and specify which competitors you want analysed. You’ll get a competitive intelligence file ready to sharpen your positioning in the steps ahead.
Start a new chat for this prompt. And use the latest ChatGPT/Claude model with extended thinking/deep thinking enabled and web search turned on.
The Prompt
# Competitive Intelligence
You are a B2B competitive intelligence analyst. You have two context files uploaded to this chat — one with the company background and one with market research findings. The market research already identified the major players in this space. Now your job is to go deeper on the competitors that matter most to this specific company.
## YOUR TASK
Read both uploaded context files first. Then use web search to conduct a focused competitive analysis. You are NOT repeating the competitive overview from Step 2 — you are drilling into the 3–5 competitors that are most relevant to this company's situation and building intelligence the company can act on for positioning, sales, and messaging.
**Research rules:**
1. **Focus on what's actionable.** Generic SWOT matrices are not useful. Every finding should connect to something the company can do — position against, learn from, or exploit.
2. **Search, don't guess.** Use web search to find competitor websites, pricing pages, case studies, press releases, G2/Capterra reviews, Glassdoor, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, blog posts, and any other public sources. Don't rely on training data.
3. **Cite your sources.** For every claim about a competitor, note where you found it.
4. **Look through the buyer's eyes.** The most useful competitive intelligence isn't what competitors say about themselves — it's what their customers and prospects say about them.
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## BEFORE YOU START
**Upload both context files** from the previous steps:
- `01-company-context.md` (company background)
- `02-market-research.md` (market research findings)
**Which competitors should the AI focus on?** The market research in Step 2 identified the major players. Select 3–5 to analyze in depth, or let the AI recommend based on the context files: [e.g., "Focus on Competitor A, Competitor B, and Competitor C" / "Use the competitors identified in Step 2 and pick the 3–5 most relevant to our situation"]
**Any specific competitive questions?** [e.g., "We keep losing deals to Competitor A — find out why" / "Competitor B just launched a new product, analyze it" / "We think we're cheaper but aren't sure — verify pricing across competitors"]
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## ANALYSIS STRUCTURE
### For each competitor (3–5), research and report:
**1. Positioning & Messaging**
- How do they describe themselves? (Tagline, homepage messaging, elevator pitch)
- What claims do they lead with? (Speed, price, quality, innovation, trust, vertical expertise)
- Who do they appear to target? (Company size, industry, buyer role)
- How does their positioning compare to the company we're analyzing?
**2. Product & Offering**
- What do they sell? (Products, services, platform, modules)
- How is it delivered? (SaaS, managed service, consulting, hybrid)
- What are their standout features or capabilities?
- What's visibly missing or weak compared to the company we're analyzing?
**3. Pricing & Business Model**
- What pricing information is publicly available? (Tiers, price points, model type)
- If pricing isn't public, what can be inferred from their positioning, customer size, and reviews?
- How does their pricing approach compare to the company we're analyzing?
**4. Customer Evidence & Reputation**
- What customer logos, case studies, or testimonials do they showcase?
- What do customers say on review sites (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot)? Summarize the patterns — what's praised and what's criticized.
- What's their overall rating and review volume on major platforms?
- Any notable customer wins or losses mentioned in press or reviews?
**5. Traction & Momentum**
- Company size and growth indicators (employee count, hiring trends from LinkedIn, Glassdoor)
- Funding history and investors (Crunchbase)
- Recent press, product launches, or partnerships
- Any signals of acceleration or stagnation?
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## AFTER THE INDIVIDUAL ANALYSES
### Competitive Comparison Matrix
Create a side-by-side comparison table with the company and all analyzed competitors across these dimensions:
- Primary positioning
- Target customer
- Delivery model
- Pricing approach (public or inferred)
- Key strength
- Key weakness
- Review rating (G2 or Capterra)
### Competitive Gaps & Opportunities
Based on your research, identify:
- **Gaps in the market** — things no competitor is doing well, or customer complaints that are consistent across multiple competitors
- **Positioning white space** — angles or claims that no major competitor is currently owning
- **Vulnerability windows** — competitors showing signs of stagnation, customer dissatisfaction, or strategic missteps that could be exploited
For each gap or opportunity, explain how it connects to the company we're analyzing — is this something they're already positioned to exploit, or would it require a shift?
### Win/Loss Factors
Based on review patterns, customer commentary, and positioning analysis, identify:
- The top 3 reasons buyers choose each competitor (what they're winning on)
- The top 3 reasons buyers leave or avoid each competitor (what they're losing on)
- Where the company we're analyzing likely wins vs. loses in head-to-head evaluations
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## CONTEXT FILE FOR NEXT STEP
After completing the above, create a downloadable file called `03-competitive-intel.md` structured as follows:
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# Competitive Intelligence Summary
## Competitors Analyzed
[List of 3–5 competitors with one-line description of each]
## Comparison Matrix
[The side-by-side table from the main output]
## Key Competitive Gaps & White Space
[Bullet list of the most actionable gaps and opportunities]
## Win/Loss Patterns
[What the company likely wins on vs. loses on in competitive situations]
## Positioning Implications
[2–3 sentences on what this means for how the company should position itself going forward]
---
Keep this file under 600 words.
Tell the user: _"Download the context file below. When you're ready for Step 4 (TAM Mapping), start a new chat, upload all three context files, and paste in the Step 4 prompt."_