Competitive Landscape

Criteria

• Names the specific decision this landscape informs, such as entering a segment or choosing a vendor, with a date
• Fixes geography, customer segment, timeframe and product category so a colleague can judge whether a new company belongs
• Excludes at least two adjacent categories by name and says why they would distort the comparison

Sources

• Wikipedia REST summaries en.wikipedia.orgReplace the page title with a company or category to check how it is defined before deciding whether it is in scope.
• Scope test text

  A company is in scope when a target customer could pick it instead of us for the same job, in the same geography, this year. Note anything that fails one of those three tests as an exclusion.

  Use it to decide borderline companies.

Watches

• Searches “market category competitive analysis analyst report” monthly

Criteria

• Every row gives target customer, business model and a source-backed reason the company belongs, not a category label alone
• Marks each company as incumbent, new entrant or repositioned player
• Cites one recent dated event, such as funding, launch or customer win, for each non-incumbent

Sources

• Wikipedia REST summaries en.wikipedia.orgBackground on a company, its history and business model.
• Product Hunt producthunt.comNew launches and repositioning by smaller players.
• Company announcements (fictional) api.announcements.example.comFictional feed of press releases and funding news for the tracked set.

Watches

• Searches “competitor funding OR "new product" OR launch” weekly
• Follows Market scope

Agent may read en.wikipedia.org and search the web.

Criteria

• States each rival's claim in the words customers see: problem, promise and proof points, not a feature list
• Labels every claim as evidenced (case study, review, analyst note) or unvalidated
• Names at least one white space no tracked competitor addresses and why it is still open

Sources

• G2 software reviews g2.comCustomer language that tests vendor claims.
• Capterra reviews capterra.comComplaints and praise that reveal real differentiation.

Watches

• Searches “competitor positioning OR differentiation OR "why choose"” monthly
• Follows Competitor field

Agent may search the web.

Criteria

• Each signal has a date, the observable change, a one-sentence impact and a confidence label: rumour, report or confirmed
• Weighs signals: funding alone ranks below funding plus a hiring plan or new product line
• Gives a next-check date or trigger for each signal instead of only logging news

Sources

• TechCrunch techcrunch.comFunding and launch reporting.
• Market events (fictional) api.signals.example.comFictional aggregate of funding, hiring and partnership events.

Watches

• Checks techcrunch.com daily
• Searches “competitor Series OR funding OR partnership” weekly
• Follows Competitor field

Criteria

• Each implication points to a competitor row, positioning claim or signal and says why it matters to the decision
• Gives every open question an owner and due date
• Uses conditional wording tied to a dated trigger, such as "if X ships Y by Q4", instead of "the market is shifting"

Watches

• Follows Material signals
• Follows Positioning and differentiation