competitive-research-snapshot

Competitive Research Snapshot: A Cited Competitive Analysis Workflow

Skill Overview

Competitive Research Snapshot is a Claude skill workflow that begins by presenting a three-point search plan, then selects and researches 3–4 competitors individually. It distinguishes evidence strength using the labels “Fact / Inference / Assumption,” and ultimately produces competitive snapshots and comparison matrices with verifiable URL citations—providing a reliable basis for product positioning, roadmap bets, and sales enablement rather than a generic market report.

Use Cases

Before rewriting product positioning: When changing the positioning in the next iteration, use it to conduct a cited assessment of the top three competitors, clarifying their actual strengths, weaknesses, and claimed capabilities.

When sales is consistently losing to a specific competitor: Replace impressions with evidence by collecting independent sources on the competitor’s actual strengths and weaknesses, and produce materials that can directly support a battlecard.

Preparing a board or executive presentation: When you need competitive intelligence that clearly distinguishes facts from assumptions—not a confident verbal narrative—use it to generate a snapshot document that can serve as a baseline.

Core Features

Three-step autonomous research workflow: Search plan → competitor selection → “just enough” research. Before starting, it asks no more than three questions (research subject, decision to support, and known competitors). Unanswered items are carried forward as labeled “Assumptions” while execution continues; a single run typically takes about 20–40 minutes.

Evidence labels and real citations: Every conclusion is labeled Fact / Inference / Assumption with a confidence level and accompanied by a real URL. Statements on a competitor’s website are recorded only as “what it claims,” avoiding overreliance on marketing pages that could lead to fabricated conclusions.

Stable snapshot schema for rerunnable comparisons: The output follows a fixed chapter order (Scope, Competitor Snapshots, Comparison Matrix, and So What Implications), allowing downstream skills such as sales battlecards and competitive intelligence monitoring to consume it directly. When rerun, differences can be compared without rereading the entire document each time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is it different from a standard market report?

A standard market report covers industry trends and is often lengthy but not closely tied to a specific decision. Competitive Research Snapshot uses “decision support” as its sole standard: at the outset, it requires you to state what decision the research will support (positioning, roadmap, deal pursuit, or executive presentation), and every section must serve that decision. Content that does not is cut.

What inputs are required?

Ideally, provide three things: the company/product/market segment to research, the decision the research should support, and known competitors (you may also authorize it to identify the top three competitors independently). It is fine if not all three are available—it asks no more than three questions, then continues with clearly labeled assumptions.

How does it avoid fabricating competitor information?

Through three layers of safeguards: every conclusion must be labeled as a fact, inference, or assumption and include a real source URL; content from competitor websites is recorded only as factual evidence of “what the competitor claims,” while actual capabilities are assessed using review and evaluation sites; and the “Evidence Quality” row in the comparison matrix identifies competitors with weak evidence. When evidence is insufficient, it is written as a “Pending Validation” assumption rather than presented as a risky conclusion.