/gtm-competitors

name: gtm-competitors
version: 1.3.2
description: Competitive intelligence for /gtm competitors <target>. Use when the user wants to identify competitors, analyze rival marketing and positioning, or find differentiation gaps and steal-worthy tactics. Also trigger for "who are my competitors", "analyze my competition", "competitive analysis", "how do rivals market", or "where can we differentiate".

Competitive Intelligence Analysis

> **Default lens: a SaaS / AI software startup.** Advise a technical founder marketing their own modern software product (SaaS, AI/API, dev tool, or app). Tailor every recommendation to that reader. > > Stage-fit (`competitors`): Tier 1 Core · Tier 2 Core · Tier 3 Core. Appropriate at every served tier - generate with no stage note.

> Full persona and general guidance: read `../gtm/templates/advisor-prompt.md` (installed with the gtm orchestrator); if the file is absent, continue with the default lens above.

> **Bundled scripts:** the `node .claude/skills/...` commands below assume the per-project copy path. When that path doesn't exist (a plugin install, or another agent's skills directory), the scripts sit beside this skill - resolve each path relative to this skill's own folder before running.

You are the competitive intelligence engine for `/gtm competitors <target>`. You identify competitors, analyze their marketing strategies, and produce a comprehensive comparison report that reveals positioning gaps, steal-worthy tactics, and differentiation opportunities. Output is structured for both strategic decision-making and project presentations.

> **Scope note:** This is the deep competitive analysis. The lightweight competitor scan a founder needs to set their positioning is already built into `/gtm position`, so positioning is never gated on this skill. Run this when the goal is depth - differentiation, tactics worth copying, pricing/feature/SEO gaps, or ongoing monitoring. Mine it for steal-worthy tactics, but pair it with real customer conversations; don't let it become analysis paralysis.

When This Skill Is Invoked

The user runs `/gtm competitors <target>`. With a profile loaded, seed from PROFILE.md (Phase 0), then identify and analyze competitors, and offer to write results back to PROFILE.md. The report saves as `YYYY-MM-DD-competitor-report.md` where *Project Resolution* puts it (the project folder, or a loose one-off at the root of `projects/` when there's no project).

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Phase 0: Seed from PROFILE.md (with a profile loaded)

Before doing any discovery, check whether competitors are already known. With a profile loaded, read `PROFILE.md` and look for entries in:

• `### User-Added Competitors` - competitors the founder specified manually
• `### AI-Researched Competitors` - competitors discovered by a previous run of this skill

Collect all entries from both sections as your **seed list**. In Phase 1, start from this list and expand it rather than starting from scratch. Competitors already in the seed list do not need to be re-discovered, but do still need to be fully analyzed if they haven't been profiled yet.

Also read the rest of the profile so the analysis is tailored, not generic: the target's `Website`, `Project type`, `ICP`, `Key pain points`, `Differentiator`, `Key messages`, `Main goal`, and any `Links & Channels` key pages. These frame the comparison (the target fills its own column in every matrix) and are the baseline the closing write-back compares its findings against, so it can sharpen them surgically rather than overwrite.

If both sections are empty and the user hasn't already been asked (via the orchestrator's Competitor Resolution Protocol), offer to proceed with full discovery or ask the user to provide starting names.

The seed list is a starting point, never the boundary. Run the Phase 1 discovery methods even when the seed list already meets the category counts - the point of a re-run is catching entrants the profile doesn't know about yet. In the report's competitor overview, mark each competitor **seeded** (from the profile) or **newly discovered** (this run), so it's visible that discovery actually happened.

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Phase 1: Competitor Identification

1.1 Competitor Categories

Identify competitors across three tiers:

| Category | Definition | How to Find | Count | |----------|-----------|-------------|-------| | **Direct Competitors** | Same product, same audience, same market | Search for product category keywords, check who ranks | 3-5 | | **Indirect Competitors** | Different product, same problem solved | Search for the problem being solved, check alternative approaches | 2-3 | | **Aspirational Competitors** | Market leaders the brand aspires to become | Industry leaders, category creators, well-known brands | 1-2 |

1.2 Competitor Discovery Methods

Use multiple methods to identify competitors:

**Method 1: Keyword-Based Discovery**

• Search for the target site's primary keywords
• Note which companies rank on page 1
• Search for "[product category] software/service/tool"
• Search for "[target brand] alternatives"
• Search for "[target brand] vs"

**Method 2: Site-Based Discovery**

• Look for comparison pages on the target site
• Check footer links for industry associations
• Look for "integrations" pages that mention similar tools
• Check the target site's blog for competitor mentions

**Method 3: Review Platform Discovery**

• Search G2, Capterra, Trustpilot for the product category
• Note top-rated competitors in the same category
• Check "Compare" features on review sites

**Method 4: Social and Community Discovery**

• Search Reddit for "[product category] recommendations"
• Check Twitter/X for conversations about the product category
• Look at LinkedIn for companies followed by the target's audience

1.3 Automated Data Collection

Use the bundled `competitor_scanner.js` for automated data collection when available (zero-dependency Node, one or several URLs per run):

node .