/competitive-analysis

name: competitive-analysis
description: "Analyze your competitive landscape using Porter's Five Forces and modern frameworks—understand industry dynamics, identify strategic opportunities, and position your business for sustainable advantage. Use when: **Evaluate an industry** before entering or investing; **Understand competitive dynamics** in your market; **Identify strategic opportunities** based on industry structure; **Assess threats** from competitors, new entrants, or substitutes; **Develop positioning strategy** relative to ..."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: ClawFu
  version: 1.0.0
  mcp-server: "@clawfu/mcp-skills"

Competitive Analysis

> Analyze your competitive landscape using Porter's Five Forces and modern frameworks—understand industry dynamics, identify strategic opportunities, and position your business for sustainable advantage.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• **Evaluate an industry** before entering or investing
• **Understand competitive dynamics** in your market
• **Identify strategic opportunities** based on industry structure
• **Assess threats** from competitors, new entrants, or substitutes
• **Develop positioning strategy** relative to competition
• **Prepare investor pitches** with market analysis
• **Plan product launches** in competitive markets
• **Make pricing decisions** based on competitive forces

This skill is particularly valuable for:

• Founders evaluating market opportunities
• Strategy teams assessing competitive position
• Investors analyzing industry attractiveness
• Product managers planning market entry
• Business development professionals identifying partners/threats

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Methodology Foundation

**Source:** Michael Porter - Harvard Business School (1979-present) + modern competitive intelligence best practices

**Core Principle:** Industry structure, together with a company's relative position within the industry, are the two basic drivers of company profitability. Understand the five competitive forces to anticipate shifts, shape industry evolution, and find better strategic positions.

> "The essence of strategy formulation is coping with competition."

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What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide | |-------------|------------| | Structures production workflow | Final creative direction | | Suggests technical approaches | Equipment and tool choices | | Creates templates and checklists | Quality standards | | Identifies best practices | Brand/voice decisions | | Generates script outlines | Final script approval |

What This Skill Does

When invoked, I will guide you through comprehensive competitive analysis:

1. **Define your competitive arena** - Identify industry boundaries and key players 2. **Analyze the Five Forces** - Evaluate each competitive force systematically 3. **Map competitor landscape** - Profile direct and indirect competitors 4. **Assess industry attractiveness** - Determine profit potential 5. **Identify strategic opportunities** - Find positioning gaps and advantages 6. **Monitor competitive dynamics** - Set up ongoing intelligence gathering

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How to Use

Provide information about your competitive situation:

**Example prompts:**

• "Analyze the competitive landscape for [industry/market]"
• "Apply Porter's Five Forces to my [business type]"
• "Create a competitor analysis for [company/product]"
• "Assess the threat of new entrants in [market]"
• "Evaluate supplier/buyer power in [industry]"
• "Help me find competitive positioning opportunities"

**Information that helps:**

• Your industry or market
• Key competitors you're aware of
• Your product/service category
• Geographic scope
• Target customer segment
• Current market position

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Instructions

The Five Forces Framework

Overview

Porter's Five Forces determine the competitive structure of an industry and its profitability.

                    Threat of
                   New Entrants
                        ↓

Supplier    →    COMPETITIVE    ←    Buyer
 Power           RIVALRY              Power

                        ↑
                    Threat of
                   Substitutes

| Force | Key Question | High = | |-------|--------------|--------| | **Rivalry** | How intense is competition? | Lower profits | | **New Entrants** | How easy to enter? | More competition | | **Supplier Power** | Can suppliers dictate terms? | Higher costs | | **Buyer Power** | Can customers dictate terms? | Lower prices | | **Substitutes** | Are alternatives available? | Less pricing power |

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Force 1: Competitive Rivalry

Analyze the intensity of competition among existing players.

Assessment Questions

| Factor | Questions to Ask | |--------|------------------| | **Number of competitors** | How many significant players exist? | | **Market concentration** | Is it dominated by few or fragmented? | | **Industry growth** | Growing, stable, or declining? | | **Product differentiation** | Are products similar or distinct? | | **Switching costs** | How hard is it for customers to switch? | | **Exit barriers** | Can companies easily leave? | | **Fixed costs** | Do high fixed costs drive price competition? |

Rivalry Intensity Scale

| Level | Characteristics | Profit Impact | |-------|-----------------|---------------| | **Low** | Few competitors, differentiated products, high growth | Higher margins | | **Medium** | Several competitors, some differentiation, stable growth | Moderate margins | | **High** | Many competitors, commodity products, slow/negative growth | Thin margins |

Red Flags (High Rivalry)

• Frequent price wars
• Heavy advertising spending
• Constant product launches
• Difficulty maintaining margins
• High customer churn

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Force 2: Threat of New Entrants

Analyze how easy or difficult it is for new players to enter your market.

Barriers to Entry Assessment

| Barrier | Low Threat | High Threat | |---------|------------|---------