/08-competitor-research-global

name: 08-competitor-research-global
description: "Use when the user needs to understand competitors — direct, indirect, and substitute tiers, positioning map, SWOT, ad and content benchmark, pricing comparison, and the market gap to attack, using SimilarWeb, Ahrefs, Semrush, and the Meta Ad Library. Trigger on 'competitor research', 'competitive analysis', 'what are competitors running', 'who else sells this', 'why do people pick them over us', 'benchmark us against the market'. Also use when the user sends a competitor link and asks for an opinion. Not for — understanding the customer rather than the rival, see `09-customer-insight-global`; turning difference into a statement, see `58-positioning-global`; paid targeting, see `51-audience-research-global`."
metadata:
  version: 1.0.1
  category: strategy
license: MIT
triggers:
  - "competitor research"
  - "competitive analysis"
  - "what competitors are doing"
  - "competitor analysis"
  - "market research"
related:
  - 09-customer-insight-global
  - 00-marketing-plan-global
  - 02-campaign-brief-global
  - 05-ad-copy-global
  - 29-dropshipping-mastery-global

Competitive Research (Global)

Information gathering

Ask user up to 4 questions before starting:

1. **What's your product / service?** (Industry, price tier, primary audience) 2. **Name 2-5 competitors you know** (brand names, page/TikTok/website links if available) 3. **What worries you most about competitors?** (Cheaper pricing? Better content? Stronger ads? Market share?) 4. **Goal after this report?** (Reposition? Improve content? Find market gap? Run ads more effectively?)

Auto-research via tools (if available)

A. Global research tools

| Tool | What it does | Free tier? | |------|--------------|-----------| | **SimilarWeb** | Website traffic estimation, top sources, competitor comparison | Yes (limited) | | **Ahrefs** | SEO/backlink analysis, keyword competition | Trial only | | **Semrush** | SEO, ads research, keyword gap, competitor traffic sources | Yes (limited) | | **Meta Ads Library** | All competitor ads currently running on Meta — public, free | Yes (free) | | **TikTok Creative Center** | Top performing ads by industry, region | Yes (free) | | **Minea** | Dropshipping ad spy — top selling products on FB/TikTok | Trial only | | **AdSpy / BigSpy** | Ad intelligence across platforms | Paid only |

B. Meta Ads Library (free, no signup needed)

For each competitor: 1. Go to `facebook.com/ads/library` 2. Filter by country + advertiser 3. Note: format mix (video/image/carousel), hooks used, CTAs, run duration 4. Compare against your ads -> find gaps and opportunities

C. Dropshipping-specific tools (Minea, Adspy, Pipiads)

For dropshipping competitor research:

• **Minea** — Track top FB/TikTok ads by product, find winning products
• **Pipiads** — TikTok Shop best sellers, ad performance data
• **AdSpy** — Search ads by keyword, advertiser, country

> See skill `29-dropshipping-mastery-global` for full dropshipping research workflow.

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3-tier competitor model

Categorize competitors into 3 groups — don't just look at direct competitors:

| Tier | Definition | Criteria | Example (Mid-tier Spa) | |------|------------|----------|------------------------| | **Direct** | Same tier, same offering, same audience | Same price, same service, same area | Spa B same street, similar pricing | | **Indirect potential** | Different offering but substitutable | Customer might pick them instead | Cosmetic clinic, at-home skincare, home beauty devices | | **Secondary** | Same offering, different price tier | Competes when budget shifts | Premium spa (customer downgrades), budget spa (upgrades) |

Selection rules

• Direct: pick 3-5 main competitors
• Indirect potential: pick 2-3 substitute categories
• Secondary: pick 1-2 competitors at adjacent price tier

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Per-competitor analysis structure

For each competitor, analyze 8 dimensions:

1. Brand positioning

| Element | Content | |---------|---------| | Main message | [Slogan, tagline, brand promise] | | Visual style | [Color tone, photo style, video quality] | | Price tier | [Low / Medium / High / Premium] | | Target audience | [Gender, age, income, interests] | | Stated USP | [What do they claim is their differentiation?] |

2. Strengths and weaknesses

| Strengths | Weaknesses | |-----------|------------| | [List 3-5] | [List 3-5] |

3. Content strategy

| Metric | Value | |--------|-------| | Main channel | [Facebook / TikTok / Instagram / YouTube / Email] | | Posting frequency | [X posts/week] | | Priority format | [Short video / Carousel / Long post / Reels] | | Tone of voice | [Professional / Friendly / Humorous / Educational] | | Content angle mix | [TOFU X% / MOFU X% / BOFU X%] | | Best performing content | [Top 3 highest engagement posts/videos] |

4. Channels and platforms

| Channel | Yes / No | Followers / Likes | Activity rating | |---------|----------|-------------------|-----------------| | Facebook Page | | | | | TikTok | | | | | Instagram | | | | | YouTube | | | | | LinkedIn | | | | | Website | | | | | Email | | | |

5. Ad spend estimation

Estimation method (no need for absolute precision):

| Signal | How to read | |--------|-------------| | Sponsored posts/month | Count "Sponsored" labeled posts in Meta Ads Library | | TikTok video ad volume | TikTok Creative Center -> Top Ads -> filter by industry | | Website traffic | SimilarWeb (free tier) or Semrush | | KOL/UGC volume | Count brand-tagged videos on TikTok |

| Estimated metric | Value | |------------------|-------| | Active ads (Meta Ads Library) | [X ads] | | Estimated monthly ad spend | [$X — based on ad count x avg CPM] | | Has UGC/KOL? | [Yes/No — if yes, estimated X people] |

6. Audience overlap

| Element | Overlap level | |---------|---------------| | Geography | [High / Medium / Low] | | Age | [High / Medium / Low] | | Income | [High / Medium / Low] | | Interests | [High / Medium / L