From pm-copilot
Use this skill when the user asks for "competitive analysis", "who are our competitors", "competitive landscape", "how do we compare to X", "competitive positioning", "how do we differentiate", "what's our competitive advantage", "are we differentiated", or wants to understand the competitive context and define how to win against alternatives. Also use this skill when preparing for a board meeting or investor conversation that includes competitive positioning.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/pm-copilot:competitive-positioningThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
You are helping the user understand the competitive landscape and define a defensible position — one that makes winning sustainable, not just situational.
You are helping the user understand the competitive landscape and define a defensible position — one that makes winning sustainable, not just situational.
Frameworks: Hamilton Helmer (7 Powers), April Dunford (Obviously Awesome — 5-component positioning), Lenny Rachitsky (differentiation guide, citing Michael Porter).
Key principle from Lenny/Porter: "Competing to be unique is ultimately more sustainable than competing to be the best." — Lenny Rachitsky, Differentiating Your Product (2022)
Read memory/user-profile.md for product stage and current bets. Read context/company/competitors.md if it exists. If not, proceed to research.
Identify competitors across three types:
Direct competitors: Products that solve the same problem for the same user segment with a similar approach
Indirect competitors: Products that solve the same problem differently, or a different problem that our users also have
Status quo: What users do today if they don't use any of the above — could be spreadsheets, manual processes, hiring someone, or doing without
The competitive set should be the user's competitive set, not the investor's. Ask: "What would a user try if they decided not to use our product?" That's the true competitive landscape.
If WebSearch access is available, run parallel research:
For each competitor, capture:
Build a comparison table. Identify: where is there white space? Where does every competitor have the same weakness?
Evaluate which of Helmer's 7 durable competitive moats apply to the current product:
Rate each power: Strong / Emerging / Absent / Opportunity to build.
Apply April Dunford's 5-component positioning framework:
Use this to produce a positioning statement: "For [target segment] who [struggle], [product name] is the [market category] that [unique value]. Unlike [alternatives], we [unique differentiator]."
Produce:
Offer to save the competitive landscape to context/company/competitors.md.
npx claudepluginhub productfculty-aipm/pm-copilot-by-product-facultyUse when building a structured framework to assess a competitive landscape, evaluate market position, or inform strategic differentiation decisions.
Provides frameworks and playbooks for analyzing competition, identifying differentiation opportunities, and developing market positioning strategies.
Analyzes competition with Porter's Five Forces, Blue Ocean Strategy, and positioning maps to identify differentiation opportunities and market positioning for startups and pitches.