competitive-analysis

What this skill does

# Competitive Landscape Mapping

Build a complete competitive analysis deck. This is a two-phase process: gather requirements and get outline approval first, then build.

## Environment check

This skill works in both the PowerPoint add-in and chat. Identify which you're in before starting — the mechanics differ, the workflow doesn't:

- **Add-in** — the deck is open live; build slides directly into it.
- **Chat** — generate a `.pptx` file (or build into one the user uploaded).

Everything below applies in both.

## Phase 1 — Scope the analysis

Competitive analysis means different things to different people. Before any research or slide-building, use `ask_user_question` to pin down what they actually want. Don't guess — a 20-slide peer benchmarking deck and a 5-slide market map are both "competitive analysis" and take completely different shapes.

Gather in one round if you can (the tool takes up to 4 questions):

- **Scope** — Single target company with competitors around it? Or multi-company side-by-side with no protagonist?
- **Competitor set** — Which companies are in scope? If the user names them, use exactly those. If they say "the usual suspects," propose a set and confirm.
- **Audience and depth** — Quick read for someone already in the space, or a full primer? This drives whether you need market sizing, industry economics, and history — or can skip to the comparison.
- **Investment context** — Do they need bull/base/bear scenarios and signposts? That's Step 9 below; skip it if this is a strategic review rather than an investment thesis.

If they've uploaded an Excel/CSV with competitor data, confirm which columns map to which metrics before you start pulling numbers. Source-file fidelity matters: use values exactly as given, don't recalculate or re-round.

## Phase 2 — Outline, approve, then build

**Do not create slides until the outline is approved.** Propose slide titles and one-line content notes, present them to the user, get a yes. A competitive deck is 10-20 slides of interlocking content — rebuilding because slide 4 was wrong is expensive. The outline is the cheap iteration point.

When proposing the outline, `ask_user_question` works well for the structural decisions: which positioning visualization (2×2 matrix / radar / tier diagram — Step 5 below), how to group competitors (by business model / segment / posture — Step 4). These are taste calls the user likely has an opinion on.

---

## Standards — apply throughout

### Prompt fidelity

When the user specifies something, that's a requirement, not a suggestion:
- **Slide titles and section names** — exact wording. If they say "Overview and Competitive Scope," don't swap in "FY2024 Competitive Landscape."
- **Chart vs. table** — not interchangeable. "Embedded chart" means a real chart object with data labels on the bars/slices, not a formatted table.
- **Complete data series** — if they list 7 competitors, include all 7. If they show 2015-2025, include every year.
- **Exact values and ratios** — "surpasses DoorDash 4:1, Lyft 8:1" means those ratios, not "7.6x Lyft."

### Source quality, when sources conflict

1. 10-Ks / annual reports (audited)
2. Earnings calls / investor presentations (management commentary)
3. Sell-side research (analyst estimates, useful for private company sizing)
4. Industry reports (McKinsey, Gartner — market sizing, trends)
5. News (recent developments only; verify against primary sources)

### Data comparability

- All competitor metrics from the same fiscal year; flag exceptions explicitly ("FY24" vs "H1 2024")
- Same metric definitions across competitors
- Convert to USD for international; note the exchange rate and date
- Missing data shows as "-" or "N/A" with an "[E]" flag for estimates — never blank
- Every number has a citation: "[Company] [Document] ([Date])"

### Design

- **Slide titles are insights, not labels.** "Scale leaders pulling away from niche players" — not "Competitive Analysis."
- **Signposts are quantified.** "Margin below 40%" — not "margins decline."
- **Ratings show the actual.** "●●● $160B" — not just "●●●."
- **Charts are real chart objects** — not text tables dressed up to look like charts.

**Typography** — set explicitly, don't rely on defaults:
- Slide titles: 28-32pt bold
- Section headers: 18-20pt bold
- Body text: 14-16pt (never below 14pt)
- Table text: 14pt
- Sources/footnotes: 14pt, gray
- Same element type = same size throughout the deck

**Charts:**
- Legend inside the chart boundary, not floating over the plot area
- Right-side legend for pies (≤6 slices), bottom legend for line/bar (≤4 series)
- More than 6 series → split into multiple charts or use a table
- Pie charts show percentages on slices, not just in the legend

**Tables:**
- Light gray header row, bold
- Right-align numbers, left-align text
- Enough cell padding that text doesn't touch borders

**Color:** 2-3 colors max. Muted — navy, gray, one accent. Same color meanings throughout.

### What's strict vs. flexible

| Always | Case-by-case |
|---|---|
| Exact titles/sections when user specifies | Creative titles when they don't |
| Chart when user says chart; table when they say table | Visualization type when unspecified |
| Every competitor/data point they list | Number of competitors when unspecified |
| Exact values when specified | Rounding when precision unspecified |
| Titles fit without overflow | Number of competitor categories |
| No overlapping elements | Which dimensions to compare |

---

## Analysis workflow

### Step 0 — Industry-defining metrics

Before anything else: what 3-5 metrics does this industry actually run on? Use these consistently across every competitor.

| Industry | Key metrics |
|---|---|
| SaaS | ARR, NRR, CAC payback, LTV/CAC, Rule of 40 |
| Payments | GPV, take rate, attach rate, transaction margin |
| Marketplaces | GMV, take rate, buyer/seller ratio, repeat rate |
| Retail | Same-store sales, inventory turns, sales per sq ft |
| Logistics | Volume, cost per unit, on-time delivery %, capacity utilization |

Industry not listed — pick the metrics investors and operators benchmark on.

### Step 1 — Market context

Size, growth, drivers, headwinds. With sources.

Correct: "Embedded payments is $80-100B in 2024, growing 20-25% CAGR (McKinsey 2024)"
Wrong: "The market is large and growing rapidly"

### Step 2 — Industry economics

Map how value flows. Approach depends on industry structure:
- **Vertically structured** — value chain layers, typical margin at each
- **Platform/network** — ecosystem participants, value flows between them
- **Fragmented** — consolidation dynamics, margin differences by scale

### Step 3 — Target company profile

```
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.96B |
| Growth | +26% YoY |
| Gross Margin | 45% |
| Profitability | $373M Adj. EBITDA |
| Customers | 134K |
| Retention | 92% |
| Market Share | ~15% |
```

Multi-segment companies add a breakdown:

```
| Segment | Revenue | Rev YoY | Rev % | EBITDA | EBITDA YoY | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seg A | $25.1B | +26% | 57% | $6.5B | +31% | 26% |
| Seg B | $13.8B | +31% | 31% | $2.5B | +64% | 18% |
| Seg C | $5.1B | -2% | 12% | -$74M | -16% | -1% |
| Total | $44.0B | +18% | 100% | $6.5B* | - | 15% |
```
*Note corporate costs if applicable

### Step 4 — Competitor mapping

Group by whichever lens fits (this is a good `ask_user_question` decision if the user hasn't specified):
- By business model — platform / vertical / horizontal
- By segment — enterprise / SMB / consumer
- By posture — direct / adjacent / emerging
- By origin — incumbent / disruptor / new entrant

### Step 5 — Positioning visualization

| Type | When |
|---|---|
| 2×2 matrix | Two dominant competitive factors |
| Radar/spider | Multi-factor comparison |
| Tier diagram | Natural clustering into strategic groups |
| Value chain map | Vertical industries |
| Ecosystem map | Platform markets |

See `references/frameworks.md` for 2×2 axis pairs by industry.

### Ste