Competitive Research (Global)
Information gathering
Ask user up to 4 questions before starting:
- What's your product / service? (Industry, price tier, primary audience)
- Name 2-5 competitors you know (brand names, page/TikTok/website links if available)
- What worries you most about competitors? (Cheaper pricing? Better content? Stronger ads? Market share?)
- 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:
- Go to
facebook.com/ads/library
- Filter by country + advertiser
- Note: format mix (video/image/carousel), hooks used, CTAs, run duration
- 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.
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
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 |
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| TikTok |
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| Instagram |
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| YouTube |
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| LinkedIn |
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| Website |
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| Email |
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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 / Low] |
| Channels used |
[High / Medium / Low] |
7. Pricing and business model
| Product/service |
Competitor price |
Your price |
Difference |
| [SKU 1] |
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| [SKU 2] |
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| [SKU 3] |
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8. Threat level assessment
| Competitor |
Threat level |
Reason |
| [Name] |
High / Medium / Low |
[1 short sentence] |
SWOT — Your brand vs Competitors
SWOT summary table
|
Positive |
Negative |
| Internal |
STRENGTHS — Your strengths competitors don't have or are weaker at |
WEAKNESSES — Your weak points competitors exploit |
| External |
OPPORTUNITIES — Market gaps competitors haven't claimed |
THREATS — Competitor trends/moves threatening you |
Detail
Strengths
| # |
Strength |
Which competitor weak here? |
How to leverage |
| 1 |
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Weaknesses
| # |
Weakness |
Which competitor strong here? |
How to fix |
| 1 |
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Opportunities
| # |
Opportunity |
Why competitors haven't done it? |
Recommended action |
| 1 |
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Threats
| # |
Threat |
From which competitor? |
Defense strategy |
| 1 |
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Positioning Map
2x2 matrix — pick 2 axes that fit your industry:
Default axes: Price x Perceived Quality
HIGH QUALITY
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Comp C | [YOU]
(cheap, | (mid price,
good qual)| good qual)
|
------- LOW -------- HIGH ---- PRICE
|
Comp A | Comp B
(cheap, | (high price,
low qual) | low qual)
|
LOW QUALITY
Alternative axes (by industry)
| X-axis (horizontal) |
Y-axis (vertical) |
Best for |
| Price |
Perceived quality |
Spa, F&B, fashion |
| Traditional vs Modern |
Mainstream vs Niche |
Education, tech |
| Convenience vs Experience |
Mass vs Premium |
F&B, retail |
| Online vs Offline |
Self-serve vs Full service |
Service, SaaS |
How to read the map:
- Crowded corner = fierce competition, avoid
- Empty corner = gap to claim
- Heavy corner = many competitors, need strong differentiator
Find market gaps (Market Gap)
5 gap types framework
| Gap type |
Check question |
Finding |
| Product gap |
What need are customers solving DIY because no one serves it? |
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| Price gap |
What price tier has no one claimed? (between budget and premium) |
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| Channel gap |
What channel are competitors ignoring? (Email? TikTok Shop? SEO?) |
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| Content gap |
What angle hasn't been done? (behind scenes? educational? data-driven?) |
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| Experience gap |
What customer journey step is no one doing well? |
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Gap evaluation
| Gap |
Attractiveness (1-5) |
Feasibility (1-5) |
Priority |
| [Gap 1] |
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High / Medium / Low |
| [Gap 2] |
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| [Gap 3] |
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Content Benchmark — Best-performing competitor content
Top-performing content analysis
For each competitor, pick top 5 posts/videos by engagement in last 30 days:
| # |
Competitor |
Format |
Angle |
Views/Reach |
Engagement |
Why effective? |
| 1 |
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Extract pattern
| Pattern |
Description |
Apply to you |
| Common hook |
[Hook style competitors use] |
[Apply / Don't apply — reason] |
| Strong format |
[Video/Carousel/Text most effective?] |
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| Posting time |
[What hour, what day?] |
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| Common CTA |
[What CTA type?] |
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| Viral element |
[Common trait of effective content?] |
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Learn vs Don't copy
LEARN from competitors
| Lesson |
From which competitor |
How to apply |
| Effective content format |
|
[Adapt how] |
| Strong channel |
|
[Implementation] |
| Customer service |
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[Improvement] |
| Pricing strategy |
|
[Adjustment] |
DON'T copy
| Don't copy |
Reason |
Do this instead |
| Copy content verbatim |
Lose identity, suffer comparison |
Take idea, adapt to your brand voice |
| Race to the bottom (price) |
Unsustainable |
Compete on value, not price |
| Imitate positioning |
Become "cheap copy" |
Find unique angle, differentiate |
| Follow trends they did |
Late, lost effectiveness |
Find new trends or new angle on old |
Competitive moat assessment
| Moat type |
Competitor has? |
You have? |
Action |
| Brand recognition — First-recall |
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| Network effect — More users = more attractive |
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| Switching cost — Hard for customers to leave |
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| Data advantage — Big customer data |
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| Content library — Large content library, strong SEO |
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| Community — Loyal community |
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| Distribution — Strong channel network |
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Action table
Priority recommendations
| # |
Action |
Based on finding |
Urgency |
Timeline |
| 1 |
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High / Medium |
Wk 1-2 |
| 2 |
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Wk 2-4 |
| 3 |
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Mo 2 |
| 4 |
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Mo 3 |
| 5 |
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Long-term |
Cross-reference
- Need deeper customer understanding? -> Use
09-customer-insight-global
- Want to reposition and write brief? -> Use
02-campaign-brief-global
- Need differentiated copy? -> Use
05-ad-copy-global
- Need competitive budget calculation? -> Use
10-reverse-kpi-global
- Need full marketing plan? -> Use
00-marketing-plan-global
- Dropshipping research? -> Use
29-dropshipping-mastery-global
Quality checklist
Before delivering report, check:
- Categorized competitors into 3 tiers (direct, indirect, secondary)
- Each competitor has all 8 analysis dimensions
- SWOT specific, not generic — each point names specific competitor
- Positioning map axes fit industry
- Found at least 3 market gaps
- Content benchmark has specific data (links, numbers), not vague observations
- "Learn vs Don't copy" section has specific actions
- Competitive moat assessed for both competitor and you
- Action table has timeline and urgency
- No unsupported claims — every conclusion has data or specific observation
