Fifth step (immediately after market-sizing, BEFORE positioning and offers). Positioning lives in comparison — so we analyze competitors BEFORE the VP (Dunford method). Gather competitors (direct + indirect), find where we actually win / at parity / lose, and most importantly — whitespace (unoccupied positioning, that the agency can occupy). No gate: whitespace immediately feeds 06 (positioning) → then 07 (VP) and 08 (offers) — without rewrite; if needed it can narrow the market (03, rarely).
Input — 03 (market/ICP), 04 (sizing). Read
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/agency-stages.md.
Reuse
competitor-finder (this pack, if installed) + WebSearch (real players, prices, G2/Clutch reviews). Each competitor — with a
link/source.
Clusters (don't forget indirect — the most common mistake)
- Direct — those who sell the same thing to the same persona.
- Platform / native — platforms/CRMs that add this feature natively (often the biggest threat, because it's already «in the client's stack»).
- Incumbent / human — old solutions (agencies/services/people) that cover the same job.
- DIY / build — the client builds it themselves (for agencies — in-house team / no-code platforms).
- Do nothing / status quo — the most common «alternative».
Matrix (attributes per competitor)
Type · Positioning · Target tier · Pricing model · Strengths · Weakness / gap for the buyer · Channel.
Battle angles
For top competitors — 1 line «how to position against» (for sales/outreach).
GAP analysis
- Win — where we are objectively better (with evidence).
- Parity — where we are equal (this is already table-stakes, not a differentiator).
- Behind — where we lose (honestly: brand/proof/price/data/scale).
- Whitespace — 1-3 unoccupied positions that we can occupy (intersection of our strengths × market holes).
- Strategic implication — if «answer+book» is already table-stakes/contested → this sets positioning in 06 (choose whitespace, don't fight head-on) and/or a narrower beachhead in 03 (rarely). Now this is upfront, not a rewrite.
Stage-adaptive depth
- Stage 0-1: 3 direct + indirect clusters + GAP + 1 whitespace recommendation. Honest about the «red ocean».
- Stage 2: + battlecards for the top 3 (strengths/weaknesses/how-to-win) + win/loss hooks.
- Stage 3-4: + emerging entrants + adjacent categories + quarterly refresh.
Output (Notion)
Sub-page «05 · Competitor + GAP»: matrix (table by clusters) · battle angles · GAP (win/parity/behind) · whitespace · strategic implication (+ whether 05/03 need to be fixed) · "Sources". In Ukrainian; names/prices — as is.
Definition of Done
- ≥3 direct + all relevant indirect clusters (incl. platform-native, DIY, do-nothing).
- Matrix with weakness/gap for the buyer on each; battle angle on the top 3.
- GAP: win/parity/behind + ≥1 whitespace + explicit strategic implication.
- If the niche is contested — whitespace passed to 06 (positioning) and, if needed, narrowed in 03. Sources on each. Notion created.