Should you dissect your competitors by industries that are most bound to encounter them in?

That's one way you can segment competitors. A few others you may want to consider:

• Persona that's most likely to purchase the competitor
• Company size that's most likely to purchase the competitor
• Cost of competitor
• Region where the competitor is most popular
• Products that the competitor offers

Try building out a market map that shows, visually, where you run into competitors most. See who shows up most frequently—those are likely competitors that you should keep an eye on.

If you see different competitors by industry, then yes. At a previous company we realized that when we expanded into different industries (e.g. going from Tech to Healthcare), the competitive landscape changed somewhat. By doing a win/loss analysis we figured out that most deals that we lost, were 80% of the time going to a vendor we had never heard before. As we dug into it, we realized that the vendor had its origins in the healthcare space and since inception had never ventured out of that industry so it was not surprising we were completely unaware of them. As we interviewed customers, we then discovered why they were successful, how customers used them, what they liked and disliked about the vendor and we crafted a different competitive positioning for that particular market.

So as you venture to other industries is important to take stock of the players there and possibly create new messaging, positioning, pitch decks, demos, etc. that match the expectations of your customers.

This question blends market strategy with competitive strategy. Yes, it’s common to pursue industries that align with your GTM strategy. (Pro-Tip! Check out my AMA on GTM strategy here). In doing so, you’ll run into competitors who’s GTM strategy may be similar to yours. That could include industries or geo-locations. If you’re just starting your competitive analysis from scratch, then prioritizing competitors who show in your target market is a great place to start. However, don’t stop there when deciding which competitors do go deep on with your analysis. Prioritization of competition should start with data from sales and customers. Which competitors are coming up in deals? Which competitors do your customers ask most about during sales calls? You need to answer these questions during your competitive analysis and before your can prioritize where to spend your time across competitors.

Pro-Tip: Include your sales team in the decision making when prioritizing which competitors to analyze first or with the most detail.

Yes, dissecting competitors by industry makes sense when their strengths, weaknesses, and traction vary across verticals. Some competitors thrive in highly regulated industries like financial services or healthcare due to compliance and security advantages, while others gain momentum in AI-heavy sectors like retail and media because of their data processing capabilities.

For example, Snowflake and Databricks compete broadly in data infrastructure, but Snowflake has a clear edge in financial services due to its governance and structured data capabilities. In contrast, Databricks leads in industries where unstructured data and machine learning drive business value, such as media and retail. If your company competes in both spaces, your sales and marketing approach should shift depending on the vertical. In financial services, you would emphasize compliance, security, and structured data, whereas in AI-driven industries, the focus should be on machine learning capabilities and flexibility.

Another key factor is how industries influence buying cycles and decision-making. A cybersecurity vendor with FedRAMP certification will have a strong advantage in government deals, while in eCommerce, speed and scalability may matter more than compliance. Similarly, if a competitor has pre-built integrations with industry-specific tools—like a CRM deeply embedded in manufacturing workflows—that’s a major differentiator you need to address in competitive positioning.

However, if your competitors are horizontal players that win across industries without major differentiation, breaking them down by vertical may not be useful. A company like Slack, for instance, competes more on ecosystem and usability rather than industry-specific features, so industry segmentation wouldn’t significantly change the competitive approach.

Ultimately, dissecting competitors by industry is valuable when those verticals dictate product fit, customer requirements, and sales strategies. If industry nuances drive competitive positioning, sales teams need vertical-specific battlecards, marketing needs tailored messaging, and the GTM strategy should align with where the competition is strongest or weakest. If those differences don’t exist, it’s better to focus on broader, more universal competitive advantages.

It can be helpful to dissect your competitors by the industries in which you are most likely to encounter them, as this can provide valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their strategies and tactics. By understanding the industries in which your competitors operate, you can better position your own products and services in the market, and tailor your marketing and sales efforts to address the unique needs and pain points of those industries. Additionally, studying your competitors in the industries in which you are most likely to encounter them can help you identify potential partnerships, alliances, or co-marketing opportunities that can help you reach new customers and expand your market share.

If you're asking this question, it sounds like your sellers are likely to see different competitors in different industries. I would ask:

• Do the use cases differ for customers in different industries? Do you and your competitors have different relative strengths in different industries, on buying criteria that carry different weights?
• Would your sellers need to run different competitive plays based on the industry they're selling to?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may need to build competitive playbooks by industry. If the only differences to your sellers are the mix of competitors they're likely to see in a particular deal or the number of logos your competitor will be putting on a slide, you probably don't need separate analyses or playbooks .