What are the top documents you create when working on Competitive Positioning programs?

Some key documents that my teams have implemented for competitive positioning are starting with data gathering on points such as: key value props, feature set, target customers, pricing, strengths, customer perception. Partnering with brand and demand gen teams on creative campaign insights and media spend are also helpful to coordinate on. These inputs can then be inputs into frameworks like SWOT matrixes and battlecards for Sales/AM teams or internal one sheeters that can be good alignment col ...Read More

A few key documents that you should have: Research Document - For me, this has always been internal and been a way for me to store insights, data, or any resources on a competitor -- or aggregate set of competitors. This doc is never shared broadly and is just used as a starting point to collect information. Competitive Battlecard - This should be the central resource where everything your sales and CS team need lives. Competitive Messaging Spreadsheet - I like to create a compettiive spreadshee ...Read More

There are a few rinse and repeat assets that work well for us in competitive. For products with a significant rep-assisted motion, having competitive comparison cards helps distill complex products into key capabilities, highlighting parity and differentiation to help overcome objections and convey additional value. Competitive teardowns, a more comprehensive exercise in support of the above, help drive a deep, shared understanding of competitive priorities (hint: select a few key competitors, d ...Read More

When we do competitive positioning, we try to take a holistic approach, examining companies across numerous areas. We put together a general overview focused on their overall positioning and messaging from their website. We dive a little deeper to look at specific product features and the company’s size to better gauge their offerings and available resources. We also look at their social surfaces, pricing, top clients and existing customers. We also dive into their press, both good and bad, to g ...Read More

Let me share the elements I've found to be most useful for competitive positioning materials like battle cards. While this may be geared toward a sales team, if done well, much of this content can be repurposed for other activations like competitive web pages and competitive replacement campaigns. Competitor overview – A high-level overview of the competitor, their product offering(s), how they position themselves, and their pricing. Quick dismiss – A short (3 sentences or less) articulation of ...Read More

I think there are a couple of different docs that I would use, depending on the audience (internal, external) and the competitor (are you ahead, behind) INTERNAL resources Feature comparisons "Killer" features that set you apart Common objections Loaded discovery questions (I love these, questions your reps can use to purposefully attack a weakness) Switch stories Deal win stories (these are different than switch stories. Dive into how the rep positioned to overcome competitive objections) Prici ...Read More

There's a few documents I've found consistently valuable for CI programs. Competitive battlecards for customer-facing teams Product deep dives: typically done for product teams to show them competitor capabilities and where there are strengths/gaps compared to our own offering. Win/Loss reporting: data-driven and shows trends such as win rates by competitors, industry, region, etc. and reasons behind key losses Messaging deep dive: more for a marketing audience to analyze competitor positioning ...Read More

There are a few things that have worked for me and my teams at various places in my career: Having a dedicated Competitive Intelligence team or lead makes a massive difference. When they are creating and distributing insightful content about competitors, it really enhances (and simplifies) the process of positioning products, solutions, or brands relative to competitors. Creating a robust messaging framework for your product/solution/service is key. I've seen these be both short and sweet, and v ...Read More

The most important resource for competitive positioning is battle cards. It's the best summary and most actionable document (or group of documents) that can drive impact quickly. Some important components of battle cards are: Top competitor profiles (firmographics) Quick dismiss responses to common objections about your product vs the specific competitor Wedge questions to de-position each competitor Recent news so sellers can stay up to date Beyond those core components, teams might also find i ...Read More

I recommend three documents. 1. an inbound competitive document, covering things like product differentiators, win/loss analysis, pricing and type of open roles. 2. a separate document summarizing industry commentators, analysts or review sites. 3. Finally, a document that focuses on your category definition and messaging within. I call this outbound positioning document. The first establishes a competitive baseline. No FUD. Nor hearsay. Only qualitative statements. Times 4-6 competitors. this s ...Read More

When it comes to competitive positioning, it’s all about making insights actionable. The best research is useless if your team doesnt know how to apply it. Here are my go-to docs: Competitive Battle Cards – These are the holy grail for sales teams. A digestible slide (or two) with: TLDR on our core differentiation Why we win & why we lose (with objection handling) A customer example of why they chose us Feature Matrix – A side-by-side comparison of product capabilities, with not just the "wh ...Read More