Competitor analysis

Competitor Analysis

Canvas template by Flowacts — paste the prompt below to generate a structured competitive analysis. It renders richer and collaborative in the Flowacts app. Try it live →

---

What This Template Does

Generates a 6-column competitive analysis table mapping your brand against current and emerging competitors. Each row is one competitor analyzed across six dimensions:

1. Competitor — who they are, with a one-line descriptor
2. Role — their strategic relation to you (Direct, Emerging, Legacy, Indirect, Future Threat)
3. Core Play — how they actually win (ecosystem moves, pricing, distribution)
4. Our Position — where you stand relative to them (Leading, Gap, Risk, Watch)
5. Evidence / Impact — quantifiable proof and what it means for your roadmap
6. Action — strategic response (Defend, Close Gap, Monitor, Differentiate, etc.)

The output is a structured decision artifact: color-coded position and action tags, multi-bullet cells with bold lead-ins, and bilingual labels (English + 中文) for cross-regional teams.

---

When to Use This

• Entering a new market and need to map the competitive field
• Planning annual strategy and need to anchor positioning decisions
• Facing a new threat and need a structured assessment
• Investor or board asks "who do you compete with and how do you win?"

Refresh quarterly for fast-moving markets, annually for stable ones.

---

The Prompt

Copy this and fill in your specifics:

Compare [Your Brand/Product] against competitors in the [Market/Category] space.

Analyze these competitors:
- [Competitor 1 name]
- [Competitor 2 name]
- [Competitor 3 name]
- [Competitor 4 name]
- [Competitor 5 name] (optional)

For each competitor, classify their role (Direct Competitor, Emerging Challenger, Legacy Player, Indirect Alternative, or Future Threat), break down their core strategic play, assess our relative position, provide key evidence and market impact, and recommend an action (Defend, Close Gap, Monitor, Validate, Experiment, Maintain, Deprioritize, Differentiate, or Watchlist).

Structure the output as a 6-column table: Competitor | Role | Core Play | Our Position | Evidence/Impact | Action.

Example (filled in):

Compare Flowacts against competitors in the AI-powered collaborative workspace space.

Analyze these competitors:
- Notion AI
- Gamma
- MindManager
- PowerPoint + Copilot
- Miro

For each competitor, classify their role, break down their core strategic play, assess our relative position, provide key evidence and market impact, and recommend an action.

Structure the output as a 6-column table: Competitor | Role | Core Play | Our Position | Evidence/Impact | Action.

→ Try this on Flowacts to see the full rendered canvas with color-coded tags, bilingual labels, and collaborative editing.

---

What the Output Looks Like

The canvas generates a table like this:

Competitor	A · Role	B · Core Play	C · Our Position	D · Evidence / Impact	E · Action
Notion AI<br>All-in-one AI workspace	● Direct Competitor	• Ecosystem lock-in<br>• Template distribution<br>• Low-price wedge	Gap / Lagging ⚠️<br>• Template ecosystem behind<br>• Enterprise brand favors them<br>• "Why not Notion?" top objection	• 100M+ MAU<br>• 30k+ templates drive 40% signups<br>• Sales cycle +40% on objection	Defend · Close Gap · Monitor
Gamma<br>AI decks & pages	● Emerging Challenger	• Instant generation<br>• No-design-skill wedge<br>• Viral sharing loops	Potential Risk ⚠️<br>• Faster time-to-first-output<br>• Presentation overlap growing	• ~$50M ARR<br>• 4x YoY growth<br>• Deck use case expanding into reports	Validate · Experiment

Each cell under Core Play, Our Position, and Evidence has 2–4 bullets with bold lead-ins. The live canvas uses color-coded tags (green = strength, amber = caution, gray = low priority)

---

Structure Details

The canvas follows a 6-column table format:

• Column 1: Competitor — name + subtitle
• Column 2: A · Role — enum (Direct, Emerging, Legacy, Indirect, Future Threat) with colored dot
• Column 3: B · Core Play — multi-bullet guided text (2–4 bullets, bold lead-ins)
• Column 4: C · Our Position — colored status tag (Leading, Gap, Risk, Substitution, Watch) + 2–3 supporting bullets
• Column 5: D · Evidence / Impact — multi-bullet facts + implications (2–4 bullets)
• Column 6: E · Action — 1–3 action tags (Defend, Close Gap, Monitor, Validate, Experiment, Maintain, Deprioritize, Differentiate, Watchlist)

Full column specs, allowed values, color semantics, and decision guides: see structure-v1.md.

---

Real Example

A real competitor analysis for Flowacts :

Notion AI — ● Direct Competitor

• Core Play:
  • Ecosystem lock-in — AI embedded in existing doc workflow; no migration needed
  • Template distribution — 30k+ official + community templates; ~40% new users via organic search
  • Low-price wedge — $8/mo add-on bundled; near-zero decision friction
• Our Position: Gap / Lagging
  • Template ecosystem behind; founder curation can't scale vs. 30k+ community
  • Enterprise brand perception: Fortune 500 associates "AI workspace" with Notion first (~85%+)
  • "Why not Notion?" is the #1 objection in Q3 2026 sales calls
• Evidence / Impact:
  • 100M+ MAU globally; enterprise penetration >85% in Fortune 500 tech
  • Template long-tail SEO captures 40% of new signups
  • Three-channel lock-in (docs/tables/calendar) = high switching cost
• Action: Defend · Close Gap · Monitor

Gamma — ● Emerging Challenger

• Core Play:
  • Instant generation — one-click deck from an outline; ChatGPT-level simplicity
  • No design required — system-authored layout removes the design-skill barrier
  • Viral sharing — real-time collab + instant publish drives PLG loops
• Our Position: Potential Risk
  • ARR ~$50M; 4x YoY growth
  • Deck/report overlap expanding; canvas use cases converging
• Evidence / Impact:
  • Presentation share up 2x since H1 launch; Agent API launching in Q4
  • Eval framework missing; no model fallback or persistent memory across sessions
• Action: Validate · Experiment

More examples in structure-v1.md.

---

Tips for Best Results

1. Be specific about competitors — name real brands, not "Competitor A"
2. Provide context — mention your own positioning so the analysis can assess relative standing
3. Ask for evidence — the prompt requests metrics and market moves; include any data you have
4. Use the action tags — the framework's value is forcing a decision per competitor, not just listing them

---

Files in This Template

• SKILL.md (this file) — overview, use cases, examples
• structure-v1.md — full column specs, allowed values, color semantics
• user-prompt.txt — copy-paste one-liner with fill-in variables

---

About Flowacts

Flowacts is an AI-powered collaborative workspace for structured thinking — strategy canvases, competitive analyses, project plans, and decision frameworks that teams build and iterate together. These templates are the prompts that generate the structure; the real experience is in the live app, where the canvas is editable, collaborative, and color-coded.

Want to see this template in action? Try it on Flowacts →

---

Questions?

Open an issue or reach out. This is a reference format — feedback on what makes templates shareable and useful is welcome.