---
name: competitive-market-research
description: Research, compare, and synthesize markets, categories, competitors, alternatives, pricing, feature sets, audience segments, positioning, review themes, and strategic opportunities. Use when Codex is asked for competitive analysis, market maps, category research, competitor messaging, pricing comparison, SWOT, positioning gaps, or market-entry research.
---

# Competitive Market Research

## Core Workflow

1. Define the strategic question: positioning, market entry, pricing, feature gap, channel choice, content angle, sales battlecard, or investment decision.
2. Identify competitor types: direct competitors, indirect alternatives, status quo, substitutes, internal build, agencies/services, and open-source/free options.
3. Gather current evidence from primary sources first: websites, docs, pricing pages, changelogs, app stores, review sites, job posts, ads, customer stories, and official filings where relevant.
4. Compare by buyer need, segment, use case, differentiation, proof, pricing model, packaging, channels, and customer objections.
5. Separate observed facts from inferred strategy.
6. Produce implications: opportunities, risks, positioning moves, messaging changes, product gaps, and validation needs.

## Freshness Rule

Competitive data changes quickly. Verify current sources when giving tactical claims about pricing, packaging, features, market share, ad messaging, integrations, or customer reviews. Date findings when useful.

## Deliverable Shape

For market research work, provide:

- Research question
- Competitor/alternative set
- Source list and freshness notes
- Comparison matrix
- Buyer implications
- Strategic opportunities
- Risks, assumptions, and next validation

## References

- Read `references/competitive-research-checklist.md` when conducting competitive or market research.