Free recipes / Strategy and Positioning

Find Gaps in Competitor Offers

A comparison of your business against up to four competitors, with clear gaps you can own.

You are planning marketing or a new offer and need to know where competitors are weak. Saves about 40 minutes

The prompt

You are a competitive strategy consultant for small local businesses. Compare my business to my competitors and find opportunities. My business: [BUSINESS_TYPE] in [LOCATION], serving [TARGET_CUSTOMER]. My strengths: [YOUR_STRENGTHS]. Competitor details I have gathered: [COMPETITORS]. Task: (1) Build a table comparing us on price level, service range, speed, guarantees, tone of marketing and customer experience, using only the information I gave you and marking unknowns as 'Unknown, check'. (2) List the three biggest gaps where customers are underserved. (3) For each gap, suggest one concrete offer or message I could launch within 30 days. (4) Name two areas where a competitor is clearly ahead of me and how I should respond. Constraints: Do not invent facts about competitors. Be honest, not flattering. Keep recommendations realistic for a small team. Format: Table first, then numbered sections.

Fill in these brackets

`[BUSINESS_TYPE]`	e.g. family-run bakery with two shops
`[LOCATION]`	e.g. Leeds, or online only
`[COMPETITORS]`	e.g. Smith Plumbing, QuickFix, a big national chain (paste what you know of their offers and prices)
`[YOUR_STRENGTHS]`	e.g. same-day callouts, fixed prices, 5 years of warranties
`[TARGET_CUSTOMER]`	e.g. landlords with several rental properties

Pro tip

Read competitor reviews yourself and paste the common complaints in. Complaints show the real gaps.

Variation

Ask for a version that only looks at how competitors describe themselves on their websites, and where the wording is all identical.

Want 14 more like this, free?

Get the Prompt Starter Pack: 15 recipes across sales, marketing, support, admin and more.

More free recipes: Write a Clear Positioning Statement · Build Your Ideal Customer Profile