Competitive Analysis Skill (Zhang Zaiwang Methodology)

---

name: competitor-analysis

description: Competitive analysis skill based on Zhang Zaiwang's methodology. Provides systematic competitive analysis framework, tools and templates to help users conduct professional competitive analysis.

metadata:

openclaw:

emoji: "📊"

category: "business-analysis"

author: "Zhang Zaiwang" capers@qq.com

book: "Effective Competitive Analysis: Essential Methodology for Good Products"

version: "1.0.0"

---

# Competitive Analysis Skill (Zhang Zaiwang Methodology)

Based on Zhang Zaiwang's "Effective Competitive Analysis" methodology, providing a complete competitive analysis framework, tools and templates.

Core Principles

1. **Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat** - Competitive analysis is the foundation of product competition

2. **Co-opetition mindset** - A new perspective that combines competition and cooperation

3. **Right intention, taking advantage, clear approach, excellent techniques, united people, practice** - Complete analysis philosophy

4. **6-step competitive analysis** - Systematic operation process

🎯 Skill Usage Guide

**Key Principle: Start with the end in mind, goal-driven**

**Before using this skill, you must first clarify the analysis goal.** Without a clear goal, competitive analysis will lose direction and become meaningless information stacking.

**Interactive Startup Process**

When users request competitive analysis, if the following key information is not clear, **you must first ask the user**:

#### **6 Key Questions (Competitive Analysis Starting Point):**

1. **For which product is the competitive analysis being done?** - Clarify the analysis object

2. **Which stage is the product currently in?** - Confirm the development stage (planning/development/operation)

3. **What are the main problems and challenges facing the current product?** - Diagnose core issues

4. **What is the purpose of doing competitive analysis?** - Determine analysis intent (decision support/learning reference/market early warning)

5. **What are the specific goals of competitive analysis?** - Set measurable goals

6. **What is the output deliverable?** - Clarify expected deliverables

**Why is goal clarity so important?**

| Goal Clarity | Analysis Effect | Resource Efficiency | Decision Value |

|-------------|----------------|---------------------|----------------|

| **Clear Goal** | Precise analysis, hitting the key points | Efficient use of resources | Sufficient decision basis |

| **Ambiguous Goal** | General analysis, unclear focus | Partial resource waste | Limited decision reference |

| **Missing Goal** | Disorganized analysis, wrong direction | Significant resource waste | Low decision value |

**Quick Start Suggestions**

1. **For simple needs**: Directly ask the 6 key questions

2. **For complex projects**: Use `goal-clarification-template.md` for systematic sorting

3. **For team collaboration**: Organize goal alignment meetings to reach consensus

**Remember:** The time spent on goal clarification will be doubled in subsequent analysis.

Knowledge System Architecture

Tao (Philosophy)
├── Know yourself and know your enemy
├── Co-opetition mindset
└── Right intention, taking advantage, clear approach, excellent techniques, united people, practice

Fa (Process)
└── 6-step competitive analysis

Shu (Methods)
├── Comparison method, matrix analysis, competitive tracking matrix
├── Function decomposition, demand exploration
├── PEST analysis, Porter's Five Forces model
├── SWOT analysis
└── Add-subtract-multiply-divide

Qi (Tools)
├── Lean Canvas
├── Competitive Canvas
└── Strategy Canvas

Li (Cases)
└── Complete case analysis

Jian (Practice)
└── Practice session

6-Step Competitive Analysis (Core Process)

Step 1: Clarify Goals - Start with the end in mind (Most critical step)

**Core concept:** Start with the end in mind, goal-driven. Without a clear goal, competitive analysis will lose direction and become meaningless information stacking.

#### **Interactive Goal Clarification Process**

**When users request competitive analysis, if the following information is not clear, you must first ask:**

**1. Analysis Object Clarification**

- Product name and version

- If it's a new idea, please describe the core concept

- Who is the target user group?

**2. Development Stage Confirmation**

- **Planning stage:** The product is still in the concept stage, need to verify market feasibility

- **Development stage:** The product is being developed, need design references and function借鉴

- **Operation stage:** The product has been launched, need optimization and competitive strategy

**3. Problem Diagnosis**

- User growth issues? Retention issues? Payment conversion issues?

- Market competition pressure? Technical bottlenecks? Resource constraints?

- Brand awareness? User experience issues?

**4. Analysis Purpose Determination**

- **Decision support:** Provide basis for product decisions (market entry, feature priority, investment decisions, etc.)

- **Learning reference:** Learn from competitors' advantages, avoid pitfalls (function design, user experience, operation strategy, etc.)

- **Market early warning:** Monitor market changes, warn of competitive threats (new competitors, policy changes, technical trends, etc.)

**5. Specific Goal Setting**

- "Find product differentiated positioning, increase market share by 5%"

- "Optimize core function experience, reduce user churn rate by 10%"

- "Evaluate market entry feasibility, develop product roadmap"

- "Learn from competitor operation strategies, improve user activity"

**6. Output Deliverable Clarification**

- Complete competitive analysis report

- Key findings summary (1-2 pages)

- Function comparison matrix

- Strategic recommendation list

- Implementation roadmap

#### **Importance of Goal Clarity**

**How goals affect subsequent analysis:**

| Analysis Goal | Competitor Selection Focus | Analysis Dimension Focus | Tool Selection |

|--------------|---------------------------|-------------------------|---------------|

| **Market entry decision** | Market leaders + potential competitors | Market size + competitive landscape + business model | Porter's Five Forces + Lean Canvas |

| **Function design reference** | Excellent products with similar functions | Function details + user experience + technical implementation | Function decomposition + user experience evaluation |

| **Competitive strategy formulation** | Direct competitors | Advantage/disadvantage comparison + user feedback | SWOT analysis + Strategy Canvas |

| **Learning reference** | Industry benchmarks + innovators | Best practices + innovation points | Case study + model analysis |

#### **Common Mistakes to Avoid**

❌ **Mistake:** Skip goal clarification, start analysis directly

✅ **Correct:** Spend 30% of time clarifying goals to ensure correct analysis direction

❌ **Mistake:** Goals are too broad (e.g., "understand the market")

✅ **Correct:** Goals are specific and measurable (e.g., "find 3 differentiated opportunity points")

❌ **Mistake:** Do not distinguish analysis purposes, use the same method

✅ **Correct:** Customize analysis methods and depth based on purpose

#### **Goal Clarity Checklist**

Before starting analysis, confirm the following issues are clear:

**Tool:** First part of Competitive Canvas + Goal Clarification Template (see templates/)

Step 2: Select Competitors - Careful Selection

**Competitor classification:**

**Selection principles:**

1. Initial selection: Preliminary selection based on analysis purpose

2. Refined selection: Focus on 3 or so key competitors for in-depth analysis

3. Dynamic adjustment: Regular review, pay attention to market changes

**Tool:** Second part of Competitive Canvas

Step 3: Determine Analysis Dimensions - Multi-dimensional Perspective

**Product perspective (factors affecting product success):**

1. Function

2. User experience design

3. Team background

4. Technology

5. Market promotion

6. Strategic positioning

7. User situation

8. Profit model

9. Layout planning

**User perspective ($APPEALS framework):**

1. $-Price

2. A-Availability

3. P-Packaging

4. P-Performance

5. E-Easy to Use

6. A-Assurances

7. L-Life Cycle of Cost

8. S-Social Acceptance

**Selection principles:**

**Tool:** Third part of Competitive Canvas

Step 4: Collect Competitor Information - Comprehensive Collection

**Information source classification:**

1. **Competitor official public information**

- Official website, official Weibo, official account

- Media reports, CEO interviews

- Product downloads, documents, FAQ, user forums

- Product launch events, exhibitions

- Company financial reports, recruitment advertisements

2. **Third-party channels**

- Industry media, industry associations

- Industry summits, trade shows

- Internal company channels (sales, marketing, operations, etc.)

- Third-party evaluation agencies, databases

- Search engines, patent agencies

3. **First-hand information**

- Personal experience

- On-site inspection

- User interviews, questionnaires

- Reverse engineering (within legal scope)

**Information rating standards:**

**Tool:** Fourth part of Competitive Canvas

Step 5: Information Organization and Analysis - Detailed Analysis

**Analysis method toolbox:**

1. **Comparison method**

- Check comparison method (function comparison)

- Rating comparison method (user experience evaluation)

- Description comparison method (detailed comparison)

2. **Matrix analysis method**

- Two-dimensional matrix analysis of product positioning

- Discover market gap opportunities

3. **Competitive tracking matrix**

- Track competitor historical versions

- Predict competitor next moves

4. **Function decomposition**

- Decompose by menu navigation

- Decompose by usage process

- Decompose by interactive operation

5. **Demand exploration (5Why analysis)**

- Solution-level demand → Problem-level demand → Human nature-level demand

- Explore the real needs behind functions

6. **PEST analysis (macro environment)**

- Politics

- Economy

- Society

- Technology

7. **Porter's Five Forces model (industry environment)**

- Industry competitors

- Threat of potential entrants

- Threat of substitutes

- Bargaining power of suppliers

- Bargaining power of buyers

8. **SWOT analysis**

- Strengths

- Weaknesses

- Opportunities

- Threats

**Analysis framework: Sky·Rain·Umbrella**

**Tool:** Fifth to eighth parts of Competitive Canvas

Step 6: Summary Report - Value-driven

**Competitive strategy types:**

1. **SWOT-based competitive strategy**

- SO strategy: Leverage strengths, seize opportunities (growth type)

- WO strategy: Utilize opportunities, overcome weaknesses (turnaround type)

- ST strategy: Leverage strengths, avoid threats (diversification type)

- WT strategy: Reduce weaknesses, avoid threats (defensive type)

2. **Porter's competitive strategy**

- Focus strategy

- Cost leadership strategy

- Differentiation strategy

3. **"Copy-Surpass-Profit" methodology**

- Copy: Learn and reference

- Surpass: Surpass and innovate

- Profit: Commercial success

4. **Judo strategy (small companies dealing with giants)**

- Movement principle: Avoid direct conflict

- Balance principle: Utilize opponent's scale

- Leverage principle: Turn opponent's advantage into disadvantage

5. **Disruptive innovation**

- New market disruption

- Low-end disruption

**Report structure:**

1. Executive summary

2. Market overview

3. In-depth competitor analysis

4. Comparative analysis

5. Strategic recommendations

**Tool:** Ninth part of Competitive Canvas

Three Core Tools

1. Lean Canvas (Business Model Analysis)

**9 modules:**

1. Problem

2. Customer segments

3. Unique value proposition

4. Solution

5. Channels

6. Key metrics

7. Competitive barriers

8. Cost analysis

9. Revenue analysis

**Function:** Establish product global view, analyze business model

2. Competitive Canvas (Competitive Analysis Template)

**9 parts:**

1. Competitive analysis goals

2. Select competitors

3. Determine analysis dimensions

4. Collect competitor information

5. Strengths

6. Weaknesses

7. Opportunities

8. Threats

9. Summary and recommendations

**Function:** Quick start for beginners, low-cost idea validation

3. Strategy Canvas (Differentiation Innovation)

**Usage steps:**

1. List main competitive elements

2. Draw competitor value curves

3. Apply "add-subtract-multiply-divide"

4. Draw differentiated value curves

**Add-subtract-multiply-divide:**

**Function:** Product differentiation innovation, find blue ocean market

Network Engineering Special Perspective

For network engineering related products, additional attention to:

Technical dimensions

Market dimensions

Execution Guide

Quick Start Template

# Competitive Analysis Quick Start

1. Fill in Competitive Canvas (30 minutes)
   - Clarify analysis goals
   - Select 3 key competitors
   - Determine core analysis dimensions

2. Information collection (2-4 hours)
   - Official information collection
   - Personal product experience
   - User feedback research

3. Preliminary analysis (2 hours)
   - Function comparison table
   - Preliminary SWOT analysis
   - Key findings summary

4. In-depth analysis (as needed)
   - Lean Canvas analysis
   - Strategy Canvas differentiation
   - Complete report writing

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. ❌ Only analyze functions, ignore business model

2. ❌ Subjective bias, only collect favorable information

3. ❌ Information listing, lack of in-depth analysis

4. ❌ Vague recommendations, lack of operability

5. ❌ Static analysis, ignore dynamic changes

6. ❌ Homogeneous analysis, lack of differentiated perspective

Success Keys

1. ✅ Start with the end in mind, clear goals

2. ✅ Multi-dimensional perspective, comprehensive analysis

3. ✅ Deep excavation, explore needs

4. ✅ Dynamic tracking, continuous update

5. ✅ Value-driven, actionable recommendations

6. ✅ Team collaboration, consensus building

Output Templates

Competitive Analysis Report Structure

1. Executive Summary
   - Analysis purpose and scope
   - Key findings
   - Key recommendations

2. Market Overview
   - Market size and growth
   - Market segmentation
   - Main player landscape

3. In-depth Competitor Analysis
   - Competitor A: Business model + product analysis
   - Competitor B: Business model + product analysis
   - Competitor C: Business model + product analysis

4. Comparative Analysis
   - Function comparison matrix
   - User experience rating
   - Business model comparison
   - Comprehensive SWOT analysis

5. Strategic Recommendations
   - Differentiated positioning suggestions
   - Competitive strategy selection
   - Product roadmap suggestions
   - Risks and countermeasures

Appendix:
- Raw data tables
- Detailed function decomposition
- User research questionnaire
- Reference list

Skill Usage Scenarios

When to use this skill

1. **Product planning stage:** Market entry decision, product positioning

2. **Product design stage:** Function design reference, user experience optimization

3. **Market competition stage:** Competitive strategy formulation, differentiated positioning

4. **Learning and improvement stage:** Industry research, product sense cultivation

5. **Investment decision stage:** Project evaluation, due diligence

Suitable for

Practical Exercises

Practice session

1. **Select your product:** Select a product you are familiar with or working on

2. **Fill in Competitive Canvas:** Complete filling according to 6 steps

3. **Apply analysis tools:** Use at least 3 analysis methods

4. **Output analysis report:** Write a complete competitive analysis report

5. **Team discussion:** Communicate with colleagues and get feedback

Continuous improvement

1. **Regular review:** Update competitive analysis quarterly

2. **Dynamic tracking:** Establish competitive tracking matrix

3. **Method iteration:** Optimize analysis methods based on practice

4. **Knowledge precipitation:** Establish competitive analysis knowledge base

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**Remember:** Competitive analysis is not a one-time task, but a continuous process. Through systematic methodology and tools, turn competitive analysis into the core competitiveness of the product.

**Data source:** Zhang Zaiwang "Effective Competitive Analysis: Essential Methodology for Good Products", China Machine Press.