A Simple Competitor Research System That Produces Better Decisions

Choose businesses that compete for the same customer, problem or budget. A large company in an adjacent category may be useful context, but it is not always a direct competitor. Record why each business belongs in the set.

Use consistent fields for company and domain, positioning, public pricing, strengths, gaps, source URL and review date. Distinguish a published price from an estimate and a verified feature from a marketing claim. Add a note when information is unavailable instead of filling the gap with a guess.

Look for patterns customers repeatedly care about: onboarding, support, missing features, pricing clarity or ease of use. Competitor research is most valuable when it changes a product decision, sales explanation or content plan. Recheck volatile details before using them in customer-facing material.

Shane’s Competitor Finder is a manually maintained research list with filters and CSV export. It does not discover competitors or fetch market data automatically.

Choose a competitor set that answers a real question

Start with the customer and the decision you are trying to understand. Direct competitors solve a similar problem for a similar audience. Indirect competitors may satisfy the same need in a different way. A large brand that serves a different segment can be useful context, but it should not automatically be treated as a direct comparison.

Write down why each company belongs in the set. For a small local service business, that might mean overlapping geography, services and customer type. For a software product, it might mean the same workflow, buyer and budget. A clear selection rule prevents the research list from expanding until it no longer tells you anything useful.

Use a repeatable evidence framework

For each competitor, record the domain, positioning, customer segment, public pricing, main offers, strengths, gaps, source URL and date reviewed. Add a confidence note where information is incomplete. A published price is different from an estimate; a feature described on a landing page is different from a capability you have tested.

Compare one dimension at a time. Look at how companies explain the problem, what proof they provide, how onboarding works, what support is offered and where their pricing becomes unclear. Capture exact observations first, then add your interpretation separately.

Convert research into a decision

Useful competitor research should change a practical action. It might reveal a missing FAQ, a confusing pricing explanation, an underserved customer segment or a feature customers repeatedly ask about. Prioritize gaps by customer importance, evidence strength and your ability to address them. Do not copy a competitor’s positioning without checking whether it fits your own product.

Shane’s Competitor Finder is a manually maintained research workspace with filters and CSV export. It does not discover competitors or retrieve live market data. Recheck volatile details before using them in customer-facing material, and keep the source trail with the conclusions.