Competitive analysis (product)

Competitive analysis does not answer the question of “what features to copy”, but rather the question of “between what alternatives the user chooses and why”. Compare products in a specific scenario and segment, separate observable fact from assumption, and verify interview findings or behavioral data.

Definition and basic principles

What is Competitive Analysis in Discovery

Competitive analysis is a systematic process of studying competitors’ products to understand their strengths and weaknesses, find the untapped needs of users, and assess the risks of launching a new idea. In the Discovery phase, analysis is not for copying, but to test whether your hypothesis makes sense and what unique value you can give to the market.

**Key: The goal is to find not only what has already been implemented, but also what has been missed by competitors. **

Why do you need it?

If you want your product to solve real user problems and survive in the market, you need to understand three things:

1. What problems are competitors already working on?
2. What ideas have been validated by others
3. Where there are “white spots” and unmet demand

Example: Consider launching a service for command video. If competitors already close all cases, and users’ dissatisfaction is only in price, you do not need to make a clone. But if you see complaints about poor integration with the notebook software, this is your chance.

Stages of competitive analysis in Discovery

1. Determining the range of competitors

Start with direct (solve the same problem), indirect (propose a similar solution to another problem), and even analogues (for example, not digital). Proper coverage is needed to avoid missing out on second-tier competitors and latent pain.

For example, when analyzing timekeeping services for freelancers, users often use not only trackers, but also Google tables – this is also a competitor.

2. Data collection

Study product pages, reviews (App Store, Google Play, Trustpilot, Reddit), demo versions and tariffs, write down usage scenarios. Conduct user interviews: Find out why you choose or abandon a competitive solution.

Example: In SaaS, you can connect free versions of three competitors, go onboard, “pretend” to be a customer and record the whole way.

3. Identification of key features and value propositions

Make a table: product - target audience - core features - unique benefits - the type of pain that is closed. The bottom line is that you quickly see overlapping and void zones.

4. Analysis of feedback and weaknesses

Analyze negative reviews, try to identify patterns: recurring complaints, inconveniences, dysfunctional functionality.

Example: several services for small businesses converge on the pattern of no Russian-language support.

5. Gathering insights and making your own hypotheses

Specify what problems are not solved or solved poorly, which can be improved. Test the basic ideas with quick research: interviews with users of those products, surveys in thematic groups.

Mistakes and anti-patterns

Blind copying of functionality

Focusing only on the list of features of competitors leads to useless complication of the product and loss of uniqueness. Without user pain analysis, a copy rarely succeeds.

Inadequate analysis

If you limit yourself to the top 3 direct players, you can miss the mimic nodes – alternative solutions that really cover the user’s pain (human factor, manual labor, related digital products).

Ignoring the real user experience

Many draw conclusions only on the sites and marketing materials of competitors. Mistake: In reality, the product may work differently than stated.

Example:

The two popular mobile banks may look almost identical, but one has too long onboarding, and the other has a support response in 15 minutes instead of a day.

Competitive Analysis in Discovery

Quick Hypotheses and Problem Finding

When you see that competitors have 1000+ negative reviews on the same topic (for example, bugs in the mass import of data), there is a basis for the hypothesis that most services do not cover the need for reliable imports. You can make the first version of the product or add it to the MVP.

Testing ideas with a competitive MVP

You run a hypothesis in a niche where 2-3 competitors save on support. You can quickly check that if you give users 24/7 human support, engagement and loyalty will increase.

Non-traditional competitors

Incorporate into the analysis even seemingly irrelevant solutions: for example, it turns out that 30% of businesses solve customer support problems through WhatsApp chats and Google Forms, not through CRM.

Metrics and where to look for benchmarks

There are no universal numbers for all markets. Usually look at:

• Dynamics of growth of reviews and rating of applications
• NPS changes or ratings in reviews
• Number of active users

Look for benchmarks in profile reports, industry reviews (Gartner, CB Insights), open presentations on Product Hunt and AngelList.

Best practices

• Don’t be afraid to call competitors for an interview – this is the fastest and cheapest problem discovery.
• Fix the difference between the declared functionality and real feedback from users
• Regularly update the map of competitors: the market is changing rapidly, old data quickly become obsolete

Questions on competitive analysis

**What is competitive analysis in Discovery, simply put? It’s a way to find out what solutions are already there, what pains are being overcome by competitors, and where your idea might catch on with a real user.

**How can you not waste time monitoring hundreds of competitors? Slice based on problems and scenarios, not just feature sets and product scales.

*Can you trust the open source? Nope. Use them as a starting point for personal interviews and hypotheses, not as the ultimate truth.

Do you need to analyze non-digital competitors? Always if they cover the same user needs. For example, a paper notebook for tasks is a competitor to any Task Manager.

**How do I find white spots on the market map? You are looking not just for drawdowns in functions, but for recurring problem scenarios and unsatisfied desires based on the analysis of reviews, interviews and your surveys.

Why study indirect competitors when my product is unique? Indirect (and even “irrelevant”) competitors often cover key user needs in a simpler or more familiar way.