strategy

First-principles competitor map

Skip the marketing positioning theater. Map the actual choices customers make.

I'm researching the [DESCRIBE MARKET] market. Don't give me a typical competitor matrix.

Instead, do this:

1. List the actual JOBS the customer is hiring a product for in this category. Not features — jobs. (Reference: Christensen JTBD.)
2. For each job, list the 3-5 things customers currently use to get it done. Include non-product workarounds (e.g., "a spreadsheet," "a contractor," "doing nothing").
3. For each option in #2, name the trade-off the customer is making by choosing it. Be honest about why that option still wins for some people.
4. Identify the one job where the trade-off space looks weakest — i.e., where every existing option is bad. That's the wedge.

Be brutally specific. "Easier to use" is not a trade-off; "you have to pay $50/month per seat even if half your seats only log in twice a quarter" is.