# Competitive Positioning & Moat Analysis

Run a structured, multi-step competitive positioning analysis that identifies your defensible moat and articulates it as a market-facing strategy.

## Prompt

Act as a senior strategy consultant conducting a competitive positioning engagement. I will give you information about my company and up to 5 competitors. Work through the following steps in order, showing your reasoning at each stage before moving to the next:

Step 1 — Map each competitor against these dimensions: price, target segment, core value proposition, and one visible weakness.
Step 2 — Identify white space: segments or needs that no competitor is serving well.
Step 3 — Assess my company's defensible moat using this framework: switching costs, network effects, proprietary data/IP, brand trust, and economies of scale. Rate each 1-5 and justify the rating.
Step 4 — Synthesize a positioning statement (1-2 sentences) that a customer would immediately understand and that competitors cannot easily copy.
Step 5 — Flag the single biggest risk to this position over the next 18 months and one mitigation.

Here is my company and competitor information:
{{company_and_competitor_info}}

## Best for

Founders, product leaders, and strategists who need a rigorous, defensible market positioning rather than a generic 'unique value proposition' statement.

## Compatible tools

- Claude
- ChatGPT

## How to use

- Gather basic facts about your company and up to 5 competitors: pricing, target segment, value proposition, and known weaknesses.
- Paste this information into {{company_and_competitor_info}}.
- Review each step's output before using it; the model shows its reasoning so you can challenge any step if it seems off-base.
- Use the final positioning statement in marketing materials, sales enablement, and investor decks.

## Customization tips

- If you don't have full data on a competitor, tell the model to flag assumptions explicitly rather than inventing facts.
- Ask for the moat assessment to be re-run after providing more detail on any single dimension you're unsure about.
- Follow up by asking the model to draft the positioning statement in 3 different tones (bold, understated, technical) to test with your team.

## Example input

Act as a senior strategy consultant... Here is my company and competitor information: My company, FlowStack, sells workflow automation software for mid-size logistics companies, priced at $500/mo, with strong customer support and a proprietary route-optimization algorithm. Competitors: Competitor A (enterprise-focused, $5000/mo, weak onboarding), Competitor B (SMB-focused, $99/mo, generic templates, no logistics specialization), Competitor C (logistics-specific, $600/mo, poor UI, strong integrations).

## Example output

Step 1 — Competitor map: Competitor A serves enterprise at high price with weak onboarding; Competitor B serves SMB cheaply but lacks logistics specialization; Competitor C matches on logistics focus but has poor UI...
Step 2 — White space: mid-market logistics companies wanting specialization without enterprise pricing or complexity are underserved...
Step 3 — Moat assessment: Proprietary IP (4/5, the route-optimization algorithm is hard to replicate quickly), Switching costs (3/5, integrations create moderate lock-in), Brand trust (2/5, still building reputation)...
Step 4 — Positioning statement: 'FlowStack is the only logistics-specialized workflow platform built for mid-market teams, combining enterprise-grade route optimization with SMB-friendly simplicity.'
Step 5 — Biggest risk: Competitor C improving its UI would erode the main differentiator; mitigation is accelerating UI investment and deepening the proprietary algorithm's accuracy advantage.