PROMPT LIBRARY
Competitor teardown prompt (copy-paste)
DIRECT ANSWER
A competitor teardown prompt instructs an AI to analyze a competitor's public positioning — website copy, pricing page, reviews, and messaging — and produce a structured breakdown of their strengths, gaps, and the specific angles where you can differentiate. Use it before a product launch, a competitive campaign, or a positioning refresh.
The prompt
You are a competitive strategist. Run a teardown of the following competitor using the information I provide. Your job is to find where they are strong, where they are weak, and where we can win. Competitor: [competitor name and URL]. Competitor's homepage headline (paste it): [paste the exact text]. Competitor's positioning statement or tagline: [paste it]. Competitor pricing (paste tiers or write 'unknown'): [paste or 'unknown']. Customer reviews to analyze (paste 5-10 reviews from G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot — both positive and negative): [paste reviews]. Our product: [product name and one-sentence description]. Our ICP: [ICP — role, company size, problem]. Produce the following: 1. Positioning summary: in two sentences, state what the competitor claims to be and who they appear to be targeting based on their homepage and tagline alone. 2. Messaging analysis: what are the three benefits they lead with? Are those benefit claims specific (with evidence) or generic? Note any claims that are unsubstantiated. 3. ICP read: based on their pricing, messaging, and review language, who is their actual customer? Compare this to who they claim to target. Flag any mismatch. 4. Review pattern analysis: across the reviews provided, list the top three things customers love and the top three recurring complaints. Quote specific phrases from reviews where they support the pattern. 5. Positioning gaps: where is this competitor silent? What problems do their customers have that their messaging ignores? These are potential differentiation angles. 6. Pricing signals: what does their pricing architecture reveal about who they want to serve and what they want to be known for? (Premium, volume, enterprise, SMB, etc.) 7. Three attack angles: for each, write one to two sentences on how we could position against this competitor on that dimension — without naming them directly in our own marketing. Be specific about the message and the audience segment it targets. 8. One thing they do better than us right now and what it would take to close that gap. Base everything on the information I provided. Do not fabricate details.
How to use it
The quality of this prompt depends entirely on the inputs. Pull the actual homepage headline — do not paraphrase it. For reviews, paste a mix of 4-5 star and 1-3 star reviews; the negative ones reveal the most useful differentiation signals. If you do not have pricing, note 'unknown' and the AI will work around it, but pricing analysis is one of the strongest signals in a teardown so find it if you can. After running the prompt, validate the attack angles against your sales team — they will have heard objections that confirm or challenge what the AI found.
What good output looks like
A strong teardown will have positioning gaps that are genuinely blank spots in the competitor's messaging, not just things they say less than you do. The review pattern section will quote actual customer language, not a paraphrase. The attack angles will be specific — 'target founders who outgrew [competitor] because of its reporting limitations' is an attack angle; 'we are better at reporting' is not. The section on what they do better should be honest, not minimized — you need to know your real gaps, not a softened version.
FAQ
Competitor teardown prompt — common questions
How often should I run competitor teardowns?
For your top two or three competitors, quarterly. For the broader competitive set, when you see a meaningful pricing or positioning change — new homepage, new pricing tier, funding announcement. Do not run teardowns on every competitor at once; depth on two beats breadth on ten.
Can I use this for a sales battlecard?
Yes. The attack angles and review patterns sections translate directly into battlecard content. Add a 'how to handle their objections' section after running the prompt and you have a working battlecard.
What if the competitor has no public reviews?
Substitute Reddit threads, LinkedIn comments, or interview transcripts if you have them. If there is no public customer voice at all, focus the teardown on their messaging and pricing architecture and note that you cannot yet validate ICP fit from direct customer input.
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