/startup-positioning

Wave 1: Competitive Alternatives & Customer Context

Read research-principles.md first.

Agent A1: Alternative Mapping (JTBD Lens)

Research task: Map ALL competitive alternatives for {product description}
Context: {product summary from intake}
Known competitors: {list from intake, if any}

IMPORTANT — JTBD FRAMING:
Start with the job, not the product. Ask: "What job is the customer hiring
a solution for?" Alternatives are EVERYTHING that competes for this job:
direct competitors, adjacent tools, manual processes, spreadsheets, hiring
someone, agencies, internal tools, doing nothing / accepting the status quo.
Think from the customer's perspective, not the product's perspective.

RESEARCH PROTOCOL:

ROUND 1 — Direct competitors in the category (4-5 searches):
- "{product category} software/tool {current year}"
- "best {product category} tools {current year}"
- "{known competitor} vs alternatives"
- "G2 {product category} comparison"
- "{product category} review roundup {current year}"

ROUND 2 — Adjacent and indirect alternatives (4-5 searches):
- "how do people solve {problem} without {product category}"
- "{problem} workaround"
- "alternative to {product category}"
- "{problem} spreadsheet template" OR "{problem} manual process"
- "{customer type} {problem} workflow"

ROUND 3 — Non-consumption (2-3 searches):
- "why don't {customer type} use {product category}"
- "{problem} not worth solving" OR "{problem} low priority"
- "{customer type} ignore {problem}" OR "{problem} status quo"
Identify: who faces this problem but does nothing? Why? What would trigger
them to act?

ROUND 4 — Cross-reference and validate (2-3 searches):
- "{competitor} switched from" OR "migrated from {competitor}"
- "replaced {competitor} with"
- "{product category} switching stories reddit"
Check review sites for "switched from" and "previously used" stories.

For EACH alternative, capture:

### {Alternative Name}
- **Type:** Direct competitor / Adjacent tool / Manual process / Status quo / Agency-outsource
- **Hired for:** {specific job — same job or adjacent job?}
- **Strengths:** {why customers choose it}
  - {strength 1}
  - {strength 2}
- **Limitations:** {where it falls short}
  - {limitation 1}
  - {limitation 2}
- **Best for:** {customer profile}
- **Switching triggers:** {what makes customers leave this for something else}
- **Switching costs:** Technical: H/M/L | Contractual: H/M/L | Emotional: H/M/L

---

After all alternatives:

# Alternative Mapping: {product/market}
*Generated: {date}*

## The Job to Be Done
{1-2 paragraphs describing the core job customers are hiring for, in customer language}

## Direct Competitors
### {Competitor Name}
- **Type:** Direct competitor
- **Hired for:** {specific job}
- **Strengths:** {bulleted}
- **Limitations:** {bulleted}
- **Best for:** {customer profile}
- **Switching triggers:** {what makes people leave}
- **Switching costs:** Technical: H/M/L | Contractual: H/M/L | Emotional: H/M/L

[Repeat for each direct competitor]

## Adjacent Alternatives
[Same structure for adjacent tools]

## Manual / Status Quo Alternatives
[Same structure for manual processes, spreadsheets, doing nothing]

## Alternative Landscape Summary
| Alternative | Type | Job Match | Key Strength | Key Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Key Insights
- {insight about the competitive alternative landscape}
- {insight about gaps or opportunities}

## Data Gaps
- [What you couldn't find and why it matters]

Save to: {project-name}/raw/alternative-mapping.md

Agent A2: Customer Intelligence

Research task: Map the voice of the customer for {product description}
Context: {product summary from intake}
Category: {product category}
Top competitors: {list from intake, if any}

RESEARCH PROTOCOL:

ROUND 1 — Review sites (4-5 searches):
- "G2 {product category} reviews"
- "Capterra {product category} reviews"
- "TrustRadius {product category}"
- "{top competitor 1} reviews {current year}"
- "{top competitor 2} reviews {current year}"
Focus on: what customers praise, what they complain about, exact language
they use to describe the problem and desired outcomes.

ROUND 2 — Community mining (4-5 searches):
- "what do you use for {problem} reddit"
- "{competitor} frustrations reddit"
- "switching from {competitor} reddit"
- "{problem} {customer type} Hacker News"
- "{product category} recommendations indie hackers" OR "quora {problem}"
Capture verbatim language — exact words matter for positioning.

ROUND 3 — Switching stories (3-4 searches):
- "migrated from {competitor 1} to {competitor 2}"
- "{product category} comparison {current year}"
- "why I switched from {competitor}" blog OR reddit
- "{competitor} vs {competitor} experience"
Focus on: what triggered the search, what sealed the decision, what
surprised them after switching.

ROUND 4 — Best-fit customer patterns (2-3 searches):
- "{competitor} case study"
- "{product category} power users"
- "{competitor} testimonial"
- "{product category} ROI" OR "{product category} results"
Look for: who gets the most value, what characteristics predict high
satisfaction, who pays willingly without negotiation.

Capture the following:

LANGUAGE MAP — exact words and phrases customers use to describe:
- The problem they're solving
- What they want (desired outcomes)
- How they evaluate alternatives
- What "better" means to them

PAIN HIERARCHY — ranked by frequency AND severity:
- Pain point
- Frequency (Common / Occasional / Rare)
- Severity (Deal-breaker / Frustrating / Annoying)
- Verbatim quote from a real source

JOBS TO BE DONE:
- Functional jobs (tasks they need to accomplish)
- Social jobs (how they want to be perceived)
- Emotional jobs (how they want to feel)

BEST-FIT CUSTOMER PROFILE:
- What characteristics predict high satisfaction?
- Who gets value fastest?
- Who pays willingly without price negotiation?
- Who becomes a champion/referrer?

SWITCHING TRIGGERS:
- What events trigger a search for alternatives?
- What makes someone finally switch?
- What objections prevent switching?

---

Output format:

# Customer Intelligence: {product/market}
*Generated: {date}*

## Language Map
### How customers describe the problem
- "{verbatim}" — {source}
- "{verbatim}" — {source}

### What "better" means to them
- "{verbatim}" — {source}

### Words they use to evaluate
- "{verbatim}" — {source}

## Pain Hierarchy
| Pain Point | Frequency | Severity | Example Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| ... | Common/Occasional/Rare | Deal-breaker/Frustrating/Annoying | "..." |

## Jobs to Be Done
### Functional Jobs
- {job description}

### Social Jobs
- {job description}

### Emotional Jobs
- {job description}

## Best-Fit Customer Profile
{Description of characteristics that predict high satisfaction and fast value realization}

## Switching Triggers
### What triggers a search
- {trigger}

### What triggers the actual switch
- {trigger}

### What prevents switching
- {barrier}

## Key Insights for Positioning
- {positioning-relevant insight from customer data}

## Data Gaps
- [What you couldn't find and why it matters]

Save to: {project-name}/raw/customer-intelligence.md