Purpose
Your stakeholder doesn't compete against everyone in the industry—just a handful of companies fighting for the same narrative space. But those competitors aren't equally threatening. This tool rates competitors to determine monitoring intensity and response priority.
The Key Insight: Competitor monitoring should be proportional to threat level. Critical threats require daily tracking; low threats need only periodic check-ins. Focus your limited intelligence resources where they matter most.
How to Use This Tool
Step 1: List Key Competitors
Focus on 5-10 competitors fighting for the same narrative space as your stakeholder. Include:
- Direct business competitors
- Emerging disruptors
- Adjacent players expanding into your space
- Companies competing for the same executive mind share
Step 2: Score Each Competitor (1-5 scale)
- Strategic Importance (25% weight): How critical is this competitor to your stakeholder's business? Are they winning deals you should be winning?
- Product/Innovation Strength (20% weight): How strong is their innovation story? Are they perceived as product leaders?
- Executive Voice (20% weight): Do their leaders shape industry conversation? Is their CEO a thought leader?
- Market Overlap (20% weight): How much do you compete for the same customers, markets, and segments?
- Narrative Authority (15% weight): Do they own key narratives in your space? Are they the default reference point?
Step 3: Assign Monitoring Intensity
- Critical (≥ 4.5): Daily monitoring, proactive war room, immediate escalation protocol
- High (4.0-4.4): Daily monitoring, weekly competitive brief, reactive response ready
- Medium (3.0-3.9): Weekly monitoring, monthly competitive update, track major moves
- Low (< 3.0): Monthly check-in, quarterly review, awareness only
Watch for Movement: Re-score competitors quarterly. A "Medium" threat can become "Critical" quickly if they launch a major product, hire a star executive, or win a landmark deal.