Best Competitive Analysis Templates for Project Managers

Understanding the landscape in which your project operates is a key step for project managers. A Competitive Analysis not only illuminates direct competitors but also highlights areas of potential growth and differentiation. Utilizing a Competitive Analysis template through a platform like Notion streamlines this process, enabling a structured approach to gathering, analyzing, and acting on competitive insights.

Before you decide to create your own Competitive Analysis template, it would be wise to explore the templates listed below. They are tailored to ease this essential task, offering structures that range from gap analyses to competitor battlecards, all designed to offer clear insights into your competitive environment.

What Should Competitive Analysis Templates Include?

Choosing the right competitive analysis template can streamline your project management process by providing clear insights into your competitors' strategies. Here are key components to look for:

  1. Market Overview - This section should provide a comprehensive view of the current market environment, highlighting key players and market trends.

  2. Competitor Profiles - Detailed profiles of each major competitor, including their strengths, weaknesses, market share, and business strategies.

  3. Comparative Analysis - A side-by-side comparison of your company's performance against each competitor on various metrics like pricing, product features, and market penetration.

  4. Opportunities and Threats - An analysis of potential opportunities for your business and threats posed by competitors, helping in strategic planning.

With these components, a competitive analysis template not only informs but also empowers strategic decision-making in project management.

What Should Competitive Analysis Templates Avoid?

Choosing the right competitive analysis template is crucial for effective market assessment. However, some features can detract from the template's utility. Here are three key components to steer clear of:

  1. Overly Complex Metrics: Avoid templates that include too many intricate metrics which can complicate the analysis and obscure key insights.

  2. Non-Customizable Fields: Templates that do not allow customization can limit your ability to tailor the analysis to specific competitive landscapes.

  3. Irrelevant Competitor Data: Ensure the template does not focus on gathering data that is not directly relevant to your industry or market, as this can dilute the effectiveness of your analysis.

Selecting a template that avoids these pitfalls will ensure a more streamlined and focused competitive analysis, enhancing strategic decision-making.

1Competitive Analysis

Track and stay ahead of competitors operating in your market. Edit individual items to add notes, screenshots, etc. about each competitor.

A template preview for Competitive Analysis

2Feature market analysis

Quickly and elegantly identify differences between your product and primary competitors when it comes to features. Always have a sense of the market and where different players are innovating.

This can also help your sales team understand at a glance where they have opportunity to point out your product's unique advantages.

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A template preview for Feature market analysis

3Competitor Analysis

Make sure your entire company understands your competitive landscape, where you're best in class, and where you still have room for growth. This is very helpful for keeping urgency high.

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A template preview for Competitor Analysis

4Competitive Positioning Framework

Use this table to quickly compare your brand or company to the competitors in your industry and develop differentiated solution/benefit statements, core differentiators, category(s), and market position. Take a look at incumbents and well-established competitors as well as emerging disruptors and innovators in your space. You might also consider comparing your company to complementary brands—brands your customers may already be loyal to or use in conjunction with your product, such as an integration.

A template preview for Competitive Positioning Framework

5Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas Template for Notion & FigJam
The Business Model Canvas splits a business model into 9 areas and invites you to brainstorm how your business will capitalize on each. Whether you're starting up a new business or trying to understand an existing one, the Business Model Canvas will help you map it out.

The Business Model Canvas is ideal for quick thinking and brainstorming with sticky notes, so grab your team and start thinking about:

Value Proposition. What does the business offer to meet the needs of its customers? What distinguishes it from its competitors? Is it something innovative? Price? Quality?

Key Activities. What does the business do to execute its value proposition?

Key Resources. What resources does the business have to give it an edge? People? Knowledge? Assets?

Key Partners. Does the business have any complimentary partnerships or relationships? Joint ventures or strategic alliances?

Customer Segments. Who are the customers? A niche market or mass appeal? Multiple different segments? Multi-sided market?

Customer Relationships. What sort of relationship will the business have with its customer segments? High touch sales? Self-service? Community-based?

Channels. What channels will the business use to get its value proposition to its customers? Marketing? Partnerships? Online or physical?

Cost Structures. How will the business expenses be structured? Fixed costs and variable costs? Economies of scale? Minimize costs or maximize value?

Revenue Streams. How will the business make money from its customers? Selling something? Subscription fees? Advertising?

A template preview for Business Model Canvas

6SWOT Analysis

The template guides you through a systematic evaluation of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats associated with your project or initiative. also aids in the development of effective strategies to accomplish your goals. Through a clear understanding of the internal and external factors affecting your situation or idea, you can build a robust strategic plan that maximizes your strengths, addresses your weaknesses, leverages available opportunities, and mitigates potential threats.

A template preview for SWOT Analysis

7Competitor Battlecards

Knowing your competition is one key to success. With this Competitor Battlecards template, you can see the landscape, know your positioning, and set your company up to win.

A template preview for Competitor Battlecards

8Competitive Analysis Template

A competitive analysis is an assessment of our competitor’s products & services to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to ours. This template focuses on UX/UI analysis of competitors' products.

A template preview for Competitive Analysis Template

9Competitor UX analysis

UX competitive analysis focuses on evaluating and comparing the user experience elements of competitors' products or services, like navigation, information architecture, visual design, content quality, usability, and overall user satisfaction.

In this process, you'll create a list of competitors (check out a competitor page), examine their features compared to yours (feature audit), look at how users interact with their product and what challenges they face (UX analysis), and put together a visual board for inspiration from their design choices (benchmarking).

A template preview for Competitor UX analysis

10Notion Competitor Monitoring Template

Our Notion Competitor Monitoring Template will allow you to jumpstart your competitive analysis without starting from scratch. This template contains four pages including a SWOT Analysis, a competitor Kanban board, guiding questions, and a 100+ resource database. Stay ahead of your competition and start using competitor insights to your advantage.

A template preview for Notion Competitor Monitoring Template

Closing Thoughts

Utilizing these templates allows for streamlined competitor analysis, ensuring you stay ahead in your industry. They provide a clear framework to identify strengths and weaknesses efficiently.

Implementing these tools can significantly enhance your strategic planning. Take action today to leverage these insights for better project outcomes and increased competitiveness.

What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or business venture.

What is a Market Positioning Map?

A Market Positioning Map is a visual tool that displays the positioning of a company or product relative to its competitors, based on two dimensions, such as price and quality.

What is a Competitive Benchmarking?

Competitive Benchmarking involves comparing the performance of one's products, services, or processes against those of competitors or industry bests to identify improvement areas.

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