npx skills add ...
npx skills add anthropics/financial-services --skill competitive-analysis
npx skills add anthropics/financial-services --skill competitive-analysis
Framework for building competitive landscape decks — market positioning, competitor deep-dives, comparative analysis, strategic synthesis. Use when the user asks for a competitive landscape, competitor analysis, peer comparison, market positioning assessment, strategic review, or investment memo deck. Also triggers on "who are the competitors to X", "benchmark X against peers", "build a market map", or any request to systematically evaluate competitive dynamics across an industry.
The same skill content is published under more than one repo. The install counts are split across them; any of these commands works.
Build a complete competitive analysis deck. This is a two-phase process: gather requirements and get outline approval first, then build.
This skill works in both the PowerPoint add-in and chat. Identify which you're in before starting — the mechanics differ, the workflow doesn't:
.pptx file (or build into one the user uploaded).Everything below applies in both.
Competitive analysis means different things to different people. Before any research or slide-building, use ask_user_question to pin down what they actually want. Don't guess — a 20-slide peer benchmarking deck and a 5-slide market map are both "competitive analysis" and take completely different shapes.
Gather in one round if you can (the tool takes up to 4 questions):
If they've uploaded an Excel/CSV with competitor data, confirm which columns map to which metrics before you start pulling numbers. Source-file fidelity matters: use values exactly as given, don't recalculate or re-round.
Do not create slides until the outline is approved. Propose slide titles and one-line content notes, present them to the user, get a yes. A competitive deck is 10-20 slides of interlocking content — rebuilding because slide 4 was wrong is expensive. The outline is the cheap iteration point.
When proposing the outline, ask_user_question works well for the structural decisions: which positioning visualization (2×2 matrix / radar / tier diagram — Step 5 below), how to group competitors (by business model / segment / posture — Step 4). These are taste calls the user likely has an opinion on.
When the user specifies something, that's a requirement, not a suggestion:
Typography — set explicitly, don't rely on defaults:
Charts:
Tables:
Color: 2-3 colors max. Muted — navy, gray, one accent. Same color meanings throughout.
| Always | Case-by-case |
|---|---|
| Exact titles/sections when user specifies | Creative titles when they don't |
| Chart when user says chart; table when they say table | Visualization type when unspecified |
| Every competitor/data point they list | Number of competitors when unspecified |
| Exact values when specified | Rounding when precision unspecified |
| Titles fit without overflow | Number of competitor categories |
| No overlapping elements | Which dimensions to compare |
Before anything else: what 3-5 metrics does this industry actually run on? Use these consistently across every competitor.
| Industry | Key metrics |
|---|---|
| SaaS | ARR, NRR, CAC payback, LTV/CAC, Rule of 40 |
| Payments | GPV, take rate, attach rate, transaction margin |
| Marketplaces | GMV, take rate, buyer/seller ratio, repeat rate |
| Retail | Same-store sales, inventory turns, sales per sq ft |
| Logistics | Volume, cost per unit, on-time delivery %, capacity utilization |
Industry not listed — pick the metrics investors and operators benchmark on.
Size, growth, drivers, headwinds. With sources.
Correct: "Embedded payments is $80-100B in 2024, growing 20-25% CAGR (McKinsey 2024)" Wrong: "The market is large and growing rapidly"
Map how value flows. Approach depends on industry structure:
Multi-segment companies add a breakdown:
*Note corporate costs if applicable
Group by whichever lens fits (this is a good ask_user_question decision if the user hasn't specified):
| Type | When |
|---|---|
| 2×2 matrix | Two dominant competitive factors |
| Radar/spider | Multi-factor comparison |
| Tier diagram | Natural clustering into strategic groups |
| Value chain map | Vertical industries |
| Ecosystem map | Platform markets |
See references/frameworks.md for 2×2 axis pairs by industry.
Two tables per competitor.
Metrics:
Qualitative:
M&A transactions (multiples, rationale), partnership trends, capital raising patterns, regulatory developments. See references/schemas.md for the M&A transaction table format.
Moat assessment — rate each competitor Strong / Moderate / Weak on:
| Moat | What to assess |
|---|---|
| Network effects | User/supplier flywheel strength; cross-side vs same-side |
| Switching costs | Technical integration depth, contractual lock-in, behavioral habits |
| Scale economies | Unit cost advantages at volume; minimum efficient scale |
| Intangible assets | Brand, proprietary data, regulatory licenses, patents |
Required synthesis elements:
For investment contexts (skip if the Phase 1 scoping said no):
Before finishing:
Prompt fidelity
Data consistency
Layout
Content
Run standard visual verification checks on every slide — this catches overlaps, overflow, and low-contrast text that don't show up when you're reading back the XML.*
| Category | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Business | What they do (1 sentence) |
| Strengths | 2-3 bullets |
| Weaknesses | 2-3 bullets |
| Strategy | Current priorities || Dimension | Company A | Company B | Company C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | ●●● $160B | ●●○ $45B | ●○○ $8B |
| Growth | ●●○ +26% | ●●● +35% | ●●○ +22% |
| Margins | ●●○ 7.5% | ●○○ 3.2% | ●●● 15% || Scenario | Probability | Key driver |
|---|---|---|
| Bull | 30% | Market share gains, margin expansion |
| Base | 50% | Current trajectory continues |
| Bear | 20% | Competitive pressure, margin compression |