Competitor analysis is usually treated as a marketing exercise: compare features, write a comparison page, move on. In B2B sales it does more work. It tells you where you win, where you lose, how to position in a live deal, and which of a competitor's customers might be ready to talk. This guide gives you a template to copy, a filled-in example, and how to fill it from public sources.
01
What competitor analysis is for in B2B sales
Positioning
Win the deal in front of you
Know what a competitor will claim, where they are strong, and the questions that show where you are stronger.
Targeting
Find who to talk to next
A competitor's public customers are companies that already buy what you sell. Some will be ready to switch.
Planning
See the market move
A competitor's funding, launches and hires show where the market is heading before it shows in your pipeline.
02
The competitor analysis template, field by field
- Who they sell to. The industries, company sizes and regions they actually win in, which is often narrower than their website claims.
- Positioning. Their one-line claim and the problem they lead with. This is what your buyer will hear first.
- Pricing model. How they charge, and whether the price is published. The model often matters more than the number.
- Public customers. Who they have named, where, and how you can date each win. A logo with no date tells you who, never when.
- Where they win, where they lose. What happy customers praise and what unhappy ones complain about, in their own words. Your own win loss analysis adds what buyers said about them.
- What changes the picture. Funding, launches, price changes, senior hires and acquisitions, each with a date.
- What it means for us. Where you are stronger, where they are, and which of their customers are worth a conversation now.
Fill one copy per competitor, and date it. A competitor analysis older than a quarter is a history lesson.
03
Copy the template
Copy it into a document and fill one in for each competitor.
Competitor analysis template
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Competitor: Checked on: [date] Sources used: 1. Who they sell to Industries: Company size: Regions: 2. Positioning Their one-line claim: The problem they lead with: 3. Pricing model How they charge (per seat, usage, project, retainer): Published or on request: 4. Public customers Named customers (and where each is named): How each win is dated (case study date, review, customer announcement, register): 5. Where they win, where they lose What their happy customers praise: What unhappy customers complain about: 6. What changes the picture Recent funding, launches, price changes, hires or acquisitions: 7. What it means for us Where we are stronger: Where they are stronger: Their customers worth a conversation, and why now:
04
An example, filled in
An invented example: a payroll software company looking at a competitor we will call Competitor A.
| Field | What they wrote |
|---|---|
| Who they sell to | Retail and hospitality chains with 200 to 2,000 staff, mostly in the US |
| Positioning | "Payroll for shift workers": they lead with rota changes and tips |
| Pricing model | Per employee per month, published, with a setup fee on request |
| Public customers | 14 named on case study pages, 6 of them dated by the case study or a review |
| Where they win, lose | Praised for the mobile app; reviews complain about slow support during month end |
| What changes the picture | Raised a funding round in the spring and is hiring for a UK office |
| What it means for us | Lead with month end support. Their customers in multi-country chains may outgrow a US-first product |
05
Where to find each piece in public
| Source | What it tells you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Their website and case studies | Segments, positioning, named customers | Logo walls carry no dates, and a testimonial page describes the vendor more than the customer |
| Review sites | Where they win and lose, often with project dates | Coverage is patchy, and some reviews are prompted |
| Job posts | What they are building, and where they are expanding | Read the date on their own careers page, not a reposted copy |
| Registers and filings | Funding, contract awards and changes of ownership, with dates | What is published varies by country |
| Customers' own announcements | The clearest date a win happened | Press often lags the decision by months |
Before you count a public customer as a win, read what was actually bought. A named customer may have bought a small side project, not the product you compete with.
06
Using it in sales
Turn each analysis into a one-page note your team can use in a live deal: the competitor's claim, the questions that show your strengths, and the honest answer to where they are better.
Then use the public customers. A company already paying a competitor has the problem you solve. When something changes for them, such as a new leader, a price rise or a contract coming up for renewal, they may be open to a rip and replace. Reach out with that reason, not with a comparison sheet.
07
Common competitor analysis mistakes
A feature grid and nothing else. Buyers rarely decide on features you both have.
Trusting the logo wall. Logos have no dates, and some are years old.
Counting every named customer as a win. Read what was bought first.
Writing it once. Competitors change pricing, products and focus. Date it and redo it each quarter.
Only looking at what they say. What their customers say about them, good and bad, is worth more.
08
The competitor analysis checklist
Before you share it with the team
- Every field is filled, with the source named.
- Each public customer has a date, or is marked undated.
- You have read what each named customer actually bought.
- Where they lose comes from their customers' words, not your guess.
- Recent changes are listed with dates.
- It ends with what it means for your deals and your target list.
- It carries a "checked on" date from this quarter.
What we have seenWhen we tried to date competitors' wins in one market, reading the sellers' own case study and work pages dated 107 of 317 known wins. A web search for each win dated 0 of 10. The date usually lives on the seller's page, not in the news.
09
Where to go next
A competitor analysis sharpens your ideal customer profile, and its public customers can become a target list for account based marketing.
For the outreach that follows, read outbound lead generation, explained.