Ardin | AI-Powered Data Modeling for Google Sheets and Excel

Build comprehensive competitive intelligence systems that track competitors, analyze market positioning, and identify opportunities—all in spreadsheets with AI assistance.

Why Structured Competitive Analysis Matters

Competitive intelligence isn't just about knowing what your competitors are doing—it's about systematically tracking trends, identifying gaps in the market, and making strategic decisions based on data rather than gut feel.

Most teams keep competitive information scattered across emails, documents, and people's heads. A structured competitive analysis system centralizes this intelligence, making it actionable and accessible to everyone who needs it.

Building a Competitor Database

Start with a comprehensive competitor profile system:

Company Overview

Company Name: Full legal name and common brand name
Website & Social Links: Primary digital presence
Headquarters & Geography: Where they operate
Company Size: Employee count and growth trajectory
Funding Stage: Bootstrap, Seed, Series A, B, etc.
Total Funding Raised: Capital available for competition
Founded Date: How mature is the company?

Product & Positioning

Product Description: What they actually sell
Target Customer: Who they're selling to
Value Proposition: Their main pitch/messaging
Key Features: What makes their product unique
Pricing Model: How they charge (and how much)
Market Positioning: Budget, mid-market, or enterprise

AI-Powered Setup

Tell Ardin: "Create a competitor tracking system with company profiles, product features, pricing, and market positioning. Include comparison views and gap analysis." It will build the entire structure with proper lookups and calculations.

Feature Comparison Matrix

One of the most valuable competitive tools is a feature comparison matrix. This shows at a glance where you lead, where you're behind, and where opportunities exist.

Building the Matrix

List all relevant features in rows
Add competitors in columns (including your product)
Use a simple scale: ✓ (has feature), ✗ (doesn't have), ⊕ (partial)
Add notes for nuance (e.g., "has feature but limited")
Color-code based on competitive advantage

Best Practice

Update your feature matrix quarterly, or immediately after competitor launches or updates. Set calendar reminders to review competitor websites and release notes systematically.

Pricing Intelligence

Pricing is often the most important competitive data point. Track competitor pricing comprehensively:

Pricing Dimensions to Capture

Tier Names: Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise, etc.
Monthly Price: List price for monthly billing
Annual Price: Discounted annual rate
Per-User vs. Flat Fee: How pricing scales
Feature Differences: What each tier includes
Usage Limits: API calls, storage, seats, etc.
Add-on Pricing: Extra features or capacity
Enterprise Pricing: Custom pricing signals

Pricing Analysis

Beyond capturing prices, analyze the data:

Calculate price per feature or price per capability
Identify pricing outliers (unusually high or low)
Track pricing changes over time
Compare value perception (features vs. price)
Map pricing to target customer segments

Market Positioning Map

Create a 2x2 positioning map to visualize the competitive landscape:

X-axis: Price (Low to High) or Complexity (Simple to Advanced)
Y-axis: Features (Basic to Comprehensive) or Target Market (SMB to Enterprise)
Plot each competitor on the map
Identify white space (underserved areas)
See where competitors cluster

AI Prompt: "Create a competitive positioning map with price on X-axis and feature completeness on Y-axis. Include all competitors from my database."

Pro Tip

Use scatter plots in your spreadsheet to visualize positioning dynamically. As you update competitor data, the chart updates automatically, helping you spot positioning shifts in real-time.

Tracking Competitor Activity

Beyond static profiles, track ongoing competitor moves:

Activity Log Structure

Date: When the activity occurred
Competitor: Which company
Activity Type: Product launch, funding, hire, partnership, etc.
Description: What happened
Source: Where you learned about it (press release, social media, etc.)
Impact Assessment: High, Medium, Low threat/opportunity
Action Required: What should we do about it?

Key Activities to Track

Product launches and feature releases
Pricing changes and new packaging
Funding rounds and acquisitions
Key hires (especially leadership)
Strategic partnerships
Marketing campaigns and positioning changes
Customer wins and losses
Geographic expansion

Win/Loss Analysis

Track deals you win and lose against specific competitors to identify patterns:

Win/Loss Data to Capture

Deal size and type
Competitors involved in the deal
Outcome (won, lost, no decision)
Primary reason for outcome
Which features/capabilities mattered most
Price sensitivity
Decision-maker concerns

Win/Loss Analytics

Aggregate your win/loss data to find insights:

Win rate by competitor
Win rate by deal size
Common reasons for losses
Feature gaps that cost deals
Pricing position (too high, too low, just right)

AI Prompt: "Analyze my win/loss data and show win rates by competitor, common loss reasons, and deal size trends. Highlight patterns and opportunities."

Customer Interview Tracking

Some of the best competitive intelligence comes from customer conversations. Track these systematically:

Interview date and participant
Company and role
Current solution (including competitors they use)
Pain points mentioned
Competitor strengths cited
Competitor weaknesses mentioned
Feature requests
Key quotes and insights

Best Practice

Tag insights by theme (pricing concerns, usability issues, support quality, etc.). This lets you aggregate insights across interviews to spot trends rather than relying on individual anecdotes.

Competitive Intelligence Dashboard

Pull everything together into an executive dashboard:

Competitor Count: Total active competitors tracked
Recent Activity: Last 30 days of competitor moves
Feature Gaps: Areas where competitors lead
Win Rate Trends: How we're performing in deals
Pricing Position: How we compare on price
Threat Level: Which competitors pose biggest risk
Market Opportunities: White space we could capture

Real-World Example: SaaS Competitive Tracker

Here's how a B2B SaaS company structures their competitive intelligence:

Competitor Profiles: 15 active competitors with full profiles
Feature Matrix: 50 key features compared across all competitors
Pricing Table: All pricing tiers with annual updates
Activity Log: Weekly tracking of competitor news and moves
Win/Loss Database: All deals with competitive analysis
Customer Insights: Interviews and feedback about competitors
Positioning Map: Visual market landscape
Executive Dashboard: Monthly summary for leadership

AI Prompt: "Build a complete competitive intelligence system with competitor profiles, feature matrix, pricing comparison, activity log, and win/loss tracking. Include dashboards and automated alerts."

Next Steps

Stop relying on fragmented competitive knowledge. Build a systematic competitive intelligence system that gives your entire team access to the insights they need. With Ardin's AI assistance, you can have a professional-grade competitive tracker up and running today.

Competitive Analysis & Market Research Tracking