How to Use Perspective AI for Competitive Intelligence & Market Positioning

What You'll Accomplish

• Clear understanding of how customers perceive your brand versus competitors
• Decision criteria insights that reveal what really matters to buyers
• Positioning opportunities based on competitive gaps and strengths
• Actionable strategies to differentiate and win more deals

Step 1: Define Your Research Question

1. Go to getperspective.ai/signup and create your account
2. Click "Create New Conversation"
3. Define your primary research question, such as:
   • "How do customers perceive our brand versus competitors and what drives their vendor selection decisions?"
   • "What factors most influence buyer decisions in our market category?"
   • "Where do we have competitive advantages and blind spots in customer perception?"

• Research type (Exploratory, Discovery, etc.)
• Detailed research description
• Interview goals and objectives
• Target participant profile
• Initial research plan

Step 2: Refine Your Research Plan

• Goals: 3 specific objectives (e.g., "Understand decision criteria that drive vendor selection") - you can define additional goals in the refinement step
• Target participants: Customer demographics and evaluation criteria
• Core questions: Foundation questions that ensure consistent competitive data collection

• "Walk me through your vendor evaluation process—what stages did you go through and what mattered most at each step?"
• "How would you describe the key differences between [Your Company] and [Top Competitor] in your own words?"
• "What would have needed to change about our offering to make it your clear first choice?"
• "If you were advising a peer going through a similar vendor selection, what would you tell them to prioritize?"
• "What concerns or hesitations did you have about our company that other vendors didn't trigger?"

Step 3: Customize the Participant Experience

• Conversation Title: "Share Your Vendor Evaluation Experience: Help Us Understand Buyer Perspectives"
• Welcome Message: "I'd love to understand your experience evaluating solutions in our market. This AI-guided conversation will help us better serve customers like you. Your honest insights about different vendors and decision factors are invaluable."
• Researcher Info: Add your name, title (consider using "Market Research" rather than specific company role), and brief bio

• End-of-interview CTA: "Interested in seeing how we're improving based on this feedback? Schedule a brief update call" + calendar link
• Auto-send thank you email: Enable to maintain relationship
• Require sign-in: Optional - consider pros/cons of anonymity vs. follow-up
• Access level: Keep as "Account" (visible to your team only)

Step 4: Invite Your Target Participants

• Recent evaluators: Customers who evaluated 2+ vendors in past 6-12 months
• Decision influencers: People involved in vendor selection (not just end users)
• Mixed outcomes: Include customers who chose you AND those who chose competitors
• Diverse segments: Different company sizes, industries, or use cases

• Copy the unique conversation link
• Send via email, LinkedIn, or through customer success teams
• Position as market research rather than sales follow-up

• Use built-in email invitations
• Send directly from Perspective AI platform

"Hi [Name], I'm conducting research on how companies evaluate vendors in [your market category]. Your experience comparing different solutions would provide valuable insights. This AI-guided conversation takes 10-15 minutes and helps the industry better understand buyer needs. Would you be willing to share your perspective? [insert link]"

• Emphasize market research benefit, not company-specific gains
• Reach out 2-6 months after their decision (not too fresh, not too stale)
• Consider small incentives (Amazon gift cards, industry reports)
• Use warm introductions when possible

Step 5: Let Perspective AI Conduct the Interviews

• Participants click the link and start conversations on their own time
• Perspective AI conducts natural, conversational interviews
• Each conversation adapts based on participant responses about their evaluation process
• All competitive insights are automatically recorded and organized

1. Context setting about their evaluation project
2. Decision criteria and prioritization questions
3. Vendor comparison and differentiation exploration
4. Specific experience and perception probes
5. Hypothetical scenario and advice questions
6. Thank you and optional next steps

Step 6: Analyze Your Competitive Intelligence

• Get instant overview of competitive themes and patterns
• Identify most common decision criteria and vendor perceptions
• See sentiment analysis across different competitors

• "What decision criteria matter most to buyers in our market?"
• "How do customers describe the key differences between us and [Competitor X]?"
• "What are the most common reasons prospects choose competitors over us?"
• "Show me quotes about our perceived strengths and weaknesses"
• "Which competitors are mentioned most frequently and in what context?"
• "What concerns do buyers have about our company that they don't have about others?"

• "Create a competitive positioning map based on customer perceptions"
• "Identify our biggest competitive advantages according to buyers"
• "What positioning gaps exist that no vendor is filling well?"
• "Build a table showing decision criteria ranked by importance to buyers"
• "Show me the buyer journey stages where we lose to competitors"

• "Compare win/loss factors between enterprise and SMB segments"
• "Identify messaging that resonates vs. messaging that falls flat"
• "What would make buyers switch from competitors to us?"
• "Map customer concerns to specific competitive responses we should develop"

Step 7: Share Insights and Take Action

• Competitive battle cards with real customer language
• Objection handling scripts based on actual buyer concerns
• Win/loss analysis with specific improvement recommendations
• Competitor-specific talk tracks and differentiation messages

• Positioning strategy recommendations with supporting quotes
• Messaging frameworks that address real buyer priorities
• Competitive content ideas (comparison pages, ROI calculators)
• Campaign strategies that exploit competitor weaknesses

• Feature gap analysis based on buyer feedback
• Roadmap priorities influenced by competitive positioning
• User experience improvements that create differentiation
• Integration or partnership opportunities mentioned by buyers

• Strategic competitive assessment with market implications
• Investment priorities for competitive advantage
• Acquisition or partnership opportunities identified by buyers
• Long-term positioning strategy recommendations

Real-World Example

• Price ranked 4th in decision criteria (lower than expected)
• Integration complexity was #1 concern about the company's solution
• Brand trust heavily favored established competitors (mentioned in 67% of interviews)
• Customer support quality was perceived as company's biggest advantage
• "Ease of implementation" language resonated more than "powerful features"
• Competitor X dominated enterprise deals due to compliance certifications

1. Repositioning: Shifted from "feature-rich" to "easy to implement and scale" messaging
2. Product Priority: Fast-tracked integration marketplace development
3. Sales Enablement: Created trust-building content showcasing customer success stories
4. Compliance Investment: Prioritized SOC2 and other enterprise certifications
5. Competitive Response: Developed "implementation time" comparison tool

• Win rate against Competitor X improved 28%
• Sales cycle shortened by 15% with clearer positioning
• Integration concerns dropped from 67% to 23% of sales conversations
• Brand perception scores improved 31% in follow-up research

Advanced Competitive Intelligence Use Cases

• Interview customers in adjacent markets before expansion
• Understand new competitive landscapes and buyer behavior
• Identify positioning for unfamiliar market categories

• Understand how buyers evaluate pricing models and total cost
• Identify price sensitivity across different customer segments
• Compare value perception of your offering vs. alternatives

• Identify complementary solutions buyers commonly evaluate together
• Find white-space opportunities in buyer needs
• Discover potential integration or channel partnerships

Quick Start Checklist

• Create Perspective AI account and define competitive research question
• Customize research plan with 2-3 mandatory questions about decision criteria
• Set up participant experience emphasizing market research value
• Identify and invite recent vendor evaluators (mix of wins and losses)
• Wait for interview completion (typically 48-72 hours)
• Generate Magic Summary for competitive landscape overview
• Ask specific questions about decision factors and vendor perceptions
• Create competitive battle cards and positioning recommendations
• Schedule follow-up research in 6 months to track positioning changes

Sample Analysis Questions for Competitive Intelligence

• "Rank the factors that matter most to buyers when choosing vendors"
• "What criteria do enterprise buyers prioritize differently than SMB buyers?"
• "Which decision factors do we win on vs. lose on most often?"

• "How do buyers describe our brand personality compared to competitors?"
• "What words and phrases do customers use when explaining why they chose us vs. others?"
• "What misconceptions do buyers have about our capabilities?"

• "Where do buyers see clear differentiation between vendors?"
• "What positioning claims from competitors do buyers find most/least credible?"
• "Which competitor messaging resonates most strongly with buyers?"

• "What buyer needs are no vendors addressing well?"
• "Where do all competitors have similar weaknesses we could exploit?"
• "What would make buyers switch from their current vendor?"

FAQs

What's Next?