briefing-formats.md

Briefing and battlecard formats

Three output layouts: the full-snapshot briefing, the delta briefing, and the on-demand battlecard. Pick by mode; never mix layouts.

Full-snapshot briefing

Order matters — decision-makers read top-down and stop when they have enough.

1. TL;DR for Marketing

3–5 key positioning insights the team should act on, each with a specific implication. Not observations — implications: "Competitor X shifted tagline from developer-focused to enterprise — check whether our messaging still differentiates" beats "Competitor X changed their tagline."

2. Messaging Matrix

One comparison table, rows: Tagline · Primary CTA · Value Props · Target Audience · Pricing Model. Columns: every competitor in scope plus your own company (the baseline row is mandatory). Taglines and CTAs verbatim, in quotes.

3. Per-competitor positioning profile

For each competitor, in this order:

Site structure signals — what pages exist/don't, subdomains, what the architecture implies
Homepage messaging — tagline, hero, CTAs, value props
Features page — what they emphasize, differentiation claims
Pricing positioning — model, tier strategy, enterprise signals
Content strategy — blog themes, cadence, audience, content types
Social proof strategy — who they showcase, what outcomes they highlight

4. Content Gap Analysis

What competitors publish that you don't: topics they cover, formats they use (case studies, benchmarks, ROI calculators), audience segments they address in content.

5. Positioning White Space

Messaging angles no competitor has claimed strongly: unclaimed value props, underserved audience segments, narrative gaps. This section is only credible if section 3 was thorough — white space is an absence claim, and absence claims require having actually looked.

6. Recommended Actions

Specific next steps for the marketing team, each naming a competitor claim and the counter-move: "Draft counter-messaging for X's new enterprise positioning", "Prioritize case studies targeting [segment] — 3 competitors already own this space."

Delta briefing (changes only)

1. What Changed

Per competitor, before/after per shift:

"Tagline: '[old]' → '[new]'"
"New feature category added: [name]"
"Pricing model shifted from [old] to [new]"
"New blog theme emerging: [topic] ([N] posts in the window)"
"Page added/removed: [url] — [significance]"

2. Nothing Changed

Explicitly list competitors with no positioning shifts. An empty "what changed" without this list reads as a failed run, not a quiet fortnight.

3. Marketing Implications

What the changes mean for the team's priorities. If nothing changed anywhere: "no positioning changes detected" and stop — never pad.

Battlecard

Built from one competitor's snapshot plus your own baseline. Refresh the snapshot first if it's older than 14 days.

# Battlecard: [Your Company] vs [Competitor]
## As of [date]

### Competitor Overview
- Tagline: [verbatim]
- Primary CTA: [verbatim]
- Target audience: [who their messaging speaks to]
- Pricing model: [type and entry price if known]

### Their Key Claims
[Each value prop / differentiator they emphasize, verbatim, with source URL]

### Our Counter-Positioning
[For each claim above: the response, proof points, and messaging angle]

### Feature Comparison
| Capability | Us | Them | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|

### Where They Win (acknowledge honestly)
[Where their positioning is stronger or they have genuine advantages]

### Where We Win
[Unique advantages, with evidence]

### Objection Handling
| Prospect Says | Respond With |
|---|---|

### Recommended Talking Points
[3–5 concise talking points for sales/marketing conversations]

Cross-cutting rules

Every claim in every layout links to its source page.
Verbatim quotes for taglines, CTAs, value props, and differentiation claims.
Tone: decisive and operational — written for a team planning next quarter's messaging, not an archive. Every insight carries its "so what."

Briefing formats