Competitive Analysis Framework

Document Type: Guide
Version: 1.0
Last Updated: February 2026
Distribute To: BD Team, Estimators, Executives

Purpose

Establish procedures for systematically analyzing competitors to inform strategic decisions, pricing, and positioning.

Why Competitive Analysis Matters

Business Value:

Informs go/no-go decisions
Guides pricing strategy
Identifies differentiation opportunities
Anticipates competitive threats
Supports strategic planning

What to Analyze:

Who competes with us
Their strengths and weaknesses
Their strategies
Their pricing patterns
Their market positioning

Competitor Identification

Competitor Categories:

================================================================
         COMPETITOR IDENTIFICATION
================================================================

DIRECT COMPETITORS (Same services, same market):

| Competitor | Est. Revenue | Primary Markets | Threat Level |
|------------|--------------|-----------------|--------------|
|            |              |                 | H/M/L        |
|            |              |                 | H/M/L        |
|            |              |                 | H/M/L        |
|            |              |                 | H/M/L        |

----------------------------------------------------------------

INDIRECT COMPETITORS (Different approach, same clients):

| Competitor | Type | When They Compete |
|------------|------|-------------------|
|            |      |                   |
|            |      |                   |

----------------------------------------------------------------

EMERGING COMPETITORS (New or growing threats):

| Competitor | Why Emerging | Watch For |
|------------|--------------|-----------|
|            |              |           |
|            |              |           |

----------------------------------------------------------------

COMPETITIVE SET FOR ANALYSIS:

Primary focus (detailed analysis):
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________

Secondary (monitor):
1. _______________________
2. _______________________

================================================================

Competitor Profile Template

Detailed Competitor Analysis:

================================================================
         COMPETITOR PROFILE
================================================================

Competitor: _______________________
Last Updated: _______________________

================================================================

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

Ownership: ☐ Private  ☐ Public  ☐ PE-backed  ☐ ESOP
Est. annual revenue: $_________________
Est. employees: _____
Years in business: _____
Headquarters: _______________________
Geographic coverage: _______________________

Leadership:
  CEO/Owner: _______________________
  Key Executives: _______________________

----------------------------------------------------------------

SERVICES & CAPABILITIES:

Primary services:
☐ _______________________
☐ _______________________
☐ _______________________

Specialties: _______________________
Self-perform capabilities: _______________________
Project size sweet spot: $_________ to $_________

----------------------------------------------------------------

MARKET POSITION:

Target clients: _______________________
Geographic focus: _______________________
Market segments: _______________________
Estimated market share: _____%

Key clients (known):
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________

----------------------------------------------------------------

STRENGTHS:

| Strength | Evidence | Impact on Us |
|----------|----------|--------------|
|          |          |              |
|          |          |              |
|          |          |              |

----------------------------------------------------------------

WEAKNESSES:

| Weakness | Evidence | Our Opportunity |
|----------|----------|-----------------|
|          |          |                 |
|          |          |                 |
|          |          |                 |

----------------------------------------------------------------

COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR:

Pricing tendency: ☐ Premium  ☐ Market  ☐ Aggressive
Bid frequency: ☐ Selective  ☐ Moderate  ☐ Bids everything
Win rate (estimated): _____%
Quality reputation: ☐ Excellent  ☐ Good  ☐ Mixed  ☐ Poor
Safety record: EMR _____

Strategic moves observed:
___________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------

HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:

| Project | Date | Our Price | Their Price | Winner |
|---------|------|-----------|-------------|--------|
|         |      |           |             |        |
|         |      |           |             |        |

Win rate vs. them: _____%
Average price difference: _____%

----------------------------------------------------------------

HOW TO COMPETE AGAINST THEM:

When we win: _______________________
When they win: _______________________
Our best strategy: _______________________

================================================================

Competitive Intelligence Gathering

Intelligence Sources:

Source	Information Available	Reliability
Bid results	Pricing, win/loss	High
Public records	Financials (if public), licenses	High
Industry associations	Relationships, reputation	Medium
Suppliers/subs	Pricing, behavior	Medium
Former employees	Culture, capabilities	Medium
Clients	Experience, satisfaction	High
Job sites	Crew size, methods	High
News/press	Strategy, financials	Medium
Website/social	Messaging, capabilities	Medium

Intelligence Collection Plan:

================================================================
         COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE PLAN
================================================================

Competitor: _______________________

| Information Needed | Source | Collector | Frequency |
|--------------------|--------|-----------|-----------|
| Pricing patterns | Bid results | Estimating | Per bid |
| Key wins | Market | BD | Monthly |
| Personnel changes | Network | All | Ongoing |
| Financial health | Industry | CFO | Quarterly |
| Strategic moves | News/network | Leadership | Ongoing |

================================================================

Competitive Positioning

Positioning Map:

================================================================
         COMPETITIVE POSITIONING MAP
================================================================

Map competitors on key dimensions:

                    HIGH QUALITY
                         │
           [Competitor]  │  [Us?]
                         │
    LOW ─────────────────┼─────────────────── HIGH
    PRICE                │                    PRICE
                         │
           [Competitor]  │  [Competitor]
                         │
                    LOW QUALITY

Our position: _______________________
Desired position: _______________________
Gap to close: _______________________

================================================================

Differentiation Analysis:

================================================================
         DIFFERENTIATION ANALYSIS
================================================================

| Factor | Us | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|--------|-----|--------|--------|--------|
| Price | | | | |
| Quality | | | | |
| Safety | | | | |
| Schedule | | | | |
| Experience | | | | |
| Team | | | | |
| Technology | | | | |
| Relationship | | | | |
| Service | | | | |

Our clearest differentiators:
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________

Where we're at parity: _______________________
Where we're behind: _______________________

================================================================

Competitive Response Planning

Scenario Planning:

================================================================
         COMPETITIVE RESPONSE PLAN
================================================================

SCENARIO: Competitor enters our key market

Competitor: _______________________
Threat: _______________________

Response options:
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________

Recommended response: _______________________

----------------------------------------------------------------

SCENARIO: Competitor wins key client

Competitor: _______________________
Client at risk: _______________________

Prevention strategy: _______________________
Recovery strategy: _______________________

----------------------------------------------------------------

SCENARIO: Competitor undercuts pricing

Competitor: _______________________
Price behavior: _______________________

Response options:
☐ Match price (protect share)
☐ Hold price (protect margin)
☐ Differentiate (justify premium)
☐ Focus elsewhere (avoid competition)

Recommended response: _______________________

================================================================

Competitive Dashboard

Quarterly Competitive Review:

================================================================
         COMPETITIVE DASHBOARD
================================================================

Quarter: _______________________

================================================================

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:

| Competitor | Competitions | Our Wins | Our Losses | Win % |
|------------|--------------|----------|------------|-------|
|            |              |          |            |       |
|            |              |          |            |       |
| TOTAL      |              |          |            |       |

----------------------------------------------------------------

MARKET SHARE ESTIMATE:

| Competitor | Last Year | This Year | Change |
|------------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| Us         |           |           |        |
|            |           |           |        |
|            |           |           |        |

----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTABLE COMPETITIVE DEVELOPMENTS:

| Competitor | Development | Our Response |
|------------|-------------|--------------|
|            |             |              |

----------------------------------------------------------------

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS:

Opportunities: _______________________
Threats: _______________________
Actions needed: _______________________

================================================================

Using Competitive Intelligence

In Go/No-Go Decisions:

Who else is likely to bid?
What's our competitive position?
Can we win? At what margin?

In Pricing:

What will competitors price?
Where do we need to be to win?
Can we justify a premium?

In Proposals:

What are competitor weaknesses to highlight?
What differentiators to emphasize?
What risks to address proactively?

In Strategy:

Where should we focus?
Where should we avoid?
How should we invest?

Go/No-Go Decision Process
Proposal Pricing Strategy
Post-Bid Analysis
Strategic Planning

Template provided by support.construction. Know your competition as well as you know yourself.

Purpose​

Why Competitive Analysis Matters​

Business Value:​

What to Analyze:​

Competitor Identification​

Competitor Categories:​

Competitor Profile Template​

Detailed Competitor Analysis:​

Competitive Intelligence Gathering​

Intelligence Sources:​

Intelligence Collection Plan:​

Competitive Positioning​

Positioning Map:​

Differentiation Analysis:​

Competitive Response Planning​

Scenario Planning:​

Competitive Dashboard​

Quarterly Competitive Review:​

Using Competitive Intelligence​

In Go/No-Go Decisions:​

In Pricing:​

In Proposals:​

In Strategy:​

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