market-research Skill

What It Does

Runs end-to-end market research using browser workflows only. This wrapper coordinates competitor-alternatives for competitor breakdowns, seo-audit for market positioning, and custom workflows for customer research, keyword research, and product feedback analysis.

When to Use

• Evaluate direct and indirect competitors before launching or repricing.
• Understand positioning gaps before writing copy, ads, or landing pages.
• Collect real customer pain points from reviews, forums, and communities.
• Discover keyword clusters for content strategy and demand capture.
• Translate feedback into prioritized product and messaging improvements.

Core Inputs

• Product URL and one-line value proposition.
• Customer segment (ICP), geography, and pricing tier.
• 3-10 known competitors (or "discover competitors" mode).
• Optional seed keywords and target outcomes (traffic, signups, trials).

How It Works

Input: "Research [MARKET] for [PRODUCT] and return opportunities"
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Scope: define ICP, geography, competitor set, and timeframe
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Competitor Layer: run competitor-alternatives workflow via browser
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Positioning Layer: run seo-audit workflow for SERP and content gaps
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Custom Research:
  - customer research
  - keyword research
  - product feedback analysis
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Synthesis: score opportunities by impact, confidence, and effort
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Output: research brief + action plan + evidence links

Browser Automation Workflows

1) Competitor Research (via competitor-alternatives)

1. Navigate: competitor homepages and pricing pages.
2. Extract: plans, feature claims, proof points, and CTA patterns.
3. Validate: review platforms (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Reddit threads).
4. Compare: feature parity, positioning angle, pricing psychology.
5. Output: competitor matrix with strengths, weaknesses, and openings.

2) Market Positioning (via seo-audit)

1. Navigate: Google search for core problem-intent queries.
2. Capture: top ranking pages by intent type (guide, comparison, product page).
3. Extract: recurring positioning language and differentiation claims.
4. Map: content gaps and weak SERP segments by intent.
5. Output: positioning recommendations and content opportunities.

3) Customer Research (custom)

1. Navigate: Reddit, Quora, YouTube comments, app stores, review sites.
2. Search: "how do I", "alternative to", "frustrated with", "best tool for".
3. Extract: jobs-to-be-done, blockers, desired outcomes, switching triggers.
4. Cluster: pain points into onboarding, workflow, pricing, and support buckets.
5. Output: customer insight map with direct quote snippets.

4) Keyword Research (custom)

1. Start: seed list from customer language and competitor pages.
2. Validate: keyword ideas in browser tools (Google autocomplete, related searches, keyword platforms).
3. Classify: intent (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational).
4. Prioritize: high relevance + attainable difficulty + business value.
5. Output: keyword clusters with landing page/content recommendations.

5) Product Feedback Analysis (custom)

1. Gather: reviews, support transcripts, changelog comments, social mentions.
2. Tag: sentiment, feature area, severity, frequency, and user segment.
3. Identify: repeated complaints, unmet expectations, and delight moments.
4. Translate: each pattern into product fixes and messaging updates.
5. Output: prioritized feedback backlog with evidence references.

Deliverables Format

• Executive Brief: market summary, key risks, biggest opportunities.
• Competitor Matrix: pricing/features/positioning comparison table.
• Keyword Cluster Sheet: topic cluster, intent, priority, page type.
• Customer Insight Map: pains, desired outcomes, and decision triggers.
• Feedback Backlog: issue, severity, frequency, proposed response.

Research Quality Rubric

Criterion	Weight	1 (Weak)	5 (Acceptable)	10 (Excellent)
Evidence quality	30%	Claims without sources	Some sources, uneven quality	Strong sources and traceable links
Actionability	25%	Generic observations	Some practical next steps	Clear prioritized actions with owners
Coverage	20%	Misses major segments	Covers core areas	Comprehensive across competitors/customers/keywords/feedback
Strategic clarity	15%	Contradictory or vague	Mostly coherent	Clear positioning narrative and decisions
Reproducibility	10%	Steps undocumented	Partial method notes	Full method and repeatable workflow

Pass threshold: weighted score >= 7.5/10. If below threshold, rerun weak sections with additional sources.

Usage Examples

Example 1: Competitor + Positioning Sprint

User: "Run market research for AI note-taking tools in the US SMB market."
Skill: Runs competitor-alternatives + seo-audit workflows, then outputs a positioning gap report and 90-day opportunity plan.

Example 2: Customer and Feedback Deep Dive

User: "Analyze customer pain points for project management apps and suggest product improvements."
Skill: Scrapes review/community evidence, clusters pain themes, ranks fixes by impact, and proposes product + messaging updates.

Example 3: Keyword Opportunity Mapping

User: "Find keyword opportunities for a B2B workflow automation SaaS."
Skill: Builds seed set from customer language, validates intent and difficulty, and returns cluster-to-page recommendations.

Skills It Coordinates

• competitor-alternatives (skills.sh): competitor discovery and alternative mapping.
• seo-audit (skills.sh): SERP, visibility, and market positioning analysis.
• mckinsey-research: structured synthesis and strategic recommendation framing.

Guardrails

• Browser-based only. Do not rely on private APIs.
• Keep every conclusion tied to observable evidence.
• Separate facts, assumptions, and recommendations.
• Flag uncertainty explicitly when source quality is weak.

Troubleshooting

• If sources conflict, note disagreement and collect two additional confirmations.
• If SERP is too broad, narrow by geography, persona, and intent modifier.
• If evidence is stale, prioritize pages updated in last 12 months.
• If findings are generic, rerun with stricter ICP and JTBD framing.