---
name: market-research
description: Research existing products and competitors for a given product idea. Use when starting a new project, cloning an existing product, or analyzing competitive landscape. Returns feature analysis, gaps, and differentiation opportunities.
---

# Market Research

Research existing products/competitors to inform product decisions.

## When to Use

- Starting a new project and want to understand the landscape
- Cloning or improving upon an existing product
- Identifying gaps or differentiation opportunities
- Validating product direction against alternatives

## Process

1. **Identify targets**: List 3-5 existing products in the space
2. **Feature analysis**: Document core features of each product
3. **Gap analysis**: Identify what's missing or underserved
4. **Differentiation**: Suggest unique value propositions
5. **Summarize findings** for product decision-making

## Research Areas

For each competitor/reference product:
- **Core features**: What does it do well?
- **Target audience**: Who uses it?
- **Pricing model**: Free/paid/freemium?
- **Technical approach**: Open source? What stack?
- **UX patterns**: What's the user experience like?
- **Limitations**: What are users complaining about?

## Output Format

```
[MARKET RESEARCH COMPLETE]

Product space: [description]

Competitors analyzed:
1. [Product A]
   - Core features: ...
   - Strengths: ...
   - Weaknesses: ...
   
2. [Product B]
   - Core features: ...
   - Strengths: ...
   - Weaknesses: ...

Gap analysis:
- [Gap 1]: Description
- [Gap 2]: Description

Differentiation opportunities:
- [Opportunity 1]: How to stand out
- [Opportunity 2]: Underserved niche

Recommended baseline: [Product X] because [rationale]
```

## Guidelines

- Use web search when available to gather current information
- Focus on products users would actually compare against
- Be honest about strong competitors
- Identify realistic differentiation (not just "do everything better")