Glossary
Competitive intelligence glossary
Plain-language definitions for the terms that come up around competitive intelligence — what they mean, how teams actually use them, and the mistakes worth avoiding.
- BattlecardA battlecard is a sales-facing reference summarizing how a product compares to a competitor — positioning, strengths, weaknesses, objection handling.
- Competitive intelligenceCompetitive intelligence (CI) is the ongoing process of gathering and acting on public information about rivals and markets — a continuous practice.
- Competitive landscapeA competitive landscape maps every player competing for the same buyer — direct rivals, adjacent alternatives, emerging entrants — by positioning.
- Competitive positioningCompetitive positioning is how a company defines its distinct value relative to alternatives in the buyer's mind — the problem it solves best.
- Competitor analysisCompetitor analysis researches one rival's product, pricing, and positioning as a point-in-time exercise to inform a launch or pricing decision.
- Competitor monitoringCompetitor monitoring is continuous tracking of a defined rival set for material changes — pricing, launches, messaging — catching shifts early.
- Market intelligenceMarket intelligence covers a market as a whole — size, growth, buyer behavior, regulation — informing decisions like which markets to enter.
- Share of voiceShare of voice measures a brand's visibility relative to competitors across search, social, ads, or AI answer engines, as a share of mentions.
- SWOT analysisSWOT analysis evaluates a business across four dimensions — Strengths, Weaknesses (internal), Opportunities, Threats (external) — for planning.
- Win-loss analysisWin-loss analysis reviews closed deals, won and lost, through buyer interviews to learn why they chose you or a rival, and improve messaging.
Prefer the full framework? Read the guides.