EP 153 - Competitive Research Tools with Ran Erez cover art

EP 153 - Competitive Research Tools with Ran Erez

EP 153 - Competitive Research Tools with Ran Erez

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 On this episode of the Product for Product Podcast, we’re joined by Ran Erez, product leader, podcaster, and founder of Re.focus, for a highly practical episode on competitive intelligence tools and tactics for product managers.With over a decade in B2B, B2C, and cyber (including three years on the mobile pod at monday.com), Ran has seen the same pattern repeat: teams either copy competitors blindly or ignore them entirely. He argues there’s a better way, treating competitors as a massive time‑saver for validation and strategy, without letting them drive your roadmap.

Join Matt and Moshe as they explore with Ran:
  • How Ran went from QA manager in cyber to owning product and driving millions in sales
  • The biggest mistakes PMs make with competition: copying feature lists, believing marketing at face value, and doing “one‑and‑done” competitive intelligence
  • Why focusing only on direct “budget competitors” misses the real job‑to‑be‑done
  • The Competitive Intelligence Pyramid:
    • Feature level – how others solve the same problem
    • Product capabilities – pros/cons at whole‑product level
    • Messaging – how value is communicated and evolves
    • Product strategy – what bets they’re making
    • Company strategy – where the business is actually heading
  • Concrete methods and tools at each level, including:
    • Finding real users of competitors through screeners, communities, and support/KB pages
    • Running “SUSHI” competitive user research: side‑by‑side tests of your product vs. theirs over time
    • Talking to integration partners and freelancers who implement multiple competing tools
    • Using Wayback Machine, screenshots + Gemini, and Perplexity to track how sites, pricing, and positioning change
    • Mining public earnings calls for strategic signals in the language leaders use
  • How to systematically identify your true competitors (and what it means if you can’t find any)
  • Treating CI as a muscle: what “small start” looks like and how to keep learning over time
  • Using competitors to validate your ideas by putting their products in front of your users
  • And much more!
Want to connect with Ran or learn more?
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ran-erez
You can also connect with us and find more episodes:
  • Product for Product Podcast: http://linkedin.com/company/product-for-product-podcast
  • Matt Green: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgreenproduct
  • Moshe Mikanovsky: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikanovsky
Note: Any views mentioned in the podcast are the sole views of our hosts and guests, and do not represent the products mentioned in any way.

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