Competitive Landscape Map
Competitive Landscape Mapping is a strategic visualization exercise that plots your organization and its competitors across key strategic dimensions — typically price, quality, innovation, customer segment, or other factors relevant to your market. It reveals where the market is crowded, where white spaces exist, and how your current positioning compares to where you want to be. In a workshop, teams debate and agree on the axes that matter most in their market, then place competitors and themselves on the map. The resulting picture makes abstract competitive dynamics concrete and sparks strategic conversations about differentiation, repositioning, and where to play. Inspired by the 'Strategy Canvas' from Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim & Mauborgne), this exercise is most powerful when grounded in real market data rather than assumptions.
How to run it
- 1
Agree on the market scope: which competitors will you map? Which customer segment are you focusing on?
- 2
Identify the key competitive dimensions: what are the 4-6 factors that matter most to customers in this market? (e.g., price, speed, quality, breadth of features, support, brand). Vote if needed.
- 3
Set up the axes: choose the two most important dimensions as your x and y axes. Place on a large 2x2 or use a radar chart for more dimensions.
- 4
Place competitors: where does each competitor sit on the axes? Use different colors for different competitor groups.
- 5
Place yourselves: where do you honestly sit today? Mark with a distinct color.
- 6
Identify the white spaces: where on the map are there no — or few — competitors? Are these spaces empty because of lack of demand, or because of unexplored opportunity?
- 7
Mark your desired future position: where do you want to be in 2-3 years? What would it take to get there?
- 8
Discuss the implications: what strategic moves are needed? What would you need to change about your product, pricing, or positioning?
- 9
Agree on 3-5 strategic priorities that emerge from the competitive picture.
Tips
The choice of axes is the most important decision in the exercise — wrong dimensions produce a misleading picture.
Challenge generic axes (everyone will say 'quality').
Use specific, observable attributes: 'time to first value,' 'depth of integrations,' 'self-serve vs.
sales-led.' Revisit the map with real data (reviews, pricing pages, analyst reports) before treating it as definitive.
Variations
Use the Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas format to plot 'value curves' across many dimensions simultaneously. Run a 'Customer Perception Map' using actual customer data rather than internal assumptions. Add a third dimension (bubble size = market share) for a richer view.
Where it fits
Frequently asked questions
When should I use Competitive Landscape Map?â–¾
Use Competitive Landscape Map when you want to: Competitive strategy and market positioning; Product differentiation and feature prioritization; New market entry analysis; Sales enablement and competitive battlecard development; Blue Ocean strategy identification.
How long does Competitive Landscape Map take?â–¾
Competitive Landscape Map typically takes 60–120 minutes.
How many participants does Competitive Landscape Map work for?â–¾
Competitive Landscape Map works best for groups of 4–15 participants.
What materials do I need for Competitive Landscape Map?â–¾
To run Competitive Landscape Map you will need: Large paper or whiteboard, sticky notes, markers, list of competitors, market research data.
How difficult is Competitive Landscape Map to facilitate?â–¾
Competitive Landscape Map is rated intermediate — some facilitation experience is helpful.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Influenced by Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim & Mauborgne, 2004) and standard competitive analysis practice.