Izveidot kontuCreate account
‹ All playbooks
Scan competitors and record what changed

growth.competitor-scan·version 1.0.0·draft1 to verify

Scan competitors and record what changed

The monthly competitor note exists, every material change has a dated source, and each change has a recorded decision.

JānisCompany Analystruns it · and 1 moreProfile ›
Whenscheduled · monthly — monthly — first working week, before the growth review
Who actsthe agent prepares only
Time45–60 min active, spread over 2–3 days
Countryany country
Sign in to run thisThis playbook opens inside Brain Club. Sign in to read and run it.

When to use

The monthly scan of the competitor watchlist. Not for a one-off deep dive on a single company before a deal or a hire — use agents.research-company. Not for reacting to a finding that cannot wait a month — raise it immediately, then still record it in the next note. The note feeds growth.monthly-growth-review.

Before you start

  • The watchlist exists, or the owner has named the competitors in this first run (typically 3–8).
  • Last month's note is open in company-intel — the diff in S3 depends on it.
  • The agent has web access only. Nothing in this playbook contacts a competitor or a person.

What a run requires1

  • Approval · S6 · ownerthe run stops until a named person records the decision

Any step can wait until a date and reopens by itself; every closed step leaves evidence (a note, a link, a number).

The trail8 steps

  1. Confirm the watchlistagent

    Open each competitor's site and check it still trades and still targets the same customers.

    Done when the watchlist is confirmed, with dead or moved companies marked and the owner informed of proposed additions.

  2. Collect public signals per competitoragent

    Website (offer, pricing, positioning), news/blog, social posts, customer reviews, job ads, and the official company register (LV: ur.gov.lv) for board, address or capital changes. Record each signal with its date and URL.

    Done when every competitor has dated notes from this month, including "nothing observed" where true.

  3. Diff against last monthagent

    Compare this month's signals with the previous note line by line.

    Done when a change list exists, each entry marked material (price, offer, position, ownership, headcount direction) or minor.

  4. Verify material changesagent

    Confirm each material change against a second independent source (the register itself, the competitor's own page, a dated screenshot). ⚠ verify registry coverage and filing lag per country — for LV use ur.gov.lv.

    Done when every material change is marked confirmed or unconfirmed, with both sources named.

  5. Write the monthly noteagent

    One section per competitor: what changed, what it likely means for us, what we do not know. No marketing words; write observations, not narratives.

    Done when the note is saved in company-intel and dated.

  6. Decide on each material changeownerneeds approval · owner

    Approval · S6 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

    Present the note with the confirmed changes first. The owner marks each: act · watch · ignore, with one line why.

    Done when no material change is left undecided.

  7. Record the "act" decisionsagent

    Create a task (bc tasks add) or goal (bc goals add) for each "act" decision, linked to the note; "watch" items are written into next month's inputs.

    Done when every "act" has an owner-named task or goal.

  8. Archive the evidenceagent

    Save page snapshots or screenshots for material changes and link them in the note.

    Done when the note's links resolve and the run is listed in the scan history.

Checks — how we know it worked

  • Every material change has a date, a URL or snapshot, and a confirmed/unconfirmed mark.
  • Registry facts (board, address, capital) are read from the official register, never from the competitor's own site.
  • Every material change in S6 has exactly one of: act · watch · ignore — a blank is a failed run.
  • "Watch" items from last month were re-checked this month.

If it goes wrong

SymptomResponse
A competitor's site is gone or redirectsCheck the register for liquidation or merger; record it as a change, do not silently drop the name.
Two sources contradict on a changeMark unconfirmed, note both sources, ask the owner in S6 whether to dig or drop.
The watchlist has grown past ~10 namesSplit into direct and adjacent; propose the split to the owner in S6, do not trim alone.
A change was noticed by the team before the scan caught itTrace which signal would have shown it earlier; add that signal to S2 for that competitor.
No time for the full scanRun S1–S3 and S6 on the top three competitors; note the rest as skipped — never skip S6.

What each step leaves behind

  1. S1the watchlist is confirmed, with dead or moved companies marked and the owner informed of proposed additions.
  2. S2every competitor has dated notes from this month, including "nothing observed" where true.
  3. S3a change list exists, each entry marked material (price, offer, position, ownership, headcount direction) or minor.
  4. S4every material change is marked confirmed or unconfirmed, with both sources named.
  5. S5the note is saved in company-intel and dated.
  6. S6no material change is left undecided.
  7. S7every "act" has an owner-named task or goal.
  8. S8the note's links resolve and the run is listed in the scan history.

Evidence to keep

The dated note in company-intel · snapshots or screenshots for material changes · the change list with confirmed/unconfirmed marks · the S6 decisions with who decided and when · the tasks/goals created in S7.

How this playbook improves

After every 6 runs ask: how many material changes did we catch that the team had not already noticed? Which competitor produced the most noise and should move to a quarterly check? Did any "act" decision lack a task within a week? A new version changes the signals collected in S2 or the watchlist rules in S1, and says so in its change note.