Who This Helps
This is for founder operators who feel stuck in update loops. If you're spending more time *reporting* on your market than *acting* on it, this is your fix. It pulls directly from the Market Intelligence & Positioning course, especially the mission on 'Tracking Competitor Moves'—where the problem is reacting too late to shifts.
Mini Case
Sam's team spent 4 hours every Monday compiling a competitor report from 12 different sources. By the time it was shared, the data was 3 days old. They automated it. Now, a 2-page summary hits their inbox every morning at 7 AM, highlighting just the 3-5 key moves from the last 24 hours. Decision meetings got 30% shorter because everyone had the same, current facts.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick *one* core question you need answered weekly. (Example: 'What did our top two competitors launch or change?').
- List every place you manually check for this info right now (news sites, social accounts, review pages).
- Use a simple automation tool (like Zapier or Make) to funnel all those sources into one document or chat channel.
- Set a filter rule. For example, only flag items that mention your competitor's name *and* words like 'launch', 'price', or 'partner'.
- Schedule a summary to generate every Friday at 4 PM. Send it to yourself first to test. Tweak for one week, then share with your team. Your future self will send a thank-you note.
Avoid These Traps
- Trap 1: Boiling the ocean. Don't try to track everything. Start with one competitor or one type of move (e.g., pricing changes). More data isn't better; clearer signal is.
- Trap 2: Setting and forgetting. Review your automated summary for two weeks. Is it helping you decide something? If not, adjust your source or your core question.
- Trap 3: Making it pretty. This is for speed, not for board decks. Bullet points and links are perfect. Fancy formatting can wait.
Your Win by Friday
By this Friday, you'll have one key market question answered automatically, without you lifting a finger. You'll walk into your next team sync with a crisp, one-page update that's already hours old—in a good way. You'll reclaim those 4 manual hours and maybe even end the meeting early. Go enjoy that extra coffee.