Real Competitive Intel for PMMs: The Art of Digging Deeper
The world doesn’t need another “just search Google” tip when it comes to competitor research. Sure, a quick web search might give you a few data points—maybe a competitor’s pricing page or an outdated blog post—but it’s hardly enough to form the deep insights you need. If you’re serious about understanding the market, you have to move beyond superficial searching and adopt a more well-rounded approach.
In this post, we’ll dig into methods that go deeper—because good competitive intelligence (CI) involves more than keying in a few phrases online. We’ll cover everything from talking directly with your internal teams (especially Sales) to “secret shopper” methods and social listening. Ready? Let’s jump in.
Why Bother with Deeper Competitive Research?
Before we break down the tactics, let’s talk briefly about why “searching online” isn’t enough. Competitive intel isn’t just about memorizing a rival’s feature set. It’s about gaining the kind of knowledge that shapes strategic decisions: should we pivot our product roadmap? Should we change our pricing model? Should we respond directly to a competitor’s claim?
Surface-Level Info Can Deceive: What you see on a website might be outdated or just plain PR fluff. Real differentiators often show up in the nuances.
Customers and Sales Reps Know the Reality: Public marketing materials rarely tell you why people choose—or don’t choose—your product. Honest feedback often surfaces in actual conversations.
It’s Not Just About Finding Gaps; It’s About Staying Ahead: Relying purely on web searches for competitor intel is like relying on tabloids for political analysis—there’s usually a lot more depth to uncover.
So if you want real insights, you have to go beyond typical online searches. How do we do that? Let’s look at some more tactical approaches.
Talk to the Folks on the Front Lines
Sales Team and Customer Success
In many organizations, the Sales team and Customer Success managers are your secret weapons. These are the people who speak directly to leads and customers, day in and day out.
Ask Them About Competitor Mentions: Which names consistently come up in conversation? Is your product losing deals to a particular feature that a competitor has? Is there a pricing model you keep bumping into?
Dig Into Churn Reasons: When customers leave, is it usually for a known competitor? If so, why? Was it price? A missing feature? Better support?
Capture Real Quotes: Jot down exact words your sales reps hear—like “We switched to X because they offer unlimited users” or “Y’s solution is better for enterprise.” Those are genuine data points you can use for messaging.
It may feel simpler to browse competitor websites, but your internal teams have something a landing page can’t give you—unfiltered, real-world feedback from actual buyers.
Become a “Secret Shopper”
Demos, Webinars, and Free Trials
There’s no rule saying you can’t attend a competitor’s live product demo. Just sign up—under a personal email, if necessary—and observe how they present their solution. Do they talk up certain features? Are they emphasizing a particular benefit over all else?
Sign Up for a Trial: Experience the onboarding process firsthand. Is it intuitive or clunky? Do they follow up with strong email nurturing?
Download Whitepapers or E-Books: If your competitor has any gated content, grab it. You’ll see how they frame their messaging and what kind of data they’re collecting from prospects.
This might feel a bit sneaky, but it’s a tried-and-true tactic. If you only look at a competitor’s marketing website, you’ll miss how they actually talk to prospects—sometimes it’s very different from the polished language on their homepage.
Leverage Social and Third-Party Channels
Read Authentic Customer Feedback
The web is littered with review platforms—G2 and Capterra, to name a couple—where real users post unvarnished opinions on just about every B2B product under the sun. If your competitor is established, they likely have a presence there.
Check Out 1- and 2-Star Reviews: Oddly enough, negative feedback can reveal deeper insights—where do customers feel let down? What’s lacking?
See What They Boast in 5-Star Reviews: Sometimes, you learn a competitor’s strongest value proposition from the high praise they receive.
Monitoring LinkedIn Groups, Twitter threads, Reddit, Quora, and even Slack communities can also uncover casual chatter about competitors. Don’t underestimate how informative a single frustrated or enthusiastic user comment can be. Real pain points—and real reasons to love a product—are often hidden in plain sight on these platforms.
Form Relationships with Partners and Analysts
Why Partnerships Matter
Do you have a partner ecosystem? Are there any integrators or consultants who might also work with your competitors? These folks often have a holistic view of the market—they see multiple solutions side by side.
Ask for Quick Comparisons: “Between us and Company X, which do you see customers choosing more often? Why?”
Look for Cross-Sell Opportunities: If partners are recommending both your product and another, see if there’s a synergy or a gap in your own offering.
Tapping Industry Analysts
If you’re in a sector that’s closely tracked by firms like Gartner or Forrester, you can often glean more nuanced insights by diving into their research. Even if you can’t afford a full subscription, analyst webinars or publicly available reports might reveal competitor moves, market shifts, and emerging trends.
Study Public Activities
Job Listings and PR Announcements
Sometimes, you can learn a lot by looking at where competitors are hiring. If you notice multiple job postings for, say, AI engineers or cybersecurity specialists, that might mean they’re building out new functionalities or entering new markets. Keep an eye on their press releases, too—announcements about expansions, new partnerships, or leadership changes can signal strategic direction.
Follow Their Social Accounts: Competitors might post about events, product updates, or new initiatives.
Watch Industry Events They Sponsor: If they’re dropping money on conferences, they likely see that particular space or audience as high-potential.
It’s not all about being a detective, but there’s a lot you can infer from publicly available data—especially around hiring, acquisitions, or new product lines.
Engage Departing Customers and Former Employees (Ethically)
Polite & Purposeful Listening
When a customer churns, make sure you—politely—ask why they switched. Did a competitor promise better pricing? Faster support? Another feature set? You might find patterns that could guide your product roadmap or your messaging.
Handling Former Employees
It’s a small world out there. If you happen to have new hires who once worked for a competitor, they can provide background on product features or business strategies. Of course, respect any confidentiality agreements. The goal is not to pry for secrets but to gain contextual understanding that can inform your own approach.
Bringing It All Together
At this point, you might be wondering, “So I have these scattered data points from different sources. Now what?” The answer: pull it into a shared, central resource—maybe a competitive intelligence platform or a simple spreadsheet. Document:
Competitor Name
Known Features (Confirmed vs. Rumored)
Pricing (Published vs. Negotiated)
Messaging & Positioning
Observed Customer Pain Points
Primary Pros/Cons (from real users)
Update regularly, and make sure your Sales, Product, and Customer Success teams have access. Competitive intel should be a living, breathing asset—constantly refreshed, referenced, and refined.
A Quick Word on Ethics (Because It Matters)
While it’s tempting to be sneaky (and sometimes you do have to pose as a prospect to attend a competitor’s demo), remember to keep a moral compass. Don’t cross lines like hacking or illegal data gathering, and respect NDAs or confidential information. The goal here is to gain market clarity, not to stoop to unethical methods.
Wrapping Up
Competitive intel goes far beyond scouring a handful of URLs. By leveraging the knowledge of your Sales and Customer Success teams, adopting “secret shopper” techniques, investigating customer reviews, and building relationships with partners and analysts, you can gather insights that are infinitely more valuable than what a typical online search reveals.
And let’s face it: if you’re making product or marketing decisions solely based on a competitor’s glossy homepage, you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The real intel—the kind that truly influences your positioning, messaging, and product roadmap—comes from getting closer to actual users, gleaning feedback from real conversations, and staying vigilant about your rival’s activities.
So, next time someone says, “Just Google it,” remind them that there’s a whole deeper world of competitive intelligence waiting below the surface. You’ll be better prepared, better informed, and ultimately better at guiding your product to success. And isn’t that what product marketing is all about?
