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Competitors Guide

Learn how to add and manage competitors in Hello Battle Card.

Overview​

Competitors are companies you compete against. Hello Battle Card automatically analyzes competitors to gather intelligence, build comparison matrices, and generate battlecards. Each competitor goes through a processing pipeline that collects data, analyzes capabilities, and prepares competitive intelligence.

Adding Competitors​

Basic Competitor Addition​

  1. Navigate to Competitors from the main menu
  2. Click "Add Competitor" button
  3. Fill in the required fields:
    • Competitor Name: The company name (e.g., "Acme Corporation")
    • Website URL: Their main website URL (e.g., https://acme.com)
  4. Select which products this competitor competes against (optional but recommended)
  5. Click "Add Competitor"

Product Associations​

When adding a competitor, you can specify which of your products they compete against:

  1. In the "Add Competitor" form, you'll see a list of your products
  2. Check the boxes next to products this competitor competes with
  3. You can select multiple products
  4. Use "Select All" to quickly select all products

Why this matters: Product associations determine which battlecards are generated and help organize competitive intelligence.

Competitor Status​

Competitors go through several statuses during processing:

PENDING​

  • Initial status when competitor is first added
  • Waiting to start processing
  • Usually brief (seconds)

COLLECTING​

  • Data collection in progress
  • Gathering intel from competitor sources
  • Live logs show collection steps

ANALYZING​

  • Processing collected intel
  • Building matrix data
  • Preparing capability assessments

DRAFTING​

  • Generating battlecards
  • Creating talking points, objections, and evidence links

READY​

  • Processing finished successfully
  • Battlecards generated
  • Matrix data available
  • Ready to use

ERROR​

  • Something went wrong during processing
  • Check competitor details for error information
  • You can retry by refreshing the competitor

Competitor Processing Pipeline​

When you add a competitor, Hello Battle Card automatically runs a comprehensive analysis:

Step 1: Collecting Intel​

  • Scrapes competitor website
  • Analyzes product pages, pricing, features
  • Gathers marketing materials and positioning
  • Collects news, reviews, and public information

Step 2: Processing Intel​

  • Categorizes collected data
  • Extracts key information (pricing, features, capabilities)
  • Stores as intel items for later reference
  • Builds competitor profile

Step 3: Building Competitor Matrix​

  • Compares competitor capabilities across categories
  • Matches against your product categories
  • Creates matrix cells with capability assessments
  • Identifies strengths and weaknesses

Step 4: Generating Battlecards​

  • Generates one battlecard per associated product
  • Creates talking points, objections handling
  • Includes evidence-backed claims
  • Ready for sales team use

Viewing Competitors​

List View​

The Competitors page shows:

  • Competitor Name: Company name
  • Status Badge: Current processing status
  • Tags: Custom tags you've added
  • Products: Associated products
  • Last Refresh: When data was last updated
  • Actions: View, refresh, or delete options

Detail View​

Click on a competitor to see:

  • Overview: Company information, website, status
  • Profile: Detailed company profile and positioning
  • Products: Their products and offerings
  • Intel: Collected intelligence items
  • Battlecards: Generated battlecards for this competitor
  • Matrix: Competitive comparison data

Refreshing Competitors​

Competitor data can become stale over time. Refresh to get updated intelligence:

  1. Navigate to Competitors
  2. Click "Refresh" on the competitor card
  3. Or open competitor details and click "Refresh Competitor"
  4. The system will re-run the collection and analysis pipeline

Refresh Frequency:

  • Competitors are automatically refreshed based on your subscription plan
  • FREE plan: Monthly refresh
  • STARTER plan: Weekly refresh
  • PRO plan: Daily refresh
  • ENTERPRISE plan: Daily refresh
  • You can manually refresh at any time (subject to plan limits)

Managing Competitors​

Editing Competitor Information​

  1. Open competitor details
  2. Click "Edit"
  3. Update:
    • Name
    • Website URL
    • Tags
    • Product associations
    • Categories
    • Company profile information
  4. Click "Save"

Adding Tags​

Tags help organize and filter competitors:

  1. Open competitor details
  2. Click "Edit"
  3. In the Tags section, type a tag and press Enter
  4. Common tags: "Enterprise", "SMB", "Direct Competitor", "Indirect"

Deleting Competitors​

  1. Navigate to Competitors
  2. Click "Delete" on the competitor card
  3. Confirm deletion in the modal
  4. Warning: This will also delete associated battlecards and intel items

Plan Limits​

Your plan determines how many competitors you can track:

  • FREE: 1 competitor
  • STARTER: 5 competitors
  • STANDARD: 15 competitors
  • PRO: 50 competitors
  • ENTERPRISE: Unlimited competitors

If you reach your limit:

  • You'll see an upgrade prompt when trying to add competitors
  • Upgrade to a higher plan to add more competitors
  • You can delete unused competitors to free up slots

Competitor Intelligence​

Intel Items​

Each competitor has associated intel items:

  • Evidence: Web pages, documents, reviews
  • Internal Notes: Your team's observations
  • News: Recent company news and announcements
  • Pricing: Pricing page information

View intel:

  1. Open competitor details
  2. Navigate to "Intel" tab
  3. Browse collected intelligence
  4. Filter by type or search

Company Profile​

The system builds a detailed company profile:

  • Company Description: What the company does
  • Strengths: Key advantages
  • Weaknesses: Areas where they're weaker
  • Key Messaging: Their positioning and messaging
  • Reference Links: Important pages and resources

Best Practices​

Competitor Selection​

  • Start with your top 3-5 direct competitors
  • Add indirect competitors as needed
  • Focus on competitors you actually compete against in deals
  • Don't add every possible competitor - quality over quantity

Product Associations​

  • Associate competitors with all relevant products
  • This ensures battlecards are generated for the right contexts
  • Update associations as your product portfolio changes

Regular Refreshes​

  • Refresh competitors before important deals
  • Set reminders for quarterly competitor reviews
  • Use tier system to prioritize refresh frequency
  • Manual refresh is always available

Organization​

  • Use tags to categorize competitors
  • Set appropriate tiers based on importance
  • Keep competitor names consistent
  • Update company profiles as you learn more

Troubleshooting​

Competitor Stuck in PROCESSING​

  • Processing can take 5-10 minutes for complex competitors
  • Wait at least 10 minutes before troubleshooting
  • Try refreshing the page
  • If still stuck, try refreshing the competitor manually

No Data Collected​

  • Ensure the website URL is correct and accessible
  • Some websites block automated access
  • Try using the main homepage URL
  • Check if the competitor has a public website

Incomplete Profile​

  • Company profiles are built from available public data
  • Some competitors may have limited online presence
  • You can manually edit and enhance profiles
  • Add internal notes with your team's knowledge
  • Battlecards: Competitors are used to generate battlecards
  • Matrix: Competitors appear in competitive matrices
  • AI Chat: Ask questions about specific competitors
  • Intel: Browse collected intelligence for competitors

Next Steps​