Benchmark Methodology

---
name: benchmark-methodology
description: "Use when use after competitive-platform-analysis has produced a tiered competitor set. Scores each competitor across nine weighted dimensions (positioning, voice, visual craft, offer packaging, evidence, enterprise-readiness, thought leadership, pricing... Triggers on \"benchmark-methodology\", \"benchmark methodology\", \"methodology\"."license: MIT
---

# Benchmark Methodology

Use this skill to turn a scoped competitor set into **comparable, defensible
scores**. Each competitor is assessed on the same nine dimensions, with
explicit 1–5 rubrics, then captured in a uniform profile card. Consistency is
the point: scores are only useful if the same evidence would earn the same
number for any competitor.

## When to Activate

- A scoped, tiered competitor set from competitive-platform-analysis is ready to score.
- Need comparable, evidence-anchored scores across competitors — not gut-feel rankings.
- Client's strategic tension (the paired axes defining their target white-space) has been established.
- Preparing to produce profile cards for assembly in competitive-report-structure.

## Client positioning brief (establish first)

Before scoring, establish the client's positioning brief. It supplies:

- **Strategic tension** — the two axes (e.g., memorability × hireability) whose
  intersection marks the client's target white-space. Dimension 9 is always
  the client's named tension; report both poles separately, never averaged.
- **Differentiator** — what makes the client's moat. This informs which
  dimensions matter most for the client's positioning argument.
- **Brand balance** — the intended mix of distinct strategic emphases. Strategic
  recommendations must not break this balance without flagging it.

## Why these dimensions

The client competes on a **specific tension held across two poles**, not on
service breadth. The dimensions are weighted to reflect that moat. Two
dimensions — the tension poles — are scored **separately and never averaged
together**, because the client's strategic question is precisely whether a rival
achieves both simultaneously.

## The nine dimensions (with weights)

Weights guide synthesis emphasis, not a single blended score (avoid a false
composite — see Bias controls). Sum = 100%.

1. **Positioning clarity & distinctiveness** (18%) — Is the studio's position
   sharp, ownable, and instantly legible? Or generic?
2. **Brand voice / verbal distinctiveness** (15%) — Does the copy have an
   ownable register, or is it interchangeable agency-speak?
3. **Visual identity & site craft** (15%) — Quality and ownership of the visual
   system; site as proof-of-craft.
4. **Service offer & packaging** (12%) — Productized and legible (named
   sprints/audits) vs vague. Packaging maturity.
5. **Evidence & credibility** (12%) — Named clients, quantified outcomes,
   case-study depth. Proof beyond assertion.
6. **Enterprise-readiness / commercial maturity** (10%) — Signals they can land
   and hold SaaS/fintech/B2B/enterprise work (process, logos, scale, contracts).
7. **Thought leadership / content presence** (8%) — Owned POV: writing, talks,
   newsletters, frameworks. Depth over volume.
8. **Pricing transparency & engagement model** (5%) — Is pricing/engagement
   legible? Productized vs bespoke vs opaque.
9. **[Client's strategic tension]** (5% as a flag; **score BOTH poles,
   report separately**) — Read the tension name and axis descriptions from the
   client's positioning brief. Plot both; the gap is the insight. The client's
   target quadrant is the single most important finding: who else is already

## Exemplo

```text
Entrada: 6 concorrentes em tiers (2 diretos, 2 adjacentes, 2 aspiracionais)
Brief: tensão = memorabilidade × contratabilidade; moat = voz própria
Saída: 6 profile cards 1-5 nas 9 dimensões (polos da tensão separados, nunca médios)
Gap: ninguém ocupa o quadrante-alvo → insight p/ competitive-report-structure
```