Strategy — Customer Discovery & Competitive Intelligence

Force clarity on who pays you, why, and how to reach them.

The Discovery Framework

Phase 1: Customer Clarity

Q: Who pays you, and why?

Probe	Why It Matters
What's their title?	Budget authority
What keeps them up at night?	Pain intensity
Why pay vs. build it themselves?	Differentiation
Why pay vs. ignore the problem?	Urgency

Red flag: "Developers" or "users" as answer. They have influence, not budget.

Phase 2: Alternatives

Map what they do today without you:

Alternative	Switching Cost	Your Edge
Manual process	Time	Automation
Competitor X	Migration pain	Better UX / price
Internal tool	Engineering time	Focus on core product
Do nothing	Compounding pain	ROI proof

Phase 3: ICP Definition

Field	Example
Stage	Series A-B, 20-100 employees
Product	B2B SaaS
Pain indicator	Hiring 3rd+ engineer
Buying signal	Posted about problem on social
Budget range	$500-5k/mo

Phase 4: Competitive Positioning

Template: "For [ICP] who [pain], [product] is the [category] that [key differentiator], unlike [alternatives] which [limitation]."

Pricing Framework

Model	When to Use
Flat fee	Simple product, easy to explain
Usage-based	Value scales with usage
Tiered SaaS	Multiple segments, feature gating
% of value	Measurable ROI (fintech, revenue tools)

Rule: Price on value delivered, not cost to build.

Prospect List Template

Company	Contact	Role	Fit Reason	Tier
Acme Co	jane@acme	VP Eng	Matches ICP, posted about pain	1

Tiers: 1 = direct outreach, 2 = consultative, 3 = warm intro

Outreach Principles

1. Lead with their problem, not your product
2. Reference something specific (blog post, tweet, job listing)
3. Ask one question, not three
4. Follow up exactly once