The Day “Competitive Analysis” Changed How I Build Products

One day in the office, a short conversation with my senior manager, Mr. R, permanently changed how I think about building products.

We were discussing business ideas, and I shared a concept that had been on my mind for a while: a platform that connects plumbers and electrical technicians with customers who need reliable, fast, and fairly priced services.

I had seen the pain point clearly:

• Households struggling to find trustworthy plumbers and electricians.
• Long waiting times.
• No clear pricing upfront.
• Poor follow-up or zero accountability after the job.

I explained that my idea was to build a platform where customers could quickly book verified plumbers and technicians, see reviews, and get transparent pricing before confirming the job.

Mr. R listened and then asked a simple question that shifted everything:

“You’ve identified a solid user pain point. But who is already solving this problem?”

I knew there were existing players: home service apps, handyman platforms, even informal Facebook groups and WhatsApp communities. But I had never gone beyond recognizing that “they exist.”

That’s when Mr. R brought up the term that shaped my thinking from that day onward:

“Have you done your competitive analysis?”

Up until then, competitive analysis sounded like a corporate term reserved for pitch decks, consultants, or big companies. I understood the definition, but I did not treat it as a critical step in my own startup process.

My old sequence was:

Idea → Pain Point → Build MVP → Launch

Mr. R challenged that sequence.

He explained that finding a pain point is not enough. After that, the next move should not be coding or designing. The next move must be to study the existing solutions in detail:

• Which platforms already connect plumbers and technicians to customers?
• How do they charge?
• How do they onboard and verify service providers?
• What do customers complain about?
• Where do technicians feel frustrated or underpaid?

In other words, the product should not exist just because there is a problem. It should exist because there is a clear gap that others have not closed.

Then a simple framework appeared in my mind:

1. Map the competitors

List all existing solutions: on-demand service apps, local directory platforms, agency-based services, and even informal channels like Facebook groups or Telegram communities.

2. List their strengths honestly

• Maybe some have strong brand trust
• Maybe some have strong brand trust
• Maybe some already have a large base of plumbers and electricians

3. Dig for the gap

Go beyond marketing pages. Look at 1★–2★ reviews, social media comments, and technician feedback:

• Are customers complaining about no-shows?
• Is pricing unclear or inconsistent?
• Do technicians feel they are underpaid after platform fees?
• Is support slow when something goes wrong?

He made one key point: If the idea cannot survive strong competitive analysis, it is better to discover that early. Killing a weak idea at the research stage is not a loss—it is a form of protection for your time, money, and energy.

From that moment, the sequence in my head changed.

It shifted from:

Idea → Pain Point → MVP → Launch

To:

Pain Point → Competitive Analysis → Gap → Strategy → MVP

That night, instead of sketching wireframes for a plumber-technician booking app, I opened a document and wrote:

Competitive Analysis – Plumbers & Electrical Technicians Platform

Then I started working systematically:

• Listed the top platforms in my region that already provide home services
• Took note of their onboarding flow for both customers and service providers
• Observed how they handled pricing, scheduling, and ratings
• Read their bad reviews and complaints, line by line

Patterns began to emerge:

• Customers complained about unreliable arrival times and last-minute cancellations
• Some users felt there was no real recourse when the job was done poorly
• Technicians mentioned high platform commissions and delayed payouts
• Small, independent plumbers and electricians said it was hard to stand out or get enough jobs

I realized something important: the opportunity was not “build another app for plumbers and electricians.” The opportunity was to solve what others consistently failed at, such as:

• Better commitment and penalty system for no-shows
• Clearer dispute resolution and guarantees for customers
• Fairer, faster payouts and incentives for technicians
• Stronger reputation-building tools for small, high-quality providers

From that day, Mr. R's principle turned into my personal rule:

After I discover a user pain point, the next step is always competitive analysis—and I design to close the gap first.

Now, whenever I think about any platform—whether it’s for plumbers, electricians, or any other service—my mind follows this sequence:

1. Identify the pain point clearly.
2. Study who is already solving it and how.
3. Locate the recurring gaps they leave open.
4. Design the product specifically around closing those gaps.

That short conversation didn’t hand me a ready-made startup, but it gave me something far more valuable: a discipline.

Today, whenever a new idea appears, I don’t rush into building. I don’t assume I’m the first. I don’t rely only on passion.

I start with this quiet, powerful step:

Competitive analysis first. Close the gap, don’t just add another platform.