<b>On this episode of the Product for Product Podcast, we’re joined by Ran Erez, product leader, podcaster, and founder of Re.focus, for a highly practical episode on competitive intelligence tools and tactics for product managers.With over a decade in B2B, B2C, and cyber (including three years on the mobile pod at monday.com), Ran has seen the same pattern repeat: teams either copy competitors blindly or ignore them entirely. He argues there’s a better way, treating competitors as a massive time‑saver for validation and strategy, without letting them drive your roadmap.</b><br /><b></b><br /><b>Join Matt and Moshe as they explore with Ran:</b><br /><ul><li>How Ran went from QA manager in cyber to owning product and driving millions in sales</li><li>The biggest mistakes PMs make with competition: copying feature lists, believing marketing at face value, and doing “one‑and‑done” competitive intelligence </li><li>Why focusing only on direct “budget competitors” misses the real job‑to‑be‑done</li><li>The Competitive Intelligence Pyramid:<ul><li>Feature level – how others solve the same problem</li><li>Product capabilities – pros/cons at whole‑product level</li><li>Messaging – how value is communicated and evolves</li><li>Product strategy – what bets they’re making</li><li>Company strategy – where the business is actually heading</li></ul></li><li>Concrete methods and tools at each level, including:<ul><li>Finding real users of competitors through screeners, communities, and support/KB pages</li><li>Running “SUSHI” competitive user research: side‑by‑side tests of your product vs. theirs over time</li><li>Talking to integration partners and freelancers who implement multiple competing tools</li><li>Using Wayback Machine, screenshots + Gemini, and Perplexity to track how sites, pricing, and positioning change</li><li>Mining public earnings calls for strategic signals in the language leaders use</li></ul></li><li>How to systematically identify your true competitors (and what it means if you can’t find any)</li><li>Treating CI as a muscle: what “small start” looks like and how to keep learning over time</li><li>Using competitors to validate your ideas by putting their products in front of your users</li><li>And much more!</li></ul><b>Want to connect with Ran or learn more?</b><br /><ul><li>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ran-erez</li></ul><b>You can also connect with us and find more episodes:</b><br /><ul><li>Product for Product Podcast: http://linkedin.com/company/product-for-product-podcast</li><li>Matt Green: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgreenproduct</li><li>Moshe Mikanovsky: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikanovsky</li></ul><b>Note: Any views mentioned in the podcast are the sole views of our hosts and guests, and do not represent the products mentioned in any way.</b><br /><b></b><br /><b>Please leave us a review and feedback ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️</b>