Benchmark Methodology

# 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