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Map Alternatives

Map your alternatives and find positioning whitespace

For product marketers and CMOs. The decision: what do buyers compare us with, and where can we lead?

Give it what your product does and its category, plus any competitors, and you get the alternatives buyers weigh, the whitespace you can claim, a positioning map and a plan against each alternative.

Try it with an exampleUse your own details

Last updated

Positioning Territory MapPositioning Territory Map: axes SMB to Enterprise and Complex to Simple; You, Direct Competitors, Status Quo, Do Nothing. Hypotheses to test with buyers.Positioning Territory MapSMBEnterpriseComplexSimpleHypotheses to test with buyersYouDirect CompetitorsStatus QuoDo Nothing

How do I map B2B competitive alternatives, the status quo, and positioning whitespace?

Map your product against the direct competitors you name, the buyer's status quo (their current manual or DIY approach), and doing nothing. Turn reported competitor weaknesses and your strengths into testable hypotheses, neutral buyer comparison questions, and sector discovery questions in Map Alternatives.

What you get

This sample is a made up example, built from the inputs behind Fill in an example. It shows part of one section of the answer.

Where you can lead

Other strengths: comparison unconfirmed (each needs a question that tests it):

  • exposure-based ranking, one view across three clouds: to test it, ask buyers: How do you measure critical exposures open today, and what does a miss cost you?

Buyers in cybersecurity, cloud security compare alternatives on these measures: mean time to detect, mean time to respond, critical exposures open, alerts per analyst. Ask them how each alternative does on these, and lead only where you can show proof of the shape this sector trusts: Exposures found and closed during the proof of value, with the time it took to fix them.

See the full example answer or run it with your own details.

Run Map Alternatives

You need: Your product, Category. You can add: Competitors, Competitor weaknesses, Your strengths.

What your product does

Your product category (e.g., "Sales engagement", "Data platform")

List of competitor names. One item per line.

Optional: Known competitor weaknesses or customer complaints

Optional: What you do better than competitors

Your company's own industry (not your customers'). When given, it decides the sector notes; when left out, the tool reads it from your words and stays neutral if they are unclear.

Example answer

Generated on 2 November 2026 from this branch, with the inputs behind Fill in an example. Your own inputs give a different result.

IMPACT report

Example: Map Alternatives

Made with Map Alternatives by Helix GTM ConsultingBased on the made-up example inputshttps://impact.gtmhelix.com/tools/impact-map-alternatives/

Show the full result

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Comparison evidence before conclusions

Lexical matches identify questions to test. They do not prove that a weakness is answered. Each option needs the same criterion and a linked source; supplied links still require content verification.

AlternativeCriterionYour sourceAlternative sourceStatusBuyer comparison question
your first competitorUnknown; agree a buyer criterionUnknownUnknownHypothesis only; comparison not establishedOn the buyer criterion, what does each option do on the same task, and which source supports each answer?
your second competitorUnknown; agree a buyer criterionUnknownUnknownHypothesis only; comparison not establishedOn the buyer criterion, what does each option do on the same task, and which source supports each answer?
In short

our product is mapped against 2 alternatives you described. You reported no weaknesses, so each part asks the buyer instead.

Market Context

Your Product: our product
Category: cloud security monitoring
Analyzed Competitors: your first competitor, your second competitor
Sector: read from your inputs as cybersecurity, cloud security. Business model: not stated. Tell us how you charge and the plan will adjust.

Billing dependent steps are conditional: trials, seats and recurring renewals require a subscription; a statement of work requires a services contract; site or link commitments require connectivity billing. Confirm the applicable choice before using those steps.

Where you can lead

Other strengths: comparison unconfirmed (each needs a question that tests it):

  • exposure-based ranking, one view across three clouds: to test it, ask buyers: How do you measure critical exposures open today, and what does a miss cost you?

Buyers in cybersecurity, cloud security compare alternatives on these measures: mean time to detect, mean time to respond, critical exposures open, alerts per analyst. Ask them how each alternative does on these, and lead only where you can show proof of the shape this sector trusts: Exposures found and closed during the proof of value, with the time it took to fix them.

Alternatives You Described (no company names were given)

The weaknesses and strengths in this answer are your own notes, to test with buyers; none of them is a verified fact, and nothing about a competitor was looked up.

These are alternatives described in words, not named vendors. Add the names of the products your buyers compare you with to competitors for parts that carry real names.

Against your first competitor

your first competitor

  • What you told us about them: the description "your first competitor", which is not a company name
  • A neutral question to ask a buyer about them: How do you handle "your first competitor" today, and what does it cost you?
Against your second competitor

your second competitor

  • What you told us about them: the description "your second competitor", which is not a company name
  • A neutral question to ask a buyer about them: How do you handle "your second competitor" today, and what does it cost you?
Status Quo (Current Manual/DIY Approach)

What they may be doing instead (common patterns for this kind of seller; check them with buyers):

  • The current security tools plus manual review by analysts
  • A periodic scan or audit
  • Doing nothing until an incident or an audit finding

Buyers in this sector often say: "We already have a tool for this" and "We have too many alerts already". The status quo persists while changing costs more effort or budget than the problem costs today, so put the cost of the current approach in the buyer's own figures (mean time to detect, mean time to respond, critical exposures open) and tie the change to a dated event such as a renewal, an audit, a season or a target.

Against Do Nothing

Not buying is the alternative every deal faces: it wins when the problem does not yet cost the buyer enough to act. Ask what it costs in the buyer's own figures, for example mean time to detect or mean time to respond, and what changes if it grows next year.

Discovery Questions for Competitive Intel

Ask prospects these questions to understand their competitive context:

  1. "What have you tried before to solve this?"
  2. "What other solutions are you evaluating?"
  3. "What keeps you with your first competitor today, and what would make you change?"
  4. "What keeps you with your second competitor today, and what would make you change?"
  5. "What didn't work about your previous approach?"
  6. "What's missing from solutions you've seen?"
Sector view: cybersecurity, cloud security
  • Words this sector's buyers use: attack surface, exposure, misconfiguration, alert fatigue, mean time to detect, mean time to respond, SOC, compliance audit, risk register, threat intelligence.
  • Who usually buys: The CISO signs; the SOC or cloud security lead champions; security engineers use it; risk, compliance and audit review the evidence it produces; the CIO or CTO checks integration.
  • Objections this sector often raises: "We already have a tool for this"; "We have too many alerts already"; "Integration with our SIEM and ticketing"; "We need proof before budget".
  • Discovery questions in this sector's language:
  1. Which assets, systems or environments are in scope, and which are you least sure about?
  2. How many alerts does the team handle in a week, and how are they ranked today?
  3. What did the last audit or incident show?
  4. Which tools must this work with (SIEM, ticketing, cloud accounts)?
  5. How would you judge a proof of value a success?
To sharpen this

To sharpen this, give: competitor weaknesses (what buyers complain about) (it would change each part, which now has no weakness to test).

Next Step: Use Pinpoint Value to articulate your unique differentiation

Built by Shashwat Ghoshhttps://impact.gtmhelix.com/tools/impact-map-alternatives/

How the answer is laid out, using the sections the tool prints. Dot positions are an illustration; the answer lists each alternative as a hypothesis. Want to compare the competitor your founder names with the manual status quo your sellers see on calls? Open the B2B Positioning Workshop to test both side by side.

When a tool is not enough: if the decision needs more than one answer, talk it through in a call. Book 45 minutes with Shashwat.

How to read the answer

The tool does not look up competitors on the web; it builds a Comparison evidence before conclusions table from what you entered, marking every comparison as Hypothesis only; comparison not established until both options are tested on the same buyer criterion with linked sources. Below that, it prints Where you can lead, sections for each competitor you named (or notes if you entered generic descriptions rather than vendor names), Status Quo (Current Manual/DIY Approach), Against Do Nothing, and Discovery Questions for Competitive Intel. Treat every strength and weakness as a question to test with buyers in a live evaluation.

What to do next

  • Founder: Add the real vendor names your buyers compare you with under Competitors and the exact complaints buyers raise under Competitor weaknesses, then re-run the tool.
  • CEO: Review Status Quo (Current Manual/DIY Approach) and Against Do Nothing to make sure your sales case quantifies the cost of staying with manual work or waiting another year.
  • CMO: Agree on the buyer comparison criteria in the top table and collect proof of the shape your sector trusts before claiming leadership on any capability.
  • CRO: Have reps ask the Discovery Questions for Competitive Intel ("What keeps you with <competitor> today, and what would make you change?") to uncover the real alternative in every deal.
  • Demand generation head: Build mid-funnel comparison guides and webinar topics that address the Status Quo habits and the sector objections listed under Sector view.

Why come back

Come back whenever you gather new customer complaints about competing tools from win/loss calls or when a new category alternative starts showing up in your deals. The tool applies the same fixed rules every time. It does not call an AI model, and this site does not keep what you enter.

Who is the Map Alternatives tool not ideal for?

  • Anyone who cannot give the inputs listed above, because the answer is built only from them.
  • Teams that need buyer research done for them: IMPACT structures your positioning as hypotheses, and you test them with buyers.
  • Anyone who needs live competitor data: the tools do not look anything up. They work from what you type about your market and rivals, and anything they add themselves (such as common complaints in a category) is marked as something to check with buyers.

How do I use the Map Alternatives tool with an AI assistant?

Add IMPACT once (see Use it in Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini), then ask in plain words. Here is a prompt built from the tested example:

My role is not stated. Ask me for my role first. Use IMPACT's Map Alternatives tool. your product: our product; category: cloud security monitoring; competitors: your first competitor, your second competitor; your strengths: exposure-based ranking, one view across three clouds. If this tool is unavailable, ask me to open its web page; do not invent its output. In Gemini CLI or Antigravity, use the Helix GTM Suite skills package for related guidance, without claiming to run this connector.

How does the Map Alternatives tool work?

You do not need to sign in. A web browser is enough, and the answer comes back in a second or two.

  1. Fill in the form above, or press Fill in an example.
  2. Press Run Map Alternatives.
  3. Read the result on this page, then copy it and edit it before you use it.

It applies fixed rules in the IMPACT code to the inputs above and returns text. It does not call an AI model, does not look anything up, and does not store what you type. The web form and the AI assistant connector run the same tool code, so the same input gives the same answer in both.

Previous: Identify ChampionsNext: Pinpoint Value

For developers

MCP tool name: impact_map_alternatives. REST: POST https://impact.gtmhelix.com/api/tools/impact_map_alternatives with this JSON body (see How it works):

{
  "input": {
    "your_product": "our product",
    "category": "cloud security monitoring",
    "competitors": [
      "your first competitor",
      "your second competitor"
    ],
    "your_strengths": "exposure-based ranking, one view across three clouds"
  }
}

Choose your app

Run a Helix tool in your browser, then take the result to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Connectors work with supported plans in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and Windsurf. The Helix GTM Suite skills package supports Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Cursor and VS Code, and is available through skills.sh. Each plugin has its own installation steps, below or on its own page.

Connector setup guides · Skills package setup guide · Find the skills on skills.sh