# Turn Competitor Weaknesses into Backlog Opportunities Promote a competitor finding into your Opportunity Backlog with the review quotes attached, then match it against your own customer feedback before you plan. - URL: https://getdeck.io/playbooks/competitor-finding-to-backlog - Author: Matt Teixeira - Published: 2026-11-01 - Updated: 2026-11-01 - Stage: Decide ## How Do You Turn Competitor Research into Roadmap Opportunities? Pick one competitor finding, such as a weakness their customers keep complaining about. Check that it is not already on your backlog. Then promote it into an opportunity named after the customer problem, with the competitor reviews attached as evidence, and match it against your own customer feedback before you prioritize it. ## Why Competitor Research Never Reaches the Roadmap The competitive research was good. It found real weaknesses in a rival's product. Then it sat in a slide deck, and the review quotes never made it into the backlog where priorities get set. When planning comes round, nobody can find the evidence again. ## How Deck Moves a Competitor Finding into Your Backlog In Deck, a competitor finding moves straight into your Opportunity Backlog with the review quotes attached as evidence. Deck can also search your own customer feedback for the same problem and attach what it finds. Promoting the same finding twice returns the existing opportunity, so the backlog does not fill with copies. Deck features used: - [Competitors](https://getdeck.io/product/competitors) - [Opportunity Backlog](https://getdeck.io/product/opportunity-backlog) - [Evidence](https://getdeck.io/product/themes) ## How to Add a Competitor Finding to Your Backlog in Deck ### 1. Find the Finding Open Visualize → Competitors. Pick a subtheme on the Overview tab, a weakness on the Competitors tab, or a teaser on the Opportunities tab. Each one opens in a drawer on the right. ### 2. Read the Evidence First In the drawer, click an insight row to see its name, quote, competitor, date, and sentiment. Back returns you to the finding. Make sure it describes a real customer problem before you promote it. ### 3. Check the Backlog for a Match Search the command palette for active opportunities by title, problem statement, or summary, or scan Build → Opportunity Backlog. If a close match exists, decide whether this finding belongs there instead of in a new item. ### 4. Promote to Opportunity In the drawer, choose Promote to Opportunity. Name it after the customer problem, not the competitor. Leave “Find information on my own customer feedback” on so Deck also matches your own evidence. ### 5. Check the New Opportunity Deck opens the new item in the Opportunity Backlog under Problems & Requests. The review rows show as Competitor insight. While Deck matches your own feedback, the page shows Agents at work, and more evidence can still arrive. ### 6. Plan the Next Step From the opportunity's ⋯ menu, choose Create Initiative or Create Project when it is ready for work. If segments are on, you can scope it to a segment from the backlog table. ## Promote a Competitor Finding with Your AI Agent You need: - Deck MCP connected to your agent Your agent starts with the `explore_competitors` tool. Paste this prompt into your agent: ```text Use Deck MCP. Fetch and follow https://docs.getdeck.io/docs/agents/workflows/competitor-finding-to-backlog.md ``` Full agent workflow: https://docs.getdeck.io/docs/agents/workflows/competitor-finding-to-backlog.md ## Competitor Finding to Backlog Checklist ### Competitor Finding to Backlog Checklist ```text FINDING [ ] Source: [Subtheme / Opportunity teaser / Selected competitor insights] [ ] Competitor(s): [Rival] [ ] Two review quotes read: "[quote]" / "[quote]" BACKLOG CHECK [ ] Searched the backlog for: [keyword] [ ] Related opportunity: [Name and Deck link] or "none" [ ] Decision: Add to existing / Create new OPPORTUNITY Title: [Customer problem, not the competitor's name] [ ] Match my own customer feedback: on / off RESULT [ ] Competitor insights listed as evidence [ ] Own-feedback matching: finished / still running [ ] Deck link: [opportunity link] [ ] Next step: [Scope to segment / Link initiative / Create Project] ``` ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What do we need before we start? Competitors turned on for your workspace and a published competitor report. An organization admin can turn Competitors on in Settings → Competitors. ### Will promoting the same finding twice create a duplicate? No. Promoting the same subtheme or teaser again returns the opportunity that already exists. ### Can I add competitor evidence to an opportunity we already have? Yes, through Deck's in-app chat, Deck MCP, or the Public API. Duplicate insights are ignored, and there is no way to remove them afterwards. Deck does not rerun the match against your own feedback after this kind of add. ### What does “Find information on my own customer feedback” do? Deck agents search your own customer feedback for the same problem and attach what they find. The opportunity shows Agents at work until that search finishes, so the evidence count can grow. ### Does this start new competitor research? No. It uses findings already in your report. Starting research or adding a competitor spends credits and sends email, so your agent asks every time. ### Can my AI agent run this? Yes. With Deck MCP connected, paste the prompt on this page. The agent finds the finding, checks your backlog, shows you the plan, and waits for a yes before it writes. Any member with MCP access can use these tools. ## Related Playbooks - [Competitor Gap Analysis Backed by Your Own Customers](https://getdeck.io/playbooks/competitor-gaps.md): Find where competitors are weak using their public reviews, then check each gap against your own customer feedback before it reaches your backlog. - [Prioritize Your Product Backlog with Customer Evidence](https://getdeck.io/playbooks/prioritize-backlog.md): Pick the top opportunities from a backlog ranked on customer evidence, with a reason, a risk, and quotes for each pick. Run it in Deck or with your AI agent. - [Turn Customer Feedback into Linear Projects and Jira Epics](https://getdeck.io/playbooks/opportunity-to-delivery.md): Turn a ranked backlog opportunity into a Deck Project that keeps its customer evidence, then link it to one Linear project or Jira epic for delivery.