Intelligence from the source

We interview your competitor's customers.

Structured interviews with verified paying buyers. Switch triggers, pricing intelligence, battle cards. Optionally test your prototype with those same users. Standard delivery in 2 months; urgent in 2 weeks.

Configure pricing Sample brief
340+
Studies
28
Countries
2 wk
Urgent delivery
Switch probability
67%
Respondents
20 verified
Intelligence Brief REF RS-0427
Subject
Salesforce
67%
Switch triggers
Contract lock-in67%
Per-seat pricing41%
Integration depth33%

"We've been looking for a reason to leave for 18 months. The annual renewal is the only thing keeping us."

VP RevOps · Enterprise SaaS · Respondent #07
Pricing intelligence, stay reasons, unmet needs, and battle card follow in sections 4–7…
Restricted · client access only
SalesforceNotionHubSpotIntercomWebflowPipedriveStripeFigma

What we deliver

01 · Interviews

Competitor customer interviews

Verified paying users. Ranked switch triggers & verbatim quotes.

02

M&A diligence

Churn risk, pricing power, and switching friction. Validated by the target's own customers.

2 weeks urgent · 15–30 interviews
03

Market pulse

Retained panel of verified buyers. Track sentiment shifts month over month.

Sentiment trend · Q1–Q2
04

Positioning tests

Message variants tested against real buyer objections before you launch.

Variant A34%
Variant B66%
Five components. One intelligence brief.
Switch map Stay reasons Battle card +2 more
How it works

Four steps to your brief

2 months standard · 4 weeks medium · 2 weeks urgent
Competitor: Salesforce
01

Name the competitor

You specify the rival and the customer segment. We scope the study within one business day.

Verifying buyers…
02

We verify buyers

Panel recruitment and proprietary outbound. Every respondent is a confirmed paying customer.

03

Structured interviews

20-minute calls using our validated framework. Switch triggers, stay reasons, verbatim quotes captured.

Brief delivered
Notion · RS-0312
04

Intelligence brief

Full 5-component brief with raw transcripts. PDF download and client portal access.

Our differentiator

Interview them. Then show them your product.

We're the only firm that interviews your competitor's customers and puts your prototype in front of them in the same engagement. No cold recruiting for round two - these users already live in the category.

Round 1
Discovery interviews
Switch triggers, pricing intelligence, unmet needs. Full brief delivered.
Round 2
Prototype test with the same users
We show your mockup to respondents and capture reactions. Positioning validated before you build.
1
Competitor interviews
20 verified buyers · switch triggers · pricing · unmet needs
same respondents · optional add-on
2
Prototype testing
Your mockup shown · reactions captured · positioning validated
"We tested two variants with the same 20 users. Their reactions told us more than six months of internal research had." - Head of Product, B2B fintech
Who we work with

Built for high-stakes decisions

Enterprise product teams

Entering a market an incumbent owns. Know which segments are underserved before you commit the roadmap.

Typical use: competitive entry · pricing reposition · win/loss
2 months
Standard delivery to first brief
Private equity & venture

Independent validation from the competitor's own customers. Not the founder's deck.

Typical use: pre-close diligence · portfolio monitoring
2 weeks
Urgent option for live deals
Strategy consultancies

Primary research your team can't run cost-effectively. Delivered in days, not months.

Typical use: client deliverables · pitch support · sector scans
340+
Studies completed globally
What clients say
"Three weeks of internal research wasn't giving us signal. RivalStudy delivered 20 verified interviews in 14 days. The brief changed our go-to-market."
VP Product · Series C B2B SaaS
"We needed diligence on a target's competitive moat on an urgent timeline. The 2-week brief was in our hands before the LP call."
Principal · Growth Equity Fund
"Same users from round one reviewed our prototype. Their reactions told us more than six months of internal user research had."
Head of Product · Fintech startup
What you receive

Five components.
One intelligence brief.

01
Switch Trigger Map
Ranked reasons customers would leave, with verbatim quotes and segment splits.
02
Stay Reasons
What keeps them locked in: contracts, integrations, switching costs, inertia.
03
Unmet Needs
Gaps in the product your competitor has not addressed. Your entry points.
04
Pricing Intelligence
What they actually pay, discount patterns, and willingness to switch on price.
05
Battle Card
Sales-ready talk tracks, objection handling, and competitive positioning.
View sample brief →
Switch trigger map RS-0312
Notion
Database complexity67%
Per-seat pricing41%
Onboarding friction28%

"We'd move the day someone gave us relational power without the training overhead."

Restricted · client access only
Pricing

Scope your engagement

Rapid
10 interviews · 2 weeks
$1,500
StandardMost common
20 interviews · Full brief · 2 months
$2,800
Programme
50+ interviews · Monthly pulse
$8,000+
PulseRecurring
10 re-interviews / quarter · Switchability Score
$1,200
/mo · billed quarterly
Estimate
$2,800
Delivery: 2 months
Pre-payment required
Confidentiality

Your competitor will never know.

We never disclose client identities to respondents, compete with our clients, or share intelligence across engagements.

NDA
Respondents sign NDAs
Cannot disclose your engagement or its nature to any third party.
Blind
Client identity never shared
Your company name is never revealed to respondents or recruiters.
Siloed
No cross-client data sharing
Intelligence is exclusive to your engagement. Never cross-referenced or resold.
Purged
Raw data deleted post-delivery
Transcripts and respondent PII deleted 30 days after delivery unless retention is agreed.
FAQ

Common questions

How do you find your competitor's customers?

We use a combination of panel recruitment, proprietary outbound, and professional network sourcing. Every respondent is verified as a confirmed paying customer of the named competitor before being included. We typically achieve 20 verified respondents within 7–10 days.

Will my competitor know we commissioned this research?

No. Respondents sign NDAs and are never told who commissioned the study or why. We operate blind - your company name is never shared. Competitors have no visibility into engagements involving their customers.

How is this different from a survey?

Surveys capture opinions; structured interviews capture reasoning. Our trained interviewers probe beyond surface answers to understand why switch triggers exist, how severe they are, and what would actually need to change. The result is ranked, actionable intelligence - not summary statistics.

Can you test our prototype with those same users?

Yes - this is our differentiator. After round-one discovery interviews, we can run a second round showing respondents your mockup and capturing reactions. Because these users already live in the category, their feedback is far more signal-dense than standard usability testing. Prototype testing is available as an add-on to any Standard or Programme engagement.

What if you can't find enough verified respondents?

We confirm feasibility before you pay. If we cannot reach the agreed respondent count for your target competitor and segment, we will tell you upfront during scoping - not after recruitment begins. In rare cases where recruitment falls short mid-study, we pro-rate the fee.

What's included in the intelligence brief?

Every Standard and Programme brief includes five components: Switch Trigger Map (ranked reasons customers would leave), Stay Reasons (what's keeping them), Unmet Needs (gaps in the competitor's product), Pricing Intelligence (what they actually pay and discount patterns), and a Battle Card (sales-ready talk tracks and objection handling). Raw transcripts and a client portal are included. See the interactive preview above.

How does urgent delivery work?

Urgent engagements prioritise your recruitment queue and run parallel interview tracks. The 2-week option is commonly used for pre-close M&A diligence and live deal cycles. Medium (4 weeks) and Standard (2 months) windows are also available. Urgent and Medium carry a surcharge — reflected in pricing when you select the urgency option.

Contact

Request a briefing.

Tell us the competitor and segment. We confirm scope within one business day. Recruitment begins on pre-payment.

Engagements desk
hello@rivalstudy.com
London · Global engagements
Configure plan Existing client · Sign in
24h
Scope confirmation from engagements desk
14d
Standard brief delivery from recruitment start
Pre-pay
Required before respondent recruitment begins