Competitive Strategy Consulting

Reimagining your competitive strategy means looking beyond the status quo of your category and industry. Vivaldi’s Competitive Strategy consulting helps companies redefine their field of play and gain a sustainable advantage in today’s transformed landscape. Vivaldi uncovers new demand spaces, emerging need states, and untapped market segments and customer opportunities that your business can serve, often by leveraging AI, cutting-edge technologies, data analytics for insights. Our approach is not about small tweaks; it’s about bold moves – entering new markets, adopting innovative business models, or reinventing how you deliver value. With an exponential mindset and deep analysis of competitors, disruptors and consumer behavior, we craft strategies that differentiate your brand and create “unfair” competitive advantage.

Lead with Demand. Compete with Meaning.

In today’s fluid, cross-category landscape, businesses no longer compete solely on product or price—they compete on who best understands and fulfills customer demand. At Vivaldi, competitive advantage is redefined as the ability to deliver distinct, relevant, and evolving value across the full customer journey.

Vivaldi’s Competitive Strategy consulting programs help clients shift from reactive market comparisons to proactive, brand-led growth. Unlike traditional firms that focus on brand messaging or tactical positioning, Vivaldi builds enterprise-level strategy grounded in customer needs, brand as an operating system, and ecosystem participation.

Rethinking Competitive Advantage

Markets today are shaped more by customer expectations than by category incumbents. Competition arises from new platforms, indirect substitutes, and changing definitions of value. To lead, companies must align their business, brand, and capabilities around the customer—not the competition.

Vivaldi’s approach connects demand-side strategy, holistic brand models, and organizational enablement to deliver enduring differentiation that scales.

What Vivaldi Delivers

Demand-Led Competitive Positioning

Vivaldi helps clients understand where real competition lies: in the mind, decisions, and unmet needs of customers. We analyze behavioral, emotional, and contextual drivers of choice—not just product features or pricing.

Demand Landscape mapping
White-space identification and unmet need prioritization
Competitive opportunity framing from the customer perspective

Brand-Driven Differentiation

In the Vivaldi model, brand is not communication—it’s the business system that delivers value. We design differentiation strategies that extend across offerings, experiences, channels, and partnerships—anchored in the role your brand plays in customers’ lives.

Brand system design and portfolio clarity
Category redefinition and symbolic value creation
Differentiated experience and ecosystem activation

Competitive Activation Programs

A strategy is only powerful if it’s activated across the organization. Vivaldi builds transformation programs that embed competitive strategy into brand, marketing, product, and operations—supported by tools, systems, and cultural readiness.

Strategic playbooks and internal enablement
Cross-functional alignment and governance design
Marketing, sales, and experience deployment plans

Vivaldi’s Methodology

Vivaldi uses a rigorous and adaptive process to deliver customer-first competitive strategy:

1. Diagnose Demand & Competition

Map how customer expectations, alternatives, and cultural signals are reshaping your competitive set.

2. Define Differentiation

Design your unique positioning across product, brand, experience, and ecosystem roles.

3. Design the Activation System

Build the brand architecture, operating model, and internal capabilities to deliver differentiation.

4. Execute, Measure, Optimize

Deploy strategy through connected programs, with metrics tied to demand response, not just share of voice.

This end-to-end structure turns competitive strategy into a living system, not a static position.

Why Vivaldi

Vivaldi is not a brand agency. It is not a business strategy consultancy. Vivaldi is a transformation partner that uses brand as an enterprise framework to create sustainable, customer-led advantage.

What makes us different:

Brand as a demand-delivery system—not a logo or campaign
Customer demand as strategy’s north star—not just competitor moves
Ecosystem thinking at the core—because competition is increasingly collaborative
Programs that integrate strategy, activation, and capability building

Also explore:
Business Strategy & Transformation
New Business Models
Innovation Strategy
AI & Technology Strategy

Global Delivery. Local Expertise.

Vivaldi operates as a global network of transformation partners with regional depth. Each office delivers strategic consulting programs that are grounded in cultural context, market realities, and sector nuance.

Our Offices:

Compete Through Value. Compete Through Brand.

Customers choose brands that feel relevant, distinct, and future-ready. Vivaldi helps you compete by delivering what customers want most—not just better, but differently.

Contact Vivaldi to explore a competitive strategy program tailored to your business. Or explore all services to see how Vivaldi supports growth through strategy, innovation, brand, and digital ecosystems.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is competitive strategy consulting?

Competitive strategy consulting is a service where expert strategists help your business find and maintain an edge over competitors. This involves analyzing the competitive landscape – Who are your rivals? What are their strengths and weaknesses? – as well as examining market trends and customer needs. A consultant then works with you to develop a strategic plan that highlights how your company can stand out and win in the market. This could mean identifying a unique value proposition, targeting an underserved segment, or innovating in product, pricing, or distribution. Essentially, competitive strategy consulting gives you a game plan to outperform competitors, whether through differentiation, cost leadership, or creating new demand. At Vivaldi, we often go further to challenge assumptions about your “field of play” itself, sometimes redefining the market or category in your favor.

How can a competitive strategy help uncover new market opportunities?

A well-crafted competitive strategy goes hand-in-hand with discovering new market opportunities. By thoroughly researching customer behaviors and unmet needs, you can find pockets of demand that competitors have overlooked. For example, demand landscape mapping (one of our techniques) can reveal emerging customer segments or usage occasions for your product that suggest new growth avenues. A competitive strategy isn’t just about beating others at the same old game; it’s often about changing the game. This might involve developing new offerings or business models to serve those untapped needs. Vivaldi’s competitive strategy work typically yields insights into where white space opportunities exist in your industry – and then we strategize how you can seize those opportunities before others do. The result is a proactive expansion into new markets or niches, guided by data and creativity.

What are demand landscapes in competitive strategy?

“Demand landscapes” refer to detailed mappings of customer demand across a market, often visualized as maps or frameworks highlighting where different needs, segments, or occasions lie. In competitive strategy, understanding the demand landscape is crucial because it shows you where growth potential exists. By analyzing various factors (consumer preferences, cultural trends, purchase contexts, etc.), a demand landscape map helps pinpoint areas that are underserved or ripe for innovation. For instance, it might reveal a demographic group whose needs aren’t fully met by current offerings, or a situational use- case that no brand has claimed. Vivaldi’s Demand Landscape approach provides a systematic view of these opportunities. We use it to guide competitive strategy by answering: Where should your brand play to win? And how can you position yourself uniquely in those high-potential areas? By knowing the demand landscape, companies can focus their strategy on the most promising territories instead of battling head-to- head in saturated segments.

How do emerging technologies influence competitive strategy today?

Emerging technologies – such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, or blockchain – are significantly influencing competitive strategy in nearly every industry. They can level the playing field or alternatively give first-movers a huge advantage. For example, companies that leverage AI and advanced analytics can understand customer needs faster and personalize offerings better than competitors. Embracing new tech might allow you to deliver a superior product experience (like an app with AI-driven features) or operate more efficiently (using automation to reduce costs). Thus, technology becomes a strategic weapon. However, simply adopting tech isn’t enough; it needs to be woven into your competitive strategy deliberately. Vivaldi helps clients assess which technologies could disrupt their industry or offer a strategic boost. Then we integrate those into the strategy – whether it’s using data for smarter decision-making, creating a digital platform for ecosystem growth, or deploying generative AI for innovative services. In short, staying ahead with technology is often key to staying ahead of competitors.

How can we maintain a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing market?

Maintaining competitive advantage in a fast-changing market requires agility and continuous innovation. Firstly, it’s vital to keep a close eye on market signals – shifting customer preferences, new entrants, regulatory changes, etc. Regularly revisiting and updating your strategy is not a luxury but a necessity; what gives you an edge today might erode tomorrow. One approach is to build a culture of innovation within your company so that new ideas and improvements are constantly being developed (products, services, processes). Another is to leverage ecosystems or partnerships – by collaborating with startups, tech partners, or even former competitors, you can access capabilities and markets more quickly than going it alone. Vivaldi often advises creating an agile strategy framework where short-term action plans feed into long-term goals, allowing adjustments on the fly. We also stress the importance of customer-centricity: by staying closely aligned with your customers’ evolving needs, you can adapt offerings before competitors do. In sum, continuous learning, adaptability, and a proactive mindset are the ingredients to preserve your competitive advantage amid rapid change.

What’s the difference between competitive strategy and overall business strategy?

Competitive strategy is a component of overall business strategy, but with a specific focus: it’s explicitly about how you position your company in relation to competitors to win in the market. An overall business strategy encompasses many elements – your vision, mission, financial goals, operational plans, etc., covering all aspects of the organization. Competitive strategy zooms in on questions like: “How do we offer superior value vs. others? In which markets or segments can we dominate? How do we respond to competitors’ moves?” It deals with differentiation, pricing tactics, market entry or exit decisions, and competitive positioning. In contrast, your broader business strategy includes things like organizational development, culture, or long-term corporate objectives beyond just competing. Think of it this way: overall business strategy sets the direction for the company as a whole, while competitive strategy ensures that in following that direction, you carve out a winning place in the marketplace. At Vivaldi, our consulting in Business Strategy & Transformation often integrates competitive strategy as a crucial element – making sure the big-picture plan also clearly addresses how to outperform rivals and capture market share.

How does Vivaldi approach competitive strategy for our brand?

Vivaldi’s approach to competitive strategy starts with a deep understanding of your brand’s unique role in the world and the market context. We begin by assessing not just what your competitors or disruptors are doing, but more importantly at what your customers desire, emergent need states and where there are gaps in meeting those desires. Our team conducts qualitative and quantitative research – often mapping the demand landscape and analyzing cultural trends – to uncover hidden opportunities. We then ideate bold strategic moves, which could range from repositioning your brand to serve a new segment, to leveraging technology for a breakthrough customer experience, or even co-creating value through partnerships (what we sometimes call interaction field strategy). Throughout, we ensure any competitive strategy aligns with your broader business goals and brand promise, so it’s authentic and sustainable. Finally, we work alongside you to bring the strategy to life, setting up metrics and pilot initiatives to quickly test and learn. In essence, Vivaldi’s competitive strategy work is insight-driven, innovative, and tailored to make your brand not just compete, but lead.

Competitive Strategy