Market-Fit Analysis

Skill for analyzing whether a product candidate fits the CircleTel portfolio. Produces competitor comparison, margin calculations, and a structured go/no-go recommendation.

When This Skill Activates

This skill automatically activates when you:

•Need to evaluate a product for the portfolio
•Want competitor pricing comparison
•Ask about product margins or unit economics
•Say /product-analyze with a product name or SKU

Keywords: market fit, analyze product, margin analysis, competitor comparison, go no go, product viability, unit economics

Inputs Required

Input	Source	Required
Product details	Supplier catalogue or manual	Yes
Supplier cost	Supplier pricing	Yes
Target category	Product portfolio	Yes
Competitor prices	`references/competitor-benchmarks.md`	Yes
Existing products	`/admin/products`	Optional

Analysis Workflow

Step 1: Gather Product Data

Collect from supplier:

•SKU, name, manufacturer
•Wholesale/cost price
•Specifications
•Category/subcategory

Step 2: Load Competitor Benchmarks

From references/competitor-benchmarks.md:

•Comparable competitor products
•Price ranges by segment
•Feature comparisons

Step 3: Calculate Unit Economics

markdown

## Unit Economics Calculator

| Component | Value | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| **Supplier Cost** | R[X] | From supplier catalogue |
| **CircleTel Markup** | [Y]% | Target: 30-50% |
| **Retail Price** | R[Z] | Cost × (1 + markup) |
| **Competitor Price** | R[A] | Market benchmark |
| **Price Position** | [Above/Below/At] | vs competition |
| **Contribution Margin** | R[M] (Y%) | Retail - Cost |

Step 4: Competitive Position Analysis

Price Positioning Matrix:

code

                    Features
                 Low        High
         ┌──────────┬──────────┐
    Low  │ Budget   │ Value    │
Price    │          │          │
         ├──────────┼──────────┤
    High │ Niche    │ Premium  │
         │          │          │
         └──────────┴──────────┘

Questions to Answer:

•Where does this product sit in the matrix?
•Which competitors occupy adjacent positions?
•Is there a gap in the market?

Step 5: Generate Go/No-Go Recommendation

Decision Framework:

Criterion	Weight	Score (1-5)	Weighted
Margin ≥ 30%	25%	[X]	[Y]
Competitive pricing	20%	[X]	[Y]
Serves existing product line	20%	[X]	[Y]
Supplier reliability	15%	[X]	[Y]
Team capability to support	10%	[X]	[Y]
Strategic alignment	10%	[X]	[Y]
TOTAL	100%	—	[Z]

Thresholds:

•GO: Score ≥ 4.0
•CONDITIONAL: Score 3.0 - 3.9 (requires mitigation plan)
•NO-GO: Score < 3.0

Output Template

markdown

# Market-Fit Analysis: [Product Name]

**Date**: [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Analyst**: Claude Code
**Status**: [GO / CONDITIONAL / NO-GO]

---

## Product Overview

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| **Product** | [Name] |
| **SKU** | [SKU] |
| **Supplier** | [Supplier] |
| **Category** | [Category] |
| **Target Product Line** | [e.g., SkyFibre SMB, CloudWiFi] |

---

## Competitor Landscape

| Competitor | Product | Price | Key Differentiator |
|------------|---------|-------|-------------------|
| [Comp 1] | [Product] | R[X] | [Differentiator] |
| [Comp 2] | [Product] | R[X] | [Differentiator] |
| [Comp 3] | [Product] | R[X] | [Differentiator] |

---

## CircleTel Positioning

| Metric | Value | Assessment |
|--------|-------|------------|
| **Supplier Cost** | R[X] | — |
| **Target Retail** | R[Y] | [Rationale] |
| **Contribution Margin** | R[Z] ([P]%) | [Above/Below target] |
| **vs Cheapest Competitor** | [+/-X%] | [Competitive/Premium/Budget] |
| **vs Market Average** | [+/-X%] | [Competitive/Premium/Budget] |

---

## Strategic Fit

### Serves Product Line(s)
- [x] [Product line 1] — [How it fits]
- [ ] [Product line 2] — [Why not]

### Cross-Sell Potential
- [Opportunity 1]
- [Opportunity 2]

### Risks
1. [Risk 1] — Mitigation: [Plan]
2. [Risk 2] — Mitigation: [Plan]

---

## Recommendation

### Verdict: [GO / CONDITIONAL / NO-GO]

**Rationale**: [2-3 sentence summary]

**Decision Criteria Score**: [X.X] / 5.0

| Criterion | Score | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Margin | [X] | [Notes] |
| Pricing | [X] | [Notes] |
| Product fit | [X] | [Notes] |
| Supplier | [X] | [Notes] |
| Support | [X] | [Notes] |
| Strategy | [X] | [Notes] |

### Next Steps

**If GO:**
1. Run `/product-docs` to generate documentation
2. Add to `/admin/products/new` in draft status
3. Schedule pricing review with CFO
4. Plan launch timeline

**If CONDITIONAL:**
1. [Required mitigation action]
2. [Re-evaluate criteria]
3. [Escalate to leadership if needed]

**If NO-GO:**
1. Document in rejection log
2. Set reminder to re-evaluate in [X] months
3. Consider alternative products

---

## Appendix: Detailed Calculations

[Include detailed margin calculations, competitor data sources, etc.]

Margin Targets by Segment

Segment	Target Margin	Minimum	Notes
Consumer Hardware	25-35%	20%	Competitive pressure
Business Hardware	30-40%	25%	Value-add expected
Enterprise Equipment	35-50%	30%	Service wrapper
Managed Services	40-55%	35%	Recurring revenue
WaaS / WiFi	45-60%	40%	Full managed stack

Integration with Admin Products

When recommending GO:

•Check existing products at /admin/products for duplicates
•Use /admin/products/new to create product in draft status
•Lifecycle: Draft → Active (after documentation complete)

API Check for Duplicates:

bash

GET /api/admin/products?search=[product_name]&category=[category]

Related Skills

•/product-browse — Find product candidates from suppliers
•/product-docs — Generate documentation after GO decision
•/product-lifecycle — Track product status

Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2026-03-08 Maintained By: CircleTel Product Strategy