Feature comparison matrix
List the features, services or offers customers compare, mark who has each one, and see your weighted coverage against competitors plus the gaps that matter.
How to use it
- Enter the businesses, starting with yours.
- Add features and set each one's importance.
- Click cells to cycle No → Partly → Yes.
- Read coverage bars and the finding for each feature.
Method
Coverage weights critical features 3×, important 2× and nice-to-have 1×, with “partly” counting half. A feature is table stakes when 70% or more of competitors offer it, a table-stakes gap when you do not, a gap when 40% or more offer it and you do not, a differentiator when you offer it and 30% or fewer competitors do, and white space when almost nobody offers an important feature.
Worked example
If three of four competitors offer online booking and you do not, the matrix flags a table-stakes gap. If you alone offer a brunch menu, it is a differentiator.
How to read the result
Close table-stakes gaps first: customers assume they exist. Then promote differentiators, and test white space with customers before building it.
Limitations
- A feature list is not a strategy; positioning and quality matter more than ticks.
- Partial features are judgement calls; be consistent.
- Importance should reflect customers, not your preferences.