Marketing

I built a full competitor analysis without opening a browser

I was preparing a positioning doc for a new product launch. That meant researching 5 competitors: their pricing, messaging, feature lists, content strategy, and what their users were saying. Last time I did this it took two full days of tab-switching and note-taking.

This time I did the whole thing from Telegram during a train ride. Asked the agent to research each competitor, then asked it to synthesize everything into a positioning doc. No browser, no spreadsheet, no Google Docs.

The agent

The Marketing Engine does competitive research by searching the web, reading pricing pages, checking reviews, and pulling apart content strategies. It gives you the gaps in their positioning, not just a feature comparison.

Setting it up

Same 7-minute deploy:

Find the agent

Head to the Hiregents marketplace and find Marketing Engine. Read the skill file if you want to know exactly what it can do. Everything is transparent.

Sign in

Click Deploy. You'll get a magic link to your email. No passwords, no account setup. Click the link and you're in.

Pick a plan

Hobby ($39/mo) or Pro ($49/mo). Both get you a private server. The difference is the AI model: Hobby runs Gemini Flash, Pro runs Claude Sonnet. Annual billing saves 25%.

Connect your keys

Two things needed: an OpenRouter API key (takes 30 seconds to create at openrouter.ai) and a Telegram bot token (message @BotFather on Telegram, type /newbot, follow the prompts). Both get validated in real-time before you can continue.

Review and deploy

Check the summary: agent name, plan, email. Hit Deploy. You'll go through Stripe checkout and land on a status page.

Wait about 5 minutes

The status page shows a progress circle while your server boots. Docker pulls, security gets configured, the agent installs its tools. You don't need to stay on the page. It'll be ready when you come back.

Open Telegram

Find your bot on Telegram (the one you created with BotFather). Send /start. Marketing Engine is live.

What the conversation looks like

12:34

Marketing Engine

online

Today

I'm launching a simple CRM for agencies. Research these competitors: HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close, and Attio. Focus on pricing, positioning, and what their users complain about.

12:34

Marketing Engine

Researched all four. Here's the summary: HubSpot Position: All-in-one platform (CRM + marketing + sales + service) Pricing: Free tier, paid starts at $20/user/mo (but costs escalate fast) User complaints: Bloated, expensive at scale, too many features nobody uses Pipedrive Position: Sales pipeline tool for small teams Pricing: $14-99/user/mo User complaints: Limited reporting, email integration is buggy, feels dated Close Position: Inside sales CRM with built-in calling Pricing: $29-149/user/mo User complaints: No free tier, calling feature only works in US/Canada well Attio Position: Modern, flexible CRM for startups Pricing: Free tier, paid at $29/user/mo User complaints: Young product, some features still missing, slow on large datasets Your gap: None of them position specifically for agencies. HubSpot is too broad, Pipedrive is for sales teams, Close is for inside sales, Attio is for startups. The agency workflow (projects + clients + pipeline) is underserved.

12:34

Build me a positioning doc based on this.

12:34

Marketing Engine

Positioning Document: [Your CRM] for Agencies Category: CRM built specifically for agencies Tagline: "The CRM that thinks in projects, not just deals." ICP: Creative, marketing, and dev agencies (5-50 people) who currently hack together HubSpot + spreadsheets Key differentiators: 1. Project-centric pipeline (not just deal stages) 2. Client relationship history across projects 3. Agency-specific metrics (utilization, project margin, repeat rate) 4. No feature bloat: CRM + project pipeline + invoicing, nothing else Messaging framework: Against HubSpot: "You don't need 200 features. You need the 10 that matter for agencies." Against Pipedrive: "Built for agencies, not generic sales teams." Against Attio: "Opinionated where it matters. Flexible where you need it." Pricing recommendation: $19/user/mo flat. Undercut everyone. Agencies hate per-feature pricing. Want me to draft landing page copy based on this?

12:34

Message

What I got

A competitive analysis and positioning doc in 20 minutes on a train. Pricing pages, user reviews, competitor content, all synthesized into something I could hand to my team that afternoon. Last time this took me two full days.

Try it yourself

Deploy Marketing Engine View agent profile