Porters Five Forces
Run a structured Porter's Five Forces pass on your market before you commit scope, pricing, or positioning.
Overview
Porter's Five Forces is an agent skill most often used in Idea (also Validate) that evaluates industry rivalry, supplier and buyer power, substitutes, and new entrants to judge market attractiveness.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills --skill porters-five-forcesWhat is this skill?
- Five-force framework: rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, substitutes, new entrants
- Input checklist: industry definition, competitors, suppliers, customers, substitutes
- Structured prompts for high vs low rivalry and power scenarios
- Triggers on competitive forces, industry analysis, and market attractiveness
- Outputs strategic read on profitability drivers, not a vanity SWOT
- 5 competitive forces in the Porter framework
Adoption & trust: 1k installs on skills.sh; 12.3k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are considering a market but only have a competitor feature list, not a clear picture of structural forces that will decide margins.
Who is it for?
Solo founders sizing a niche, B2B SaaS, or platform play who need a disciplined industry scan before writing a spec or landing page.
Skip if: Teams that already have signed enterprise contracts and only need account-level competitive battle cards, or markets with no meaningful supplier or buyer concentration story.
When should I use this skill?
Porter's five forces, competitive forces, industry analysis, market forces, or competitive dynamics.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a five-forces assessment of industry dynamics and profitability pressure you can fold into positioning, scope, and pricing decisions.
- Five-forces assessment with implications for profitability and positioning
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Industry force mapping belongs on the idea shelf because it answers whether the market is structurally attractive before you validate or build. Competitors subphase covers industry rivalry, substitutes, and entrant pressure—not just a feature comparison matrix.
Where it fits
Map rivalry and substitute threats before picking which problem to solve.
Stress-test whether a crowded category still has room given buyer power and differentiation.
Interpret buyer and supplier power when choosing price floor and packaging.
Narrow MVP scope to forces you can actually withstand (e.g., low differentiation → fewer commoditized bets).
How it compares
Structured industry economics framework, not a lightweight 'list my competitors' chat prompt.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is porters-five-forces for?
Indie and solo builders in idea or validate who want a strategist-style industry scan without hiring consulting.
When should I use porters-five-forces?
During idea competitor research, before validate pricing or scope, and whenever you need to judge market attractiveness beyond feature parity.
Is porters-five-forces safe to install?
It is analysis-only in the agent; review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing any skill from the repo.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Porters Five Forces
# Porter's Five Forces ## Metadata - **Name**: porters-five-forces - **Description**: Perform a Porter's Five Forces analysis evaluating competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitutes, and threat of new entrants. - **Triggers**: Porter's five forces, competitive forces, industry analysis, market forces, competitive dynamics ## Instructions You are a competitive strategist conducting a Porter's Five Forces analysis for $ARGUMENTS. Your task is to evaluate the structural attractiveness of an industry and identify the competitive dynamics that will determine profitability. ## Input Requirements - Industry or market definition - Current competitors and competitive positioning - Supplier and customer landscape - Potential substitutes and new entrants - Product or service specifics ## Porter's Five Forces Framework ### 1. Competitive Rivalry (How intense is competition?) The degree to which companies compete directly for market share and customers. **High Rivalry When:** - Many competitors of similar size and strength - Slow industry growth (zero-sum competition) - Low product differentiation (commoditized) - High fixed costs (pressure to maintain volume) - Exit barriers are high (expensive to leave) - Price competition is intense - Rivals have diverse strategies and goals - Emotional or strategic commitments keep rivals fighting **Low Rivalry When:** - Few competitors - High growth market - High differentiation (less price-sensitive) - Low fixed costs - Low switching costs for competitors - Industry leader has clear dominance - Rivals are cooperative or have compatible goals **Strategic Implications:** - Assess competitive positioning and differentiation - Define defensible competitive advantages - Monitor competitor moves and market consolidation - Invest in differentiation or cost leadership --- ### 2. Supplier Power (How much power do suppliers have?) The ability of suppliers to increase prices or reduce quality, affecting your profitability. **High Supplier Power When:** - Few suppliers or concentrated supplier base - Switching costs are high (changing suppliers is expensive) - Backward integration threat (suppliers become competitors) - Suppliers' product is critical or unique - Suppliers have strong bargaining position - No substitutes for supplier offerings - Suppliers sell to many industries (less dependent on you) **Low Supplier Power When:** - Many suppliers available - Low switching costs - Suppliers depend on your business - Commodity products (interchangeable suppliers) - Threat of forward integration (you become your own supplier) - Available substitutes for supplier offerings - You have significant bargaining leverage **Strategic Implications:** - Diversify supplier base to reduce dependency - Build strong supplier relationships - Consider vertical integration or alternatives - Negotiate long-term contracts with favorable terms - Invest in suppliers' success (partnerships) --- ### 3. Buyer Power (How much power do customers have?) The ability of customers to negotiate lower prices or demand higher quality, affecting your margin. **High Buyer Power When:** - Few large customers (concentrated demand) - Buyers switch easily and often (low switching costs) - Backwards integration threat (customers become competitors) - Product is undifferentiated (commoditized) - Buyers have price sensitivity or tight budgets - Buyers have full information about alternatives - Customers can bypass you entirely **Low Buyer Power When:** - Many fragmented customers - High switching costs (lock-in, integration, training) - High product differentiation (fewer alternatives) - Customers depend on your product -