1. What is our competitive advantage?
2. What resources do we have?
3. What products are performing well?
Companies may consider performing this step as a "white-boarding" or "sticky note" session. The idea is there is no right or wrong answer; all participants should be encouraged to share whatever thoughts they have. These ideas can later be discarded; in the meantime, the goal should be to come up with as many items as possible to invoke creativity and inspiration in others.
With the list of ideas within each category, it is now time to clean-up the ideas. By refining the thoughts that everyone had, a company can focus on only the best ideas or largest risks to the company. This stage may require substantial debate among analysis participants, including bringing in upper management to help rank priorities.
Armed with the ranked list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, it is time to convert the SWOT analysis into a strategic plan. Members of the analysis team take the bulleted list of items within each category and create a synthesized plan that provides guidance on the original objective.
For example, the company debating whether to release a new product may have identified that it is the market leader for its existing product and there is the opportunity to expand to new markets. However, increased material costs, strained distribution lines, the need for additional staff, and unpredictable product demand may outweigh the strengths and opportunities. The analysis team develops the strategy to revisit the decision in six months in hopes of costs declining and market demand becoming more transparent.
Use a SWOT analysis to identify challenges affecting your business and opportunities that can enhance it. However, note that it is one of many techniques, not a prescription.
When preparing a SWOT analysis, several common mistakes can undermine its effectiveness. Let's take a look at some ways your SWOT analysis may go awry.
One easy error to make when preparing a SWOT analysis is failing to be objective and honest in the assessment. Companies often tend to overemphasize their strengths while downplaying weaknesses, resulting in an overly optimistic and unrealistic analysis. This bias can lead to missed opportunities for improvement and leave the organization vulnerable to unforeseen threats. As difficult as it may be to be honest in your analysis, the validity of underlying assumptions is the cornerstone of how useful the SWOT analysis will be.
Another significant mistake is conducting the analysis in isolation, without input from diverse key stakeholders . You should try get to input from employees at various levels, customers, suppliers, and industry experts. Each may have a unique view of your company, and each may come up with different items to be listed in each quadrant based on how they specifically interact with the company.
Yet another common pitfall is neglecting to prioritize or weight the factors identified in the SWOT analysis. Not all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are equally important or impactful. Failing to distinguish between major and minor factors can lead to misallocation of resources and misguided strategic decisions. It can be easy for the important items to be buried if too many non-material items are identified.
Another frequent error is treating the SWOT analysis as a one-time exercise. You should be prepared to do a SWOT analysis periodically, The business environment is constantly changing, and a SWOT analysis should be regularly updated to remain relevant. In addition, the analysis itself is just the beginning; its true value lies in using the findings to develop and implement strategic actions. You can then check future SWOT analysis to make sure the company is addressing the major points.
A SWOT analysis won't solve every major question a company has. However, there's a number of benefits to a SWOT analysis that make strategic decision-making easier.
Let's perform a SWOT analysis together by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Tesla.
The four steps of SWOT analysis comprise the acronym SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These four aspects can be broken into two analytical steps. First, a company assesses its internal capabilities and determines its strengths and weaknesses. Then, a company looks outward and evaluates external factors that impact its business. These external factors may create opportunities or threaten existing operations.
Creating a SWOT analysis involves identifying and analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company. It is recommended to first create a list of questions to answer for each element. The questions serve as a guide for completing the SWOT analysis and creating a balanced list. The SWOT framework can be constructed in list format, as free text, or, most commonly, as a 4-cell table, with quadrants dedicated to each element. Strengths and weaknesses are listed first, followed by opportunities and threats.
A SWOT analysis is used to strategically identify areas of improvement or competitive advantages for a company. In addition to analyzing thing that a company does well, SWOT analysis takes a look at more detrimental, negative elements of a business. Using this information, a company can make smarter decisions to preserve what it does well, capitalize on its strengths, mitigate risk regarding weaknesses, and plan for events that may adversely affect the company in the future.
While SWOT analysis is a powerful tool, it does have some limitations. It can sometimes oversimplify complex situations and is susceptible to the subjectivity and bias of participants. The analysis also doesn't provide specific guidance on how to address identified issues and can lead to analysis paralysis if not followed by concrete action.
A SWOT analysis is a great way to guide business-strategy meetings. It's powerful to have everyone in the room discuss the company's core strengths and weaknesses, define the opportunities and threats, and brainstorm ideas. Oftentimes, the SWOT analysis you envision before the session changes throughout to reflect factors you were unaware of and would never have captured if not for the group’s input.
A company can use a SWOT for overall business strategy sessions or for a specific segment such as marketing, production, or sales. This way, you can see how the overall strategy developed from the SWOT analysis will filter down to the segments below before committing to it. You can also work in reverse with a segment-specific SWOT analysis that feeds into an overall SWOT analysis.
Although a useful planning tool, SWOT has limitations. It is one of several business planning techniques to consider and should not be used alone. Also, each point listed within the categories is not prioritized the same. SWOT does not account for the differences in weight. Therefore, a deeper analysis is needed, using another planning technique.
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A SWOT analysis helps you identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in your business and take advantage of opportunities and mitigate threats. Leaders perform a SWOT analysis before starting a project or implementing a strategy.
With help from our experts, we’ll teach you about a SWOT analysis , provide examples from three different industries , and highlight common mistakes to avoid. We also include a downloadable SWOT analysis starter kit to help you get started.
To perform a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis, assemble a matrix and take an objective look at your business. Write down your observations, summarize your findings, and plan your next steps together with your team.
“A SWOT analysis is designed to shed light on four separate aspects of your business and help in strategy formation and project planning. In order to perform this analysis comprehensively, each factor must be examined in equal measure,” explains Max Wesman , the Founder of GoodHire.
We’ve outlined the steps necessary for completing a SWOT analysis:
Download the SWOT Analysis Starter Kit
We’ve created this starter kit to give you the necessary tools to think through and conduct a SWOT analysis for your business. You’ll find SWOT templates in multiple formats, a checklist of actions to take and questions to ask, and a presentation template. All of these templates are fully customizable and can be adapted for personal decision-making. Download each template individually or as a complete kit.
Included in this download, you’ll find:
A SWOT analysis can help a wide variety of businesses identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. We’ve collected some SWOT analysis examples that demonstrate how they’re used in construction, technology, and retail industries.
Download the Simple Colorful Construction Company SWOT Template for Google Docs Download the Simple Colorful Construction Company SWOT Template for Google Docs with Sample Data
This simple but colorful SWOT template includes example data for a construction company concerned about its growth. In the sample, the company has identified the experience of their staff as a strength, as well as their growth as a business over the last 15 years. They know they need to be more open to adopting new technology, and they acknowledge they have no marketing budget and only attract new clients by word-of-mouth. They use this info to focus their opportunities on leveraging their existing staff to train new teams, and creating a specific budget for marketing. Finally, they have identified the rising costs of labor and the chance of public backlash to a project they are working on as threats to their business.
Download the Blank Animated Technology SWOT Analysis for PowerPoint Download the Animated Technology SWOT Analysis Template for PowerPoint with Sample Data
This animated SWOT analysis template is excellent for showing off your SWOT findings in a meeting or presentation setting. It includes animations to reveal each quadrant of your matrix as you speak. This template includes sample data for a large technology company that has recognized its worldwide presence and growing customer base as strengths, and the requirements of localization and employee retention as weaknesses. The organization is looking ahead to the opportunities presented by decreased labor costs in emerging markets, but also paying attention to the threat of cybersecurity and potential backlash in their home country due to their outsourcing of labor and manufacturing.
Download the Blank Horizontal Retail SWOT Template for Microsoft Word Download the Horizontal Retail SWOT Template for Microsoft Word with Sample Data
This horizontal-oriented SWOT template includes example data for a retail store. In the sample version of the template, the store has outlined its strengths but also noted concerns about the rising costs of rent and the abundance of big-box stores and included those in the threats section. They have identified opportunities as participation in local events and the possibility of a second storefront. The store also recognized that it could improve its social media efforts and the difficulty in competing with larger, online retailers.
A SWOT analysis is a strategic assessment tool that weighs strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to aid in decision-making. A SWOT analysis can help guide you to better-informed conclusions that are more likely to produce long-term benefits.
Invented by Albert Humphrey at the Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s, the SWOT analysis framework has been adopted by businesses and individual decision-makers worldwide. Humphrey’s framework prioritizes the analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses; the related TOWS analysis model flips this on its head and focuses on external opportunities and threats. Another external analysis model, the PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) framework, focuses entirely on external factors, namely political, economical, sociocultural, and technological.
“The SWOT analysis is an excellent framework not only for diagnosing issues in your business, but also for identifying strategic opportunities within it. For example, a SWOT analysis can be applied to the launch of a new product, a business partnership under consideration, or a key hire or promotion. While the SWOT is not meant to be an all-inclusive, fully exhaustive analysis, it does provide a solid basis for discussion, much like a resume or CV contributes to the hiring process,” explains Colleti of Colletti Labs.
The strengths section of a SWOT analysis highlights what you do well. These can include your sales and market presence, hiring and retention practices, and products and services, among others. It can also list what you are good at personally.
Some additional examples of strengths you might list in a SWOT analysis include:
Identifying strengths impartially can be challenging. Use this list of questions to help pinpoint your strengths:
Weaknesses in a SWOT analysis are business aspects that are underperforming. These could be low sales, unpopular services, limitations, negative reviews, or others. Consider your weaknesses carefully, as you can often turn them into opportunities.
Here’s a list of common weaknesses businesses might find in a SWOT analysis:
Business owners often struggle to identify their weaknesses impartially. To help identify weaknesses, ask yourself the following questions, and be honest with your answers:
In a SWOT analysis, opportunities refer to situations that offer a chance to improve or expand. These can be factors such as a gap in the market, new products or services, or positive media coverage.
Some examples of opportunities to note in your SWOT analysis are:
To identify opportunities present in your business, ask the following questions:
Threats in a SWOT analysis refer to events or circumstances that pose a risk to your business’s growth or commercial success. These can include competitors, new regulations, negative media or social media coverage, and customer and employee satisfaction.
Opportunities and threats are sometimes considered two sides of the same coin, as many opportunities invite risk if you do not meet them with a solid plan. Opportunities are chances to capitalize on a possibility, but they can often be safely ignored. On the other hand, if you ignore threats for long enough, they often lead to disastrous consequences. Threats vary by industry and location.
We’ve collected some examples of common threats that could appear in a SWOT analysis:
Identifying threats can feel overwhelming and pessimistic, but they are vital for business planning. Ask yourself the following questions to shine light on potential threats in your SWOT analysis:
In a SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses are considered internal factors, and opportunities and threats are considered external factors. Internal factors are usually a result of decisions the company has made. External factors often come from a wider environment.
Internal factors tend to be easier to address since they come from decisions made within the company. External factors depend greatly on factors outside of a business and can be harder to identify and track. As a result, most organizations find it easier to bolster strengths and shore up weaknesses than to take advantage of opportunities and avoid threats.
To write a SWOT analysis for your business, take an objective look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Keep it organized and concise, and create a specific and actionable list.
We’ve outlined these and other tips:
When performing a SWOT analysis, avoid being vague or too verbose. Be sure to follow up on the findings and create an action plan.
We’ve outlined these and other potential mistakes to avoid in your SWOT analysis:
A SWOT analysis can provide insight into your business’s overall performance, highlight places to improve, and even act as a team-building exercise.
We’ve outlined these and more benefits of performing a SWOT analysis:
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A SWOT analysis can help a small business owner or business assess a company’s position to determine the most optimal strategy going forward. This business practice can help you identify what you’re doing well, what you want to do better, and what kinds of obstacles you might encounter along the way.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about a SWOT analysis: what it is, how it works, and how to do it. We’ll also include an example and a template to help guide you as you perform your own SWOT analysis.
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that outlines an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Assessing business competition in this way can help an organization plan strategically and execute more effectively.
Your business’s strengths SWOT section should include anything that your business does differently or better than competitors. Think about your unique value proposition, trends you’ve noticed in positive customer feedback, operational strengths, and company culture. This section is the perfect place to name and celebrate anything you’re already doing well.
Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn (while also remaining objective). Clearly identifying your business’s strengths not only helps you keep your spirits balanced as you address your weaknesses, it will also give you a sense of where to concentrate your resources. It’s easier to build a successful business when you’re working towards something, rather than acting in opposition.
Questions to help you determine your strengths:
Your weaknesses are the areas in which the business has room for improvement. You should include structural weaknesses in this section—those that relate to your systems, procedures, resources, and personnel. This is a great place to look at common feedback from employees (either from exit interviews, anonymous surveys, or other sources) and recurring customer complaints.
Questions to help you determine your weaknesses:
Your opportunities are the positive, external factors that your business might benefit from… but cannot directly control. That might include market opportunities, consumer purchasing trends, legal or regulatory changes, population changes, the cost of raw materials, and more. For example, businesses that provide accessibility for aging seniors might recognize the forthcoming “silver tsunami” of Baby Boomers entering the target demographic. This would be a clear opportunity to expand their customer base.
Questions to help you determine your opportunities:
Your threats are the external factors that have the potential to negatively affect your business. A threat can be specific and competitor-based or more structural. buy clomid online buy clomid online no prescription Examples of structural threats could be supply chain challenges, shifts in market requirements, talent shortages, or changes to social media algorithms (especially if your business heavily relies on social media marketing). You might also face a threat (or threats) from your competitors. This can include the way they operate, how they’re marketing, or the products they offer.
Identifying every external threat your business faces is essential for your business to identify how it must adapt in order to meet and overcome these challenges.
Questions to help you determine threats:
SWOT analyses offer a variety of benefits for businesses and personal brands. Here are some of the most common benefits of a SWOT analysis:
You can approach SWOT analyses in multiple ways. You can conduct a personal SWOT analysis for yourself as an individual, you can perform a marketing SWOT analysis to determine a competitive advantage in your marketing , or you can use a SWOT analysis as a part of broader strategic planning.
Whatever your end goal for a SWOT analysis, follow these steps.
Use a SWOT template or create your own. You can create your SWOT framework on the computer or on a whiteboard—if you choose to do the latter, be sure that someone is in charge of recording the responses so that you don’t lose key insights (you can also take a picture at the end of the SWOT session).
A SWOT analysis is most effective when it collects a variety of perspectives. Gathering key stakeholders with various perspectives will help you see more than you would have seen alone. Marketing leaders might be able to give you a more specific sense of the opportunities and threats related to your content marketing efforts. Your people team is closest to all personnel changes and feedback, so they’ll have the clearest sense of an organization’s strengths and what is driving employee retention (or challenging it). Sales leaders can help translate opportunities into a cohesive business strategy.
It’s simple: when it comes to a SWOT analysis, more heads are better than one.
Go through each field of the SWOT diagram, spending some time with each one. Ask the group the guiding questions to ensure you’re developing a comprehensive picture of the internal and external environment. There are no bad ideas in brainstorming. You’re just trying to get thoughts flowing. Something that feels like a “bad idea” might lead to discovering a potential threat you’d never thought of before or nuanced analysis of how you stack up to your nearest competitor. The key here is to keep the brainstorm going.
As you brainstorm, record points and ideas when they are relevant. At the end of the session, your SWOT analysis should leave you with a clear sense of the organization’s strengths and company’s weaknesses that you can use to guide your strategy formulation.
Revisit the SWOT diagram at a later time and edit it, culling out anything you don’t really need. You can also polish up some of the key insights gleaned in the brainstorming session. This is especially important if you plan to use your SWOT analysis as a more formal document that might be disseminated broadly.
The final step, if you choose to do it, is to take your SWOT takeaways and put them together in a polished document that you can share.
It can be easier to understand how to approach a SWOT analysis if you’ve seen a SWOT analysis example. For the sake of this example, we will imagine a hypothetical company and what its SWOT analysis might look like.
An Instagram-friendly fitness business offering virtual workouts.
Use this template to create your own SWOT analysis.
Weaknesses section: what your company could improve, opportunities section: external factors you could use to your advantage, threats section: external factors that could harm your business, owning the hard truths of a swot analysis.
A SWOT analysis can bring up a lot of hard truths. It’s difficult to confront your company’s weaknesses and sometimes looking at threats can make them feel like the existential kind. Overcome these obstacles and give yourself the fortitude to confront business challenges head on with the Mental Toughness mini-course. The best part? It’s free.
Mary Kate Miller writes about small business, real estate, and finance. In addition to writing for Foundr, her work has been published by The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Bustle, and more. She lives in Chicago.
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A SWOT analysis is a framework used in a business’s strategic planning to evaluate its competitive positioning in the marketplace. The analysis looks at four key characteristics that are typically used to compare how competitive the business can be within its industry. A proper SWOT analysis can give you a fact-based analysis to make decisions from, or it could spark your creativity for new products or directions.
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The four points of a proper SWOT analysis are Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses focus internally on the business being evaluated, while Opportunities and Threats look at competition and things going on externally. Let’s look at the four points in more detail to determine how you can correctly evaluate each one.
The key to a strong SWOT analysis is accuracy in your research across all four points. Once you have the right information, you need to display it in an efficient and appealing way so that the data can easily be shared across your organization, with potential investors or with whoever might benefit the most from receiving it.
A SWOT analysis is usually presented in a grid form that provides the most important information from the analysis in each of the four points or areas. We have created a downloadable template that you can use to easily make your own SWOT analysis and include it as part of your next presentation or proposal. If preferred, you can also make a copy in Google Docs.
Download Free Template
Every SWOT analysis is somewhat unique to each business but, ultimately, there is a straightforward process that can work for everyone. For example, you’ll have to complete all four points for a proper SWOT analysis but the research and method of getting the information could vary. The depth of each point might also vary depending on the age of your business, and the competition or opportunity in your industry.
The three steps to complete a proper SWOT analysis are:
When conducting the SWOT analysis, the most important part is making sure you’re as inclusive as possible with the analysis of each point. We’ve compiled a list of questions that you can use to start working through each point in your SWOT analysis so that you don’t leave anything off your list.
STRENGTHS | WEAKNESSES |
---|---|
OPPORTUNITIES | THREATS |
---|---|
You can use a SWOT analysis for a number of activities, from deciding whether to invest in a business to helping an individual perform better at a non-profit. The use of SWOT is industry agnostic, as long as there are both internal and external factors that relate to the team, business or person being evaluated.
Some use-case examples for SWOT analysis include:
As you can see, the sky’s the limit for use cases since you can use a SWOT analysis to determine the potential Strengths or roadblocks for just about anything.
Depending on your situation, or your business, you may want to consider an alternative to a SWOT analysis. There are several options that can give you similar results, but these four alternatives are the most popular amongst businesses and teams looking at SWOT.
Check out our full guide to cost benefit analysis .
When you need a broad analysis of your business, department, organizational or team potential, you should look no further than the SWOT analysis. It can provide a good overview of all of the major points that add up to potential success and help you draft a road map for potential growth. A SWOT analysis is also a good fit if you just need a quick comparison of your business to the competitive landscape that is out there.
If you need to dive deeper into specific factors or points of your business or team potential, then you may want to consider another alternative to the SWOT analysis. Alternatively, many pundits think that the word choices in SWOT are either vague or that they promote defeat. If you agree with that before you begin the SWOT analysis, then another option might be best for you so that the end goal of growing your business or team is met without obstacles.
Who should complete a swot analysis.
Anyone looking to determine how a business or organization matches up against the competition, if there are both internal and external factors involved, should do a SWOT analysis. While a SWOT analysis is mostly used by new businesses or businesses launching a new product, it can also be used for any other type of organization and even for your local economy .
If you want to change your strategic positioning or launch a new product or service, then you should complete a SWOT analysis. Some also complete the exercise if they are just curious about their current positioning in their market or industry.
A good SWOT analysis includes a full analysis of each point (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) as well as a clear and concise way of displaying the end results. The three primary steps to writing a good SWOT analysis are:
Threats are often external influences outside of your control; things that you risk by doing business. Inclement weather is one good example of something that you can’t combat and will have to deal with as it happens. Having a plan in place for dangerous storms will help you be prepared when they inevitably happen. Waiting for permits, supply chain failures and manufacturing errors can all impact your business negatively.
Jeff is a writer, founder, and small business expert that focuses on educating founders on the ins and outs of running their business. From answering your legal questions to providing the right software for your unique situation, he brings his knowledge and diverse background to help answer the questions you have about small business operations.
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Listen, I get it. The moment you hear "SWOT analysis," you start to tune out, think about what's for lunch today, and hope this discussion will be over soon. It makes sense, seeing as the only time most of us encounter SWOT is in some boring business textbook or on a vanilla LinkedIn post from a well-meaning manager named Craig.
While SWOT has a bland reputation, there's a reason businesses have used it for decades. It's time to reclaim the strategy as something less snooze-worthy.
Table of contents:
A SWOT ( S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats) analysis is a strategic planning technique that helps businesses evaluate internal and external forces to gauge their current business and plan for the future.
A SWOT analysis is all about context, considering the positive and negative forces that a company contends with internally and externally. SWOT stands for:
Strengths: Internal attributes and resources that provide an advantage
Weaknesses: Internal factors that put your business at a disadvantage
Opportunities: External elements you can capitalize on
Threats: External factors that could cause trouble for your business
Think of a SWOT analysis as a way to read the room so you can make informed decisions. If you've ever prepped for a family gathering by tallying which cousins will be in attendance and what world events your uncle might rattle on, you've done a SWOT analysis.
Conducting a SWOT analysis isn't rocket science, but there are some best practices to keep in mind. Let's walk through the process step by step, using the fictional company Midsize Inc., a team collaboration app, as an example.
The first step in conducting a SWOT analysis is to create your SWOT matrix. This visual layout will help you organize your thoughts and see connections between different elements.
Think about why you're doing this SWOT analysis in the first place. Are you:
Launching a new product?
Trying to boost sales?
Assessing your company's market position?
Exploring potential expansion opportunities?
For Midsize, Inc., the objective of the SWOT analysis is to evaluate the company's current position in the team collaboration app market and identify strategies for growth and improvement.
Now it's time to start filling in your SWOT matrix, beginning with your organization's strengths. Strengths give your company an advantage over competitors.
Example questions to gauge strengths include:
What is our strongest asset?
What drives our engagement, adoption, and retention?
What are our plans for improvement?
What makes customers choose us? Can we lean further into that?
What are our strongest KPIs?
What skills does our team bring to the table?
Remember, strengths are internal factors—things you have control over. So while having a booming industry is great, it's not a strength. Focus on what your organization brings to the table.
Midsize, Inc. makes data-informed product and marketing decisions that give them a few competitive advantages, including:
A new CEO who wants to focus on user satisfaction and retention
A growing product management team
Next, identify your organization's weaknesses. These are internal factors that cause your company to fall short of customer expectations or operational efficiency. Think of them as a list of excuses for why things aren't going as well as they should.
Example questions to gauge weaknesses include:
What are our main bottlenecks?
What are the top customer complaints?
What causes churn?
What prevents customers from choosing us?
Do we have the team and resources needed to complete work and hit goals?
Like all companies, Midsize, Inc. has constraints that teams contend with. Their weaknesses include:
A recent reshuffling of the marketing team that put the department behind on a project
User frustrations with limitations within pricing tiers
Outdated help docs
Opportunities are potential areas for growth, expansion, or improvement that exist in your market or industry. You don't need to take advantage of all of them, but seeing your options laid out can help you prioritize big initiatives.
Here are some example questions to gauge opportunities:
How is the size of the addressable market changing?
Are user preferences evolving?
What macro trends could impact our industry?
How do our offerings and pricing compare to competitors?
How can we leverage our strengths to explore new markets?
In a fast-moving industry, Midsize, Inc. can capitalize on opportunities like the following to enhance its position in the team collaboration app market:
Collaborating with other tech companies or forming partnerships with industry leaders to open up new avenues for growth
Expanding features within existing pricing tiers that competitors charge more for
Now it's time to channel your inner pessimist and imagine all the ways your brilliant plans could go spectacularly wrong. Think of it as a fun exercise in controlled paranoia.
Example questions to gauge threats include:
Who are our direct competitors? How are they evolving?
What companies are indirect competitors? How could they become direct?
How is our data security?
Are there market conditions or natural disasters that could impact operations?
Are there supply chain issues?
The tech industry is constantly evolving. Some ways this could put Midsize, Inc. behind include:
New entrants into the team collaboration space may introduce innovative solutions.
Changing user preferences and demands requires continuous adaptation to stay relevant.
Growing concerns around data breaches call for additional data security measures.
After completing these steps, Midsize, Inc. would have a comprehensive SWOT analysis that provides a clear picture of its current position in the market and potential areas for strategic focus.
To further illustrate how SWOT analysis works in practice, let's look at some hypothetical examples for well-known companies and organizations.
Discord is a popular communication platform for online communities, particularly in the gaming space.
• Large and highly engaged user base • Strong brand affinity with millennial and Gen Z gamers • Easy-to-use freemium model with many features and integrations |
• Limited marketing reach and brand awareness outside of gaming • Lack of control over user-generated content • Limited monetization options |
• Expansion into verticals beyond gaming, like education and professional networking • Partnering with popular game developers and eSports organizations • Developing features to support the creator economy |
• Competition from messaging apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams • Data privacy concerns and changing regulations • Reliance on third-party platforms and services |
Spotify is a digital music streaming service that gives users access to millions of songs, podcasts, audiobooks, and the occasional Sabrina Carpenter track, whether you asked for it or not.
• Large, diverse music library • Sophisticated playlist algorithms and music discovery features • Strong brand recognition in the streaming industry |
• Ongoing disputes with artists over royalty payments • Reliance on licensing agreements with record labels • Limited differentiation from competitors in terms of core features |
• Expansion of original content production and exclusive deals • Development of new features for artists and listeners • Potential for growth in emerging markets |
• Intense competition from Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other tech giants • Pressure from artists and labels for higher royalty payments • Risk of losing key artists or content to exclusive deals with competitors |
Costco is a membership-based wholesale retailer where you can buy in bulk, fill up on free samples, and, if you're lucky, witness a fight over the last $5 rotisserie chicken.
• Strong brand loyalty and high customer retention rates • Bulk purchasing power leading to competitive pricing • High-quality, curated product selection |
• Limited product variety compared to traditional retailers • Reliance on membership fees for profitability • Limited online presence compared to competitors |
• Expansion of private-label Kirkland Signature products • Growth in international markets • Development of more eCommerce and delivery options |
• Increasing competition from online retailers like Amazon • Pressure to adopt more sustainable practices and packaging • Shifting consumer preferences toward smaller, more frequent purchases |
Crocs, the footwear company known for its distinctive foam clogs, is beloved by many for its comfort and despised by others for its aesthetic.
• Iconic and recognizable product design • Lightweight, comfortable, and durable footwear • High profit margins on products |
• Polarizing style that may limit appeal • Seasonal sales fluctuations • Reliance on a single iconic product line |
• Growth in international markets with localized designs • More collaborations with fashion brands and designers • Increased focus on sustainability and eco-friendly materials |
• Increased competition in the casual footwear market • Economic downturns impacting discretionary consumer spending • Intellectual property challenges with copycat products |
A SWOT analysis helps you understand your business and how it exists in context. That's powerful stuff, but it doesn't mean you should lean on this method in every scenario.
You need a high-level view. You can apply SWOT to your entire company or focus on a niche, market, or department. Whichever level you choose, the analysis gives you a broad picture of conditions.
You have research to include. Your analysis will stand on firmer ground with quantitative or qualitative insights.
You're the only one working on it. The point is to identify positives and negatives you aren't already aware of. You won't get the full effect if you create in a vacuum. Instead, get input from a diverse set of stakeholders across departments.
You don't have a clear reason to do it. There needs to be something to prompt the SWOT, or else you may get lost in too many details. If there's a new competitor, your business is going in a new direction, or you're trying to understand why growth is stagnant, a SWOT makes sense. Otherwise, considering every contributing element could get overwhelming. You could use SWOT as part of an annual checkup, but it would still be helpful to have a few specific questions, goals, or concerns in mind.
Simply filling out a SWOT analysis template might give you clarity on a problem you've been trying to solve. But applying a SWOT analysis might not look the same for every team.
For example:
The marketing team could combine opportunities and strengths to find new messaging.
The product management team could combine threats and weaknesses to prioritize additions or improvements.
The finance team or leadership might weigh strengths versus threats to gauge the company's health.
Still think a SWOT analysis is nothing more than an annoying business school requirement? Here are answers to some common SWOT questions and dilemmas.
A SWOT analysis:
Breaks down large problems into a manageable report
Uses internal and external factors to make well-informed decisions
Incorporates multiple data sources
Helps you set realistic goals
Identifies competitive advantages and market opportunities
Can be applied to multiple business facets
The four components of a SWOT analysis are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Strengths cover internal attributes, capabilities, and resources that provide a competitive advantage.
Weaknesses represent internal limitations or areas in need of improvement.
Opportunities involve external factors and emerging trends that could create favorable conditions for growth and success.
Threats are external factors that could prevent progress or pose risks.
Here are some of the biggest SWOT analysis mistakes, in the event you miraculously got by in college without having to do one:
Lack of objectivity: Ignoring research and data in favor of your assumptions or "gut feeling" negates the whole point of the exercise. Be honest about weaknesses, and let the data lead you.
Relying only on SWOT: A SWOT analysis is a great tool, but it can't be the only thing you use to make decisions. Incorporate it into a broader strategic planning process with additions like a PEST analysis or buyer personas.
Not taking action: If you type up this report and then never open the file again, you're doing it wrong. Identify the most critical findings from your report, prioritize them, and make an action plan.
Related reading:
This article was originally published in April 2022 by Steph Knapp. The most recent update was in August 2024 by Allisa Boulette.
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Cecilia Gillen
Cecilia is a content marketer with a degree in Media and Journalism from the University of South Dakota. After graduating, Cecilia moved to Omaha, Nebraska where she enjoys reading (almost as much as book buying), decor hunting at garage sales, and spending time with her two cats.
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An acronym standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, a SWOT Analysis is designed to help you analyze your company’s capabilities against the realities of your business environment. Doing so allows you to direct your business toward areas where your abilities are the strongest and your opportunities are abundant. It also allows you to develop short and long-term strategies for your business. A well-developed SWOT analysis will:
When writing your SWOT Analysis, we recommend involving employees with different perspectives and stakes in your company, for example, management, sales, customer service, and customers.
To write a SWOT Analysis for a business plan, we recommend following these four steps. You can use a four-square SWOT Analysis template, or if more manageable, you can make lists for each category.
Example of a four-square template:
After you’ve gathered the right group of employees together, brainstorm your company’s strengths and weaknesses and its opportunities and threats, first individually and then collectively.
Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your company and can change over time with work. Examples of internal factors include:
Opportunities and threats are external, happening whether you want them to or not, and can’t be changed. Examples of external factors include:
Strengths refer to the positive, tangible and intangible attributes internal to your company that are within your control.
To help you determine what your company’s strengths are, ask yourself:
Any aspect of your business that detracts from the value you offer or places you at a competitive disadvantage is a weakness. To determine your company’s weaknesses, ask yourself these questions:
Opportunities
Opportunities are attractive external factors that denote reasons your business is likely to thrive. To identify your business opportunities, ask yourself:
Any external factor beyond your control that could place your strategy, or the business itself, at risk is a threat. Although you have no control over threats, you can benefit by having a contingency plan to address them if and when they occur. To identify threats, ask yourself:
Once you’ve brainstormed your lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, we recommend ranking them through a voting process. At the end of this process, you should have a prioritized list of ideas, with one person, usually the CEO, having the final call on priority.
Divide your strengths into two groups:
Divide your weaknesses into two groups:
Continually refer to your lists as you make decisions that contribute to your business, including developing strategies and actions for capitalizing on opportunities. Questions that can guide your decision making include:
Once you have finalized your SWOT Analysis and added it to your business plan, don’t just leave it and forget it. A SWOT Analysis is a crucial element in any business plan and should be revisited regularly, at least annually.
Suppose your business is facing significant changes in the marketplace or competitive conditions, experiencing growth problems, or failing to meet goals. In that case, you may want to revisit your SWOT Analysis more frequently.
It should reflect the world around you as it is, not the way it was. It’s an invaluable tool for leveraging your company’s strengths, minimizing threats, taking advantage of available opportunities, strategic planning, and determining company objectives.
At Bsbcon, we are available to provide support and guidance with your company’s SWOT Analysis, ensuring that it reflects the current state of your business and considers all factors needed to ensure your business’s short and long-term goals and successes. Once your SWOT Analysis is complete, we will work with you to incorporate it seamlessly into your business plan.
Each of our business plans are tailor-made (no templates or plugins!) and designed to be easily implementable in practice. We have business plans for bank loans, investors, strategic purposes, immigration, and more.
Contact us today to get started on accomplishing everything you’ve dreamed with consumer-tested, expert panel-approved business plans that outline your steps to success.
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BUSINESS STRATEGIES
You can be a seasoned company with an established business plan, or be starting out and create a website for your new venture. Either way, identifying and understanding your competitors at each step of the process can lead to building a better business strategy.
This is where a SWOT analysis comes into play. It is a useful tool for making improvements and keeping your marketing goals on track. In this guide, we’ll explain what this method is all about and how to do a SWOT analysis of your own.
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is a strategy used by businesses for measuring and evaluating their overall performance, and that of competitors, in an objective manner. All these factors help business owners make smarter decisions for their company, such as if a venture should grow into a new field or rebrand itself.
The first two parameters, strengths and weaknesses, involve internal factors such as your reputation, team, location and intellectual property. These considerations are not necessarily permanent, and can fluctuate over time. It’s within an organization's own control to keep or change them (which can happen for the better or the worse). So, assuming you want to make a positive change, you’re going to need to put forth the effort and time to see that happen.
Opportunities and threats are related to external influences such as competitors, market trends, and prices of materials. Unfortunately, these are not within an organization’s control, and therefore you are not able to change them. That said, successful businesses and corporations learn how to work with these factors to their advantage, and also adapt their strategies accordingly in order to compete with others in the field.
As mentioned earlier, SWOT analysis is a lengthy process that can help different types of businesses draw conclusions by enabling them to see the bigger picture clearly. Once they have obtained valuable data and insight, only then can businesses formulate a clever and strategic plan accordingly.
Furthermore, a SWOT analysis forces you to examine your business in new and interesting ways vis-à-vis your strengths and weaknesses. This preparedness enables you to not only be ready for any challenges that might impact your business, but also offers a deeper understanding of potential opportunities or threats within your target market .
SWOT analysis should be a collaborative and inclusive process, so before you can really dive in, be sure to assemble your partners, stakeholders and any other decision-makers who will bring their ideas to the table. This way you’ll ensure you hear multiple opinions and diverse outlooks that’ll enrich your overall SWOT discussion ahead.
Below, we’ll walk through the stages of how to do a SWOT analysis for reviewing both your own company and competitors. For each one, grab a white board, sheet of paper, or another note-taking device. On this, create four sections for each company you’ll analyze. Label the sections with these parts: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. And remember that when it comes to this type of analysis, leave out the bias. The more honest you are, the better and more useful your results will be.
In order to get a better sense of what a complete SWOT analysis might look like, we’ve taken the example of a hypothetical massage therapist who is starting a service business.
Identify your company strengths
Be aware of your weaknesses
Recognize business opportunities
Understand potential threats
Make a business plan
Strengths are the big things that a particular company is doing well, which gives them a competitive advantage in their industry and benefits their customers. For your own business, identifying your strengths can help you leverage these by making them stronger.
For competitors, consider their strengths a goal to aim for. Ask yourself, How can I do what they do, but better? or, How can I create my own twist on this idea that outsmarts theirs?
Here are a few questions to consider as you begin your SWOT analysis:
What are this company’s competitive advantages in the industry?
What features do they offer that are unique and valuable?
What processes are they excelling in?
What draws customers in?
Are they a market leader? If so, how did they get here?
Is the organization expanding and hiring new employees?
What strong assets does the company have, i.e., intellectual property, stakeholders, buildings, etc.?
These are the aspects of an organization that could use some improvement. During this stage of a SWOT analysis, it’s especially important to be honest with yourself. It might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but if you don’t draw attention to a weakness, there won’t be room for you to make it better.
Note that many of the points you analyzed from the strengths above can be addressed in this section as well, but with a reverse meaning. For example, a strength might be “expanding their business and hiring new people,” while a weakness could be “losing employees to competition.” So think about those as options in addition to these kinds of questions:
What could this company do better?
What processes could be improved?
Is this company lacking an established reputation?
What is this company struggling with compared to others in the industry?
What do customers often complain about?
Is the organization losing employees?
What assets is the company lacking, from patents to funding to employee positions and more?
Owning a business is all about seizing the moment. Opportunities are probably the same for yourself and your competition, if not very similar. Recognizing them is the first step, and taking advantage of them before your competition does is the second. Likewise, you should do so at the determined time that makes the most sense for your business, depending on what stage of development you’re in. Here are more questions for doing a SWOT analysis the right way:
What is the latest trend, such as a green initiative to use recycled packaging or working with social media influencers for promotion?
What are some upcoming events to take advantage of, such as a trade show, holiday or recent news release?
Is there a loophole in your market, such as a cheaper supplier or opportunity to eliminate the middleman?
Is there an opportunity to expand to a larger building or better location?
Could the business be sold soon? Or on the other hand, could this business buy smaller, local businesses to expand?
These are external factors which can put a business in a negative light. And just like opportunities, threats are often similar for both you and your competitors. However, some threats can be individual to an organization, such as a particularly bad PR scandal from an unhappy customer. It’s extremely important to learn how to mitigate these, and prevent them from turning into larger issues in the future.
Although threats come last in the SWOT analysis, it might be a good idea to address them first off paper. Like a small fire, if you don’t act quickly, threats can sometimes cause irreplaceable damage.
Here are examples of potential threats:
Is a customer expressly unhappy with a particular product or service?
Is the market fluctuating, i.e., are prices rising, are consumers purchasing alternatives, etc.?
Are there new government regulations to watch out for?
What is it that they are doing better? Do some market research to find out.
Will new technology become available in the near future that could make this business’s products or services obsolete?
Are consumers no longer expressing interest in these services?
Now that you’ve laid out the most important components affecting the success of your organization and your competition, you have the tools you need to develop a strategy. This plan will guide you to make improvements in your company, and compete on a level playground with your competition.
Consider these five steps in working through your plan:
Get feedback on your own SWOT analysis from your employees and other relevant stakeholders.
Draw out a plan, which involves using your strengths to counteract your weaknesses, as well as finding opportunities through your threats. If you’re just starting a business , write out these components as a part of your business plan , too.
Communicate your ideas to your team members, making sure that everyone is on board and held accountable.
Prioritize your action items, starting with the most important factors first. (Perhaps these are your threats if they are urgent matters.)
Execute your plan with a business proposal . Introduce the plan in the format of listed action items for your team, making sure to assign a designated person for each topic.
As your business continues to grow and evolve, know that this is just a snapshot of a moment in time. Many of these factors are subject to change at a later date. It’s a good idea to come back to this exercise in the future so that you can properly assess where your business stands in your industry and how far along you came.
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Swot analysis: how to strengthen your business plan.
Every business, big or small needs a solid plan to succeed. A well-constructed business plan takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of a company and the opportunities and threats present in the marketplace. One of the most useful tools for assessing these factors is the SWOT analysis as it provides a comprehensive overview of a company's current situation and potential for growth. In this article, we will discuss what a SWOT analysis is, why it is important for businesses, who should conduct it, and how to conduct it effectively.
Have you ever wondered how businesses manage to evaluate all the internal and external factors that could affect their success? Welcome to the SWOT analysis. It's a strategic planning tool that helps businesses identify their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Strengths refer to internal factors that give a company an edge over its competitors. Think of a strong brand, loyal customer base, experienced employees, or efficient operations. Weaknesses, on the other hand, are internal factors that put a company at a disadvantage. These could be a weak brand, lack of funding, inexperienced employees, or outdated technology .
But what about external factors that could impact a business's success? That's where Opportunities and Threats come in. Opportunities are external factors that could help a company grow and succeed. This could include a growing market, new trends, technological advancements, or changes in regulations. Threats, on the other hand, are external factors that could harm a company's growth and success. Examples of threats could be economic downturns, increased competition, changes in consumer behavior, or natural disasters.
By conducting a SWOT analysis, businesses can make informed decisions about their strategic initiatives. By focusing their resources on areas with the greatest potential for growth and competitive advantage, businesses can increase their profitability, market share, and long-term success. So, whether you're a business strategist, executive, manager, or consultant, SWOT analysis can provide a fresh perspective on your company's current situation and potential for growth .
A SWOT analysis is essential for developing a business plan that maximizes a company's strengths, minimizes its weaknesses, and takes advantage of opportunities while mitigating threats.
Here are some of the reasons why a SWOT analysis is important for businesses:
Now that we know what a SWOT analysis is and why it is important for businesses, let's discuss how to conduct a SWOT analysis effectively. Here are the steps involved:
Once the SWOT analysis is complete, the next step is to use the information to develop a strategic plan that maximizes the strengths of the business, minimizes its weaknesses, takes advantage of opportunities, and mitigates threats.
A SWOT analysis can be conducted by anyone involved in the strategic planning process of a business. This can include business strategists , executives, managers, and consultants. Here are some of the benefits of conducting a SWOT analysis:
This information helps businesses to prioritize their key strategic initiatives, focus their resources on areas with the greatest potential for growth and competitive advantage, and develop a strategic plan that aligns with their goals and objectives. Ultimately, a SWOT analysis helps businesses to make more effective strategic decisions that can lead to increased profitability, market share, and long-term success.
To help illustrate the SWOT analysis process, let's take a look at an example of a SWOT analysis for a company in the fashion industry:
Using this SWOT analysis, the company could focus on expanding its distribution channels and international presence, reducing production costs, and investing in sustainable and diverse product offerings.
Q: Is a SWOT analysis only for large businesses? A: No, a SWOT analysis is beneficial for businesses of all sizes, including small businesses.
Q: Can a SWOT analysis be conducted for a specific project or product? A: Yes, a SWOT analysis can be conducted for a specific project or product to evaluate its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Q: How often should a SWOT analysis be conducted? A: It is recommended to conduct a SWOT analysis at least once a year or whenever there are significant changes in the industry, competition, or business environment.
Q: What should I do with the information gathered from a SWOT analysis? A: The information gathered from a SWOT analysis should be used to develop a strategic plan that maximizes strengths, minimizes weaknesses, takes advantage of opportunities, and mitigates threats.
In conclusion, a SWOT analysis is an important tool that can help businesses of all sizes and industries to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By conducting a SWOT analysis, businesses can gain a better understanding of their current situation and potential growth opportunities, enabling them to make informed business decisions and develop effective business strategies. As a strategic leader or business strategist, it is important to conduct a SWOT analysis regularly to stay up-to-date with changes in the industry and competition, and ensure that your business plan is relevant and effective in achieving your business goals.
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Sun Tzu’s famous saying, “Know thyself and know thy enemy; a hundred battles, a hundred victories”, holds true in modern business strategy.
Understanding your business alone is not enough, especially in an increasingly competitive market. This is where the SWOT analysis comes in as a vital tool, offering solutions for both micro and macro-level challenges. SWOT helps managers position their company’s strengths in the market and generates brilliant ideas for strategic implementation.
So, what exactly is SWOT, and how do you conduct a proper SWOT analysis for your business? Let’s dive into the details below.
What does swot stand for.
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It is a widely used strategic analysis method for evaluating the competitive position of an organization, project, or product, helping develop strategic plans.
SWOT analysis involves identifying these internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities and Threats) factors. Based on these insights, you can create practical solutions for your business, such as market expansion, product development, or brand positioning.
This method can be applied to businesses, teams of various sizes, or individual projects.
For example, the marketing department can better understand competitors' strategies through SWOT analysis. This allows your company to develop a unique marketing strategy that capitalizes on your strengths while addressing areas your competitors have overlooked.
Does SWOT analysis help companies expand their markets smoothly? Can the SWOT model help a company avoid budget losses due to market fluctuations? The answer is a resounding yes.
Specifically, SWOT analysis helps your business:
Before analyzing, every manager must understand the four key elements of the SWOT model (S, W, O, T). These elements have unique characteristics and offer specific benefits when applied.
The first letter in SWOT stands for Strengths. Simply put, these are your company's positive attributes, the standout factors that set it apart from competitors.
Example: Skilled employees, advanced technology, and a strong brand reputation are considered strengths of a business.
The second factor in the SWOT matrix is weaknesses, which are opposite to strengths. Weaknesses are obstacles to your company’s growth and "gaps" that need to be improved. In other words, weaknesses are areas where your competitors outperform you.
Example: In terms of products, having a pricing policy that is too high compared to customer affordability is a weakness, which could lead to declining revenue. Therefore, the company must adjust prices to be more competitive while maintaining profitability.
Opportunities are external factors and "leverage points" that allow the company to grow, increase revenue, or bring added value.
Example: After the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a surge in travel demand, presenting a significant opportunity for the airline industry to recover and grow.
Opportunities come with threats, the final key factor in the SWOT model. Threats are risks, losses, or obstacles that hinder your company’s growth now or in the future.
Example: A public relations crisis is one of the biggest threats, causing significant damage to almost any business. In today’s digital age, a single negative customer review can spread widely on social media, causing many potential customers to avoid your business.
Analyzing SWOT goes beyond merely listing the four elements; it involves developing a comprehensive SWOT matrix through the following steps:
Objectives are always tied to projects or activities within the business. With clear objectives, managers can focus on aspects that align with those goals.
The objectives of a SWOT analysis may vary for each department or plan, such as expanding the market, launching a product, dealing with a PR crisis, or conducting a recruitment campaign.
To ensure objective SWOT analysis, conduct surveys within the company, with partners and customers, and collect broad industry and competitor data.
You can conduct interviews or create online forms for survey participants to fill out. Gather information from reputable news channels, industry expert opinions, and competitor websites for market factors.
At this stage, divide a sheet of paper into four quadrants corresponding to the four elements of the SWOT model. Ask and answer specific questions for each quadrant to get a clear picture of your business’s current state.
To identify strengths, consider questions like:
Conversely, identify weaknesses with questions such as:
After answering these questions, you’ll have a clearer picture of your company’s strengths and weaknesses. You can control these internal factors, making it easier to implement solutions or improvements.
External factors affecting the company are just as important as internal ones. Therefore, do not overlook analyzing these two elements in the SWOT model. To fully explore opportunities, consider questions like:
Pro tip: If you struggle to identify opportunities, look at your strengths and assess whether they can be developed or opened up into new opportunities. Similarly, consider your weaknesses and imagine how you could create new opportunities by overcoming them.
In addition to opportunities, your business will also face risks and challenges from the market. To identify these challenges, answer questions like:
Remember, if your business cannot control or change the external environment, you must adapt to counter these factors. For example, you can't change the event if a competitor launches a new product that attracts your customer base. Still, you can research and launch a better product or invest in compelling marketing campaigns.
With a diverse list of ideas covering the four elements inside and outside your business, it’s time to consolidate and filter out the most relevant ones. A helpful tip is to rank these on a scale of 1 to 10.
This final step involves formulating strategies based on your analysis, commonly known as S-O, W-O, S-T, and W-T strategies (variants of the SWOT matrix).
This strategy combines the two strongest elements in the SWOT matrix, helping the business use its internal strengths in conjunction with excellent market opportunities. In other words, it leverages strengths to capitalize on potential opportunities.
Example: A seaside restaurant known for its local specialties and excellent service attracts many tourists and locals. Recognizing the opportunity presented by its favorable location and growing reputation, the restaurant expands its services to include tourism-related offerings.
This strategy combines strengths and threats, aiming to maximize the business’s strengths to counter external threats and minimize potential damage.
Example: The English learning app market is highly competitive, with many new applications emerging globally. However, the Virtual Exam Room app maintains market share and customer trust because its developers have effectively used AI and machine learning to offer unique, personalized features.
This strategy combines weaknesses and opportunities, leveraging opportunities to overcome weaknesses.
Example: A startup entering the market with limited resources and management experience seeks investment from a seasoned venture capital firm. The firm provides funding and valuable operational advice, addressing the startup’s internal weaknesses.
This strategy combines two vulnerable aspects of the SWOT model (weaknesses and threats). If S-O is an attack strategy, then W-T is a defense one. The goal is to improve weaknesses while simultaneously limiting risks, and it is often used when the company is in a declining state.
Example: A traditional electronics manufacturer facing a downturn due to rapid technological advancements and outdated products must innovate its traditional offerings and expand its product line to stay competitive.
As one of the most renowned models worldwide, SWOT offers several significant advantages:
Despite its solid advantages and broad applicability, SWOT has certain limitations you need to be aware of:
Businesses should use the SWOT matrix at the appropriate time. Below are some common scenarios:
F is a startup in educational product development, specifically an English learning app. The company’s main product is the Virtual Exam Room, a leading platform for international English certificate exam preparation, which pioneers the application of Gamification in education.
The product primarily targets elementary school students preparing for international certification exams. Its core value is to make learning and testing English easier and more time-efficient.
The company plans to develop a new product line for teachers, teaching centers, and schools. To effectively plan the new product launch, F conducted a SWOT analysis.
- Few direct competitors in the industry - A leader in applying Gamification to products - The product is genuinely helpful to users - The development team consists of young, enthusiastic, and eager-to-learn individuals. | - The brand is still new, limiting its reach to potential customers. - The product has many features but lacks detailed usage guides. - Occasional screen display errors due to heavy graphics. - The company’s resources are still limited. |
- English is becoming increasingly popular. - Many users access social media to learn about English learning apps. - Many schools are preparing to offer elementary students with international English certificates direct admission. | - The niche market limits the customer base. - Operating in the tech environment means industry trends are constantly changing. - High technology investment costs. - Competitors may copy F’s product model. |
From this SWOT analysis, F developed various strategies:
- Directly target the niche market (where there are few competitors). - Intensify communication about F’s products, highlighting their position as leaders in Gamification. - Leverage the success of user case studies on social media channels. | - Clarify the product's core benefits, demonstrate its superiority over imitations, and register for brand protection. - Invest in internal research and development activities. |
- Increase brand advertising on social media. - Encourage customers to share their experiences and product reviews on social media. - Offer discounts or gifts for successful customer referrals. | - Partner with strategic allies to ease financial burdens while increasing brand awareness for F. |
This article has provided a detailed explanation of the SWOT model and guided you on how to implement it. SWOT is an analytical tool and a crucial step in shaping business strategies. Your business can effectively build and propel its development strategy by leveraging strengths, overcoming weaknesses, exploiting opportunities, and addressing threats.
We hope this article has given you deeper insights into SWOT and allowed you to apply it practically in your business operations.
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Swot analysis maker.
Assessing your self is quite a challenging task. Without particular subjects to tackle, it is truly confusing what attributes do really matter in self-evaluation and what qualities do you need to consider. Assuming that you want to assess your performance in a particular area, one of the easiest options you may choose is to craft a personal SWOT analysis . If it is something unknown to you, read through this article to learn more and properly make this analysis yourself.
Basically, SWOT analysis or also known as “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis” is a framework used to distinguish and investigate the internal and external factors that can affect the viability of a project, product, place or person. The SWOT analysis was developed by an American business and management consultant, Albert Humphrey. This approach was tested in the 1960s and 1970s at the Stanford Research Institute and is crafted for business decision-making activities.
It is the business units that utilized SWOT analysis the most common; however, it is also used by nonprofit organizations in making huge decisions and measurements, and it is also utilized for personal assessment. Moreover, this framework is useful to assess initiatives, products or projects.
Now that you already discovered what a SWOT analysis is, it would be easier for you to understand what a personal SWOT analysis is. As a matter of fact, this framework is just similar to a basic SWOT analysis; however, it is done in a more specific manner.
A personal SWOT analysis is an analytical framework that is particularly used in assessing the performance of an individual. This is done by the examiner to test him/herself and is also classified into four sections. Assuming that you are going to evaluate yourself through this framework, you will be identifying the following:
Strength – These are the areas that you have an advantage over or also considered as your assets (i.e. talents, skill sets, capabilities, etc.)
Weakness – These are the areas that you need improvement on or that there are other people who can do tasks better than you.
Opportunity – These are the possibilities where you can take advantage of, or where your talents, skills, and capabilities can flourish which leads to the achievement of your dreams, goals, and ambitions.
Threats – These are the things that prevent or keeps you from achieving your dreams and goals.
SWOT analysis deals with both internal and external factors. Strengths and weaknesses are your internal qualities which are also your advantages or disadvantages (i.e. talents, skills, and capabilities, points for improvement). Opportunities and weaknesses deal with the external factors— the possibilities that you should either take advantage of or avoid from completely.
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Considering that you already understand the fundamentals of personal SWOT analysis, it would be great if you practice making one now. Assuming that you are still innocent about how it is done, we are going to guide you on how to craft your own personal SWOT analysis in this section. In order for you to get started, you may follow these simple steps:
Before you begin in making your personal SWOT analysis, it is advisable for you to initially ponder on the reason why you are making one. In this way, you will have a direct guide on the items that you need to consider and classify. With this, you will also have a basis on how to sort your elements, too. Considering that this is a personal SWOT analysis, your main purpose is probably to assess yourself. Nevertheless, try to have a more specific reason by identifying your performance in a particular activity.
In practicing on how to write your own personal SWOT analysis, you have the freedom to do it anywhere and with anything. You can do it on a piece of paper, with the use of a mobile phone, computer, etc., basically, any medium will do as long as you can draw lines and write some texts easily.
On your chosen medium, draw a square that is big enough to hold all of your possible items. After creating the square, divide it into four smaller squares by drawing a line through the middle of each opposite side of the bigger square.
Once you already formed four smaller boxes, indicate the heading. Inside the upper left square, write “Strengths” or simply “S” and “Weaknesses” or “W” inside the top right square. At the lower squares, write “Opportunities” or “O” within the box at the bottom left, and “Threats” or “T” inside the bottom right box. These labels or titles would help you distinguish what to put inside them. You can also apply creative effects such as various colors and designs to differentiate each box.
After adding the labels, it is now time to fill these boxes with the appropriate content. Simply assess yourself and indicate your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats accordingly. Since this SWOT analysis is personal, elements in this framework are naturally subjective and qualitative. Nonetheless, in evaluating yourself, be honest and true to yourself to have an effective deliverable. Moreover, contents under each label are usually written in bullet form. In order for you to easily examine yourself, kindly refer to the guide questions below.
Let’s go back to step number 1. Remember, you crafted one because of a specific reason, right? In this step, create a conclusion out from your analysis. In other words, write your realization out from the framework you have made. This will serve as your basis on making a critical decision in improving your performance in a certain field or activity.
Conducting personal SWOT analysis is easy because you can do this on your own. Just by asking yourself with the following questions for each category, you can already analyze yourself.
To identify your strengths as an individual, you can ask and answer the following questions to yourself:
To identify your weaknesses as an individual, you can ask and answer the following questions:
To identify the possible opportunities around you, you can ask and answer the following questions:
To identify possible threats, you can ask and answer the following questions:
While conducting a personal SWOT analysis, you have to make sure that you are honest with yourself in answering the aforementioned questions. The results of your personal SWOT analysis could be a make or break your personal development. Your honesty will directly affect the reliability and credibility of your personal SWOT analysis results.
Conducting a personal SWOT analysis can be helpful in assessing yourself. You could be assessing yourself to see if you will be able to meet the requirements of the job you are applying for or the promotion you are seeking. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses beforehand will be able to help you in identifying gaps and in preparing you to become the best candidate for the position you are applying for. Through SWOT analysis, you will also be able to identify opportunities that are beneficial for your development and you will also be able to neutralize or overcome threats that could hinder you from achieving your dreams, goals, and ambitions.
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Now that you have learned something about SWOT analysis, the question now moves on what to do next.
After conducting a personal SWOT analysis, you will be able to determine potential ideas, actions, and goals, as well as analyze information, and build a strategy — but most importantly, you will be able to MATCH and CONVERT.
Matching happens when you would connect two categories from the SWOT analysis in order to form or determine a course of action. The categories that should be matched are strengths and opportunities. This is where you draw the line in being aggressive when it comes to achieving what you want to achieve. Another pair of categories that should be matched are your weaknesses and threats. This is where you become defensive and where you identify the points where you need to make an extra effort in order to improve yourself.
Conversion here simply means turning your negatives into positives, making your weaknesses into strengths and seeing opportunities in your weaknesses. For example, you want to be a blogger but can’t afford to hire a team to assist you in your business operations. Additionally, you don’t know how to utilize graphic and layout design to make your blog visually appealing. You can turn your lack of design skills into a strength as you can learn that new skill. Learning new skill sets can open new opportunities that could also be helpful in your endeavors.
Do not put your personal SWOT analysis to waste by treating it as a mere to-do list. For a SWOT analysis to be effective, you have to take action on the results of your assessment. If there are things that you need to convert in order to achieve your fullest potential, then you have to be determined to achieve it.
Personal SWOT analysis is a useful tool to help you assess yourself. It is simple, smart and easy-to-make. However, along with its numerous benefits are the disadvantages it carries. In this section, we are going to tackle the drawbacks that personal SWOT analysis possesses. Read through to learn more.
A downside of a personal SWOT analysis is that there is no factor that could weigh different variables. In this type of technique, the examiner would basically make four different lists of his/her strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. That’s quite an easy task; however, personal SWOT analysis has no feature that could rank the items in every list. Thus, the weight or intensity of each item is not assessed.
If you have already experienced making an analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats then basically you can already relate to this drawback. A personal SWOT analysis is a one-dimensional model in which you classifies each of your qualities or attributes into four lists. It may sound indisputable; however, when you think of it, a quality of yours could be enumerable in more than one classification. To elaborate, an element that is in your strength could also be considered as an opportunity; likewise, an element in your weakness could also be considered as a threat. A personal SWOT analysis also does not provide a tool that could help an individual assess the overlaps, making it ambiguous for the examiner.
Though a personal SWOT analysis is indeed intended to be subjective to assess yourself, it does not mean that it is fine. Considering that you only segregate elements based on the guide questions, there is no objective basis that makes the examination valid. For example, an element that is truly a strength could just be an opportunity for you which makes it unreliable because your classification process is only assessed by your own perspective. Thus, a personal SWOT framework holds data that are limited by an individual’s cognitive bias. This makes the analysis questionable rather than making it a tool for you to know yourself via a fair assessment.
Personal SWOT analysis could be an obscure and unreliable framework due to its disadvantages; however, it is a great process that would help you in recognizing yourself. Though your assessment is not valid, it is a good start to measure how much do you know yourself on an intrapersonal level.
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Here's how to effectively write a strength in a SWOT analysis: Identify Internal Positive Attributes: Focus on internal factors that are within the control of the business. These can include resources, skills, or other advantages relative to competitors. Consider areas like strong brand reputation, proprietary technology, skilled workforce ...
Arrange each section into a table with four quadrants. Whether you use the template above or create your own, a table format can help you visualize your SWOT analysis. In my experience, this can be done by arranging each of the four sections into separate quadrants. 3. Identify your objective.
Step 6: Draw the SWOT Analysis Table. The final step is crafting a swot analysis table. This involves creating a matrix and dividing it into four sections. The internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) are listed above, with the strengths on the left and the weaknesses on the right. On the other hand, the external factors (opportunities and ...
A SWOT analysis is a high-level strategic planning model that helps organizations identify where they're doing well and where they can improve, both from an internal and an external perspective. SWOT is an acronym for "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. SWOT works because it helps you evaluate your business by considering ...
Essentially, a SWOT analysis is a comparative list of all your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. There's more power in this process than you might think. You may be only hazily aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. However, thoughtfully recording and reflecting on them creates a thorough, conscious familiarity with both ...
A SWOT analysis is a technique used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in order to develop a strategic plan or roadmap for your business. While it may sound difficult, it's actually quite simple. Whether you're looking for external opportunities or internal strengths, we'll walk you through how to perform your ...
A SWOT analysis is typically conducted using a four-square SWOT analysis template, but you could also just make lists for each category. Use the method that makes it easiest for you to organize and understand the results. I recommend holding a brainstorming session to identify the factors in each of the four categories.
Key Takeaways: SWOT stands for S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats. A "SWOT analysis" involves carefully assessing these four factors in order to make clear and effective plans. A SWOT analysis can help you to challenge risky assumptions, uncover dangerous blindspots, and reveal important new insights.
A SWOT analysis provides businesses with an outline of the current state and tangible areas to focus on for improved performance or development. Research how to perform a personal swot analysis if you are conducting a SWOT analysis for yourself. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do a successful business SWOT analysis: Step 1: Gather Data
1. Gather the right people. Gather people from different parts of your company and make sure that you have representatives from every department and team. You'll find that different groups within your company will have entirely different perspectives that will be critical to making your SWOT analysis successful. 2.
Step 1: Determine Your Objective. A SWOT analysis can be broad, though more value will likely be generated if the analysis is pointed directly at an objective. For example, the objective of a SWOT ...
How to Do a SWOT Analysis. To perform a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis, assemble a matrix and take an objective look at your business. Write down your observations, summarize your findings, and plan your next steps together with your team. "A SWOT analysis is designed to shed light on four separate aspects of ...
A SWOT analysis can help a small business owner or business assess a company's position to determine the most optimal strategy going forward. This business practice can help you identify what you're doing well, what you want to do better, and what kinds of obstacles you might encounter along the way. This guide will walk.
Getty. A SWOT analysis is a framework used in a business's strategic planning to evaluate its competitive positioning in the marketplace. The analysis looks at four key characteristics that are ...
Divide a piece of paper or whiteboard into four quadrants and label them appropriately: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Or, if you're too busy to draw a giant plus sign, save yourself the trouble and copy the template if you scrolled straight past it. Step 2. Define your objective.
First, you should attempt to match your strengths with your opportunities. Next, you should try to convert weaknesses into strengths. Let's take a look how this works. 1. Harness your strengths. One of the best things about the strengths you identified in your SWOT analysis is that you're already doing them.
Step #3. Divide your weaknesses into two groups: Group 1: Weaknesses that require improvement before you can take advantage of opportunities. Group 2: Weaknesses that you need to completely and quickly overhaul and convert into strengths to avert potential threats to your business. Step #4.
A SWOT analysis is a strategy used by businesses for measuring and evaluating their overall performance, and that of competitors, in an objective manner. All these factors help business owners make smarter decisions for their company, such as if a venture should grow into a new field or rebrand itself. The first two parameters, strengths and ...
Whether you're a small business owner, a project manager, or part of a large organization, a well-executed SWOT analysis can provide valuable insights and guide your strategic planning.
Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Jun 7, 2021 • 3 min read. As entrepreneurs embark on strategic planning initiatives to set business strategy and define decision-making protocols, they may need space for a sober analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This popular type of business analysis is known as a SWOT analysis.
Review your weaknesses. Make a step-by-step action plan to evaluate their importance and mitigate the risk they post for the business. Evaluate the opportunities. Structure a plan that shows how you might take advantage of them, and what might hinder your progress. Weigh up the threats.
A SWOT analysis is essential for developing a business plan that maximizes a company's strengths, minimizes its weaknesses, and takes advantage of opportunities while mitigating threats. Here are some of the reasons why a SWOT analysis is important for businesses: Identifies key areas for improvement. By conducting the SWOT analysis, businesses ...
How to conduct a SWOT analysis. The following are steps to conduct a SWOT analysis for an organization: 1. Choose a facilitator. Organizational leaders typically carry out SWOT analyses and rely on other team members to conduct a thorough evaluation. Leaders ensure they represent various departments and consider all relevant factors.
Sun Tzu's famous saying, "Know thyself and know thy enemy; a hundred battles, a hundred victories", holds true in modern business strategy. Understanding your business alone is not enough, especially in an increasingly competitive market. This is where the SWOT analysis comes in as a vital tool, offering solutions for both micro and macro-level challenges.
You're seeing significant changes in the market: A SWOT analysis reveals how industry changes, like new regulations or technological advancements, impact your business environment. Your growth has stagnated: If your company has hit a plateau, use SWOT analysis to identify strengths, opportunities for expansion, and areas that need improvement.
In practicing on how to write your own personal SWOT analysis, you have the freedom to do it anywhere and with anything. You can do it on a piece of paper, with the use of a mobile phone, computer, etc., basically, any medium will do as long as you can draw lines and write some texts easily. 3. Make a grid.
Conducting a personal SWOT analysis is a powerful way to understand yourself better and plan for your future. By examining your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can gain insights that will help you grow both personally and professionally. This guide will walk you through the steps of performing a personal SWOT analysis and provide real-world examples to help you get ...