Conducting A SWOT Analysis
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
By Bobette Kyle
A Basic SWOT Analysis
You can develop the basic analysis in a brainstorming session with members of your company, or by yourself if you are a one-person shop. To begin the analysis create a four- cell grid or four lists, one for each component:
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
Then, begin filling in the lists.
Strengths: Think about what your company does well. Some questions to help you get started are: What makes you stand out from your competitors? What advantages do you have over other businesses?
Weaknesses: List the areas that are a struggle for your company. Some questions to help you get started are: What do your customers complain about? What are the unmet needs of your sales force?
Opportunities: Traditionally, a SWOT looks only at the external environment for opportunities. I suggest you look externally for areas your competitors are not fully covering, then go a step further and think how to match these to your internal strengths.
Try to uncover areas where your strengths are not being fully utilized. Are there emerging trends that fit with your company's strengths? Is there a product/service area that others have not yet covered?
Threats: As with opportunities, threats in a traditional SWOT analysis are considered an external force. By looking both inside and outside of your company for things that could damage your business, however, you may be better able to see the big picture.
Some questions to get you started: Are your competitors becoming stronger? Are there emerging trends that amplify one of your weaknesses? Do you see other external threats to your company's success? Internally, do you have financial, development, or other problems?
Continue reading Expanded SWOT Analysis >>>
Copyright 2002, 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.
How Marketing Plan Success can help:
Marketing Plan Success’s fill-in-the-blank SWOT Analysis Template helps you quickly analyze your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and use this information for developing your marketing strategy. The SWOT Action Plan, included with our marketing plan template, gives a quick overview of the relationship between the different parts of the marketing plan’s SWOT Analysis. Download the Marketing Plan Success Demo >>>
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About the Author: Bobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business."
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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