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How to Write a SWOT Analysis for a Business Plan

• March 21, 2024
• Business Plan , How to Write

Navigating the complexities of business requires a clear understanding of your strategic position, and a SWOT analysis is an essential tool to help you achieve this clarity. It’s a straightforward method that breaks down into Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, providing a snapshot of where your business stands and guiding your future strategic moves.

With this guide, you’ll learn how to leverage your advantages, address challenges, seize new opportunities, and guard against potential threats. Let’s dive into the process together and set a strong foundation for your business’s strategic planning. Let’s dive in!

What is a SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify and understand the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning. This method helps organizations in assessing both internal and external factors that could impact their objectives.

• Strengths : Positive attributes internal to the organization and within its control. Strengths are resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage.
• Weaknesses : Factors that are within an organization’s control but detract from its ability to attain the desired goal. These are areas the business needs to improve to remain competitive.
• Opportunities : External chances to improve performance in the environment. Opportunities reflect the potential you can leverage to grow your business or project.
• Threats : External challenges to the business’s performance or project’s success. Threats might stem from various sources, such as economic downturns, increased competition, or changes in regulatory landscapes.

Why Use a SWOT Analysis?

We use a SWOT analysis for several important reasons in business and strategic planning:

• Strategic Overview : It provides a concise and comprehensive overview of the current strategic position of the business or project. By examining internal and external factors, stakeholders can get a clear picture of their situation.
• Decision Making : SWOT analysis aids in decision-making by highlighting the strengths to leverage, weaknesses to address, opportunities to pursue, and threats to mitigate. It helps in prioritizing actions based on the analysis.
• Opportunity Identification : SWOT analysis is instrumental in identifying new opportunities for growth and expansion. Opportunities might come from market trends , economic shifts, or changes in technology.
• Risk Management : By identifying threats, organizations can develop strategies to address or mitigate these risks before they become significant issues. It’s a proactive approach to managing potential external challenges.
• Resource Allocation : Understanding the organization’s strengths and weaknesses helps in the effective allocation of resources. Resources can be directed to areas where they are needed most or where they will have the highest impact.
• Competitive Advantage : It helps businesses identify unique features and capabilities that give them a competitive edge in the market. Recognizing these strengths can guide marketing strategies and business development.

How to Write a SWOT Analysis

Writing a strength in a SWOT analysis involves identifying and articulating the internal attributes and resources of a business or project that contribute to its success and competitive advantage. 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, financial resources, strategic location, and efficient processes.
• Be Specific and Relevant : General statements like “we have a good team” are less helpful than specific ones like “our team includes industry-recognized experts in X field.” The more precise you are, the more actionable your analysis will be. Ensure that the strengths are directly relevant to achieving the business’s goals and objectives.
• Use Quantifiable Data When Possible : Whenever you can, back up your strengths with quantifiable data. For example, “a customer satisfaction rate of 95%” or “a 20% lower production cost than industry average” provides concrete evidence of your strengths.
• Compare to Competitors : Strengths are often relative to the competition. Identify areas where your business outperforms competitors or fills a gap in the market. This might involve superior product quality, a unique service model, or a more extensive distribution network.

Example: Instead of simply stating “Experienced management team” as a strength, you could write: “Our management team has over 50 years of combined experience in the tech industry, including a track record of successful product launches and market expansions. This depth of experience provides us with strategic insights and operational expertise that have consistently resulted in market share growth and above-industry-average profitability.”

Writing a weakness in a SWOT analysis involves acknowledging and detailing the internal factors that limit or challenge your business or project’s ability to achieve its goals. Here’s a structured approach to effectively articulate weaknesses in a SWOT analysis:

• Identify Internal Limitations : Focus on internal attributes that are within the control of the organization but currently act as disadvantages. Weaknesses might include insufficient resources, lack of expertise, outdated technology, poor location, limited product range, or inefficiencies in processes.
• Be Specific and Honest : It’s important to be honest and specific about your organization’s weaknesses. Vague statements won’t help in addressing these issues. For instance, rather than saying “we need to improve our marketing,” specify “our current marketing strategy does not effectively reach our target demographic of 18-25-year-olds on digital platforms.”
• Use Internal Comparisons and Feedback : Compare your performance, processes, and resources against your own past performance or industry benchmarks. Utilize customer feedback, employee insights, and performance data to identify areas of weakness.
• Keep it Constructive : While it’s crucial to be honest about weaknesses, frame them in a way that focuses on potential for improvement. Consider each weakness as an area for development and growth.

Example: Instead of a broad statement like “Inadequate online presence,” a more effective description would be: “Our business currently lacks a robust online presence, reflected in our outdated website and minimal engagement on key social media platforms. This limits our ability to attract younger demographics who predominantly discover and interact with brands online. Improving our online visibility and engagement could enhance brand awareness and customer acquisition.”

Opportunities

Writing opportunities in a SWOT analysis involves identifying and articulating external factors that your business or project could exploit to its advantage. Opportunities are elements in the environment that, if leveraged effectively, could provide a pathway for growth, improvement, or competitive advantage. Here’s how to systematically approach writing opportunities in your SWOT analysis:

• Spot External Trends : Focus on the trends and changes outside your organization that could be beneficial. These might include technological advancements, shifts in consumer behavior, market gaps, regulatory changes, or economic trends.
• Be Relevant and Actionable : Ensure that the opportunities you identify are relevant to your business and actionable. They should align with your business’s strengths and capabilities, allowing you to take practical steps toward capitalizing on them.
• Use Market Research : Base your identification of opportunities on solid market research. Understand your target market , industry trends, and the competitive landscape to pinpoint where the real opportunities lie.
• Detail Potential Benefits : Clearly articulate how each opportunity could benefit your business. Whether it’s entering a new market, launching a new product line, or adopting new technology, explain the potential impact on your business growth and success.

Example: Rather than vaguely stating “New market segments,” a more strategic description of an opportunity could be: “With increasing consumer interest in sustainable living, there’s a growing market segment for eco-friendly products. Our business’s strong commitment to sustainability and existing lineup of environmentally friendly products positions us well to capture this emerging market. Expanding our product range to include more items that cater to eco-conscious consumers can tap into this trend, potentially opening up new revenue streams and enhancing our brand’s reputation as a leader in sustainability.”

Writing threats in a SWOT analysis involves identifying external challenges that could pose risks to your business or project’s success. These are factors outside your control that have the potential to harm your operations, financial performance, or strategic positioning. Addressing threats effectively in a SWOT analysis requires a focused approach:

• Identify External Challenges : Start by pinpointing the external factors that could negatively impact your business. This can include new competitors entering the market, changes in consumer preferences, technological advancements that render your product less desirable, regulatory changes, or economic downturns.
• Be Precise and Realistic : Clearly define each threat in specific terms, avoiding vague descriptions. Being realistic about the level of risk each threat poses is crucial; not every external challenge is a dire threat, but understanding the potential impact is key for strategic planning.
• Assess the Impact : For each threat identified, evaluate how it could impact your business. Consider the worst-case scenario and more likely outcomes to gauge the potential severity of the threat. This helps in prioritizing which threats need immediate attention and strategic response.
• Use Reliable Sources : Base your identification of threats on solid, reliable information. This might include industry reports, economic forecasts, and news sources that provide insights into market dynamics and external conditions.
• Consider Your Weaknesses : Link potential threats to your identified weaknesses. Understanding how external threats could exploit your vulnerabilities offers valuable insights for fortifying your business against these challenges.

Example: Instead of broadly stating “Economic uncertainty,” a more actionable description of a threat would be: “The looming economic downturn poses a significant threat to discretionary consumer spending. Given our business’s reliance on non-essential luxury products, a reduction in consumer spending could directly impact sales. This economic uncertainty requires us to diversify our product offerings and identify more value-oriented options to maintain customer engagement and spending during tighter economic conditions.”

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SWOT Analysis: How To Do One [With Template & Examples]

Published: October 05, 2023

As your business grows, you need a roadmap to help navigate the obstacles, challenges, opportunities, and projects that come your way. Enter: the SWOT analysis.

This framework can help you develop a plan to determine your priorities, maximize opportunities, and minimize roadblocks as you scale your organization. Below, let’s go over exactly what a SWOT analysis is, a few SWOT analysis examples, and how to conduct one for your business.

When you’re done reading, you’ll have all the inspiration and tactical advice you need to tackle a SWOT analysis for your business.

What is a SWOT analysis? Importance of a SWOT Analysis How to Write a Good SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis Examples How to Act on a SWOT Analysis

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that puts your business in perspective using the following lenses: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Using a SWOT analysis helps you identify ways your business can improve and maximize opportunities, while simultaneously determining negative factors that might hinder your chances of success.

While it may seem simple on the surface, a SWOT analysis allows you to make unbiased evaluations on:

• Your business or brand.
• Market positioning.
• A new project or initiative.
• A specific campaign or channel.

Practically anything that requires strategic planning, internal or external, can have the SWOT framework applied to it, helping you avoid unnecessary errors down the road from lack of insight.

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Importance of a SWOT Analysis

You’ve noticed by now that SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The framework seems simple enough that you’d be tempted to forgo using it at all, relying instead on your intuition to take these things into account.

But you shouldn’t. Doing a SWOT analysis is important. Here’s why.

SWOT gives you the chance to worry and to dream.

A SWOT analysis is an important step in your strategic process because it gives you the opportunity to explore both the potential risks and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.  You’re giving yourself the space to dream, evaluate, and worry before taking action. Your insights then turn into assets as you create the roadmap for your initiative.

For instance, when you consider the weaknesses and threats that your business may face, you can address any concerns or challenges and strategize on how to mitigate those risks. At the same time, you can identify strengths and opportunities, which can inspire innovative ideas and help you dream big. Both are equally important. 

SWOT forces you to define your variables.

Instead of diving head first into planning and execution, you’re taking inventory of all your assets and roadblocks. This process will help you  develop strategies that leverage your strengths and opportunities while addressing and mitigating the impact of weaknesses and threats.

As a result, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of your current situation and create a more specific and effective roadmap. Plus, a SWOT analysis is inherently proactive. That means you'll be better equipped to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and set realistic goals. 

SWOT allows you to account for mitigating factors.

As you identify weaknesses and threats, you’re better able to account for them in your roadmap, improving your chances of success.

Moreover, accounting for mitigating factors allows you to allocate your resources wisely and make informed decisions that lead to sustainable growth. With a SWOT analysis as a guide, you can confidently face challenges and seize opportunities.

SWOT helps you keep a written record.

As your organization grows and changes, you’ll be able to strike things off your old SWOTs and make additions. You can look back at where you came from and look ahead at what’s to come.

In other words, SWOT analyses serve as a tangible history of your progress and provide a reference point for future decision-making. With each update, your SWOT analysis becomes a living document that guides your strategic thinking and helps you stay agile and adaptable in an ever-changing business landscape.

By maintaining this written record, you foster a culture of continuous improvement and empower your team to make data-driven decisions and stay aligned with your long-term vision.

Parts of a SWOT Analysis

Conducting a SWOT analysis will help you strategize effectively, unlock valuable insights, and make informed decisions. But what exactly does a SWOT analysis include?

Let’s explore each component: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Your strengths are the unique advantages and internal capabilities that give your company a competitive edge in the market. A strong brand reputation, innovative products or services, or exceptional customer service are just a few examples. By identifying and capitalizing on your strengths, you can foster customer loyalty and build a solid foundation for growth.

No business is flawless. Weaknesses are areas where you may face challenges or fall short of your potential. It could be outdated processes, skill gaps within the team, or inadequate resources. By acknowledging these weaknesses, you can establish targeted initiatives for improvement, upskill your team, adopt new technologies, and enhance your overall operational efficiency.

Opportunities are external factors that can contribute to your company's progress. These may include emerging markets, technological advancements, changes in consumer behavior, or gaps in the market that your company can fill. By seizing these opportunities, you can expand your market reach, diversify your product offerings, forge strategic partnerships, or even venture into untapped territories.

Threats are external factors that are beyond your control and pose challenges to your business. Increased competition, economic volatility, evolving regulatory landscapes, or even changing market trends are examples of threats. By proactively assessing and addressing them, you can develop contingency plans, adjust your strategies, and minimize their impact on your operations.

In a SWOT analysis, you’ll have to take both internal and external factors into account. We’ll cover those next.

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SWOT Analysis Internal and External Factors

A SWOT analysis typically has internal (i.e., within your organization) and external (i.e., outside your organization) factors at play. Here's a breakdown of each.

Internal Factors

Internal factors refer to the characteristics and resources within your organization that directly influence its operations and performance. These factors are completely within your organization's control, so they can be modified, improved, or capitalized upon.

In a SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses are categorized as internal factors. Let’s look at a few examples.

• Brand reputation
• Unique expertise
• Loyal customer base
• Talented workforce
• Efficient processes
• Proprietary technology
• Outdated technology
• Inadequate resources
• Poor financial health
• Inefficient processes
• Skill gaps within the team

External Factors

External factors are elements outside the organization's control that have an impact on its operations, market position, and success. These factors arise from the industry climate and the broader business environment. You typically have no control over external factors, but you can respond to them.

In a SWOT analysis, opportunities and threats are categorized as external factors. Let’s look at a few examples.

• Emerging markets
• Changing consumer trends
• Technological advancements
• Positive shifts in regulations
• New gaps in the market you could fill
• Intense competition
• Economic downturns
• Disruptive technologies
• Changing regulations
• Negative shifts in consumer behavior

Remember, a well-rounded SWOT analysis empowers you to capitalize on strengths, address weaknesses, seize opportunities, and navigate threats — all while making informed decisions for the future.

Now, let’s take a look at how you can write a good SWOT analysis for yourself or for stakeholders.

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

There are several steps you’ll want to take when evaluating your business and conducting a strategic SWOT analysis.

1. Download HubSpot's SWOT Analysis Template.

There’s no need to start from scratch for your analysis. Instead, start by downloading a free, editable template from HubSpot. Feel free to use the model yourself, or create your own as it suits your needs.

3. Identify your objective.

Before you start writing things down, you’ll need to figure out what you’re evaluating with your SWOT analysis.

Be specific about what you want to analyze. Otherwise, your SWOT analysis may end up being too broad, and you’ll get analysis paralysis as you are making your evaluations.

If you’re creating a new social media program, you’ll want to conduct an analysis to inform your content creation strategy. If you’re launching a new product, you’ll want to understand its potential positioning in the space. If you’re considering a brand redesign, you’ll want to consider existing and future brand conceptions.

All of these are examples of good reasons to conduct a SWOT analysis. By identifying your objective, you’ll be able to tailor your evaluation to get more actionable insights.

4. Identify your strengths.

“Strengths” refers to what you are currently doing well. Think about the factors that are going in your favor as well as the things you offer that your competitors just can’t beat.

For example, let’s say you want to use a SWOT analysis to evaluate your new social media strategy.

If you’re looking at a new social media program, perhaps you want to evaluate how your brand is perceived by the public. Is it easily recognizable and well-known? Even if it’s not popular with a widespread group, is it well-received by a specific audience?

Next, think about your process: Is it effective or innovative? Is there good communication between marketing and sales?

Finally, evaluate your social media message, and in particular, how it differs from the rest of the industry. I’m willing to bet you can make a lengthy list of some major strengths of your social media strategy over your competitors, so try to dive into your strengths from there.

5. Identify your weaknesses.

In contrast to your strengths, what are the roadblocks hindering you from reaching your goals? What do your competitors offer that continues to be a thorn in your side?

This section isn’t about dwelling on negative aspects. Rather, it’s critical to foresee any potential obstacles that could mitigate your success.

When identifying weaknesses, consider what areas of your business are the least profitable, where you lack certain resources, or what costs you the most time and money. Take input from employees in different departments, as they’ll likely see weaknesses you hadn’t considered.

If you’re examining a new social media strategy, you might start by asking yourself these questions: First, if I were a consumer, what would prevent me from buying this product, or engaging with this business? What would make me click away from the screen?

Second, what do I foresee as the biggest hindrance to my employees’ productivity, or their ability to get the job done efficiently? What derails their social media efforts?

6. Consider your opportunities.

This is your chance to dream big. What are some opportunities for your social media strategy you hope, but don’t necessarily expect, to reach?

For instance, maybe you’re hoping your Facebook ads will attract a new, larger demographic. Maybe you’re hoping your YouTube video gets 10,000 views and increases sales by 10%.

Whatever the case, it’s important to include potential opportunities in your SWOT analysis. Ask yourself these questions:

• What technologies do I want my business to use to make it more effective?
• What new target audience do I want to reach?
• How can the business stand out more in the current industry?
• Is there something our customers complain about that we could fix?

The opportunities category goes hand-in-hand with the weaknesses category. Once you’ve made a list of weaknesses, it should be easy to create a list of potential opportunities that could arise if you eliminate your weaknesses.

7. Contemplate your threats.

It’s likely, especially if you’re prone to worry, you already have a good list of threats in your head.

If not, gather your employees and brainstorm. Start with these questions:

• What obstacles might prevent us from reaching our goals?
• What’s going on in the industry, or with our competitors, that might mitigate our success?
• Is there new technology out there that could conflict with our product?

Writing down your threats helps you evaluate them objectively.

For instance, maybe you list your threats in terms of least and most likely to occur and divide and conquer each. If one of your biggest threats is your competitor’s popular Instagram account, you could work with your marketing department to create content that showcases your product’s unique features.

SWOT Analysis Chart

Download a free SWOT analysis chart included in HubSpot’s free market research kit .

A SWOT analysis doesn’t have to be fancy. Our SWOT analysis chart provides a clear and structured framework for capturing and organizing your internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. It's the perfect visual aid to make sense of the wealth of information gathered during your analysis.

(Plus, you can always customize and paste it into a document you plan to share with stakeholders.)

But remember: Filling out the SWOT chart is just one step in the process. Combine it with our entire market research kit , and you'll have all the tools necessary to help your organization navigate new opportunities and threats.

SWOT Analysis Examples

The template above helps get you started on your own SWOT analysis.

But, if you’re anything like me, it’s not enough to see a template. To fully understand a concept, you need to see how it plays out in the real world.

These SWOT examples are not exhaustive. However, they are a great starting point to inspire you as you do your own SWOT analysis.

Apple’s SWOT analysis

Here’s how we’d conduct a SWOT analysis on Apple.

First off, strengths. While Apple has many strengths, let’s identify the top three:

• Brand recognition.
• Innovative products.
• Ease of use.

Apple’s brand is undeniably strong, and its business is considered the most valuable in the world . Since it’s easily recognized, Apple can produce new products and almost ensure a certain degree of success by virtue of the brand name itself.

Apple’s highly innovative products are often at the forefront of the industry. One thing that sets Apple apart from the competition is its product inter-connectivity.

For instance, an Apple user can easily sync their iPhone and iPad together. They can access all of their photos, contacts, apps, and more no matter which device they are using.

Lastly, customers enjoy how easy it is to use Apple’s products. With a sleek and simple design, each product is developed so that most people can quickly learn how to use them.

Next, let’s look at three of Apple’s weaknesses.

• High prices
• Closed ecosystem
• Lack of experimentation

While the high prices don’t deter Apple’s middle- and upper-class customer base, they do hinder Apple’s ability to reach a lower-class demographic.

Apple also suffers from its own exclusivity. Apple controls all its services and products in-house, and while many customers become loyal brand advocates for this reason, it means all burdens fall on Apple employees.

Ultimately, Apple’s tight control over who distributes its products limits its market reach.

Lastly, Apple is held to a high standard when it comes to creating and distributing products. Apple’s brand carries a high level of prestige. That level of recognition inhibits Apple from taking risks and experimenting freely with new products that could fail.

Now, let’s take a look at opportunities for Apple.

It’s easy to recognize opportunities for improvement, once you consider Apple’s weaknesses. Here’s a list of three we came up with:

• Expand distribution options.
• Create new product lines.
• Technological advancement.

One of Apple’s biggest weaknesses is its distribution network, which, in the name of exclusivity, remains relatively small. If Apple expanded its network and enabled third-party businesses to sell its products, it could reach more people globally, while alleviating some of the stress currently put on in-house employees.

There are also plenty of opportunities for Apple to create new products. Apple could consider creating more affordable products to reach a larger demographic, or spreading out into new industries — Apple self-driving cars, perhaps?

Finally, Apple could continue advancing its products’ technology. Apple can take existing products and refine them, ensuring each product offers as many unique features as possible.

Finally, let’s look at threats to Apple.

Believe it or not, they do exist.

Here are three of Apple’s biggest threats:

• Tough competition.
• International issues.

Apple isn’t the only innovative tech company out there, and it continues to face tough competition from Samsung, Google, and other major forces. In fact, Samsung sold more smartphones than Apple did in Q1 of 2022 , shipping 17 million more units than Apple and holding 24% of the market share.

Many of Apple’s weaknesses hinder Apple’s ability to compete with the tech corporations that have more freedom to experiment, or that don’t operate in a closed ecosystem.

A second threat to Apple is lawsuits. Apple has faced plenty of lawsuits, particularly between Apple and Samsung . These lawsuits interfere with Apple’s reputable image and could steer some customers to purchase elsewhere.

Finally, Apple needs to improve its reach internationally. The company isn’t number one in China and doesn’t have a very positive relationship with the Chinese government. In India, which has one of the largest consumer markets in the world, Apple’s market share is low , and the company has trouble bringing stores to India’s market.

If Apple can’t compete globally the way Samsung or Google can, it risks falling behind in the industry.

Starbucks SWOT Analysis

Now that we’ve explored the nuances involved with a SWOT analysis, let’s fill out a SWOT template using Starbucks as an example.

Here’s how we’d fill out a SWOT template if we were Starbucks:

Download this Template for Free

Restaurant Small Business SWOT Analysis

Some small business marketers may have difficulty relating to the SWOTs of big brands like Apple and Starbucks. Here’s an example of how a dine-in Thai restaurant might visualize each element.

Small restaurants can lean into their culinary expertise and service skills to find opportunities for growth and brand awareness. A SWOT analysis can also help identify weaknesses that can be improved, such as menu variation and pricing.

While a restaurant might not be as worried about high-level lawsuits, a small business might be more concerned about competitors or disruptors that might enter the playing field.

Local Boutique SWOT Analysis

In another small business example, let’s take a look at a SWOT analysis for a local boutique.

This shop might be well known in its neighborhood, but it also might take time to build an online presence or get its products in an online store.

Because of this, some of its strengths and opportunities might relate to physical factors while weaknesses and threats might relate to online situations.

How to Act on a SWOT Analysis

After conducting a SWOT analysis, you may be asking yourself: What’s next?

Putting together a SWOT analysis is only one step. Executing the findings identified by the analysis is just as important — if not more.

Put your insights into action using the following steps.

Take advantage of your strengths.

Use your strengths to pursue opportunities from your analysis.

For example, if we look at the local boutique example above, the strength of having affordable prices can be a value proposition. You can emphasize your affordable prices on social media or launch an online store.

Address your weaknesses.

Back to the boutique example, one of its weaknesses is having a poor social media presence. To mitigate this, the boutique could hire a social media consultant to improve its strategy. They may even tap into the expertise of a social-savvy employee.

Make note of the threats.

Threats are often external factors that can’t be controlled, so it’s best to monitor the threats outlined in your SWOT analysis to be aware of their impacts on your business.

When to Use a SWOT Analysis

While the examples above focus on business strategy in general, you can also use a SWOT analysis to evaluate and predict how a singular product will play out in the market.

Ultimately, a SWOT analysis can measure and tackle both big and small challenges, from deciding whether or not to launch a new product to refining your social media strategy.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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SWOT analysis: Examples and templates

A SWOT analysis helps you identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a specific project or your overall business plan. It’s used for strategic planning and to stay ahead of market trends. Below, we describe each part of the SWOT framework and show you how to conduct your own.

Whether you’re looking for external opportunities or internal strengths, we’ll walk you through how to perform your own SWOT analysis, with helpful examples along the way. 

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a technique used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your business or even a specific project. It’s most widely used by organizations—from small businesses and non-profits to large enterprises—but a SWOT analysis can be used for personal purposes as well. 

While simple, a SWOT analysis is a powerful tool for helping you identify competitive opportunities for improvement. It helps you improve your team and business while staying ahead of market trends.

What does SWOT stand for?

SWOT is an acronym that stands for: 

Opportunities

When analyzed together, the SWOT framework can paint a larger picture of where you are and how to get to the next step. Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these terms and how they can help identify areas of improvement. 

Strengths in SWOT refer to internal initiatives that are performing well. Examining these areas helps you understand what’s already working. You can then use the techniques that you know work—your strengths—in other areas that might need additional support, like improving your team’s efficiency . 

When looking into the strengths of your organization, ask yourself the following questions:

What do we do well? Or, even better: What do we do best?

What’s unique about our organization?

What does our target audience like about our organization?

Which categories or features beat out our competitors?

 Example SWOT strength:

Customer service: Our world-class customer service has an NPS score of 90 as compared to our competitors, who average an NPS score of 70.

Weaknesses in SWOT refer to internal initiatives that are underperforming. It’s a good idea to analyze your strengths before your weaknesses in order to create a baseline for success and failure. Identifying internal weaknesses provides a starting point for improving those projects.

Identify the company’s weaknesses by asking:

Which initiatives are underperforming and why?

What can be improved?

What resources could improve our performance?

How do we rank against our competitors?

Example SWOT weakness:

E-commerce visibility: Our website visibility is low because of a lack of marketing budget , leading to a decrease in mobile app transactions.

Opportunities in SWOT result from your existing strengths and weaknesses, along with any external initiatives that will put you in a stronger competitive position. These could be anything from weaknesses that you’d like to improve or areas that weren’t identified in the first two phases of your analysis. 

Since there are multiple ways to come up with opportunities, it’s helpful to consider these questions before getting started:

What resources can we use to improve weaknesses?

Are there market gaps in our services?

What are our business goals for the year?

What do your competitors offer?

Example SWOT opportunities:

Marketing campaign: To improve brand visibility, we’ll run ad campaigns on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Threats in SWOT are areas with the potential to cause problems. Different from weaknesses, threats are external and ‌out of your control. This can include anything from a global pandemic to a change in the competitive landscape. 

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to identify external threats:

What changes in the industry are cause for concern?

What new market trends are on the horizon?

Where are our competitors outperforming us?

Example SWOT threats:

New competitor: With a new e-commerce competitor set to launch within the next month, we could see a decline in customers.

SWOT analysis example

One of the most popular ways to create a SWOT analysis is through a SWOT matrix—a visual representation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The matrix comprises four separate squares that create one larger square. 

A SWOT matrix is great for collecting information and documenting the questions and decision-making process . Not only will it be handy to reference later on, but it’s also great for visualizing any patterns that arise. 

Check out the SWOT matrix below for a simple example. As you can see, each of the quadrants lists out the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

When used correctly and effectively, your matrix can be a great toolkit for evaluating your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. 

How to do a SWOT analysis, with examples 

A SWOT analysis can be conducted in a variety of ways. Some teams like to meet and throw ideas on a whiteboard, while others prefer the structure of a SWOT matrix. However you choose to make your SWOT analysis, getting creative with your planning process allows new ideas to flow and results in more unique solutions. 

There are a few ways to ensure that your SWOT analysis is thorough and done correctly. Let’s take a closer look at some tips to help you get started.

Tip 1: Consider internal factors 

Often, strengths and weaknesses stem from internal processes. These tend to be easier to solve since you have more control over the outcome. When you come across internal factors, you can start implementing improvements in a couple of different ways.

Meet with department stakeholders to form a business plan around how to improve your current situation.

Research and implement new tools, such as a project management tool , that can help streamline these processes for you. 

Take immediate action on anything that can be changed in 24 hours or less. If you don’t have the capacity, consider delegating these items to others with deadlines. 

The way you go about solving internal factors will depend on the type of problem. If it’s more complex, you might need to use a combination of the above or a more thorough problem management process.

Tip 2: Evaluate external factors

External factors stem from processes outside of your control. This includes competitors, market trends, and anything else that’s affecting your organization from the outside in. 

External factors are trickier to solve, as you can’t directly control the outcome. What you can do is pivot your own processes in a way that mitigates negative external factors. 

You can work to solve these issues by:

Competing with market trends

Forecasting market trends before they happen

Improving adaptability to improve your reaction time

Track competitors using reporting tools that automatically update you as soon as changes occur 

While you won’t be able to control an external environment, you can control how your organization reacts to it. 

Let’s say, for instance, that you’re looking to compete with a market trend. For example, a competitor introduced a new product to the market that’s outperforming your own. While you can’t take that product away, you can work to launch an even better product or marketing campaign to mitigate any decline in sales. 

Tip 3: Hold a brainstorming session

Brainstorming new and innovative ideas can help to spur creativity and inspire action. To host a high impact brainstorming session, you’ll want to: 

Invite team members from various departments. That way, ideas from each part of the company are represented. 

Be intentional about the number of team members you invite, since too many participants could lead to a lack of focus or participation. The sweet spot for a productive brainstorming session is around 10 teammates. 

Use different brainstorming techniques that appeal to different work types.

Set a clear intention for the session.

Tip 4: Get creative

In order to generate creative ideas, you have to first invite them. That means creating fun ways to come up with opportunities. Try randomly selecting anonymous ideas, talking through obviously bad examples, or playing team building games to psych up the team.

Tip 5: Prioritize opportunities

Now, rank the opportunities. This can be done as a team or with a smaller group of leaders. Talk through each idea and rank it on a scale of one through 10. Once you’ve agreed on your top ideas based on team capabilities, competencies, and overall impact, it’s easier to implement them.

Tip 6: Take action

It’s all too easy to feel finished at this stage —but the actual work is just beginning. After your SWOT analysis, you’ll have a list of prioritized opportunities. Now is the time to turn them into strengths. Use a structured system such as a business case , project plan, or implementation plan to outline what needs to get done—and how you plan to do it.

SWOT analysis template

A SWOT analysis template is often presented in a grid format, divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one of the four elements. 

Use this free SWOT analysis template to jump-start your team’s strategic planning.

Identify the strengths that contribute to achieving your objectives. These are internal characteristics that give you an advantage. Some examples could be a strong brand reputation, an innovative culture, or an experienced management team.

Next, focus on weaknesses. These are internal factors that could serve as obstacles to achieving your objectives. Common examples might include a lack of financial resources, high operational costs, or outdated technology. 

Move on to the opportunities. These are external conditions that could be helpful in achieving your goals. For example, you might be looking at emerging markets, increased demand, or favorable shifts in regulations.

Lastly, let's address threats. These are external conditions that could negatively impact your objectives. Examples include increased competition or potential economic downturns.

Why is a SWOT analysis important?

A SWOT analysis can help you improve processes and plan for growth. While similar to a competitive analysis , it differs because it evaluates both internal and external factors. Analyzing key areas around these opportunities and threats will equip you with the insights needed to set your team up for success.

A SWOT analysis isn’t only useful for organizations. With a personal SWOT analysis, you can examine areas of your life that could benefit from improvement, from your leadership style to your communication skills. These are the benefits of using a SWOT analysis in any scenario. 

1. Identifies areas of opportunity

One of the biggest benefits of conducting an analysis is to determine opportunities for growth. It’s a great starting point for startups and teams that know they want to improve but aren’t exactly sure how to get started. 

Opportunities can come from many different avenues, like external factors such as diversifying your products for competitive advantage or internal factors like improving your team’s workflow . Either way, capitalizing on opportunities is an excellent way to grow as a team.

2. Identifies areas that could be improved

Identifying weaknesses and threats during a SWOT analysis can pave the way for a better business strategy.

Ultimately, learning from your mistakes is the best way to excel. Once you find areas to streamline, you can work with team members to brainstorm an action plan . This will let you use what you already know works and build on your company’s strengths.

3. Identifies areas that could be at risk

Whether you have a risk register in place or not, it’s always crucial to identify risks before they become a cause for concern. A SWOT analysis can help you stay on top of actionable items that may play a part in your risk decision-making process. 

It may be beneficial to pair your SWOT analysis with a PEST analysis, which examines external solutions such as political, economic, social, and technological factors—all of which can help you identify and plan for project risks .

When should you use a SWOT analysis?

You won’t always need an in-depth SWOT analysis. It’s most useful for large, general overviews of situations, scenarios, or your business.

A SWOT analysis is most helpful:

Before you implement a large change—including as part of a larger change management plan

When you launch a new company initiative

If you’d like to identify opportunities for growth and improvement

Any time you want a full overview of your business performance

If you need to identify business performance from different perspectives

SWOT analyses are general for a reason—so they can be applied to almost any scenario, project, or business. 

SWOT analysis: Pros and cons

Although SWOT is a useful strategic planning tool for businesses and individuals alike, it does have limitations. Here’s what you can expect.

The simplicity of SWOT analysis makes it a go-to tool for many. Because it is simple, it takes the mystery out of strategic planning and lets people think critically about their situations without feeling overwhelmed. 

For instance, a small bakery looking to expand its operations can use SWOT analysis to easily understand its current standing. Identifying strengths like a loyal customer base, weaknesses such as limited seating space, opportunities like a rising trend in artisanal baked goods, and threats from larger chain bakeries nearby can all be accomplished without any specialized knowledge or technical expertise.

Versatility

Its versatile nature allows SWOT analysis to be used across various domains. Whether it’s a business strategizing for the future or an individual planning their career path, SWOT analysis lends itself well. 

For example, a tech start-up in the competitive Silicon Valley landscape could employ SWOT to navigate its pathway to profitability. Strengths might include a highly skilled development team; weaknesses could be a lack of brand recognition; opportunities might lie in emerging markets; and threats could include established tech giants. 

Meaningful analysis

SWOT excels in identifying external factors that could impact performance. It nudges organizations to look beyond the present and anticipate potential future scenarios. 

A retail company, for example, could use SWOT analysis to identify opportunities in e-commerce and threats from changing consumer behavior or new competitors entering the market. By doing so, the company can strategize on how to leverage online platforms to boost sales and counteract threats by enhancing the customer experience or adopting new technologies.

Subjectivity and bias

The subjective nature of SWOT analysis may lead to biases. It relies heavily on individual perceptions, which can sometimes overlook crucial data or misinterpret information, leading to skewed conclusions. 

For example, a manufacturing company might undervalue the threat of new entrants in the market due to an overconfidence bias among the management. This subjectivity might lead to a lack of preparation for competitive pricing strategies, ultimately affecting the company's market share.

Lack of prioritization

SWOT analysis lays out issues but falls short on prioritizing them. Organizations might struggle to identify which elements deserve immediate attention and resources. 

For instance, a healthcare provider identifying numerous opportunities for expansion into new services may become overwhelmed with the choices. Without a clear way to rank these opportunities, resources could be spread too thinly or given to projects that do not have as much of an impact, leading to less-than-ideal outcomes.

Static analysis

Since SWOT analysis captures a snapshot at a particular moment, it may miss the evolving nature of challenges and opportunities, possibly leading to outdated strategies. An example could be a traditional retail business that performs a SWOT analysis and decides to focus on expanding physical stores, overlooking the growing trend of e-commerce. As online shopping continues to evolve and gain popularity, the static analysis might lead to investment in areas with diminishing returns while missing out on the booming e-commerce market trend.

SWOT analysis FAQ

What are the five elements of swot analysis.

Traditionally, SWOT stands for its four main elements: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. However, a fifth essential element often overlooked is "actionable strategies." Originally developed by Albert Humphrey, SWOT is more than just a list—it's a planning tool designed to generate actionable strategies for making informed business decisions. This fifth element serves to tie the other four together, enabling departments like human resources and marketing to turn analysis into actionable plans.

What should a SWOT analysis include?

A comprehensive SWOT analysis should focus on the internal and external factors that affect your organization. Internally, consider your strong brand and product line as your strengths, and maybe your supply chain weaknesses. Externally, you'll want to look at market share, partnerships, and new technologies that could either pose opportunities or threats. You should also account for demographics, as it helps in market targeting and segmentation.

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

Writing an effective SWOT analysis begins with research. Start by identifying your strengths, like a strong brand, and your weaknesses, like a small human resources department. Following that, look outward to find opportunities, possibly in technological advancement, and threats, like fluctuations in market share. Many businesses find it helpful to use a free SWOT analysis template to structure this information. A good SWOT analysis doesn't just list these elements; it integrates them to provide a clear roadmap for making business decisions.

What are four examples of threats in SWOT analysis?

New technologies: Rapid technological advancement can make your product or service obsolete.

Supply chain disruptions: Whether due to natural disasters or geopolitical tensions, an unstable supply chain can seriously jeopardize your operations.

Emerging competitors: New players entering the market can erode your market share and offer alternative solutions to your customer base.

Regulatory changes: New laws or regulations can add costs and complexity to your business, affecting your competitiveness.

How do you use a SWOT analysis?

Once you've completed a SWOT analysis, use the results as a decision-making aid. It can help prioritize actions, develop strategic plans that play to your strengths, improve weaknesses, seize opportunities, and counteract threats. It’s a useful tool for setting objectives and creating a roadmap for achieving them.

Plan for growth with a SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis can be an effective technique for identifying key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Understanding where you are now can be the most impactful way to determine where you want to go next. 

Don’t forget, a bit of creativity and collaboration can go a long way. Encourage your team to think outside of the box with 100+ team motivational quotes .

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How to Write a SWOT Analysis (Template and Examples Included)

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Written by  Scribendi

Planning for the Future

Where do you see yourself in five years? How about your career? Your business? 

These questions keep a staggering amount of people awake at night. All too often, the future can seem like a dark, ominous cloud that looms just out of view. As the old proverb goes, we fear the unknown—and little can possibly be more unknowable than the future.

While there is no crystal ball that can accurately predict future market trends or the steps you should take to optimize your productivity and sharpen your competitive edge, we can offer some advice: Reframe the question. Rather than trying to pinpoint where you think you might be in five years, think about where you want to be at that point in time. Once you have a destination in mind, you can start planning a route to get there. After all, maps are great tools, but they can't help you if you don't know where you're going.

So, what's the metaphorical map in this scenario? We present to you the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.

How to Write a SWOT Analysis

SWOT analyses are great strategic tools that are useful in project planning, business development , financial strategizing, and personal advancement . Simple, honest, and to-the-point, they facilitate a profound understanding of your or your business's current standing. 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 the resources available to you and the obstacles standing in your way. This awareness allows you to map out a path toward your goals with great precision and purpose. Writing a SWOT analysis will help you clearly evaluate whether your goals are feasible according to your resources and needs.

In this guide, we'll break down exactly how to write a SWOT analysis and provide a few examples along the way. Feel free to use our SWOT analysis template, given below, to write your own!

Our SWOT Analysis Template

Your list of strengths should focus on your current resources and abilities. It should relate to things that you do or that your company does well. These might be your or your company's accomplishments—both great and small—and the assets that you or your company have. Your strengths give you your greatest edge; they are the resources that propel you forward and that you can continue to develop as you progress.

When you draw up your first SWOT analysis, you may find yourself at a loss. Don't worry—it's difficult for most people to come up with an objective list of strengths and weaknesses on the spot. For your convenience, we've included a list of questions you can ask yourself to get started.

These questions should help you identify a few of your strengths. Remember, while our example questions mostly relate to business strengths, they can also apply to personal strengths. Go ahead and boast as much as you can.

• What sets your company apart from others?
• What do you have that other companies don't?
• What are you most proud of about your company?
• What makes clients come back to you?
• What does your company do well?
• What assets do you have access to?
• What qualities does your company have that other companies try to emulate?
• What has always been easy for your company? 

Listing your weaknesses might be a little more uncomfortable than detailing your strengths, but trust us—doing so will help you in the long run. Understanding the obstacles in your path and the elements of your business or skills you may need to improve is just as important as appreciating your strengths. Once you're aware of your weaknesses, you can start working on them and building your next steps around them.

Your list of weaknesses should pertain to any current problems and challenges. Check out the list of questions below—it should give you an idea of where to start. Again, if you'd rather focus on your personal or career growth, feel free to alter these questions to suit your needs.

• What makes your company blend in with its competition?
• What do other companies have that you don't?
• What are the most common criticisms that you receive from clients?
• Why have certain clients not returned to you?
• What does your company need to improve upon?
• What kind of feedback do you receive from your employees?
• What might your competition consider to be a weakness?
• What has always been difficult for your company?
• What are you unwilling to do or change?

Opportunities

Think about the opportunities available to you as potential future strengths. Your opportunities are the assets, resources, and events that could be beneficial to you in some way in the future. You may need to change some of your current approaches or adapt in other ways to capitalize on these opportunities, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to identify your potential opportunities:

• What is happening in the current market that you could capitalize upon?
• What changes have you been making that have returned positive results?
• What is working for other companies?
• How could you introduce new technology to make your processes more efficient?
• What costs can you cut?
• Could you access new sectors or demographic groups?
• How can you improve or modernize your marketing techniques?
• How can you remove existing obstacles?

  Threats

Just as your opportunities are based on potential, so are your threats; these are the possible obstacles or issues that are not yet directly affecting your progress. But this doesn't mean that you shouldn't start thinking about them! Being aware of the challenges that you may encounter will help you either plan around them or confront them with solutions. Try to come up with several future events that may realistically hinder the momentum you build from engaging with your strengths and opportunities.

To get started, take a peek at our list of questions:

• What obstacles might your weaknesses create?
• Do changing market trends negatively affect your competitive edge?
• What might stand in the way of the changes you make to accommodate your strengths and opportunities?
• Do you have a lot of debt?
• Could your competition exploit your weaknesses?

How did you do? Do you feel like you've listed everything? Or do you think you're missing something? Below, we've drafted examples of a business and a personal SWOT analysis to provide you with some perspective on what a completed one might look like.

An Example of a Personal SWOT Analysis

An Example of a Business SWOT Analysis  

Final Words

The humble but effective SWOT analysis will produce a detailed map of your current environment—its hills and valleys alike. Knowing how to write a SWOT analysis will provide you with the vantage point you need to choose a direction and blaze a trail toward your goals. SWOT analyses may not be crystal balls, but they are something like compasses. Use them wisely, and you will never be lost.

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How to Perform a SWOT Analysis for a Business

By Kate Eby | April 26, 2023

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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.

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 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:

• Assemble Your Team Include a diverse group in your analysis to get the best results. Ask for input from people on different teams and at varying employee tiers and demographics to get an objective look at your business. “Plan a half-day strategy session with your team and have each member come ready to present their own SWOT analysis of a particular product or opportunity. You’ll be surprised by the range of new ideas it generates. And you can use the exercise to formulate an aggregate SWOT that you all buyinto together,” suggests Jack Colletti , the Founder of Colletti Labs.
• Set Up Your Matrix Use a template, whiteboard, shared online workspace, or paper and pen to create a matrix. For free template ideas and downloads, check out our collections of SWOT templates available in PowerPoint , Microsoft Word , Google Docs , and Google Slides formats.

• Strengths: To identify your strengths, ask yourself what you’re doing well and what your customers and employees like about your business. 
• Weaknesses: To identify weaknesses, look at places where you have fallen short of projections. Read reviews of your business and pay attention to critical customer feedback. 
• Opportunities: To identify opportunities, start with your long- and short-term goals. Ask yourself if there are new products or services you can add to your lineup to set you apart, any gaps in the market you can fill, or any areas that could benefit from a different allocation of resources.
• Threats: To identify threats to your business, keep an eye on your competition, upcoming legislative changes, and financial records and projections. Pay attention to the potential for negative media and social media coverage due to your business practices, as well.  
• Organize and Summarize As a group, rank items by how actionable they are or by their impact. “Be sure that you don’t make your list too long to manage,” suggests Rossi. Choose the top five or six responses for each quadrant to help focus the discussion and analysis.
• Plan Your Next Steps Create action items and a plan for moving forward. Depending on the results of your analysis, this will likely mean some combination of bolstering your strengths, shoring up your weaknesses, taking advantage of opportunities, and mitigating threats.
• Store the Analysis for Easy Reference It is a good idea to perform a SWOT analysis regularly — depending on your business size, you might repeat the practice annually or quarterly. Before performing a new SWOT analysis, review the previous one and see where you’ve made improvements. “Routinely revisiting your SWOT analysis ensures that your evaluation is accurate and up-to-date with the current state of the market,” says Wesman.

SWOT Analysis Starter Kit

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 blank animated SWOT analysis template for PowerPoint to help create an engaging SWOT presentation.
• A blank horizontal, landscape-oriented SWOT analysis template for Microsoft Word to create an eye-catching display or a handout with plenty of room for text.
• A blank simple, portrait-oriented SWOT matrix template for Microsoft Word and Google Docs for easy brainstorming and sharing.
• A blank custom photo SWOT matrix template for PowerPoint and Google Slides to create a dynamic, personalized presentation of your analysis.
• A SWOT analysis checklist for Microsoft Word so that each step of your analysis goes off without a hitch.
• A common SWOT analysis examples checklist for Microsoft Word to reference and copy from when completing your SWOT template.
• A group SWOT analysis presentation for PowerPoint to help facilitate a group SWOT analysis meeting.

SWOT Analysis Examples

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.

Construction Company SWOT Analysis Example for Google Docs

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.

Technology Company SWOT Analysis Example for PowerPoint

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.

Retail Company SWOT Analysis Example for Microsoft Word

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.

What Is a SWOT Analysis?

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.

Strength in a SWOT Analysis

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:

• Customer Satisfaction: Satisfied customers are returning customers. Returning customers keep your business solvent. Having a large number of regular customers is a great strength.
• Effective Branding: The right branding makes a business memorable. A well-designed logo or a fun, topical ad campaign can bring in sales and create positive associations with your brand.
• Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Hiring quality talent and retaining them for the long term is a wonderful strength. Loyal employees are more likely to enjoy their work and work harder because of it.
• Expertise: Business leaders often have expertise in their field that translates to a better product or service. Possessing more expertise than your competitors is a noteworthy strength.
• Filling a Niche: Identifying and filling a niche in the market is an excellent strength. Many businesses thrive because they are able to tap into the needs of their market and provide it for their customers.
• Leadership: Great leadership is a great strength. Leaders who inspire and support their teammates foster a happier and more cohesive workplace.
• Longevity: The longer your business has been around, the longer you have had to cultivate a positive reputation in your community. Businesses often celebrate their anniversaries and promote the time they have spent operating in the community. Longevity helps assure customers that you have expertise in your niche.
• Meeting and Exceeding Goals: Setting and achieving realistic goals is a sign of a well-run business.
• Product and Service Offerings: Unique or popular product and service offerings help a business carve out a niche and find their customer base, making them an obvious strength.
• Sales: Consistently high sales are desirable for any business and, therefore, a major strength. Robust sales can also lead to many other strengths, as well.

Identifying strengths impartially can be challenging. Use this list of questions to help pinpoint your strengths:

• How has your company grown? 
• What do your customers like about you in reviews? 
• What do your employees like about working for you?
• What does your company do that is unique? 
• What offerings or company philosophies set you apart? 
• What looks different about your business from one, five, and ten years ago?

Weakness in a SWOT Analysis

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:

• Employee Satisfaction: Employees who are unhappy with their jobs are less engaged and less productive. Consider your employees’ satisfaction, as retention can easily become a weakness of the business.
• Inefficient Budget and Resource Allocation: Many businesses have enough but do not allocate them efficiently. This weakness can be easily addressed by implementing better project prioritization practices.
• Negative Customer Reviews: Look at what your customers are saying in their reviews. Note the comments that show up frequently, and remember that customers will only typically leave very positive or very negative reviews. Use negative reviews as a tool to identify the areas where your business can improve.
• Not Reading Trends: Your products and services can quickly become obsolete if you are not in the habit of reading and forecasting trends. 
• Poor Branding: Consider branding carefully. It should be consistent, representative of your company, and recognizable across all mediums.
• Poor Leadership: Solid leadership is critical to the success of a business. As such, leadership that doesn’t perform well should be addressed immediately.
• Product or Service Offerings: Product or service offerings can be a weakness if they are not unique to your business or better than similar offerings from your competitors.
• Resource Limitations: Resources might include money, people, or materials. If you do not have the resources needed to meet demand, shore up this weakness.
• Rigidity: Being unable or unwilling to change with the times is a weakness found in many organizations. Change can be scary, but it is often required to move forward and stay relevant.
• Unrealistic Sales Projections: When sales are lower than projected, it can throw off budgets and plans for the business’s future, leading to missed opportunities and overinvestment in failing product lines.

Business owners often struggle to identify their weaknesses impartially. To help identify weaknesses, ask yourself the following questions, and be honest with your answers:

• What do your customers think you can improve on? 
• What part of your business do customers commonly identify as troublesome?
• What are your biggest challenges? 
• Where have you fallen short in your goals over time? Were those goals realistic?
• What are your competitors doing better than you? 
• What are your competitors doing that you wish you were doing better?
• When was the last time you performed a competitive analysis ? 
• What do your employees think of their leaders and your business?

Opportunities in a SWOT Analysis

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:

• New Products and Services: When you add new products or services to your offerings, you have an opportunity to expand your product line and grow your business.
• Social Media Engagement: Social media provides an organic way to interact with existing and potential customers in a casual setting.
• Viral Advertising: Many businesses find success after creating popular media on the internet. Viral advertising has the potential to expose your company to potential customers who might otherwise not find you.
• Competition Gaps: Pay attention to your competition. When they switch gears or leave the market, you might be able to fill the gap they leave behind.
• Surplus Budget Reallocation: Sometimes a business finds it has a budget surplus. Extra money is an opportunity to shore up weak spots or take advantage of new opportunities.
• Partnerships: Partnering with other businesses or causes can bring you the exposure you could not have found alone. Fundraising and profit sharing offer beneficial ways to build some community support and help a good cause.
• Social and Cultural Opportunities: In addition to partnering with other businesses, research events and causes within your community that could help grow your business. Participating in social and cultural events can help boost your community standing.
• Hiring Consultants: You cannot be an expert in everything, so consider hiring an experienced authority to handle the tricky stuff or to teach you how to handle it.
• Training and Education: Continuing training and education of your staff (and yourself) can lead to countless future opportunities.
• Expansion: One of the most common, and most desirable, opportunities for a business is the chance to open new locations or expand into new markets.

To identify opportunities present in your business, ask the following questions: 

• Which social media platforms have shown the most growth in followers and engagement?
• Are there areas of local or cultural impact we can highlight in our messaging?
• Is there any kind of gap in the market we can capitalize on?
• Is there a budget surplus in a department that can be allocated elsewhere?
• Are there other companies or organizations we can partner with for shared impact?
• What are our long- and short-term goals for the business? 
• How can we best achieve our goals with our current resources?

Threat in a SWOT Analysis

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:

• Competition: Your competition is always a threat. Other businesses occupying the same market space can dilute sales or push you out altogether. Monitor your competition’s offerings so that you can adjust as needed and stay relevant.
• Customer Satisfaction: Many factors can affect customer satisfaction, but as your clients become less satisfied, they are less likely to patronize your business. Keep an eye on reviews, social media, and customer surveys for insights into your customers’ experiences.
• Employee Satisfaction: Without experienced and motivated staff, it is impossible to operate efficiently. Keep employees satisfied by providing competitive wages, opportunities for growth, and positive reinforcement of their achievements.
• Environmental: Prepare a plan for major weather or environmental events, even if you don’t operate your business where they are common. If possible, carry insurance for fires, floods, and earthquakes so that your work is interrupted as little as possible if one occurs.
• Equipment and Building Maintenance: Delaying expensive repairs and maintenance on your buildings or equipment that are not immediately critical can be tempting. However, putting them off too long can lead to even more expensive repairs and possible closures at a later date when things break down or fail.
• Media Coverage: The adage “no such thing as bad press” is not always true. Negative media coverage can cost you customers and sales. Positive media coverage can run the risk of bringing on more customers than you have the capacity to handle, which can lead to frustration and a loss of customers in kind.
• Regulations: New regulations that interfere with or inhibit your business get passed all the time. Keep abreast of any pending changes, and be sure that you have contingency plans in place.
• Setting Financial Goals: Your business forecasts should be realistic and based on similar market numbers or real numbers you have achieved in the past. You cannot set achievable plans for your business's future if you are not making accurate projections in the present.
• Social Media Coverage: Like regular media coverage, social media can make or break your business. Many companies find success and followings on social media organically. However, some fail to appeal to the average user and can even find themselves publicly ridiculed in this forum instead.
• Supply Chain Delays: Supply chain delays can affect lead times, manufacturing schedules, and the availability of materials. They can be difficult to predict, so consider building in extra time or creating contingency plans.

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:

• Are there any new major competitors in the market? 
• What are people saying about us in reviews and on social media?
• Where are we underperforming? 
• Where are we missing our goals?
• Will any incoming new legislation directly or indirectly affect our business? What kind of potential legislative changes should we keep an eye on?
• Are we keeping up to date on building and equipment maintenance?
• Are our employees satisfied with their jobs?
• Are we maintaining accurate financial records and creating accurate projections?

Internal and External Factors in a 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.

Tips for Writing a SWOT Analysis

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:

• Be Concise: Stick to the most profound or critical five or six elements in each quadrant to keep the analysis relevant and actionable.
• Be Honest and Impartial: It’s vital to be honest and impartial about the state of your business. This truth can sometimes be difficult for managers and owners who are too close to it, so consider involving additional stakeholders or employing outside help.
• Be Specific: Use real numbers when talking about sales, goals, and times. Point to specific initiatives that were successful (or not) instead of referring to them broadly. “My early SWOT analyses were too general, and I didn’t have the rigor that’s required to provide a detailed and balanced view of a business or opportunity. If I could go back in time, I would consider more elements of the business, including people, product, marketing, sales, customer service, data management, quality, partners, etc. I would also provide metrics and KPIs for each area discussed to provide a proper data-driven basis for discussion or debate,” Colletti contemplates.
• Do It Regularly: Create a quarterly or annual schedule to perform SWOT analyses regularly. “I wish I had known that a SWOT analysis should be performed at regular intervals,” says Wesman. “Changes in technology, consumer sentiment, and macroeconomic factors can drastically alter a business's prior prospects, which can blindside decision-makers during their most critical moments.”
• Follow Up: Once you analyze your results, make an action plan to take advantage of your strengths and opportunities, as well as to address any shortcomings you have found. Use it to help plan your business strategy going forward. “A SWOT analysis is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of your business’s overall performance,” says Rossi.
• Use Real Data: Use real data from reviews, surveys, and sales to create the analysis. Your SWOT analysis will be more actionable if you include the real numbers associated with each factor.

Mistakes to Avoid when Doing a SWOT Analysis

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: 

• Being Too Wordy: Your lists should be easy to read and understand without a lot of extra information. Use real numbers and statistics when applicable, and stick to the top five or six items with the most impact in each quadrant.
• Being Too Vague: At the same time, your lists should include all the necessary details to give the reader the full picture.
• Not Being Honest and Objective: It is easy to inflate your strengths and downplay your weaknesses, but that will only hurt your business in the long term. “One common mistake is to downplay the risks and threats in the analysis. As entrepreneurs, we sometimes tend to be overly optimistic or overconfident. We may want to embellish the strengths and opportunities, such as stating ‘our killer technology’ or ‘our amazing sales team.’ Another mistake is to make claims or statements with no real data or analytical support. A proper SWOT requires you to be pragmatic about your strengths, and think really hard about what risks and threats face your business,” explains Colletti.
• Not Creating an Action Plan: One of the biggest mistakes you can make with a SWOT analysis is not using its results to inform your next steps. A SWOT analysis is only useful if you learn from it and let it help you inform your strategy.
• Not Involving a Group: A SWOT analysis performed by a single person will only have a single point of view. For best results, take a more inclusive look at your business from people at all levels.

Benefits of a 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:

• Develop Action Plans: A SWOT analysis is a great tool for developing an action plan. Use the results to focus on the areas that need work or extra resources and to keep developing the areas that are doing well.
• Do Some Introspection: A SWOT analysis provides a forum to do some real introspection on your business and its practices. “Since many entrepreneurs and business owners can be overly optimistic, a SWOT analysis can help force pragmatism. Leaders need to consider the business from all angles with a heightened sense of rigor,” warns Colletti.
• Get an Objective Overview of the Business: A SWOT analysis can give you an overview of your company’s current performance and its future potential. “You can use these insights to weigh the pros and cons of difficult business decisions. This will help you navigate challenging market environments to your advantage,” says Wesman.
• Help Draft Other Business Documents: A SWOT analysis can serve as the first draft for other business documents, such as project overviews, media releases, and investment reports. “SWOT is a widely known framework, thus providing a common language for communicating the viability of a business or opportunity to leadership, investors, business partners, or board members,” explains Colletti.
• Team Building: When you include a diverse group of employees in business strategy discussions, you increase their buy-in and engagement. They feel more connected to the problem and see themselves as part of the solution. “SWOT is an excellent tool for a strategy session or team-building event , allowing leaders to solicit input and feedback on various aspects of the business,”  Colletti explains.

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How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Better Strategic Planning

6 min. read

Updated October 27, 2023

Conducting a SWOT analysis of your business is a lot more fun than it sounds. It won’t take much time, and doing it forces you to think about your business in a whole new way.

The point of a SWOT analysis is to help you develop a strong business strategy by making sure you’ve considered all of your business’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it faces in the marketplace.

• What is a SWOT analysis?

S.W.O.T. is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is an organized list of your business’s greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the company (think: reputation, patents, location). You can change them over time but not without some work. Opportunities and threats are external (think: suppliers, competitors, prices)—they are out there in the market, happening whether you like it or not. You can’t change them.

Existing businesses can use a SWOT analysis, at any time, to assess a changing environment and respond proactively. In fact, I recommend conducting a strategy review meeting at least once a year that begins with a SWOT analysis.

New businesses should use a SWOT analysis as a part of their planning process. There is no “one size fits all” plan for your business, and thinking about your new business in terms of its unique “SWOTs” will put you on the right track right away, and save you from a lot of headaches later on.

Looking to get started right away? Download our free SWOT Analysis template.

In this article, I will cover the following:

• How to conduct a SWOT analysis
• Questions to ask during a SWOT analysis
• Example of a SWOT analysis
• TOWS analysis: Developing strategies for your SWOT analysis

To get the most complete, objective results, a SWOT analysis is best conducted by a group of people with different perspectives and stakes in your company. Management, sales, customer service, and even customers can all contribute valid insight. Moreover, the SWOT analysis process is an opportunity to bring your team together and encourage their participation in and adherence to your company’s resulting strategy.

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. Alternatively, you could ask team members to individually complete our free SWOT analysis template, and then meet to discuss and compile the results. As you work through each category, don’t be too concerned about elaborating at first; bullet points may be the best way to begin. Just capture the factors you believe are relevant in each of the four areas.

Once you are finished brainstorming, create a final, prioritized version of your SWOT analysis, listing the factors in each category in order of highest priority at the top to lowest priority at the bottom.

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I’ve compiled some questions below to help you develop each section of your SWOT analysis. There are certainly other questions you could ask; these are just meant to get you started.

Strengths (internal, positive factors)

Strengths describe the positive attributes, tangible and intangible, internal to your organization. They are within your control.

• What do you do well?
• Positive attributes of people , such as knowledge, background, education, credentials, network, reputation, or skills.
• Tangible assets of the company , such as capital, credit, existing customers or distribution channels, patents, or technology.
• What advantages do you have over your competition?
• Do you have strong research and development capabilities? Manufacturing facilities?
• What other positive aspects, internal to your business, add value or offer you a competitive advantage?

Weaknesses (internal, negative factors)

Weaknesses are aspects of your business that detract from the value you offer or place you at a competitive disadvantage. You need to enhance these areas in order to compete with your best competitor.

• What factors that are within your control detract from your ability to obtain or maintain a competitive edge?
• What areas need improvement to accomplish your objectives or compete with your strongest competitor?
• What does your business lack (for example, expertise or access to skills or technology)?
• Does your business have limited resources?
• Is your business in a poor location?

Opportunities (external, positive factors)

Opportunities are external attractive factors that represent reasons your business is likely to prosper.

• What opportunities exist in your market or the environment that you can benefit from?
• Is the perception of your business positive?
• Has there been recent market growth or have there been other changes in the market the create an opportunity?
• Is the opportunity ongoing, or is there just a window for it? In other words, how critical is your timing?

Threats (external, negative factors)

Threats include external factors beyond your control that could place your strategy, or the business itself, at risk. You have no control over these, but you may benefit by having contingency plans to address them if they should occur.

• Who are your existing or potential competitors?
• What factors beyond your control could place your business at risk?
• Are there challenges created by an unfavorable trend or development that may lead to deteriorating revenues or profits?
• What situations might threaten your marketing efforts?
• Has there been a significant change in supplier prices or the availability of raw materials?
• What about shifts in consumer behavior, the economy, or government regulations that could reduce your sales?
• Has a new product or technology been introduced that makes your products, equipment, or services obsolete?
• Examples of a SWOT analysis

For illustration, here’s a brief SWOT example from a hypothetical, medium-sized computer store in the United States:

See our SWOT analysis examples article for in-depth examples of SWOT analyses for several different industries and business types or download our free SWOT analysis template .

• TOWS analysis: Developing strategies from your SWOT analysis

Once you have identified and prioritized your SWOT results, you can use them to develop short-term and long-term strategies for your business. After all, the true value of this exercise is in using the results to maximize the positive influences on your business and minimize the negative ones.

But how do you turn your SWOT results into strategies? One way to do this is to consider how your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats overlap with each other. This is sometimes called a TOWS analysis.

For example, look at the strengths you identified, and then come up with ways to use those strengths to maximize the opportunities (these are strength-opportunity strategies). Then, look at how those same strengths can be used to minimize the threats you identified (these are strength-threats strategies).

Continuing this process, use the opportunities you identified to develop strategies that will minimize the weaknesses (weakness-opportunity strategies) or avoid the threats (weakness-threats strategies).

The following table might help you organize the strategies in each area:

Once you’ve developed strategies and included them in your strategic plan, be sure to schedule regular review meetings. Use these meetings to talk about why the results of your strategies are different from what you’d planned (because they always will be) and decide what your team will do going forward.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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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.

What Is a 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.

The 4 Parts of a SWOT Analysis

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:

• What is your business’s unique value proposition?
• What common compliments do you receive from your customers?
• What does your business do particularly well?
• How do you operate differently from your competitors?
• What gives you an edge on the competition ? (This can include something product-related like “better access to raw materials” or “lower cost of goods,” or it can be an internal strength like “strong company culture” or “employee motivation.”)
• What might your competitors name as 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:

• What areas of your business could stand to improve?
• What are common hiccups in your customer experience ?
• How do you use your resources? Is there room for improvement?
• What improvements are needed in your employee experience?
• What weaknesses might your customers see that you tend to overlook?
• What weaknesses might your competitors think you have?

Opportunities

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:

• What trends might affect your industry?
• How might the right talent create new opportunities?
• your customers ask for anything you don’t offer (but could)?
• How might population changes affect your business opportunities? (think: generational shifts)
• Is there a need in the industry that you’re not creating, but could?
• Do your competitors have any weaknesses that could be opportunities for you?
• Is there a way to repackage current products to demand a higher price?
• Are there any new, or potential, regulatory or tax changes that might provide a new opportunity?

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:

• What happens if a supplier or manufacturer runs out of materials you use?
• What if a natural disaster (like a pandemic) strikes? buy amitriptyline online buy amitriptyline online no prescription
• Is your market shrinking?
• What are your competitors offering? Are they expanding or offering different products?
• How are your competitors marketing?
• What technological threats are you vulnerable to (website security, social media algorithm changes)?
• Are there any businesses that aren’t competitors now but could become competitors in the future?

The Benefits of a SWOT Analysis

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 use it to determine a strategic plan.
• You can use it to drive an innovative, informed marketing plan.
• It can help you identify external opportunities.
• It can help you identify external threats.
• It can reveal environmental factors that might affect your business, either positively or negatively.
• You can develop a plan for how to tackle internal weaknesses.

How to Do 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.

1. Create a SWOT Matrix

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).

2. Assemble Key Stakeholders

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.

3. Brainstorm Around Your Companies’ Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

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.

4. Record Relevant Thoughts in Their Respective Sections

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.

5. Edit Your List

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.

6. Create a More Formal Version (Optional)

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.

A SWOT Analysis Example

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.

The Business

An Instagram-friendly fitness business offering virtual workouts.

• The business is not limited to a specific geographic area.
• The company offers great benefits so employees tend to stay.
• Workouts look really good, so they market well on social media (particularly Instagram).
• The app experience can be glitchy.
• High customer churn rate.
• Competitors let you filter classes by the instructor. Ours doesn’t offer that.
• There is growing interest in our type of workout.
• As a result of the pandemic, consumers are more interested in at-home workouts.
• We could start offering retail products and branded workout equipment like our competitors do.
• Our app is vulnerable to hacking.
• If Instagram changes its algorithm, we may become wholly dependent on paid ads instead of organic posts.

A SWOT Analysis Template

Use this template to create your own SWOT analysis.

Strengths Section: What Your Company Does Well

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.

About Mary Kate Miller

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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What Is a SWOT Analysis and How to Do It Right (With Examples)

Posted february 2, 2021 by noah parsons.

A SWOT analysis is an incredibly simple, yet powerful tool to help you develop your business strategy, whether you’re building a startup or guiding an existing company.

What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your company—things that you have some control over and can change. Examples include who is on your team, your patents and intellectual property, and your location.

Opportunities and threats are external—things that are going on outside your company, in the larger market. You can take advantage of opportunities and protect against threats, but you can’t change them. Examples include competitors, prices of raw materials, and customer shopping trends.

A SWOT analysis organizes your top strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats into an organized list and is usually presented in a simple two-by-two grid. Go ahead and download our free template if you just want to dive right in and get started.

Why do a SWOT Analysis?

When you take the time to do a SWOT analysis, you’ll be armed with a solid strategy for prioritizing the work that you need to do to grow your business.

You may think that you already know everything that you need to do to succeed, but a SWOT analysis will force you to look at your business in new ways and from new directions. You’ll look at your strengths and weaknesses, and how you can leverage those to take advantage of the opportunities and threats that exist in your market.

Who should do a SWOT Analysis?

For a SWOT analysis to be effective, company founders and leaders need to be deeply involved. This isn’t a task that can be delegated to others.

But, company leadership shouldn’t do the work on their own , either. For best results, you’ll want to gather a group of people who have different perspectives on the company. Select people who can represent different aspects of your company, from sales and customer service to marketing and product development. Everyone should have a seat at the table.

Innovative companies even look outside their own internal ranks when they perform a SWOT analysis and get input from customers to add their unique voice to the mix.

If you’re starting or running a business on your own, you can still do a SWOT analysis. Recruit additional points of view from friends who know a little about your business, your accountant, or even vendors and suppliers. The key is to have different points of view.

Existing businesses can use a SWOT analysis to assess their current situation and determine a strategy to move forward . But, remember that things are constantly changing and you’ll want to reassess your strategy, starting with a new SWOT analysis every six to 12 months.

For startups, a SWOT analysis is part of the business planning process. It’ll help codify a strategy so that you start off on the right foot and know the direction that you plan to go.

How to do a SWOT analysis the right way

As I mentioned above, you want to gather a team of people together to work on a SWOT analysis. You don’t need an all-day retreat to get it done, though. One or two hours should be more than plenty.

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. Throw your ideas at the wall

Doing a SWOT analysis is similar to brainstorming meetings, and there are right and wrong ways to run them. I suggest giving everyone a pad of sticky-notes and have everyone quietly generate ideas on their own to start things off. This prevents groupthink and ensures that all voices are heard.

After five to 10 minutes of private brainstorming, put all the sticky-notes up on the wall and group similar ideas together. Allow anyone to add additional notes at this point if someone else’s idea sparks a new thought.

3. Rank the ideas

Once all of the ideas are organized, it’s time to rank the ideas. I like using a voting system where everyone gets five or ten “votes” that they can distribute in any way they like. Sticky dots in different colors are useful for this portion of the exercise.

Based on the voting exercise, you should have a prioritized list of ideas. Of course, the list is now up for discussion and debate, and someone in the room should be able to make the final call on the priority. This is usually the CEO, but it could be delegated to someone else in charge of business strategy.

You’ll want to follow this process of generating ideas for each of the four quadrants of your SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Questions that can help inspire your analysis

Here are a few questions that you can ask your team when you’re building your SWOT analysis. These questions can help explain each section and spark creative thinking.

Strengths are internal, positive attributes of your company. These are things that are within your control.

• What business processes are successful?
• What assets do you have in your teams? (ie. knowledge, education, network, skills, and reputation)
• What physical assets do you have, such as customers, equipment, technology, cash, and patents?
• What competitive advantages do you have over your competition?

Weaknesses are negative factors that detract from your strengths. These are things that you might need to improve on to be competitive.

• Are there things that your business needs to be competitive?
• What business processes need improvement?
• Are there tangible assets that your company needs, such as money or equipment?
• Are there gaps on your team?
• Is your location ideal for your success?

Opportunities

Opportunities are external factors in your business environment that are likely to contribute to your success.

• Is your market growing and are there trends that will encourage people to buy more of what you are selling?
• Are there upcoming events that your company may be able to take advantage of to grow the business?
• Are there upcoming changes to regulations that might impact your company positively?
• If your business is up and running, do customers think highly of you?

Threats are external factors that you have no control over. You may want to consider putting in place contingency plans for dealing with them if they occur.

• Do you have potential competitors who may enter your market?
• Will suppliers always be able to supply the raw materials you need at the prices you need?
• Could future developments in technology change how you do business?
• Is consumer behavior changing in a way that could negatively impact your business?
• Are there market trend s that could become a threat?

SWOT Analysis example

To help you get a better sense of what at SWOT example actually looks like, we’re going to look at UPer Crust Pies, a specialty meat and fruit pie cafe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They sell hot, ready-to-go pies and frozen take-home options, as well as an assortment of fresh salads and beverages.

The company is planning to open its first location in downtown Yubetchatown and is very focused on developing a business model that will make it easy to expand quickly and that opens up the possibility of franchising. Here’s what their SWOT analysis might look like:

SWOT analysis for UPer Crust Pies

How to use your SWOT Analysis

With your SWOT analysis complete, you’re ready to convert it into a real strategy. After all, the exercise is about producing a strategy that you can work on during the next few months.

The first step is to look at your strengths and figure out how you can use those strengths to take advantage of your opportunities. Then, look at how your strengths can combat the threats that are in the market . Use this analysis to produce a list of actions that you can take.

With your action list in hand, look at your company calendar and start placing goals (or milestones) on it. What do you want to accomplish in each calendar quarter (or month) moving forward?

You’ll also want to do this by analyzing how external opportunities might help you combat your own, internal weaknesses. Can you also minimize those weaknesses so you can avoid the threats that you identified?

Again, you’ll have an action list that you’ll want to prioritize and schedule.

UPer Crust Pies — Potential strategies for growth

Back to the UPer Crust Pies example: Based on their SWOT analysis, here are a few potential strategies for growth to help you think through how to translate your SWOT into actionable goals.

• Investigate investors. UPer Crust Pies might investigate its options for obtaining capital.
• Create a marketing plan. Because UPer Crust Pies wants to execute a specific marketing strategy—targeting working families by emphasizing that their dinner option is both healthy and convenient—the company should develop a marketing plan.
• Plan a grand opening. A key piece of that marketing plan will be the store’s grand opening, and the promotional strategies necessary to get UPer Crust Pies’ target market in the door.

Next steps with your SWOT Analysis

With your goals and actions in hand, you’ll be a long way toward completing a strategic plan for your business. I like to use the Lean Planning methodology for strategic plans as well as regular business planning. The actions that you generate from your SWOT analysis will fit right into the milestones portion of your Lean Plan and will give you a concrete foundation that you can grow your business from. You can download our free Lean Plan template to help you get started.

If you have additional ideas for how a SWOT analysis can help your business and how it fits into your regular business planning, I’d love to hear from you. You can find me on Twitter @noahparsons .

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2018 and updated for 2021.

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How To Write a SWOT Analysis For a Business Plan

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:

• capture business opportunities by capitalizing on business strengths
• overcome weaknesses to take advantage of business opportunities
• monitor potentially threatening outside forces while maintaining or developing internal strength response capabilities
• eliminate weaknesses to protect your business from threats

Writing a SWOT Analysis  

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:

• Company culture
• Company image
• Operational efficiency
• Operational capacity
• Brand awareness
• Market share
• Financial resources
• Organizational structure

Opportunities and threats are external, happening whether you want them to or not, and can’t be changed. Examples of external factors include:

• Societal changes
• Competitors
• Economic environment
• Government regulations
• Market trends

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:

• What does the company do well?
• The positive attributes of your employees (knowledge, background, education, credentials, network, reputation, or skills)
• The tangible assets of the company (capital, credit, existing customers or distribution channels, patents, or technology)
• What advantages does the company have over our competitors?
• Do we have strong research and development capabilities? What about manufacturing facilities?
• What other positive aspects, internal to the business, add value or offer us a competitive advantage?

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:

• What factors detract from a competitive edge?
• To accomplish my objectives or compete with my strongest competitor, what areas need to improve?
• What does the business lack? Is it expertise? Maybe it’s access to skills or technology?
• Does the company have limited resources?
• Is my business in a poor location?

Opportunities

Opportunities are attractive external factors that denote reasons your business is likely to thrive. To identify your business opportunities, ask yourself:

• What opportunities are there in my market or my environment that I can benefit from?
• Does my business have a positive perception?
• Has my market recently grown, or have there been other changes that have created an opportunity?
• Is this opportunity ongoing or time-limited? How critical is my timing?

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:

• Who are my existing or potential competitors?
• What factors beyond my control could place my business at risk?
• Are there challenges created by an unfavourable trend or development that could lead to declining revenues or profits?
• What situations could threaten my marketing efforts?
• Have supplier prices or the availability of raw materials significantly changed?
• Are there any shifts in consumer behaviour, the economy, or government regulations that could reduce my sales?
• Are any of my products, equipment, or services obsolete due to the introduction of a new product or technology in the market?

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:

• Group 1: Strengths that can help you take advantage of opportunities facing your business.
• Group 2: Strengths that can help you head off potential threats.

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.

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:

• Do strengths open any opportunities?
• How can we convert weaknesses to strengths?
• What do we have to do to take advantage of opportunities?
• How can we best neutralize threats?

SWOT Analysis For a Business Plan Conclusion

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.

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What Is SWOT Analysis?

Understanding swot analysis, how to do a swot analysis, the bottom line.

• Fundamental Analysis

SWOT Analysis: How To With Table and Example

These frameworks are essential to fundamentally analyzing companies

Ariel Courage is an experienced editor, researcher, and former fact-checker. She has performed editing and fact-checking work for several leading finance publications, including The Motley Fool and Passport to Wall Street.

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a framework used to evaluate a company's competitive position and to develop strategic planning. SWOT analysis assesses internal and external factors, as well as current and future potential.

A SWOT analysis is designed to facilitate a realistic, fact-based, data-driven look at the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, initiatives, or within its industry. The organization needs to keep the analysis accurate by avoiding pre-conceived beliefs or gray areas and instead focusing on real-life contexts. Companies should use it as a guide and not necessarily as a prescription.

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Key Takeaways

• SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that provides assessment tools.
• Identifying core strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats leads to fact-based analysis, fresh perspectives, and new ideas.
• A SWOT analysis pulls information internal sources (strengths of weaknesses of the specific company) as well as external forces that may have uncontrollable impacts to decisions (opportunities and threats).
• SWOT analysis works best when diverse groups or voices within an organization are free to provide realistic data points rather than prescribed messaging.
• Findings of a SWOT analysis are often synthesized to support a single objective or decision that a company is facing.

Investopedia / Xiaojie Liu

SWOT analysis is a technique for assessing the performance, competition, risk, and potential of a business, as well as part of a business such as a product line or division, an industry, or other entity.

Using internal and external data , the technique can guide businesses toward strategies more likely to be successful, and away from those in which they have been, or are likely to be, less successful. Independent SWOT analysts, investors, or competitors can also guide them on whether a company, product line, or industry might be strong or weak and why.

SWOT analysis was first used to analyze businesses. Now, it's often used by governments, nonprofits, and individuals, including investors and entrepreneurs. There is seemingly limitless applications to the SWOT analysis.

Components of SWOT Analysis

Every SWOT analysis will include the following four categories. Though the elements and discoveries within these categories will vary from company to company, a SWOT analysis is not complete without each of these elements:

Strengths describe what an organization excels at and what separates it from the competition : a strong brand, loyal customer base, a strong balance sheet, unique technology, and so on. For example, a hedge fund may have developed a proprietary trading strategy that returns market-beating results. It must then decide how to use those results to attract new investors.

Weaknesses stop an organization from performing at its optimum level. They are areas where the business needs to improve to remain competitive: a weak brand, higher-than-average turnover, high levels of debt, an inadequate supply chain, or lack of capital.

Opportunities

Opportunities refer to favorable external factors that could give an organization a competitive advantage. For example, if a country cuts tariffs, a car manufacturer can export its cars into a new market, increasing sales and market share .

Threats refer to factors that have the potential to harm an organization. For example, a drought is a threat to a wheat-producing company, as it may destroy or reduce the crop yield. Other common threats include things like rising costs for materials, increasing competition, tight labor supply. and so on.

Analysts present a SWOT analysis as a square segmented into four quadrants, each dedicated to an element of SWOT. This visual arrangement provides a quick overview of the company’s position. Although all the points under a particular heading may not be of equal importance, they all should represent key insights into the balance of opportunities and threats, advantages and disadvantages, and so forth.

The SWOT table is often laid out with the internal factors on the top row and the external factors on the bottom row. In addition, the items on the left side of the table are more positive/favorable aspects, while the items on the right are more concerning/negative elements.

A SWOT analysis can be broken into several steps with actionable items before and after analyzing the four components. In general, a SWOT analysis will involve the following steps.

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 analysis may focused only on whether or not to perform a new product rollout . With an objective in mind, a company will have guidance on what they hope to achieve at the end of the process. In this example, the SWOT analysis should help determine whether or not the product should be introduced.

Step 2: Gather Resources

Every SWOT analysis will vary, and a company may need different data sets to support pulling together different SWOT analysis tables. A company should begin by understanding what information it has access to, what data limitations it faces, and how reliable its external data sources are.

In addition to data, a company should understand the right combination of personnel to have involved in the analysis. Some staff may be more connected with external forces, while various staff within the manufacturing or sales departments may have a better grasp of what is going on internally. Having a broad set of perspectives is also more likely to yield diverse, value-adding contributions.

Step 3: Compile Ideas

For each of the four components of the SWOT analysis, the group of people assigned to performing the analysis should begin listing ideas within each category. Examples of questions to ask or consider for each group are in the table below.

Internal Factors

What occurs within the company serves as a great source of information for the strengths and weaknesses categories of the SWOT analysis. Examples of internal factors include financial and human resources , tangible and intangible (brand name) assets, and operational efficiencies.

Potential questions to list internal factors are:

• (Strength) What are we doing well?
• (Strength) What is our strongest asset?
• (Weakness) What are our detractors?
• (Weakness) What are our lowest-performing product lines?

External Factors

What happens outside of the company is equally as important to the success of a company as internal factors. External influences, such as monetary policies , market changes, and access to suppliers, are categories to pull from to create a list of opportunities and weaknesses.

Potential questions to list external factors are:

• (Opportunity) What trends are evident in the marketplace?
• (Opportunity) What demographics are we not targeting?
• (Threat) How many competitors exist, and what is their market share?
• (Threat) Are there new regulations that potentially could harm our operations or products?

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.

Step 4: Refine Findings

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.

Step 5: Develop the Strategy

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.

Benefits of SWOT Analysis

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.

• A SWOT analysis makes complex problems more manageable. There may be an overwhelming amount of data to analyze and relevant points to consider when making a complex decision. In general, a SWOT analysis that has been prepared by paring down all ideas and ranking bullets by importance will aggregate a large, potentially overwhelming problem into a more digestible report.
• A SWOT analysis requires external consider. Too often, a company may be tempted to only consider internal factors when making decisions. However, there are often items out of the company's control that may influence the outcome of a business decision. A SWOT analysis covers both the internal factors a company can manage and the external factors that may be more difficult to control.
• A SWOT analysis can be applied to almost every business question. The analysis can relate to an organization, team, or individual. It can also analyze a full product line , changes to brand, geographical expansion, or an acquisition. The SWOT analysis is a versatile tool that has many applications.
• A SWOT analysis leverages different data sources. A company will likely use internal information for strengths and weaknesses. The company will also need to gather external information relating to broad markets, competitors, or macroeconomic forces for opportunities and threats. Instead of relying on a single, potentially biased source, a good SWOT analysis compiles various angles.
• A SWOT analysis may not be overly costly to prepare. Some SWOT reports do not need to be overly technical; therefore, many different staff members can contribute to its preparation without training or external consulting.

SWOT Analysis Example

In 2015, a Value Line SWOT analysis of The Coca-Cola Company noted strengths such as its globally famous brand name, vast distribution network, and opportunities in emerging markets. However, it also noted weaknesses and threats such as foreign currency fluctuations, growing public interest in "healthy" beverages, and competition from healthy beverage providers.

Its SWOT analysis prompted Value Line to pose some tough questions about Coca-Cola's strategy, but also to note that the company "will probably remain a top-tier beverage provider" that offered conservative investors "a reliable source of income and a bit of capital gains exposure."

Five years later, the Value Line SWOT analysis proved effective as Coca-Cola remains the 6th strongest brand in the world (as it was then). Coca-Cola's shares (traded under ticker symbol KO) have increased in value by over 60% during the five years after the analysis was completed.

To get a better picture of a SWOT analysis, consider the example of a fictitious organic smoothie company. To better understand how it competes within the smoothie market and what it can do better, it conducted a SWOT analysis. Through this analysis, it identified that its strengths were good sourcing of ingredients, personalized customer service, and a strong relationship with suppliers. Peering within its operations, it identified a few areas of weakness: little product diversification, high turnover rates, and outdated equipment.

Examining how the external environment affects its business, it identified opportunities in emerging technology, untapped demographics, and a culture shift towards healthy living. It also found threats, such as a winter freeze damaging crops, a global pandemic, and kinks in the supply chain. In conjunction with other planning techniques, the company used the SWOT analysis to leverage its strengths and external opportunities to eliminate threats and strengthen areas where it is weak.

What Is an Example of SWOT Analysis?

Home Depot conducted a SWOT analysis, creating a balanced list of its internal advantages and disadvantages and external factors threatening its market position and growth strategy. High-quality customer service, strong brand recognition, and positive relationships with suppliers were some of its notable strengths; whereas, a constricted supply chain, interdependence on the U.S. market, and a replicable business model were listed as its weaknesses.

Closely related to its weaknesses, Home Depot's threats were the presence of close rivals, available substitutes, and the condition of the U.S. market. It found from this study and other analysis that expanding its supply chain and global footprint would be key to its growth.

What Are the 4 Steps of SWOT Analysis?

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.

How Do You Write a Good SWOT Analysis?

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.

Why Is SWOT Analysis Used?

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.

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.

Business News Daily. " SWOT Analysis: What It Is and When to Use It ."

Seeking Alpha. " The Coca-Cola Company: A Short SWOT Analysis ."

Panmore. " Home Depot SWOT Analysis & Recommendations ."

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Small Business Trends

Swot analysis guide: powerful examples and a free template.

Are you looking for an easy way to gain a better understanding of your business, understand what is driving your success, and plan for the future? A SWOT analysis is a great tool for doing all of this. This SWOT Analysis Guide provides examples, a free template, and helpful information to help you create a comprehensive report on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing your organization. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is a SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis, standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is a strategic tool that assists businesses in comprehending their current position and future planning. This robust framework plays an essential role in strategic planning and analysis for any organization.

For example, a dip in profit margins for a business can be scrutinized using a SWOT analysis. This tool helps identify internal factors, such as inefficient practices or inflated costs, that might be causing this dip. Using the SWOT pillars – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – one can derive strategies to rectify the problem and enhance profit margins.

Through a SWOT analysis, businesses can:

• Identify and assess their strengths and weaknesses : This might include distinct capabilities, resources, or operational inefficiencies within the business.
• Spot external opportunities : Such as emerging markets or untapped customer segments that can offer growth prospects.
• Pinpoint potential threats : For example, regulatory changes or competitive pressures that might pose a challenge in the future.

In essence, this analysis delivers a holistic view of the business’s internal and external landscape, paving the way for informed decision-making and strategy creation.

Particularly for startups, employing a SWOT analysis is a crucial aspect of business planning. It aids in strategizing effectively, ensuring a smooth launch, and setting a clear trajectory for the journey ahead. Employing this strategic tool early on can foster a robust foundation for the business, empowering it to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape with confidence.

A SWOT analysis serves as a cornerstone for strategic planning, enabling businesses to align their goals with internal capabilities and market realities. Strengths and Weaknesses are introspective elements, helping businesses to capitalize on their unique competencies and address internal shortcomings.

Opportunities and Threats, on the other hand, require an outward focus, assessing market trends, competitive landscapes, and external risks.

Understanding these four elements in unison allows businesses to construct a comprehensive strategy that plays to their strengths, mitigates risks, leverages market opportunities, and avoids potential pitfalls.

Be sure to watch SmartDraw’s insightful video, ‘What is SWOT? Definition, Examples and How to Do a SWOT Analysis.’ It’s a great addition to our comprehensive SWOT Analysis Guide, reinforcing key concepts and showcasing practical examples. This video enhances your understanding and makes the whole process of performing a SWOT analysis more digestible and engaging.

What is the Goal of a SWOT Analysis?

The primary goal of a SWOT analysis is to leverage strengths and opportunities while addressing weaknesses and mitigating threats.

By understanding the internal and external factors that impact the business, organizations can make informed decisions about allocating resources, pursuing growth opportunities, and minimizing risks.

It provides a structured approach to strategic planning and helps businesses align their actions with their goals and aspirations, ultimately increasing their chances of success in the marketplace.

Pros of SWOT Analysis

A SWOT Analysis offers invaluable insight for those making decisions at all levels of the organization, from upper management to individual teams. Here are five key pros of using this powerful tool:

• Identify Strengths and Weaknesses. A SWOT Analysis can help identify an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. This information can help businesses make smarter decisions about how they utilize their resources and plan for the future.
• Information is Quickly Obtained: A SWOT matrix is designed to be easily skimmed. This facet allows stakeholders and decision-makers to quickly grasp the internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the external opportunities and threats faced by the business. This visual representation aids in identifying strategic priorities, facilitating discussions, and guiding the formulation of effective strategies based on the insights derived from the analysis.
• Focus on Goals. By analyzing factors that could have an impact on achieving a specific goal, businesses are better able to focus their efforts more strategically. This helps ensure that actions are taken in a way that could maximize positive outcomes while minimizing potential risks or drawbacks.
• See the Big Picture. Having an overall view of what is happening within a business allows those making decisions to take into account more than just immediate consequences but also the long-term effects of certain choices further down the line.
• Improve Communication and Collaboration. Conducting a SWOT Analysis encourages collaboration between different teams, departments, or individuals within an organization. Doing so helps ensure everyone involved is aligned for collective success by creating a shared understanding of all factors impacting decision-making processes.
• Gain Insight and Make Informed Decisions. When all relevant pieces of information are taken into consideration, organizations gain valuable insight which can help guide conversations around strategy development, budgeting priorities, and more leading to better-informed business decisions.

Cons of SWOT Analysis

Although a SWOT Analysis is a useful tool, there can be certain drawbacks that should be considered when utilizing this framework. Here are three potential cons of the SWOT Analysis:

• Time Consumption. Conducting a thorough and accurate SWOT Analysis requires significant time. It can be a lengthy process to collect, analyze, and synthesize all relevant data into actionable insights.
• Potential for Bias. As with any analysis or assessment, there can be potential bias as to what is included in the process. This could lead to incomplete results or faulty conclusions if too much emphasis is placed on one particular aspect of the analysis over others.
• Limited Usefulness Over Time. The facts and data used for most SWOT Analyses will change over time, thus making them less effective in predicting future outcomes with certainty. To be successful with SWOT Analyses, they must be regularly updated as new developments unfold in order to remain applicable and accurate.

Breaking Down a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)

Writing a good SWOT analysis is crucial for small businesses looking to expand quickly and maintain a competitive edge over emerging competitors. It serves as a strategic planning tool that enables businesses to assess their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

Conducting a SWOT analysis is about analyzing every aspect of a company and developing potential strategies accordingly.

First, we’ll go through each of the components of a SWOT analysis and what to put down for each section to help you conduct a SWOT analysis. Make sure to research how to do a competitive analysis to get an idea of what your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are.

Your first step is to identify and list these business strengths. Your strengths are internal factors that are positive and within your control.

To help build your list of business strengths, ask yourself the following:

• What internal processes of your company are successful? These could be good supplier relations, an advantage in the market over others, marketing, and online presence, additional services offered/value-adds, etc.
• What assets does your marketing team possess? Examples can be education, skills, knowledge, reputation, networking, and technical expertise.
• What assets does your company have: Assets can be in the form of location, equipment, software tools, unique selling points, robust processes, intellectual property, patents and other factors contributing to your business’s success.
• What competitive advantages does your company have? This refers to unique strengths or capabilities that set your business apart from the competition and give you an edge in the market. It could include factors such as proprietary technology, exclusive partnerships, strong brand reputation, superior customer service, efficient supply chain management, or a highly skilled and experienced team.

This is the tough part of the four quadrants since it’s difficult to confront the strengths and weaknesses of a business objectively. But your main priority here is to identify the company’s weaknesses both internally and externally.

Think of this as the building blocks to help you convert weaknesses into strengths.

This could include external environment factors such as pricing, competition, lowered demand, and more. It can also include internal weaknesses that negatively affect the business, such as a lack of budget, small teams, etc.

Opportunities

Now that you’ve done a deep dive into your business’s strengths and your business’s weaknesses, it’s time to identify potential opportunities. Based on the strengths and weaknesses you’ve laid out, where does your company have the advantage?

Are there markets where you’re performing well that can be further expanded? Do you have a strong marketing strategy that you could ramp up to drive demand? Think of the external factors you’ve identified and where your business might have an opportunity to grow.

Research how to create a one-page marketing plan and other business marketing plan tips to help you further develop your strategies.

The threats part of SWOT analyses can also scare off many. Essentially, the goal here is to look at potential threats that could negatively impact your business. Again, this can include internal issues and external threats that you identify.

Internal threats can include lack of staff, budgetary constraints, and other threats. External threats, as an example, can include markets you are not taking advantage of, negative reviews, strong competitors, and supplier issues.

When breaking down the SWOT analysis, businesses should consider questions like: For strengths, what unique resources do we possess? For weaknesses, what areas need improvement to compete effectively?

Opportunities can be identified by analyzing market trends: What new customer needs can we meet? Lastly, for threats, consider external changes like technological shifts: How can these disrupt our business model?

By methodically examining these elements, a business can develop strategies that leverage their strong points, improve weaknesses, reinforce opportunities, and guard against external threats.

External and Internal Factors

When looking at internal versus external factors, it’s important to differentiate between the two and understand how they could impact your business. Let’s take a look at both below…

Internal Factors

Internal factors are crucial components of your business’s internal environment, encompassing various aspects such as team size, resources, budget, processes, equipment, and other internal elements.

These factors are under the direct control of your business and hold the potential to exert a significant impact on your outcomes. By effectively managing and optimizing these internal factors, you can enhance efficiency, productivity, and overall performance.

It is essential to understand your strengths and weaknesses in these areas to make strategic decisions and strengthen your competitive position.

Human resources play a vital role in internal factors. A skilled and motivated team can contribute to higher productivity levels and increased customer satisfaction. Properly allocating resources and implementing well-defined processes ensures smooth operations and streamlined workflows.

Conversely, challenges such as limited budgets can pose constraints on hiring and training, while outdated equipment may impede efficiency and hinder progress. By assessing and addressing the specific needs of your human resources, you can optimize their potential and drive positive outcomes.

Financials are another critical aspect of internal factors. Managing your budget effectively allows for the proper allocation of resources and investment in growth opportunities.

It enables you to make informed financial decisions, such as allocating funds for research and development, marketing campaigns, or infrastructure improvements.

Monitoring and analyzing your financial data provides insights into cash flow, profitability, and overall financial health, allowing you to identify areas of improvement and make strategic adjustments.

External Factors

External factors, in contrast, refer to elements that are outside of your control and exist in the external environment of your business. These factors can include market size, economic conditions, technological advancements, legal and regulatory changes, and consumer trends.

While you may not have direct control over these factors, it is essential to be aware of their potential impact on your business.

External factors can present opportunities or threats to your business. For example, a growing market or favorable economic conditions can create opportunities for expansion and increased demand for your products or services.

On the other hand, factors such as economic downturns or disruptive technological advancements can pose challenges and require adaptation in order to remain competitive.

By closely monitoring and understanding external factors, you can anticipate changes, adjust your strategies, and take advantage of opportunities while mitigating potential risks.

Home Depot Example

One successful instance of SWOT analysis can be observed in the case of Home Depot. The company conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external factors that posed potential threats to its market position and growth strategy.

Home Depot identified several noteworthy strengths, including high-quality customer service, strong brand recognition, and positive supplier relationships. Conversely, its weaknesses were identified as a constrained supply chain, reliance on the U.S. market, and a business model that could be easily replicated.

Aligned with its weaknesses, Home Depot recognized various threats, such as the presence of close competitors, the availability of substitute products, and the condition of the U.S. market.

Through the SWOT analysis and other assessments, the company concluded that expanding its supply chain and global footprint would be essential for its growth and success.

By addressing its weaknesses and mitigating potential threats, Home Depot aimed to capitalize on its strengths and enhance its competitive position in the market.

How do You do a SWOT Analysis?

The following table breaks down the SWOT analysis that follows into simple steps, making it easy to understand and follow. It serves as a concise, clear guide, making the process less overwhelming and more manageable.

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

The first step in conducting a SWOT Analysis is to gather internal and external data about you or your company. Internal data includes financial statements, customer feedback surveys, and employee reviews, while external data may include industry trends and news reports from around the world.

This data will help identify your strengths and weaknesses as well as potential opportunities and threats in the environment.

Financial Statements

Financial statements are key for any company wanting to conduct a SWOT Analysis. These documents provide insight into your company’s revenue, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Knowing these numbers can help you identify where your company stands financially.

Employee Feedback

Employee feedback is an essential resource for any company looking to conduct an effective SWOT Analysis. This data can provide insight into the issues facing your business, as well as potential solutions that could be beneficial for the company.

Step 2: Brainstorm

Once you have gathered the necessary data, it’s time to start brainstorming around it. Break down the information into categories such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Start by listing out any ideas that come up during the brainstorming process without any judgments or filters.

Don’t worry if some of these seem far-fetched or irrelevant. This list is simply meant as a starting point for further examination into each category.

Some of the strongest areas for your business could include a strong brand, motivated employees, an excellent track record with customers, a presence in multiple markets, and more.

As an illustration, let’s consider a hedge fund that has devised an exclusive trading strategy generating exceptional returns that outperform the market. The fund now faces the task of determining the most effective approach to utilize these outcomes in order to appeal to prospective investors and expand its investor base.

Similarly, for your business, notable strengths may encompass a well-established brand, a highly motivated workforce, a stellar history of customer satisfaction, a strong market presence across multiple sectors, and various other aspects that can help attract new investors.

Areas where you could stand to improve include communication, customer service, lack of employees with specific skill sets, limited resources, etc.

Potential areas of growth could include international expansion, increased market share in a certain region, new products, or a better customer experience.

External factors to keep an eye on could include new competition, changes in the economy, or shifting customer preferences.

Step 3: Analyze Strengths

The next step is analyzing the strength category by asking questions such as what are your main advantages, what resources do you have access to, or what makes your company stand out in the market. Looking at these inquiries objectively will allow you to gain insight into what makes you or your company successful.

Some of the main advantages could include a great reputation in the industry, a team of experienced employees, access to capital resources, and more.

What resources do you have access to that others in the market may not? This could include things such as experienced advisors, research and development teams, or reliable suppliers.

Unique Features

What makes your company stand out in the market? This could include a strong brand, state-of-the-art technology, or a diversified product line.

Step 4: Analyze Weaknesses

Continuing on from analyzing strengths comes looking at weaknesses within yourself or your organization. What processes could be improved?

Where can decisions be better informed? Allowing yourself and your team time to think about areas that need attention ensures that possible solutions can be discussed further down the line.

Improvements

Are there any processes that could be improved upon or streamlined? This can include anything from the way customer complaints are handled to the approval process for new projects.

Decision-Making

Are decisions being made with enough information? Having access to the right data is key for making informed decisions that will benefit the company.

Do you have access to the right experts that can help make better decisions or provide assistance in certain areas of the business? If not, what steps can be taken to obtain the necessary expertise?

Step 5: Identify Opportunities

In order to find potential opportunities for change and growth look toward external factors such as what new technologies are emerging, what regulations are changing, and whether there are gaps in current products or services providing space for improvement. Keeping up with current events opens your mind up to alternative options.

Step 6: Analyze Threats

External factors can also bring along with them possible threats. What competition exists in your market? Does anything pose a risk of disruption within existing services or products being provided? Monitoring all aspects of outside forces should be continuously done in order to optimize decision-making abilities when needed quickly.

Step 7: Construct an Action Plan + Implement Solutions

Applying possible solutions found through each of these steps comes down to constructing an action plan on how they can be implemented within your organization.

Writing out desired goals in regards to members responsible for obtaining them by certain dates set out beforehand coupled with methods of their achievement should lead towards meeting targets quickly and efficiently.

SWOT Analysis Template

Now that we’ve gone through some examples in different industries, how do you get started on creating a SWOT analysis of your own? Luckily, this kind of analysis is pretty easy to structure. You can create one using your computer or even just divide a piece of paper into four quadrants and start writing.

These videos by Starbucks and Tesla show how they performed SWOT analyses on their companies. These examples can give you real-life applications to get you started on your own SWOT analysis.

Watching how established companies like Starbucks and Tesla conduct their SWOT analyses provides valuable insights and practical examples. It can help you understand the intricacies of the process and effectively implement it in your own business scenario.

As a helpful tool, we’ve created a free SWOT Analysis template for different types of businesses. You can use them to get started with your analysis:

SWOT Analysis Examples

When trying to come up with a SWOT analysis for your own business, it’s sometimes easier to see what others in your industry are doing. Before conducting a SWOT analysis for your company, you can look at some examples below to get some inspiration.

SWOT Analysis Example: Small Business

Regardless of industry, it can be difficult for a small business to identify weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Here’s a great example to help you understand how to structure your SWOT analysis:

Marketing SWOT Analysis

For businesses focusing on improving one specific aspect of the business, such as sales or marketing, here is a marketing SWOT analysis example that you can use as a starting point for your own SWOT analysis.

3. Company SWOT Analysis Example

For larger companies, it’s sometimes difficult to hone down and focus on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats because there are so many competing aspects. That’s why it can be helpful to look at a SWOT Analysis of a company example to help you structure your own.

SWOT Analysis Example for a Restaurant

Food service businesses tend to have their own unique challenges, so identifying potential strategies is often difficult. However, using a Restaurant SWOT analysis example, you can build off it and create a SWOT analysis for your business that’s reflective of the market.

Acting on Your Results

A SWOT analysis is a powerful tool for understanding the internal and external factors that are impacting your business and is useful for startups, along with a proper business plan. It’s important to use the results of the analysis to create actionable steps and set realistic timelines for reaching your goals.

By staying focused and organized, you can use a SWOT analysis to make analysis a part of your long-term business strategy to ensure the future success of your business. And if you don’t have a business plan, be sure to research how to write a business plan to help set your business up for success.

While on the subject of planning, make sure to also learn how to create a one-page marketing plan . With all the data you have from your SWOT analysis, you will be able to establish a more effective marketing strategy.

SWOT Analysis Tips

A strong SWOT analysis is about diving deep into your business and collating all the information in an organized way. The more you’re able to tap into what makes your business unique and what needs to improve, the more actionable your SWOT analysis will be.

Here are some tips to ensure you’re getting the most out of a SWOT analysis:

Don’t be Afraid

A good SWOT analysis is about confronting each part of the business: the good, the bad, and everything in between. Of course, it can be difficult to put down everything and objectively confront aspects of the business.

However, it’s important to move past that feeling and be truly objective about your business – that will ultimately help it improve.

Ask for Feedback

To make sure your SWOT analysis truly covers everything, ask for feedback and suggestions. Involving a mix of team members, including more senior and junior stakeholders, can help you spot problems you might not have known about.

Be Systematic

Sometimes, the easiest way to fill out a SWOT analysis is to have a system. That can mean going through internal issues across each quadrant first and then moving to external factors. Or you can choose to do two quadrants at a time, such as strengths and opportunities if that is easier.

Create Timelines

In order for your SWOT analysis to be actionable, you need to create timelines alongside to meet your goals. For all the opportunities you identify, what is a reasonable timeframe to make them happen? For threats, think about how close or far threats are so you can prioritize action items more realistically.

Learn Business Abbreviations and Acronyms

In order to make sure you’re accounting for everything in the business, it’s important to learn any business abbreviations or acronyms that are used in the industry, especially for external factors.

The Takeaways

As you can see, a SWOT analysis is an essential tool for businesses and organizations to evaluate their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

By conducting a thorough SWOT analysis, businesses can gain valuable insights into their current position and make informed decisions to drive success and growth.

Whether it’s identifying areas for improvement, capitalizing on strengths, or mitigating risks, the SWOT analysis provides a structured framework for strategic planning and decision-making.

Utilizing the examples and free template provided in this article, businesses can effectively apply the SWOT analysis to enhance their competitiveness and achieve their goals.

Image: Envato Elements

SWOT analysis is very important to start a business. It gives you a good understanding of how a business works and starts working on it. Thanks for sharing this helpful article.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Swot analysis: how to strengthen your business plan.

Introduction

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.

What is a SWOT analysis?

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 .

Why is a SWOT analysis important for businesses?

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 can gain a better understanding of their internal weaknesses and external threats, which enables them to prioritize areas for improvement. They can then focus their resources and efforts on those areas, which can help them become more competitive and improve their overall performance.
• Maximizes the strength of businesses In addition to identifying areas for improvement, SWOT analysis also helps businesses identify their strengths. By leveraging these strengths, businesses can differentiate themselves from their competitors and take advantage of their competitive advantages. This can lead to increased market share, improved profitability, and overall success.
• Mitigates threats SWOT analysis can help businesses identify potential threats to their operations and take proactive measures to mitigate them. This could include diversifying their product or service offerings, investing in risk management strategies, or developing contingency plans to minimize the impact of unforeseen events.
• Takes advantage of potential opportunities In addition to mitigating threats, SWOT analysis can also help businesses identify potential opportunities for growth and success. By capitalizing on these opportunities, businesses can increase their market share, expand their customer base, and improve their overall performance.
• Provides a comprehensive overview Finally, SWOT analysis provides a comprehensive overview of a company's internal and external factors. This can help businesses develop a well-informed business plan that takes into account their current situation and potential for growth. By developing a strategic plan based on the SWOT analysis, businesses can increase their chances of success and achieve their long-term goals.

How to conduct a SWOT analysis?

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:

• Define the objective: The first step in conducting a SWOT analysis is to define the objective. What is the purpose of the analysis? What are the specific goals that the analysis aims to achieve? Defining the objective will help focus the analysis and ensure that it is relevant to the specific needs of the business.
• Gather information: Once you have defined the objective, the next step is to gather information about the business, its industry, and its competitors. This can include things like financial reports, customer feedback, market research, and competitor analysis.
• Identify strengths: What are the things that the business does well? What advantages does it have over its competitors? This can include things like a strong brand, loyal customer base, experienced employees, and efficient operations.
• Identify weaknesses: The next step is to identify the weaknesses of the business. What are the areas that need improvement? What disadvantages does it have compared to its competitors? This can include things like a weak brand, lack of funding, inexperienced employees, and outdated technology.
• Identify opportunities: To identify the opportunities available to the business , you need to address questions such as, What are the trends in the industry? What changes in regulations could benefit the business? What new technologies are emerging? This can include things like a growing market, new trends, technological advancements, and changes in regulations.
• Identify threats: The final step is to identify the threats to the business. What are the economic, social, and environmental factors that could impact the business negatively? What are the risks associated with the current situation and potential growth opportunities? This can include things like economic downturns, increased competition, changes in consumer behavior, and natural disasters.

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.

Who should conduct a SWOT analysis and what are the benefits?

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:

• Provides a fresh perspective on a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, allowing for a more objective view of the situation.
• Facilitates strategic decision-making that enables businesses to make informed strategic decisions based on their current situation and potential for growth.
• Helps prioritize action items based on their importance and potential impact to the business.
• Encourages collaboration among team members, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis of the situation.
• Enables risk assessment associated with their current situation and potential growth opportunities.
• Improves communication among team members, ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding the current situation and potential for growth.

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.

Example of a SWOT analysis

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:

• Strong brand recognition
• Innovative designs
• Loyal customer base
• Experienced and skilled designers and staff
• Efficient production processes
• Limited distribution channels
• Dependence on a few key suppliers
• High production costs
• Lack of international presence
• Limited online presence

Opportunities

• Growing demand for sustainable fashion
• Emerging markets in Asia and South America
• Expansion into e-commerce
• Partnership with influencers and celebrities
• Diversification of product offerings
• Economic downturns and recessions
• Increased competition from established and emerging brands
• Shifting consumer preferences and trends
• Changes in regulations and trade policies
• Disruptive technologies and innovations

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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SWOT Analysis: Everything You Need to Know

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2024 by Jim Makos Filed Under: SWOT Analysis

What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT analysis reveals the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of an organization. It’s a strategic planning tool used in business and project management.

Here, I will discuss everything you need to know about SWOT analysis if you run across this analysis for the first time. In the next 10 minutes, you’ll know more about SWOT analysis than 99% of people out there, as I’m explaining everything as concisely as possible. Let’s start.

What does SWOT stand for?

Did you know that SWOT was initially known as SOFT analysis, standing for Satisfactory, Opportunity, Fault, and Threat before evolving into SWOT?

SWOT analysis now stands for these four words:

• Strengths (the ‘S’ in SWOT)
• Weaknesses (the ‘W’ in SWOT)
• Opportunities (the ‘O’ in SWOT)
• Threats (the ‘T’ in SWOT)

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of those.

What are the 4 Steps/Components of SWOT Analysis?

These four components of SWOT analysis are split into two parts:

• The Internal Factors
• The External Factors

SWOT Analysis Internal Factors

Strengths and Weaknesses are considered the internal factors affecting a business.

Strengths in a SWOT analysis refer to the internal attributes that provide an organization, individual, or project a competitive advantage in the market.

The weaknesses are the internal factors that hinder the growth of an organization or project.

SWOT Analysis External Factors

Opportunities and Threats are considered the external factors affecting a business.

• Opportunities

Opportunities are the chances that lie in front of an organization to grow or a project to reach new highs.

Threats in a SWOT analysis refer to external factors that could threaten the success of an organization or a project.

Why is SWOT Analysis important?

I’ve found that SWOT analysis has an edge over all the other tools since SWOT provides a complete picture of what internal and external factors impact a business, industry, or individual. In addition, SWOT analysis is a very simple tool to use by people like me who lack business education. Here are 6 reasons why SWOT is important :

• SWOT analysis helps organizations make well-informed operational decisions in general
• SWOT analysis helps organizations identify growth opportunities and develop strategies to capitalize on those
• SWOT analysis helps businesses to gain and hold a competitive advantage
• SWOT analysis helps businesses allocate their resources efficiently and maximize profits
• SWOT analysis helps organizations form strategies according to their external and internal environment
• By doing so, SWOT analysis ensures the long-term sustainability of a business

When to use a SWOT Analysis?

I use SWOT analysis when I find myself in any of the following scenarios:

• I am setting new goals or refining existing ones, either before launching a new project or when planning for the future of a business ( strategic planning )
• I’m entering new markets and want to evaluate their potential and challenges, as I’m looking to launch new products or services (business growth and expansion)
• I’m looking to fix operational inefficiencies in a business or improve my project’s standing (operational improvement)
• I’m identifying vulnerabilities to a project’s process and want to predict the consequences of any change I attempt ( risk management )
• I’m making a new investment or budgeting decision (resource allocation)
• I’m reviewing annual financial data and speaking with my team about any findings (organizational reflection)
• I’m considering a merger and acquisition
• I’m focusing on the R&D department and how technology can help my task (innovation and research)

In general, it’s beneficial to conduct a SWOT analysis periodically, such as annually. Or at the very least, when preparing for important business decisions.

How to do and write a good SWOT Analysis

Writing a good SWOT Analysis is easy .

It’s just listing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats you found. It’s the research to unearth those valuable stats and reports that is hard.

So, I start by doing research online:

• Google is my friend
• I check media sites for the latest news on the company I’m analyzing
• Press releases can sometimes prove helpful
• The company’s website might have some fresh data that isn’t published elsewhere
• Social media and especially X (formerly Twitter) has been quite helpful in the past
• Forums like Reddit are my last resort

But my research doesn’t stop when I turn off my computer. At times, real-life personal experience has provided me with a SWOT element I would have otherwise missed.

So, now that I’ve got my data, I still have one task at hand before conducting the SWOT analysis.

Sorting. Ranking my findings will help me pinpoint key elements of my SWOT analysis down the line and focus on what’s important.

Now, I’m done with collecting my data. It’s time to put it on the paper.

SWOT Table or Matrix

Whatever I found during my research and consider important for my SWOT analysis will be included in a SWOT table . For that, I’ll have to draw a 2×2 table and label rows, columns and cells. After that, I’ll have to fill each of these cells with my findings.

The final SWOT matrix will clearly highlight the points of improvement so that the business or project continues on the right path.

But if I’m doing a SWOT analysis for this website, I’ll use our own template.

SWOT Analysis Template

This is the general SWOT template I use whenever I’m doing a SWOT analysis for PESTLEanalysis.com. I add the company’s name to the title and replace the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats according to my research.

More often than not, these factors tend to be common between a lot of projects and companies. Especially if they operate in the same industry. So, don’t be afraid if you run across the same factors for different companies.

For instance, technological innovation will likely be an opportunity for more than 90% tech companies you are analyzing!

Benefits and Limitations of SWOT Analysis

Let’s check out a few benefits of SWOT:

• Everyone can do a SWOT analysis, even with no previous business experience, thanks to the internet’s free information
• SWOT can find applications in many studies
• SWOT promotes discussion
• The analysis is visually pleasing
• SWOT offers valuable insight
• SWOT fosters collaboration

SWOT analysis can be somewhat limited nonetheless:

• SWOT might not be well-suited for positive thinkers since it focuses on the negatives more or less
• As a consequence, SWOT might not be that motivational to me or my team
• SWOT is not that proactive or action-oriented
• SWOT does not analyze the external factors as much as a PESTLE analysis does
• SWOT makes me think that last year’s analysis may be still good this year; big mistake
• SWOT might make a threat look bigger than it actually is

That’s why I tend to use SWOT analysis together with alternatives .

SWOT Analysis Example

Alright, now we’ve covered all that ground, let me show you how I did a SWOT analysis of Adidas recently.

I began by doing research on the company: economic reports, revenue and profit margin, when it started doing business, its history and background, etc. No matter how familiar I am with a popular company, I always discover new facts during my research. And these facts don’t necessarily need to be strictly business.

If you’ve followed the website for a while, you’ll know that I like including little-known facts about the companies I’m analyzing. When I check analyses done in the corporate world, I find them too ‘professional.’ As an outsider to the business realm and with no business degree, let alone a PhD under my belt, I like having a bit of fun while also getting the job done.

So, once I have a pretty good knowledge of the business’ whereabouts, I start with strengths .

For Adidas, the powerful global brand name stood out immediately. Then came endorsements with athletes, proving Adidas’ strong marketing game. Then I followed through with pinpointing more strengths and completed the first part.

For weaknesses, I looked into one of their main competitors, Nike. It turns out that Nike is doing a better job when it comes to partnering with celebrities. Also, common weaknesses of companies operating globally fell into place here as well. These include a complex supply chain and currency fluctuations. These will appear in more SWOT analyses that you think!

So, since Adidas has fallen back on their relationship with celebrities, this could pose as an opportunity for the company. Hence, I include collaborations with celebrities and designers as an opportunity, in an effort for Adidas to penetrate the fashion industry more and reach new audiences.

Once I had enough opportunities listed, I moved to the last part: Threats. When we’re talking of a saturated and competitive market, competition will always threaten the top brands. It’s one thing to reach the top, and it’s another thing to stay there. Other threats I ran across were labor costs, environmental regulations, and technological advancements by competitors. For instance, Nike launched a new Air Max shoe, capitalizing on technological innovations that have been happening lately, which I only heard when I did a PESTLE analysis for Nike! You never know when one analysis will lead to an update on another!

Now, having a complete list of every component for my SWOT analysis, I was ready to fill in the blanks in my SWOT template.

Notice that the Adidas SWOT analysis is different than the SWOT template I included in the beginning.

More business analysis strategies

Before I wrap up, I have to remind you that SWOT is just one of many business analysis tools and strategies. Although I focus more on PESTLE analysis in this website , I may occasionally write about the following tools:

• If you haven’t heard about PESTLE analysis, I’ve got you covered
• Porter’s Five Forces assesses the competitive environment
• Value Chain analysis demonstrates that I should add as much value to my product as possible
• Ansoff Matrix , a strategic tool that tells me if I should sell new products or target new markets
• BCG Matrix , a business management tool based on dogs, cows and stars (yes, really)
• VRIO framework is used for internal analysis and focuses on resources
• SWOC analysis is similar to SWOT, since it substitutes (T)hreats with (C)hallenges.

Finally, the whole point of a SWOT analysis is to act on it, of course. Once someone has completed an analysis, they need to:

• Build on their Strengths
• Take care of their Weaknesses
• Seize Opportunities
• Never forget the Threats

And now you know more than 99% of the people out there about SWOT analysis!

• Learn center
• Strategy & planning

Using a SWOT analysis to develop core business strategies

Brandi Gratis

December 13, 2021

A SWOT Analysis is an integral part of any good business plan. Whether you’ve been in business for ten years or you’re just getting specifics together for a new product , a thoughtful SWOT analysis will inform every part of your business.

SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. You can use a simple list to conduct your analysis, but it’s most commonly formatted using a SWOT diagram.

The basics of a SWOT Analysis

When coming up with your list of strengths and weaknesses, think about internal factors like patents, expertise, staff, funding, location, etc.

When thinking about your list of opportunities and threats, think about external factors like suppliers, competitors, prices, the market, etc.

Strengths and weaknesses are things you can control and change with varying degrees of effort.

Opportunities and threats are things that exist in the world or market regardless of what your business does. You most likely can’t change these things.

When should you conduct a SWOT Analysis?

Existing businesses.

Existing businesses will want to do a SWOT Analysis under these circumstances:

• In response to a changing environment, so they can assess and respond proactively
• At regularly scheduled strategy meetings
• At the beginning of major projects

New businesses

New businesses will use the SWOT Analysis to help formulate their business plan. It’s an initial step towards creating a cohesive strategy that will be unique to their business.

How to conduct a SWOT Analysis

The more perspectives you can get involved in your SWOT Analysis, the better. Include people across your company to help you understand the particular strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that face every department at every level.

This exercise is also an opportunity for different departments to connect and align with the grander vision of the company. Participation encourages adherence to the resulting strategy and makes every part of the company feel included in and integral to driving the business forward.

A SWOT Analysis diagram is simple to create (and we offer multiple templates for it in Cacoo ). It’s made up of four squares, laid out two by two, each labeled as one of the four sections.

You can ask your team to prepare ideas before coming to your meeting, but active and collaborative brainstorming should be encouraged. As different perspectives bring new ideas to light, you’ll begin to identify the most important and unifying elements.

You don’t need to elaborate on any one point too much within the SWOT diagram . Bulleted points for each item will suffice. Plus, it makes organizing much easier, which is the next step.

Once you’re finished brainstorming, it’s time to prioritize your items with the highest priority listed at the top of each section in descending order. Remove items that won’t have a significant impact on the business. In the end, you should have a finalized version of your SWOT Analysis.

Questions to guide your SWOT Analysis

If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few questions to help guide the conversation. This is by no means an exhaustive list of things that can or should be discussed during this exercise.

Strengths (internal, positive factors)

When listing your company’s strengths, you want to think about internal, positive factors within your control.

• What does your business do well?
• Do you have any advantages over your competition?
• What types of resources does your business have?
• What assets does the company have?
• How can you utilize the expertise of your staff?

Weaknesses (internal, negative factors)

When listing your company’s weaknesses, think about internal, negative factors that detract from your business’s ability to reach its greatest potential.

• Which areas of your business need the most improvement?
• What kinds of resources does your business lack?
• What expertise does your business lack?
• Which assets does your company lack?
• What disadvantages does your business face compared with your competition?

Opportunities (external, positive factors)

When listing your company’s opportunities, you want to think about external, positive factors that could aid your business.

• Does the current state of the market offer any unique benefits?
• Are there any recent changes in the market that have created new opportunities?
• How could you acquire more resources, expertise, or assets?
• How important is timing to any of the opportunities you identified?

Threats (external, negative factors)

When listing your company’s threats, you want to think about external factors beyond your control that could put your business or strategy at risk.

• What about the current state of the market could hurt your business?
• Are there any recent changes in the market that have diminished previous opportunities?
• What strategies are your current and potential competitors using?
• Are there threats to your existing resources, expertise, or assets?
• How important is it to react to these threats immediately?

Developing strategies from your analysis

Once you’ve completed your SWOT results, it’s time to use those insights to develop strategies for your business. However, a basic SWOT diagram presents each factor equally and doesn’t weigh their overall importance in your business plan. To get the most out of your analysis, you need to go a step further.

Both the good and bad points that come up in your analysis will have different levels of impact on your business. By considering how different factors overlap, you can decide what to prioritize to help your business grow. This additional layer of prioritization is known as a TOWS Analysis or TOWS Matrix .

To do this, look at how your diagram sections overlap in the following ways:

• Strength-Opportunity Strategies: Can you use any of your strengths to maximize your opportunities?
• Strength-Threats Strategies: Can you use any of your strengths to minimize your threats?
• Weakness-Opportunity Strategies: Can you leverage opportunities to minimize your weaknesses?
• Weakness-Threats Strategies: Can you address your biggest weaknesses to minimize threats?

The limitations of SWOT Analysis (and how to overcome them)

The best thing about a SWOT analysis is that anyone can do it — even a complete novice. However, it’s only meant to be a starting point in the planning process, and it may not reflect the complexity of your business situation. So, let’s talk a little about the limitations you could encounter and how to manage them.

Business challenges are multilayered

Many elements of your business fall into multiple categories on the SWOT diagram. For example, some of your company’s greatest strengths could also be weaknesses. Let’s say you have a great core customer base and have devoted a lot of time to fostering strong relationships with them. Of course, this is a strength.

At the same time, you may become so focused on serving their niche needs that you struggle to attract other types of customers. Lack of diversification is a major flaw that will prevent your company from growing. Yet, this may not appear to be a pressing problem on your initial diagram and won’t be prioritized accordingly.

Your information sources may be biased

Try not to rely solely on self-reported data in your analysis. Weaknesses and threats, in particular, may stem from a different source than you expected. And if you conduct a SWOT analysis with incorrect information, you’ll be no closer to solving your problems. Ensure you have reliable evidence for any factor you include in the analysis. Otherwise, the whole process will be guesswork.

Opportunities and threats are often conditional

Leveraging your resources the right way isn’t a simple matter because business conditions tend to fluctuate or have varying stakes. For instance, many of the opportunities on your list may require a financial investment that would put undue strain on your business. You could only capture those extra profits by taking a huge risk or waiting for better circumstances.

Threats and opportunities can also be time-sensitive. A SWOT analysis doesn’t take conditional factors into account. As a result, a problem you identified as low-stakes in your assessment could significantly escalate while you’re focused on seizing opportunities.

Gather various sources of information for your SWOT Analysis

Limitations aside, a SWOT analysis is still useful for planning your next steps. The important thing is to foster accuracy during every step of the process. Your team has valuable insight, but employee opinions are only one part of the puzzle. They can only share what they have personally experienced, but as a business owner, you need to see the whole picture.

Here are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Develop scenarios for each set of priorities . As you perform the SWOT/TOWS diagram, think about conditional factors that could significantly affect a strength, weakness, opportunity, or threat. This should be based on trends in your industry or conditions that already exist in your business. Factors that are highly prone to fluctuations should be monitored more closely, in case they change from low to high stakes very quickly.
• Back up assumptions with data . Ask your team to come prepared with specific examples or data at your strategy sessions. Not only will this allow you to measure improvement, but it helps you to gain an accurate picture of what you’re doing right and what you need to do to improve.
• Do further research . Delve deeper into the objectives in your SWOT analysis. For example, you may need market research to figure out how to differentiate your business or financial advice to understand which opportunities are best for the company .

Final thoughts

As internal and external factors change, your strategies will need to adapt to them. It’s essential to conduct a regularly scheduled SWOT Analysis of your business to make sure you’re pivoting your strategy regularly and accurately.

Searching for the right diagramming tool?

Check out Cacoo , a diagramming tool for better team collaboration.

This post was originally published on June 6, 2017, and updated most recently on December 13, 2021.

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How to do a SWOT Analysis? With Templates and Examples

• Updated on February 9, 2024

SWOT Analysis is definitely one of the most known business tools to evaluate the future insights for a company or an organization. But do you now how to do a SWOT analysis in an effective way? This article will discover all the details of a clear and efficient SWOT process .

Table Of Content

1. What is a SWOT analysis? 2. What does SWOT stand for? 3. How to do a SWOT analysis? 4. Effective Questions for SWOT Analysis 5. Why is a SWOT analysis important? 6. SWOT Analysis: Pros and Cons 7. When should you use a SWOT analysis? 8. Expert Tips: How do you write a good SWOT analysis? 9. SWOT Analysis Examples 10. Conclusion

Among the many time-tested methods for helping companies find their place in the market, the SWOT analysis has proven to be an invaluable asset. The method’s adaptability makes it useful for both internal and external source identification of opportunities and threats to a company.

If you’re a nonprofit trying to grow, a for-profit business planning to introduce a new product, or a startup trying to break into the market, a SWOT analysis is a must-have tool.

1. What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a structured planning method used by individuals and organizations to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning.

Despite its seeming lack of complexity , a SWOT analysis is capable of yielding profound insights. So, stakeholders can find the best places to make changes and use their influence by dissecting the internal and external variables that impact an entity.

>> Download SWOT Analysis Excel Template

Also, in most cases, an organization’s strengths and weaknesses are things that exist on the inside, such as its resources, systems, and processes. On the flip side, opportunities and threats are things outside of your control, such as changes in the market, the economy, or new technologies.

Additionally, business, marketing, personal career planning, and many more fields can all benefit from this versatile tool. So, an organization’s present position and future prospects can be better understood by conducting a SWOT analysis, which outlines the positives and negatives of the organization’s internal and external environments.

2. What does SWOT stand for?

Here’s a closer look at what each term represents in the context of a SWOT analysis:

• Strengths: These are internal attributes and resources that support a successful outcome. Strengths are what the organization excels at or possesses more advanced capabilities in comparison to competitors. This could include a strong brand reputation, a loyal customer base, unique technology, exclusive access to the best natural resources, or favorable distribution networks.
• Weaknesses: These are internal factors that might hinder the achievement of an objective. Weaknesses detract from the value offer and could place the organization at a disadvantage. Examples might include gaps in expertise, limited resources, poor location, inadequate supply chains, or inferior technology compared to competitors.
• Opportunities: External chances to improve performance in the environment. Opportunities reflect the potential you can leverage to grow your business or project. They might arise from market growth, lifestyle changes, technological advances, partnerships, and other external factors that offer a compelling avenue for expansion or improvement.
• Threats: External challenges that could cause trouble for the business or project. Threats might stem from various sources like economic downturns, increased competition, changes in regulatory landscapes, or other external risks that could impact the entity’s success negatively.

Understanding each of these components in detail allows organizations and individuals to craft strategies that capitalize on the strengths and opportunities while mitigating the weaknesses and threats.

3. How to do a SWOT analysis?

An organization or project’s internal and external environments can be examined using a clear and structured approach in a SWOT analysis. To make sure the analysis is thorough and effective, it can be divided into several steps:

Step 1: Prepare your SWOT layout

First things first, select your platform to perform SWOT analysis and prepare your layout.

Step 2: Assemble a Group for SWOT Analysis

Definitely, multiple viewpoints add depth to SWOT analysis. Thus, gather a group of people with different backgrounds and areas of expertise to get a complete picture. Then, your analysis is more thorough and accurate because of this inclusivity.

Step 3: Make a List of Your Strengths

Thirdly, write down all the personal qualities and assets that will help you reach your goal.

Think about the strengths, resources, and competitive advantages of your company. Intellectual property and other physical assets are part of this category, as are intangible assets like company culture and reputation.

Step 4: Identify Your Weaknesses

Then, recognize the internal variables that may impede your advancement.

Maintain objectivity and honesty; admitting fault is the first step in fixing it. Think about potential weak spots in your company or areas where your competitors could excel.

Step 5: Seek Out Opportunities

Also, seek out possibilities for expansion or enhancement outside of your current organization.

Any external factor that your organization could use to its advantage could be considered here, including trends, changes in technology, market gaps, and so on.

Step 6: List your Threats

Lastly, in a similar vein, you should be aware of the outside forces that might endanger your company.

Any outside force that might have a detrimental effect on your company qualifies, whether it be changes in regulations or intense competition.

Step 7: Evaluate your SWOT Analysis results and prepare your Action Plan

Now that you have all the factors listed, it’s time to think about them and figure out how they could affect things.

Sort the SWOT analysis elements in order of how important they are to achieving your goal . You should formulate plans to take advantage of opportunities, fix weaknesses, and lessen the impact of threats. Embrace opportunities when they come, shore up your weak spots, build on your strengths, and fortify yourself against outside dangers.

Turn your strategies into a workable plan with defined objectives, roles, and due dates. In order to transform insights into outcomes, this step is vital .

So, define your goals with risks and opportunities , then list your actions. Also, it’s important to be definitive in your actions with clear mentioning of responsible person, priority, due dates. Lastly, you can use Someka’s action planning tool here to make effective preventive and corrective action plans:

>> Download Action Plan Excel Template

Step 8: Update your SWOT analysis regularly

The external environment and your internal capabilities are subject to change , so it’s important to review regularly. If you want your strategies to stay effective, you need to revisit and update your SWOT analysis regularly.

What follows is an examination of the kinds of questions that might be asked at various points in a SWOT analysis in order to glean useful information.

4. Effective Questions for SWOT Analysis

One of the most important parts of how to do a SWOT Analysis is to ask the right questions for an accurate evaluation.

If you want your SWOT analysis to be really comprehensive, you need to ask lots of questions to get to the bottom of your company’s internal and external environments. For each group, here are some sample questions:

• What advantages does your organization have over others?
• What unique resources can you leverage?
• What do others see as your strengths?
• What is your organization’s competitive edge?
• What processes are efficient, and what expertise do you have?
• What areas need improvement to compete more effectively?
• What resources do you lack?
• What parts of the business are not profitable?
• What are the perceived weaknesses of your organization?
• Where does your organization have fewer resources or capabilities than others?

Opportunities

• What trends or market conditions could you exploit to your advantage?
• Are there emerging needs for your products or services?
• What technological advancements can you leverage?
• How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?
• Are there changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc., that suggest an opportunity?
• What obstacles do you currently face?
• Are there new competitors entering your market?
• Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?
• Are there changes in regulations that could impact your business negatively?
• Is your market or industry declining?

Answering these questions requires honest and critical thinking .

The goal is to uncover insights that can inform strategic decision-making and help prioritize actions that align with the organization’s objectives.

5. Why is a SWOT analysis important?

Firstly, one of the most important parts of strategic planning is doing a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis is useful for many reasons, including the following:

• Better understand your company with insights from different angles
• Grab the chances to grow and expand
• Identify weaknesses and threats with a proactive approach
• Help with strategic planning
• Encourages dispassion by minimizing the influence of personal biases on decision-making
• Encourage better communication and cooperation amongst employees
• More informed decisions with better allocation of resources, clearer strategic direction, and higher performance

These are only some general angles that why a SWOT analysis is important for your organization.

6. SWOT Analysis: Pros and Cons

The ease and efficacy of a SWOT analysis have made it a popular tool for strategic planning. Yet, it does have its uses and limitations, just like any other tool:

• Flexibility
• Ease-of-use
• All-Inclusive
• Prompts Strategic Thinking
• Helps with Decision-Making
• Boosts teamwork and communication
• Chance of oversimplification
• Risk of imprecision
• Lack of prioritization
• Need for regular update
• Lack of actionable recommendations

In spite of these caveats, a SWOT analysis is still an excellent resource for strategic planners . It can yield potent insights to direct strategy and decision-making when executed with care, with a dedication to objectivity and continual improvement.

7. When should you use a SWOT analysis?

Definitely, a SWOT analysis comes in handy in the following important situations:

Strategic Planning Process: Organizations can use it to gauge where they are now and plot a course for future development and improvement.

New Product or Project Launch: Before releasing a new service, product, or project to the public, it is wise to conduct a SWOT analysis to weigh the pros and cons of the endeavor.

Competitive Analysis: A SWOT analysis is a useful tool for comparing your company’s strengths and weaknesses to those of your rivals in a competitive analysis.

Responding to Changes in the Market: You can assess the effects of external changes on your organization plan your adaptation strategies for changes like new regulations, technology advances, or changes in consumer behavior.

Organizational Change: Also, this analysis can help shed light on the internal and external factors that will impact the change process during organizational restructuring.

Crisis Management: This methodology can be a useful tool for organizations during times of crisis.

Additionally, SWOT Analysis are an important part of your business plans. So, if you’re preparing a business plan for your stakeholders, creditors, partners, clients, or other third-parties, you should also add a swot analysis to draw a general picture of your business prospects:

>> This is the SWOT Analysis section of Business Plan Excel Template from Someka collection <<

8. Expert Tips: How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

Here are 8 expert tips for an effective SWOT analysis process:

Don’t be vague, instead be specific!

As an illustration, rather than mentioning “good customer service” as a strength, go more specific by stating what makes your customer service stand out, like “24/7 customer support with an average response time of under 1 hour.”

Make use of real data!

Back up your claims with concrete, measurable facts . Indicators of financial performance, surveys of customers, and analyses of the competition are all examples of what may fall into this category. The validity and accuracy of your SWOT analysis are enhanced by data-driven insights.

Involve all related parties!

To get a full picture, it’s important to include people from different departments and roles in the company. Taking a step back and looking at things from a different angle can help us see things more clearly.

Look Outside!

While taking stock of your company’s internal strengths and weaknesses is a must, it’s also a good idea to take a step back and examine the outside world for opportunities and dangers that you may have missed. Trends in the market, new technologies, and changes in regulations could all be part of this analysis.

Make a ranked list!

The implications of each of the factors presented in a SWOT analysis on your goals will vary. You should rank each factor according to how much it can affect your objectives . By doing so, you can direct your plan’s attention to what’s really important.

Always be truthful!

A SWOT analysis relies on your candor . Poor strategic decisions can result from exaggerating one’s strengths or downplaying one’s weaknesses. Strategies should be based on the organization’s actual capabilities and situation, which can be achieved through a realistic appraisal.

Connect SWOT to strategies!

A SWOT analysis’s end goal is to help with strategic decision-making. After identifying each element, plans should be made to take advantage of opportunities, fix weaknesses, and protect against threats.

Make use of it to begin a conversation!

If you want to get your employees talking about strategy, a SWOT analysis is a great tool to use. Make use of it to get your team members thinking creatively and strategically about ways to improve and innovate.

9. SWOT Analysis Examples

Perhaps, the best way to understand how to do a SWOT Analysis is explore the examples of such evaluations.

Among our examples, let’s first check the the Adidas SWOT Analysis :

>> Download Adidas Swot Analysis Example

As one of the biggest sportswear companies , Adidas has strengths of strong brand recognition, diverse product portfolio, and big global presence. On the other hand, among the biggest weaknesses , the company has a high dependence on third-part manufacturers, limited market share in certain regains, and sustainability challenges in supply chain.

On the external factors, we see some opportunities on expansion into emerging markets, e-commerce growth and strategic partnerships. However, intense competition, brand infringement, economic downturns and changing customer preferences are among the threats on the company.

Let’s check another example for an Personal SWOT Analysis:

>> Download Personal SWOT Analysis Template

So, this is an individual SWOT example for an hypothetic person. Among the strengths , we can see strong communication skills, analytical abilities, time management skills, leadership qualities, etc. And on the opposite side , we have limited experience, lack of some technical skills, limited networking, perfectionism, procrastination, and so on.

About the opportunities , we can list embracing new technologies, seeking leadership roles, professional development, building online presence, and similar possibilities. Lastly, increasing competition in the job market, economic fluctuations, rapid technological advancements, toxic relationships are some of the possible threats for an individual.

10. Conclusion for SWOT Analysis

One of the most important tools for strategic planning is the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. This tool provides a straightforward but effective framework for assessing the position of an organization or person in relation to their environment.

Using a balanced perspective that takes into account both internal and external factors, this model can help with decision-making and strategy development.

In this article, we have explored how to do a SWOT Analysis in detail with definitions, step-by-step instructions, expert tips, examples, and also downloadable templates . Hope you enjoy this article!

Recommended Readings:

How to Conduct PESTLE Analysis? With Examples, Templates and Sample Questions

Overview of Risk Assessment Process: Importance, Steps, and Framework

How to Write a Business Plan? Step-by-step Guide with Excel Template

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What is SWOT Analysis & How to Conduct it

Free Competitive Analysis Kit

Ayush Jalan

• January 1, 2024

Running a business is rarely ever simple. There’s a constant need to analyze and refine strategies, goals, finances, customer base, and all the other factors that affect your profitability. Businesses use multiple tools to make this process easy. One such tool is the SWOT analysis framework.

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps build an effective marketing plan. It is a part of the strategic marketing process , which helps analyze your present market position and further helps build a strong business plan.

It uses the data from the analysis of the market , customer, and competitors to develop a framework to represent your SWOT parameters: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats . It also helps when you need a fresh look at your strategies.

Table of Contents

What is swot analysis, how to conduct a swot analysis, how to use a swot analysis.

• Plan, Protect, & Prepare with SWOT Analysis

In this article, you will learn what is a SWOT analysis, how it is used in writing an effective business plan , and how to conduct it for your business.

SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a tactic businesses use to evaluate their market position. As the abbreviation suggests, it is a framework that helps identify your strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats apparent in your industry.

Conducting a SWOT analysis helps you stay informed about the changing dynamics of your market position. The four aspects of this framework assess both internal and external factors that impact your growth.

The internal factors are strengths and weaknesses, while external factors are opportunities and threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis helps you identify and modify the internal factors and stay aware and attentive to external factors.

SWOT analysis is an essential part of your business plan, as it helps predict risks and explore new possibilities. It usually precedes the marketing plan section of your business plan.

You can use it to assess your company’s competitive position, and operational level efficiency, compute the chances of success before accepting new projects, and more.

Want to create a SWOT Analysis for your Business?

Craft a powerful SWOT Analysis in just minutes using our user-friendly and free online SWOT Analysis Generator Tool!

A SWOT analysis, also known as a SWOT matrix, helps you get a new perspective to adjust strategies and serves as a determiner to decide whether or not a project is worth taking up. Make sure to bring together the representatives and/or managers of all the departments.

The more minds involved, the richer and more accurate the analysis can be.

Next, begin brainstorming ideas. This helps incur multiple viewpoints, which provide room for further discussion and conversation. Expect some disagreements and conflicts of interest at this stage.

Next, put these ideas together and average them out. That way, you can cut out the intensely opposing views. With the information obtained, start building your SWOT matrix. Make sure to gather enough data to support your claims.

Let’s take a closer look at the four parameters of SWOT analysis.

1. Strengths

Strengths are what you excel at and what sets you apart from your competitors. These can include reliable branding, a loyal customer base, unique technology, a higher conversion rate, monopoly business, strong supply chains, etc. These should be presented in the matrix with a short description to secure investors.

In case you are still confused, answering the below questions can help you determine your strengths.

• What are you best known for?
• How effectively do you use resources?
• How fast do you deliver products?
• Which of your products was the most successful?
• What are the resources that are exclusive only to you?
• Are your investors happy?
• What are your unique selling proportions?
• Do you have a loyal customer base?
• Is your revenue predictable?

2. Weaknesses

After writing down your strengths, the next parameter is your weaknesses. Honesty is paramount to building an effective SWOT matrix. Weaknesses are the areas you need to improve in and the aspects that are staggering your growth .

These can include high debts, low revenue, obsolete machinery, lack of working capital , unskilled staff, etc. Here are some questions you can answer to list down your weaknesses accurately.

• What do your customers often complain about?
• What are the financial resources you lack?
• What is the human resource you lack?
• Do you have enough technical expertise?
• Are your products not innovative enough?
• Are your expenses too high?

3. Opportunities

Opportunities are advantageous openings in the external business environment that you can exploit to attain higher goals. Identifying opportunities as quickly as possible helps you have a competitive edge over others in your industry.

These don’t necessarily have to be groundbreaking discoveries; they can be small advantages that can impact your growth and sales. To identify opportunities, you can start by asking the following questions.

• What are the current market trends that can increase your sales?
• Which new government policies and regulations can benefit you?
• Which upcoming events or festivals can you capitalize on?
• Which recent technological changes can prove to be beneficial?
• What are the social and lifestyle changes that you can capitalize on?

Threats are those events, limitations, or variables that can affect you negatively. These can harm you in the future if you don’t identify them sooner and stay prepared to tackle them. An obvious threat is your immediate competitor(s).

Conduct an extensive competition analysis to understand your competitors ‘ actions and analyze whether or not they’re going to be a problem for you in the coming days.

You should also be aware of the threats that advancements in technology, increases in material costs, and changes in the market can bring. Identifying threats can be tricky; asking the below questions can help you get started.

• What are the obstacles you are facing in the market?
• What are your competitors doing better than you?
• Does your industry have an easy entry for new competitors?
• Will raw materials costs and labor charges rise in the near future?
• Will advancements in technology impact you negatively?
• What are the market trends that can become threats?
• What are the social and lifestyle changes that can harm you?

Simply having the information is not enough. You need to be able to gain actionable insight from it. Let’s take a closer look at how to use a SWOT analysis.

You have successfully created a SWOT matrix filled with valuable information, great work! Now it’s time to act upon this newfound information. Before starting to take action and set up strategies, start looking for connections between the four aspects.

Create an action list that addresses all four elements of the SWOT analysis. Enlist new strategies to complete these actions, set milestones , choose relevant metrics to measure your progress, and closely monitor your actual performance compared to the planned performance.

It is beneficial to prioritize and schedule these changes according to your unique requirements. If you’re conducting a SWOT analysis to determine whether or not a project is worth taking up, these are some questions you will be able to answer at the end of the analysis:

• Do you have the time and resources to accept this project?
• If not, would adjusting current obligations allow room to accept it?
• Is this project worth enough to consider prioritizing over others?

If done well, a SWOT analysis should be able to answer all your questions clearly and in specific and quantifiable terms. Make sure to try and keep your findings measurable. That way, you can get a clear picture of what you’re getting into. You can use the data obtained to create new strategies and set SMART goals .

Plan, Protect, and Prepare with a SWOT Analysis

It can be confusing to set goals and plans without having complete knowledge of your capabilities and limitations. SWOT analysis helps you do this with ease. It equips you with the data to make more informed business decisions to avoid taking unnecessary risks, protect yourself from threats, benefit from your strengths, and capitalize on opportunities.

It equips you with the data to create a solid marketing process and an effective marketing plan. Business factors such as market trends, customer needs, lifestyle changes, and more change often over time. To stay relevant, it’s wise to revise your SWOT matrix regularly.

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About the Author

Ayush is a writer with an academic background in business and marketing. Being a tech-enthusiast, he likes to keep a sharp eye on the latest tech gadgets and innovations. When he's not working, you can find him writing poetry, gaming, playing the ukulele, catching up with friends, and indulging in creative philosophies.

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Blog Marketing

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis in Marketing [+Examples]

By Jessie Strongitharm , Jul 12, 2022

As marketers, we know how important it is to do your research — especially when it comes to your own strategies, campaigns and all decision-making therein. Yet in my experience, being balanced in your assessments ain’t easy when you’re on the inside looking in. 

Luckily, that’s exactly where a marketing SWOT analysis comes into play. 

A SWOT analysis helps you identify the strengths, weaknesses, potentials and pitfalls of your company so you can refine your strategies for the future.

So in today’s blog, you’ll learn how to use a SWOT analysis to identify problems and strategize solutions in marketing. I’ve also included plenty of customizable templates to give you a leg up.

Let’s get started!

Click to jump ahead

What is a marketing swot analysis , why should marketers conduct a swot analysis, how to create a marketing swot analysis .

• What are common SWOT analysis mistakes?
• SWOT analysis in marketing FAQs 

Hint: It’s no fly-shooing action, nor an internet prank gone wrong. 

A SWOT analysis is a simple and practical evaluation model that helps you understand the internal and external conditions that can make or break your marketing plans . Here’s a quick video on the topic for more context: 

Shorthand for Strengths , Weaknesses , Opportunities , and Threats , SWOT analyses are strategic tools that allow you to visually showcase these insights by organizing them within columns or a matrix. 

Typically, each section explores aspects of a company’s performance, resources and competitive position in the marketplace. Here’s a brief overview of each category: 

Strengths (internal) – Your strengths are the advantages you have in relation to the market and your competitors –  AKA your core competencies, Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) and the areas your brand should focus on to differentiate from others. A strong online presence, diverse service offerings and in-house talent are some examples of strengths. 

Weaknesses (internal) – Your weaknesses are the characteristics of your company that place you at a disadvantage compared to others. Limited resources, poor differentiation from competitors and negative customer perceptions are all examples of weaknesses that affect marketing.

Opportunities (external) – Opportunities are elements in your business’s environment that have the potential to improve your position if used to your advantage. Some examples include: the emergence of new technology and new consumer behaviors or buying preferences.

Threats (external) – Threats are elements in your business’s environment that hurt your company’s potential to compete in the market. Economic downturns, tighter regulations and increasing competition are all examples of threats that can impact your marketing efforts. (Psst – check out the FAQ below for more information!) 

Spoiler alert: the easiest way to build a SWOT analysis is to use a free SWOT analysis template , like the one shown below. Keep scrolling for more templates that you can customize for your own marketing needs. 

Return to Table of Contents

Similar to how a financial balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company’s assets and liabilities at a point in time, a SWOT analysis offers this same level of insight to marketers. (Hint: your sales organizations should do a SWOT analysis too.)

From launching new campaigns and exploring new channels, to considering new technologies and responding to industry trends, SWOT is designed to provide actionable information that  helps marketers — and their organizations — achieve their goals.

This process primes their strategic approaches, allowing them to use their strengths and potential opportunities to balance out, reduce or limit any weaknesses and external threats. 

What’s more, a well-executed SWOT matrix is a crucial ingredient for conducting a competitive analysis — AKA gaining insight on competitors’ marketing tactics, products and performance.

This is key for understanding your relative positioning and resulting competitive advantages, helping you get ahead in the marketing game. 

Check out the competitor SWOT examples below for inspo… 

So in sum, by providing a clear understanding of the market, industry competition and company’s strengths, a marketing SWOT analysis can help you answer questions like: 

• How successful is a given marketing strategy? 
• How are market changes impacting our business operations?
• How is our company performing financially?
• What marketing tactics should we be using?
• What advantage do we have over our competitors?
• What are we doing that our competitors are also doing?
• What products or services are performing/not performing well?
• What current marketplace trends can we take advantage of?
• What new target markets are available?
• What tools and resources do we have to reach at our disposal?
• What factors are pulling time away from our employees?
• Where are we failing to connect with our target market?

You know, just to name a few.

It’s worth noting, these types of analyses are extremely useful in industries where things change quickly. For instance, a  SWOT analysis in healthcare  would’ve helped organizations during the pandemic stay on top of these unprecedented events.

Creating a professional and polished SWOT framework is easy with Venngage’s SWOT analysis templates and drag-and-drop visual editor. Here’s how to get started: 

Define your focus 

The first step to creating an effective marketing SWOT analysis is to identify what your intention is. 

For example: are you looking to create a marketing plan? Or alter your current trajectory? Are you thinking about entering a new market with your existing product/service? Or trying out a new channel/technology? 

No matter the specific use case, know that the more specific your intention, the more useful the outcomes of your analysis will be. 

Compile your data 

It’s time to get all your ducks in a row – and by that, I mean your data! 

Gather your team members and brainstorm points for each section of your matrix, then do your best to condense each into a few succinct point notes. It’s best to keep things as concise as possible to avoid derailing your strategic efforts (more on this below). 

Sign up for a Venngage account and choose from hundreds of templates 

With Venngage, it’s easy to serve up information in a sleek, versatile and professional way.

All you need to do is fill in your user information and your desired use cases to access hundreds of customizable SWOT templates. Once set up, you’ll be able to create beautiful charts without any graphic design knowledge or technical expertise. 

Note: there are hundreds of templates available that you can design and share for free. If you want to access other designs, take advantage of in-editor features like My Brand Kit/Team collaboration and download your files, you’ll need to upgrade your account to a paid plan. 

Customize your SWOT analysis template 

The beauty of Venngage’s drag-and-drop editor is its a simple and powerful design solution for business communications. Once you’ve logged into your account and selected a template, you have the freedom to customize your templates and swap out or add any assets (i.e. text, icon and colors etc) into your design. 

But wait, there’s more! 

Looking to keep your branding consistent? Venngage’s My Brand Kit lets you apply your brand colors and logos to any template with one click.

Want to get more eyeballs on your SWOT analysis before you present it? Team collaboration feature lets you invite members to your team, edit designs together in real time, leave comments, create folders, save your creations and more. 

Easy-peasy, template-squeezy. 

Download your SWOT analysis diagram

Last but certainly not least, you can share or download a high-resolution version of your framework for immediate use in presentations and business communications. 

Sharing is available free-of-charge, while a Premium or Business plan allows you to export your creations to PNG, PDF, HTML and Powerpoint. (And gives you access to the other nifty features I mentioned above!)

What are some common SWOT analysis mistakes?

Congrats – you’re well on your way to becoming a SWOT-ting savant! 

That being said, there are some mistakes even seasoned marketers still make that you’ll want to avoid. Let’s take a look…

1. Listing too many items

Look, I get it: there’s nothing quite like a good brainstorming session to make you come up with 101 ideas and then some.

But the key to an actionable SWOT analysis is being able to present those ideas in a clear, concise and compelling way. That means having a defined focus, and avoiding overloading readers with information.

Try to condense and categorize your individual insights into a few overarching points. Use point-form to convey your ideas in a short space, then organize the information so your most important ideas come first. This will help you decide what to tackle foremost when creating your strategy.

2. Making generalizations

While being concise is important, make sure not to fall into the trap of oversimplifying. This only leads to incorrect, misleading assumptions that hurt your decision-making in the end. 

A good rule of thumb in strategic planning is to avoid black-and-white scenarios. Your data should reflect real-world preferences and campaign performance – not brash assumptions. 

3. Overestimating strengths

Often, people over exaggerate their business’ strengths. While it might feel good in the moment, this idealism only harms your ability to make well-informed strategic choices moving forward. So repeat after me: objectivity is key! Being honest about the facts will help you uncover your true opportunities and risks. 

4. Minimizing weaknesses

The flipside of overestimated strengths? Underestimated weaknesses. So for good measure, I’ll say it again: objectivity is key . 

Even the most successful businesses have areas that need improvement.  If your organization is aware of  its weaknesses, it becomes that much easier to mitigate future roadblocks, meet your targets and achieve long-term growth overall. 

SWOT analyses in marketing FAQs

What do you do with swot analysis data.

Data gained from a SWOT analysis is your key to making smart marketing decisions. 

By evaluating your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can determine how to allocate your resources efficiently — helping you achieve maximum revenue growth and profitability.

And when you’re aware of what your company can achieve, it’s that much easier to adapt to market trends and changing dynamics. 

How important is the SWOT analysis for marketing managers?

In a word? Very. 

Similar to how market research is vital, without SWOT, it’s nearly impossible to gain a balanced view of your company’s positioning and potential.

Marketing managers who know their external circumstances, strengths and limitations can base their campaigns around informed decisions rather than idealistic assumptions. This helps them adapt to the rapidly changing world of marketing more successfully, and be proactive in their approaches. 

What are examples of threats in a marketing SWOT?

Remember: threats in a marketing SWOT analysis are external factors affecting your businesses’ ability to carry out your marketing objectives successfully. This involves assessing the actions of competitors, the emerging trends in the market and the overall landscape your business finds itself in.

Some good questions to ask are:

• What strategies are our competitors using?
• What advantages do our competitors have over us?
• What overlap exists between our services and our competitors?
• What technological challenges are impacting our business? 
• What adverse market changes are we facing now or in the future?

Like other external challenges, these factors might not be in your control. But the understanding you gain from this process puts you in a prime position to adapt to competitor action and economic changes. 

TLDR: fewer surprises = less last-minute course corrections needed.

Ready to create a SWOT analysis for your marketing team? 

To create a well-executed SWOT analysis that communicates your marketing prospects and pitfalls, you’ll need a way to showcase these insights in a visually appealing way.

While you could draw a matrix out by hand or Word doc the day away, it pays dividends to have a data visualization tool that can do this for you in a flash. 

Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor helps you create beautiful, professional graphics quickly and easily. Choose from tons of ready-made SWOT analysis templates and swap out the text with your own insights and icons, then export your content in a few clicks. 

Venturekit uses AI to write a business plan for every entrepreneur.

Starting a business? Type in a few details about a venture and get a 40-section business plan, a chock-full of marketing ideas, positioning angles, financial forecasts, and more.

Venturekit , a cutting-edge SaaS platform, is making business plans sexy with its AI business plan generator , designed to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create business plans. 

In a recent survey conducted by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC) in the US, nearly half of small businesses have adopted AI tools in the past year. The survey underscores the significant time and cost savings experienced by businesses leveraging AI, driving efficiency and profitability. The report shows that 93% of small business owners agree that AI tools offer cost-effective solutions that drive savings and improve profitability.

Integrating AI into business planning marks a significant advancement in making entrepreneurship easier and more fun. Dawson Whitfield, CEO of Venturekit, cites the transformative impact of AI, saying, "Writing a business plan is usually pretty painful. AI makes it a really fun process because it gives you 100s of ideas right out of the gate.”

Traditional business planning methods often present daunting barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs, with complex analyses and intimidating financial projections. However, the incorporation of AI into the industry is reshaping these processes, making them more approachable and less overwhelming. Venturekit leads this shift, emphasizing the personalization of business plans to reflect every brand and business' unique vision and goals.

"One of my main motivations for starting Venturekit was to make entrepreneurs more successful by giving them a solid foundation to launch their business. By leveraging AI, we want to make the process of business planning exciting, as it should be,” adds Whitfield.

The AI business plan generator instantly generates everything – from SWOT analysis to financial forecast – all specific to the user’s business. Leveraging the latest advancements in AI language models, such as GPT4, Venturekit's AI system is trained on vast amounts of data, industry trends, and best practices to generate personalized business plans.

Venturekit's fully generated business plan contains executive summaries, financial forecasts, SWOT analyses, marketing strategies, competitive analyses, and business models. The platform's emphasis on data security ensures the confidentiality of users' business information through encryption methods.

Judith, a company CEO who turned to Venturekit for help with AI plans, said that Venturekit was “hugely helpful” as someone who was always daunted by the idea of drafting a business plan. She adds, "The process was intuitive, and the generated plans exceeded all my expectations."

Joseph, another business leader, shared that the scalability and consistency of Venturekit's business plans have streamlined his company's expansion strategies. Joseph underscores "how tailored and detailed each plan is, despite being AI-generated."

According to Whitfield, Venturekit remains committed to being at the forefront of the transformative impact of AI in business planning. The business plan software offers cost-effective solutions that streamline the planning process, allowing entrepreneurs to redirect resources to various other areas. With Venturekit, creating a comprehensive business plan is no longer a daunting task but an exciting and fun one seen to drive success.

Businesses and entrepreneurs who want to check out Venturekit business plan examples and templates may visit https://www.venturekit.ai .

About Venturekit:

Venturekit is a leading SaaS platform revolutionizing the way entrepreneurs and business leaders create business plans. With a focus on high-quality business plan templates, Venturekit leverages advanced AI technology to streamline the planning process, making it efficient, personalized, and cost-effective.

Venturekit empowers businesses and entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams by providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed. Whether a seasoned executive or a first-time business owner, Venturekit's AI business plan generator offers tailored solutions that reflect each entrepreneur's unique vision and goals.

Contact Details: 

Business: Venturekit

Contact Name: Dawson Whitfield

Contact Email: [email protected]

Website:  https://www.venturekit.ai/

Country: Canada