SWOT Analysis
A quick first pass at a SWOT analysis can highlight some useful things, so it is worth spending an hour having a go, here are some guidelines to help you produce a worthwhile SWOT. Use the questions as a guide to get you started and add other things that are needed for your product and business.
WARNING! Most SWOTs are done in this way and they end up as pointless exercises. Your SWOT must end up delivering a series of action items that will benefit your business, if you are cobbling together a SWOT because there is a gap for it in your business or marketing plan then you are wasting your time.
Again a caution. Most companies do a product or business SWOT against their entire market, The results of this kind of blanket SWOT are of limited use as they tend to end up as weak averages. If you have some real strentghs in your top markets that don't bring benefits to markets you are trying to grow then you tend to water them down.
So, segment your markets first by whatever means makes the most sense for your business. At least on way should be by grouping the customers who are your main sourse of revenue. Another may be the sources of your daily turnover if this is different.
Do a SWOT for each of the segments you have identified and do it thoroughly, including plenty of input from customers and customer facing employees.
If you do your SWOT without gathering input and data then it is more likely to end up as a SWAG, (Strategic Wild-Assed Guess).
Think about what you put in each section, the internals, strengths and weaknesses are things you have direct control over. The external ones are harder to control so think about how you can turn threats into opportunities and mitigate the weaknesses.
Internal
Strengths
- What do your top customer, partners, sales staff say are your top strengths?
- What are you currently doing right?
- What do you think is your number one strength?
- What is the thing you admire most about your best member of staff?
Weaknesses
- What is the main excuse your staff uses for lost sales?
- What is the biggest cause of customer complaints?
- What is the one thing you have been meaning to fix but keep putting off?
- What do your competitors say that they do better than you?
External
Opportunities
- What do your existing customer buy from others that they could buy from you?
- What could you be adding into every sale that doesn’t currently happen?
- What has changed in recent buying patterns among your new customers?
- What can you do to make better use of on-line technologies to promote your company?
- Are you currently seen as industry experts?
Threats
- What are your top competitors doing better than you?
- What are your top competitors adding to their product/service offerings that could take business from you?
- What new technologies could damage your business if you don’t respond to them?
- Are your key members of staff more in control of your customers than you are?
- What is the worst thing that could happen to affect your business?
Now the interesting part.
- Are you doing all you can to capitalize on your strengths?
- What do you need to do to mitigate your weaknesses or even turn them into strengths?
- Do you have a plan to make the most of your opportunities?
- Do you have a plan to counter the threats to your business?
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The SWOT is one of those truly fundamental things that all marketers will do and that most of them do badly. Worse are the ones, also a significant majority who work diligently at a SWOT and then archive it as if just writing it will be enough.
A well done SWOT should form your roadmap for change, allowing you to improve on both your positive and negative aspects. Do this right and your customers will notice, your staff will gain in confidence and morale and your bottom line should show on-going improvement.