swot analysis of case study

SWOT Analysis Case Studies

The SWOT analysis method is the situation analysis method. It was proposed by Weirik, a professor of management at the University of San Francisco in the early 1980s. It is often used in enterprise strategy formulation, competitor analysis and other occasions including analysis of S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats. Therefore, the SWOT analysis is a method that comprehensively summarizes the various aspects of the internal and external conditions of the enterprise, and then analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, opportunities, and threats faced.

Through SWOT analysis, you can help companies to pool resources and actions in their strengths and where there are the most opportunities; and to make their strategy clearer.

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What is a SWOT model

The analysis of strengths and weaknesses focuses on the strength of the company itself and its comparison with competitors, while the opportunity and threat analysis focus on changes in the external environment and possible impact on the company. In the analysis, all internal factors (i.e., strengths and weaknesses) should be grouped together and then evaluated by external forces (opportunities and threats).

Internal Factors (Strengths and weaknesses)

The analysis of strengths and weaknesses (S-W) of internal conditions is an internal method of assessment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between expertise and ability of the organization’s internal conditions. The strengths and weaknesses of its internal conditions are internal factors that the organization can control, including financial resources, technical resources, research and development, organizational culture, human resources, product characteristics, and marketing resources.

External Factors (opportunities and threats)

With the rapid development of economy, science and technology and many other aspects, especially the acceleration of globalization and integration of the world economy, the establishment of global information networks and the diversification of consumer demand, the environment in which companies are located are more open and volatile. This change has had a profound effect on almost all businesses. Because of this, environmental analysis has become an increasingly important corporate function.

The Opportunity and Threat (O-T) analysis is a method of evaluating the external environment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between the competitions of the industrial environment outside the organization. The opportunities and threats of the external environment are external factors that cannot be controlled by the organization, including factors such as competition, politics, economy, law, society, culture, science and technology, and demographic environment.

What is a Competitive Advantage?

Identifying attractive opportunities in the environment is one thing, and having the necessary competency to succeed in an opportunity is another matter. Each company must regularly check its strengths and weaknesses. When two companies are in the same market or they all can provide products and services to the same customer group, if one of them has higher profitability or profit potential, then we think that the company has a higher competitive advantage than the other. In other words, the so-called competitive advantage refers to a company’s ability to surpass its competitors, and this ability helps to achieve the company’s main goal – profitability. However, it is worth noting that competitive advantage is not necessarily fully reflected in higher profitability, because sometimes companies prefer to increase market share or employees.

Competitive advantage can refer to any superiority in the eyes of a consumer or its product in comparison with its competitors. It can be the breadth of the product line, the size, quality, reliability, suitability, style, and image of the product and services. Although a competitive advantage refers to a company that has a stronger overall advantage than its competitors, it is more meaningful to specify in which area the company has an advantage, because only in this way can we foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, or we can defeat the weakness.

Since the enterprise is a whole and the sources of competitive strengths are very extensive, it is necessary to make a detailed comparison between the company and its competitors from the aspects of the entire value chain when analyzing the strengths and weaknesses. Such as whether the product is novel, whether the manufacturing process is complicated, whether the sales channel is unimpeded, and whether the price is competitive. If an enterprise’s advantage in one aspect or several aspects is the key success factor that a company in the industry should have, then the enterprise’s comprehensive competitive advantage may be stronger. It should be pointed out that to measure whether a company and its products have a competitive advantage can only stand on the perspective of existing potential users, rather than stand on the perspective of the company.

In the process of maintaining a competitive advantage, enterprises must profoundly understand their resources and capabilities and take appropriate measures. Because once a company has a competitive advantage in one aspect, it is bound to attract the attention of competitors. Generally speaking, after a period of hard work, the company establishes a certain competitive advantage; then it is in a situation to maintain this competitive advantage, and competitors start to respond gradually; and if the competitors directly attack the advantage of the company, or Taking other more powerful strategies will weaken this advantage.

The main factors affecting the duration of a company’s competitive strengths are:

• How long does it take to establish this advantage?
• What are the advantages to be obtained?
• How long does it take for a competitor to make a strong reaction?

If the company analyzes these three factors clearly, it will identify itself in establishing and maintaining its competitive advantage.

The company should not correct all its weaknesses, nor should it make use of all its strengths. The main question is whether the company should be limited to the opportunities it already has, or whether it should acquire and develop some strengths to find better opportunities.

SWOT Analysis Strategies

In the process of adaptability analysis, enterprise top management should be based on the determination of internal and external variables, using leverage, inhibitory, vulnerability, and problematic four basic concepts to analyze this model.

• Leverage (S + O).  Leverage effects arise when internal and external opportunities are consistent and adaptive to one another. In this situation, companies can use their internal strengths to pick up external opportunities and fully integrate opportunities and strengths. However, opportunities are often fleeting, so companies must sharply capture opportunities and seize the opportunity to seek greater development.
• Inhibitory (W + O).  Inhibiting means impeding, preventing, influencing and controlling. When the opportunities provided by the environment are not suited to the internal resource advantages of the company, or cannot be overlapped with each other, the strengths of the enterprise will no longer be realized. In this situation, companies need to provide and add certain resources to promote the transformation of internal resources and weaknesses into strengths to cater to or adapt to external opportunities.
• Vulnerability (S + T).  Vulnerability means the decrease or decrease in the degree or intensity of strengths. When environmental conditions pose a threat to the company’s strengths, the strengths cannot be fully exerted and ending up with a fragile situation. In this situation, companies must overcome the threats to take advantage of them.
• Problematic (W + T).  When the company’s internal weaknesses and corporate external threats meet, companies face severe challenges. If they are not properly handled, they may directly threaten the survival of the company.

Steps for Conducting SWOT Analysis

• What is the current strategy?
• Confirm the changes in the external environment of the company (Porter 5 force or PEST)
• According to the company’s resource mix, confirm the company’s key capabilities and key constraints.
• Construct the SWOT Matrix by placing each one of already identified factors. This is an excellent graphic presentation of what is good and what is bad in your company, and what you can expect as an opportunity or threat.
• Define SWOT Strategies
• Choose what strategy to be adopted and determine the future direction and improvement actions to be taken

Case Study 1: Amazon SWOT Analysis

Amazon Detailed SWOT Analysis

• Brand Identity: Amazon is synonymous with online sales services, and Amazon focuses on improving customer satisfaction during the business process.
• Pioneer advantage: Amazon is undoubtedly the leader in the online retail industry.
• Cost structure: Amazon effectively uses its cost advantage, operates on thin profits, and is still profitable in trading.
• Business Development: Amazon continuously improves its service level and provides diversified services.
• Low-profit margins: Amazon has a very thin profit margin to maintain its cost-leading strategy. But low-profit margins make companies vulnerable to external shocks and crises, as well as other market changes.
• Seasonality: There is a seasonal difference between Amazon’s revenue and business scope, with sales and revenue peaking in the fourth quarter of each year.

Opportunity

• Today’s diversification of e-commerce business
• Continues to increase awareness of its own branded products and services.
• Amazon develops more local websites to participate in the international market. With the international expansion of Amazon, some local businesses have the opportunity to enter the international market.
• Promoting the strategic cooperation between Amazon e-commerce and its related affiliated industries will drive positive development of the industry
• Loss of profits due to low-profit margins
• Patent infringement and other aspects of Amazon’s litigation
• E-commerce industry barriers to entry barriers
• Cybersecurity issues

Amazon – Recent Development

What do you need to do next after you understand strengths and weaknesses and identify opportunities and threats? Let us take a look at how Amazon has seized the opportunity to successfully transform itself from an e-commerce company into a global leading technology company! When Amazon realized the limitations of the retail industry, it expanded its business boundaries promptly. In addition to cloud computing and smart voice, Amazon has also contacted third-party platforms such as logistics and suppliers, and even invested in the film and television industry, making its business model more diversify. In 2008, Amazon realized that content can attract and extend users’ time on the platform, and began to provide original content on Prime Instant Video, Amazon’s mainstream media video platform, and as part of the Prime membership service. Amazon’s ecology can be described as a rotating flywheel. This flywheel is centered on Prime’s membership system, and new interests have been added to it, gradually creating an all-encompassing ecology. While continuing to attract new users, it has promoted the development of Amazon’s e-commerce and other new businesses, and it will continue to do so.

Case Study 2: Starbucks SWOT Analysis

• Strengths – The Starbucks Group has strong profitability, with 2004 revenue exceeding $600 million.
• Weaknesses – Starbucks is known for its continuous improvement and innovation. (Translator’s Note: It can be understood as the instability of the product line)
• Opportunity – The launch of new products and services, such as the sale of coffee at the show.
• Threats – rising costs of coffee and dairy products.

Starbucks Detailed SWOT Analysis

• Starbucks Corporation is a very profitable organization, earning more than $600 million in 2004. The company generated revenue of more than $5000 million in the same year.
• It is a global coffee brand built a reputation for fine products and services. It has almost 9000 cafe shop in almost 40 countries.
• Starbucks was one of the Fortune Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2005. The company is a respected employer that values ​​its workforce.
• The organization has strong ethical values ​​and an ethical mission statement as follows, ‘Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business.’
• Starbucks has a reputation for new product development and creativity. However, they can vulnerable to the possibility that their innovation may falter over time.
• The organization has a strong presence in the United States of America with more than three-quarters of its cafe shop located in the home market. Some people think they need to invest in different countries (national portfolios) to spread business risks.
• The organization is dependent on a main competitive advantage, the retail of coffee. This could make them slow to diversify into other sectors should the need arise.

Opportunities

• Starbucks is very good at taking advantage of opportunities. E.g. In 2004 the company created a CD-burning service in their Santa Monica (California USA) cafe with Hewlett Packard, where customers created their music CD.
• New products and services that can be retailed in their cafe shop, such as low price products.
• The company has the opportunity to expand its global operations. New markets for coffee such as India and the Pacific Rim nations are beginning to emerge.
• Co-branding with other manufacturers of food and drink and brand franchising to manufacturers of other goods and services both have potential.
• Who knows if the market for coffee will grow and stay in favor with customers, or whether another type of beverage or leisure activity will replace coffee in the future?
• Starbucks is exposed to rises in the cost of coffee and dairy products.
• Since its conception in Pike Place Market, Seattle in 1971, Starbucks’ success has to lead to the market entry of many competitors and copycat brands that pose potential threats.

Case Studies 3: Coca-Cola SWOT Analysis Example

Coca-Cola Detailed SWOT Analysis

• Most sponsored corporate partners.
• Spread across the world in 650 languages ​​and regions.
• The market territory spans nearly 200 countries on five continents.
• To develop new products, the Coca-Cola Company not only sells cola but also other types of beverages.
• Coca-Cola has a long history, so it has a certain status in the market.
• There is no certain integration and the common goal of strategic management.
• The failure to develop new tastes.
• The gradual transfer of customer loyalty.
• Loss of market development opportunities.
• Sponsor the Olympic Games, use this opportunity to replace their brands, products, and make advertisements, especially The Olympic Games is a worldwide movement that allows the world’s population to recognize this product, expand its market reach, and raise awareness of its products.
• Participate in the World Cup, take this world-wide activity to pave the way for your products and gain popularity.
• Enter the Chinese rural market.
• Enter the American film market.
• Pepsi is Coca-Cola’s biggest competitor
• The products produced by the company may not be favored by young people today.
• Coca-Cola is not considered to be good for health by many people

Formulating Actions for SWOT Analysis

Having completed a SWOT Analysis, so what’s next? Is this enough to conduct the SWOT analysis? You need to know when you are analyzing that at the end of the process you need to expect future directions for next actions. Here is an example of formulating actions for a SWOT analysis:

Disclaimer : This case study has been compiled from information freely available from public sources. It is merely intended to be used for educational purposes only.

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3 Great SWOT Analysis Examples with Real Companies

Whether you want to assess the current position of your business, expand to new markets, or simply develop a new strategy, a SWOT analysis is probably one of the first steps that you will probably make in that direction. And, if it wasn’t on your radar, it should be! Today, we will see some of the best SWOT analysis examples to get you inspired, and help you understand how to do use it effectively for optimum results.

If you are not familiar with the concept, a SWOT analysis is a key technique for assessing some of the most important aspects of your business. In fact, its name comes from the abbreviation of these aspects:

Strengths – internal

These are the strengths of your company compared to other industry competitors. For example, what is it that you do particularly well that others don’t? What is your unique selling proposition , or that service or aspect of your business that differentiates you from the rest?

Do you have a particular competitive advantage over your biggest competitors? This could be technology, an easy access to primary resources, more product personalization, and so on.

Assessing your strengths will help you identify your current position on the market. But also, give you insights on those aspects that represent a clear advantage for your business, so you can leverage them even more.

Weaknesses – internal

Weaknesses, as you might have guessed, are the exact opposite of your organization’s strength. In other words, what do your competitors do better than you ? In what aspect do they have a clear advantage over you?

Is it something that you offer but can improve, or is it a service or an aspect that you lack altogether? For example, your customer service might be unsatisfactory. Or maybe, a competitor has a particular technological feature that your product don’t offer at all.

We will see more of this with practical cases in our section of SWOT Analysis examples.

Opportunities – external

The next aspect of the SWOT analysis is evaluating the positive trends that can open a new opportunity for your business. They usually arise from the outside of your organization , such as industry changes, important movements on the competitors’ landscape, or even a change in the laws applicable to your industry.

Analyzing other factors, such as VUCA – the leadership theory on volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, can also reveal new opportunities for your business. To identify them, you will have to look around you from an external perspective.

Can you spot any current trends that could represent an opportunity for your business? For example, the COVID-19 pandemic made companies like Nike and Adidas sell protective masks on their website as a part of their product portfolio. And many new businesses opened to profit from the changes.

Threats – external

Threats are another aspect that is external to your business, but can impact you negatively if you aren’t paying attention. Some examples include supply chain problems, shift in market requirements, changes to current laws and regulations, and so on.

Of course, threats are not always easy to identify. You will have to be proactively looking for them – if they are obvious, it is probably too late. What is the competition doing? How is the current technology evolving?

Are you noticing a change in user behavior regarding the consumption of your particular product? All these questions can help you get a better understanding of the market , and what could potentially be harmful to you.

And now, let’s get right to our SWOT analysis examples!

Disclaimer: These examples are merely my own analysis and interpretation of the information that is publicly available online for these companies. I don´t work at any of these companies, and I do not pretend that I actually know what is going on behind the scenes for any of them. It is just a practical exercise with real companies with the purpose of giving you a clear idea of how to perform a SWOT analysis.

1. The Coca Cola Company

First on our list of SWOT analysis examples is this one from The Coca Cola Company.

SWOT Analysis examples #1: The Coca Cola Company

Let’s discuss it in detail.

• Variety of products – one of the biggest strengths that The Coca Cola Company has is their incredible variety of products across different categories. In fact, there are over 500 brands across 200 companies owned by Coca Cola. This not only gives them a higher control on the market, but also more diversified expertise, and less overall competition.
• Market share – with a market share of 43% in the soft drink industry, they have a very solid positioning compared to many other competitors. Which also means that it would be extremely difficult to compete with Coca Cola and its almost unlimited resources.
• Brand recognition – Coca Cola is one of the most recognized brands in the world, which gives them a huge advantage in front of their competitors. It also means that any new product or brand they invest in will gain visibility almost immediately.
• Secret recipes – and last but not least, the company prides itself in having a secret recipe for its flagship product – the Coca Cola. This means that this product will be difficult to replicate by competitors.

• Health trends – one of the biggest weaknesses that the company has is its unability to adapt to current health trends. As people are becoming more and more conscious about the unhealthy food and the amount of sugar they are consuming, soft and sugary drinks are slowly getting substituted by healthier options.
• Sugar substitute – another health-related weakness for the company involves the difficulty of improving their quality of their product without affecting its famous taste. Coca Cola has been actively looking for healthy sugar substitutes for years with no success.
• Current positioning – the current positioning of Coca Cola and its soft drinks is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because everyone knows the brand and the product it offers. This kind of brand recognition is something that every company dreams of.

However, this weakness comes with the fact that Coca Cola already has a certain reputation established for itself that is difficult to change. And, considering its sugary drinks with mysterious and secret ingredients, it is certainly not the most positive one.

Opportunities

• Health trends – if The Coca Cola Company closely monitors and responds adequately to current health trends, they have a huge opportunitiy to increase their market share. And get an even bigger chunk of the soft drink industry. Especially if they manage to find a healthy substitute for sugar.
• Few major competitors – considering the dominance of the brand and only a few major competitors for these particular types of products, Coca Cola can quickly introduce new products with the right Marketing strategy.
• Healthier alternatives – although the company is quite dominant when it comes to soft drinks, a lot of other healthier alternatives are arising on the market. Flavoured waters, smoothies, organic drinks, green juices, and so on, are just some of the alternatives that people are starting to prefer as they get more conscious with their health.
• Negative press and media coverage – although The Coca Cola Company is known for its brilliant Marketing strategies and its incredible brand recognition, it also gets a lot of negative coverage for being unhealthy. In-depth research, Youtube videos, and even articles from reputable sources such as The Telegraph might cause serious harm in the long run.

Now that we have seen the first one, let´s move on to the next on our list of SWOT Analysis examples!

Next on our collection of SWOT analysis examples is Airbus, the world’s largest airliner manufacturer, and the one who took the most orders in 2019. So, let’s see what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Airbus:

SWOT Analysis examples #2: Airbus

• Market share – with an estimated market share of almost 63% , Airbus is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, which gives the company a very strong and powerful position in the industry.
• Global network & international presence – with business operations located in Europe, the Americas, Africa & The Middle East, and Asia, Airbus has an incredible international network and presence.
• Innovation & technology – additionally, Airbus is putting a huge focus on investing in technology, innovation, and next generation manufacturing, more than any other competitor in the industry.
• Eco-efficiency – and last but not least, another strength that Airbus counts with is eco-efficiency. The company has been recognized is a leader in proposing and developing solutions for sustainable aviation.
• Delay in delivery – in 2019, Airbus took more orders for aircraft delivery than any other competitor, including its biggest rival Boeing. However, this caused a delay in the delivery of the orders, causing the company to accumulate a lot of backlogs.
• Operational inefficiencies – compared to rivals such as Boeing, Airbus has gained a reputation of being somewhat inconsistent when it comes to executing operations. The company is often delaying launches of its new models – for example, the launch of Airbus A380 was delayed by more than one year. This weaknesses is definitely something that Airbus could work on.
• High production costs – another key weakness of the company is the fact that it has higher production costs than its main rival Boeing, which leaves them with lower profit margins.

• Boom in Travelling – as the travelling industry is booming due to the growing percentage of the middle class, and the lower costs for airplane tickets compared to a decade ago, aircraft manufacturers are receiving more orders than ever. In fact, even in the next few years, the air traffic is anticipated to grow by 4.3% annually. According to Airbus , this alone will require “ 39,200 new passenger and dedicated freighter aircraft over the next 20 years.”
• Technological advances – over the last few years, the industry has gone through a lot of innovation processes and technological improvements. This has allowed Airbus to improve its weaknesses and offer better and faster performance. Also, the fact that aircrafts are becoming more and more secure with the new technologies make people want to travel even more. 
• Competition – the competition in the aerospace industry is practically considered a duopoly. The reason why is because Boeing and Airbus have a combined share of 91% for the whole commercial aircraft market globally. This means that they will not have to fight off small competitors, but also that the competition between both companies is extremely fierce. Which can be a significant threat for Airbus.
• Global pandemic – in 2020, the whole world suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. This alone had a severe impact on the growth of the commercial aircraft market, as people suddenly had to stop travelling. And although this was a temporary decrease that is slowly starting to recover, aircraft manufacturers like Airbus will be affected at least for the next one year.
• Potential competitors in key markets – of course, the fact that Airbus and Boeing are currently dominating the global market does not mean that this will last forever. Currently, important markets like China and Russia are also planning to develop their own commercial aircraft. If that happens, it will most probably shrink the market share for Airbus.

Next on our list of SWOT Analysis examples is Zara, one of the biggest clothing companies in the world. Zara is a brand owned by Inditex , among with several others such as Bershka, Stradivarius, and Oysho.

SWOT Analysis examples #3: Zara

• Efficient manufacturing & delivery – Zara is one of the most efficient clothing companies in the world when it comes to all operational processes – manufacturing, delivery, supply chain and logistics. Reportedly, the company needs just 1 week to develop a new product and get it to all 2,259 stores it has worldwide, compared to an industry average of 6 months. This gives Zara a huge advantage when it comes to delivering new designs in record time.
• Competitive pricing – additionally, the company also offers a very competitive pricing for the variety and amount of products it offers. Its clothing is targeted to a middle class audience, although it´s also true that the pricing is adapted to the characteristics of each market. For example, the prices for Zara in South Korea are 96% higher than the prices in Spain, taking into account the exchange rate of the study.
• Strong global presence – As we already mentioned, Zara has over 2,200 stores across 96 countries, positioning itself as a strong international brand with a solid support (Inditex, with over 7,000 stores ).
• Fast reaction to new trends – the company is known for imitating high-fashion trends, and it is extremely fast when it comes to spotting and replicating them for its own products.

The company´s strengths is what makes it one of my favourite SWOT analysis examples on this list. They are very well defined, and definitely makes Zara stand out from competitors. However, this does not mean that there are no weaknesses:

• Zero policy advertising – the company is famous for its zero policy advertising. This means that, instead of investing in Marketing and Communication actions, they use the money for opening new stores. Although this policy has some awesome benefits, I think that it´s also a very big weakness. The heavy digital advertising done by competitors can completely overshadow Zara in the long run.
• Limited product stock – because Zara delivers fashion pieces in record time, they don´t produce as much stock as other companies would. Which is not great news for customers who often love a piece, and it is already out of stock – or simply not in the size they need.
• Controversies – additionally, the company is also involved in multiple controversies revolving child labour and paying under minimum wage. As people are getting more and more conscious about these topics, these controversies is doing a lot of harm to the company´s reputation. 
• High fashion imitation – as we already mentioned, Zara is known to imitate fashion trends. Which means that they are not a trend setter, and they do not offer a lot of unique and creative pieces designed exclusively by them.

• Growing demand for high fashion – currently, there is a growing demand for clothing that looks high fashion, but don´t cost thousands of dollars for a single piece. This is a great opportunity for Zara, which does precisely what people want – selling high fashion style for affordable prices.
• Fast fashion – as customer behavior is changing, people get bored with everything faster than ever. And this is true for fashion as well – clothes that people would wear for months and years now get substituted with new pieces much more often. Which is another excellent opportunity for Zara as the so-called “fast fashion is on the rise”.
• Market growth – according to Statista , the growth of the apparel market is steadily increasing by 5-6% every year, which is great news for clothing companies like Zara.

And now, let´s take a look at the external changes that are imposing a threat for this one of our SWOT analysis examples:

• Growing competition – the increasing demand for fashion and apparel also means that competition is growing as well. With huge online providers taking over the Internet such as ASOS, Fashion Nova, Shein and others, Zara´s popularity is becoming threatened by other companies. Especially considering the fact that these providers actually offer products from multiple brands at the same place.
• Increasing costs – another tendency that could impose a significant threat for Zara are the increasing costs for production and raw material. Which, as a consequence, will probably reduce its revenue and profit margins. Especially considering the fact the prices are already relatively low! For now, Zara has managed to develop a well integrated and efficient supply chain that keeps the cost of raw materials low. But this might not last forever, especially if the prices keep rising.
• Regulatory threats – the business industry is gradually getting more and more regulated. On a global scale, governments and legal agencies are regulating all kind of sectors and businesses, and the fashion market is not an exception. This includes labour, quality, customer services, and many other aspects of the industry. All of these regulations might eventually have a negative impact on Zara.

Do you want to learn more about SWOT analysis? You might want to check these articles:

• 9 Effective Ways to Identify Opportunities in SWOT Analysis
• 10 Common SWOT Analysis Mistakes in 2022 & How to Fix Them

Need more SWOT analysis examples? Check out our article on Coca Cola SWOT analysis.

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How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

The first step for writing a good SWOT analysis is to determine your objective - what company and strategy are you going to analyze? Next, take a piece of paper and draw a grid with 4 squares, labeling each one of them as it follows - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The key to a good SWOT analysis is getting as specific as possible with each section in order to get more tangible and clear points of action.

What is a SWOT analysis tool?

SWOT analysis is a technique for strategic planning that allows you to assess and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your company (internal factors), as well as the opportunities and threats that may come from the outside, including market trends and competition (external factors).

Why is SWOT analysis important?

SWOT analysis is important for businesses because it provides them with a simple, but powerful framework to assess their own ability to compete on the market, identifying strengths to highlight and weaknesses to work on improving. It also gives them a quick glance at the market from an outside perspective, allowing them to spot current opportunities and identify potential threats that should be addressed as early as possible.

What is the most difficult part of the SWOT analysis?

While the answer may vary between companies and industries, the most difficult part of the SWOT analysis tends to be Opportunities. The main reason why is because the answer may sometimes require a comprehensive and detailed market research to reveal certain opportunities.

And that was all from me, folks! I hope you liked my in-depth SWOT analysis examples. I think the best way to learn a concept is to see how it is applied in practice. For this reason, I wanted to focus this article from a practical rather than a theoretical perspective. However, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to send me an email at [email protected], or just let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for taking the time to read my article 3 Great SWOT Analysis Examples with Real Companies, and I hope to see you in the next one!

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SWOT Analysis

• Support your understanding of the SWOT Analysis to...
• 1 When to use a SWOT analysis
• 2 Exploring the environment of a project
• 3.1 Strengths and weaknesses
• 3.2 Opportunities and threats
• 4 Completing the SWOT analysis

5.1 SWOT analysis: a case study

• Self Assessment Questions
• End of Module Quiz
• References and acknowledgements
• Return to the DIY Learn home page
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Read through the case study and SWOT Analysis Template, then try to complete the activity below.

Case study 1: Syed’s business opportunity

Syed runs his own enterprise in an area on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He manages a collective of people with disabilities who make Bangladeshi puppets in a traditional style, mainly selling to tourists through local shops, and pays them a basic salary as well as a profit share. The puppets are all made to Syed’s own designs, and are quite different to the standard items in most tourist stores. His quirky designs and their popularity with shoppers have come to the attention of Muhammad, who runs a relatively large factory producing puppets and other tourist-friendly wares. Muhammad approaches Syed to suggest that he buy his enterprise, including his designs, and that Syed and his employees all come and work at Muhammad’s factory. He is offering a lot of money, and Syed doesn’t know whether he wants to maintain his independence or go for the security offered by a lump cash sum and guaranteed employment. He uses a SWOT analysis to take a snapshot of his current situation and help him consider the decision:

Looking at the case study above, including Syed’s SWOT analysis, imagine you are helping Syed make his decision. What points would you highlight? Would you recommend him to sell to Muhammad? Make some notes in answer to this question in the text box below.

Syed has provided some interesting information in his SWOT analysis. By taking a realistic look at his business as it is, he can decide what is most likely to make sense for its future. There’s no absolute right or wrong here (there rarely is in this sort of decision-making), but based on the information given I would advise Syed not to sell. These are the key points I would highlight:

• Syed has a lot of strengths, mainly based on the very fact that the organisation is small and under his management.
• Being dependent on one supplier is always a risk, especially now they are becoming unreliable. However, there’s no reason he couldn’t identify other suppliers and shop around to get a good deal and spread the risk by regularly using two or three.
• Syed has said that cash flow is a weakness that stops him from expanding. It sounds like now would be a great time to explore the financial support from the new NGO, as this would enable him to respond to some of the other opportunities (new shops and the potential for export) at his own pace and under his control.
• If he expands, perhaps he could take on some new employees part time? If he has, say, four employees who work half time rather than two who work full time, he has spread the risk of his dependency – if someone is ill or leaves, one or more of the others might be able to increase their hours.
• If he agrees to Muhammad’s offer, he will lose his independence and have to commute to a different workplace. Will the people he works with be able to commute, or in practical terms will this mean they become unemployed (and how might he feel about that)? More people will see and buy his designs, but will his name or mark be on them?
• What if he explores the opportunities for expansion that the SWOT analysis has highlighted, and then considers whether the offer looks tempting?

Finally, I would perhaps suggest that this isn’t a yes or no decision, and there might be a way that Syed could maintain all his strengths but still work in partnership with Muhammad. He could create some designs especially for Muhammad’s factory, and/or draw on some of his resources in exchange for design expertise. At this point, a SWOT analysis of the potential partnership could be a useful decision-making tool.

5 Using the SWOT analysis for decision making

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Home Blog Business How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis (Examples + Templates)

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis (Examples + Templates)

Self-awareness is crucial for running a successful business. You probably know this by now; when you understand your business needs and faults, you can take appropriate actions and fix all your problems. The real question, however, lies in how to cultivate that understanding. So, how can businesses better know themselves?

Several techniques may help businesses asses their shortcomings and strong suits, but a SWOT analysis is arguably the most commonly used. In this article, you will learn how to utilize this tool for your business as you embark on a transformative journey.

Table of Contents

What Is a SWOT Analysis?

Anatomy of a perfect swot analysis, internal and external factors in swot analysis, how to conduct a swot analysis, how to use swot analysis results, case study: swot analysis for marketing, case study: swot analysis for design thinking, presenting swot analysis, swot analysis alternatives.

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps businesses evaluate their Strengths and Weaknesses , as well as Opportunities and Threats – hence the acronym SWOT. It involves evaluating both internal and external factors that impact the organization.

You might have performed a personal SWOT analysis in the past – the goal is somewhat similar to an organizational SWOT. By conducting a SWOT analysis, you can identify the current competitive advantages of your business and devise a successful strategy for the future. SWOT can also uncover the factors and competitive risks hindering the business’s growth.

This simple matrix model can be applied to various aspects of an organization, including its products, projects, and reputation. Its simplicity and effectiveness have contributed to its popularity, making it widely used in project management practices.

The SWOT analysis template is presented as a 2×2 grid or 4-column table, with each part corresponding to one of the four elements: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Here’s an overview of how the SWOT matrix is structured.

SWOT analysis requires you to identify and analyze the strengths of your business. This includes recognizing what your company does particularly well, such as unique capabilities, competitive advantages, strong brand reputation, or exceptional resources. Understanding these strengths will help your organization capitalize on its existing advantages.

To get your thinking started, ponder these questions and consider the following points:

• What do we do exceptionally well? 
• What advantages do we have over our competitors?
• What unique resources or capabilities do we possess?

When evaluating strengths, it’s also essential to consider them concerning your competitors. Simply having the same capabilities or features as your competitors does not provide a competitive advantage and cannot be considered a strength. Instead, strengths should highlight areas where your business outperforms or differentiates itself from competitors.

In the context of SWOT analysis, weaknesses refer to factors or limitations within your organization that may hinder your performance or ability to achieve your objectives. Weaknesses are identified by carefully assessing the organization’s resources, processes, skills, and other internal aspects.

During this process, you must examine every aspect of your business objectively. Let go of preconceived notions about your organization and try to answer the following questions without bias.

• What do our competitors do better than us?
• What internal limitations or challenges do we face?
• What should we avoid or minimize to be successful?

Remember, objectivity doesn’t mean dismissing positive aspects or overlooking achievements. It means being honest and realistic about the current state of your business and using weaknesses as opportunities for growth and development.

Opportunities

The opportunities quadrant is often the hardest to fill in in the SWOT template because they come from various sources and avenues. 

Analyzing opportunities revolves around resources that can be utilized to drive growth and enhance performance. They may arise within the company, like leveraging core competencies or investing in employee development. They may also be external factors that are not within the direct control of the organization, e.g., emerging technologies, new market segments, or changes in consumer behavior.

Identifying and capitalizing on these opportunities can help your business grow and expand. So, to identify these opportunities, ask yourself:

• What emerging trends or market opportunities can we capitalize on?
• Are there any untapped customer segments or unmet needs?
• Are there favorable economic or industry conditions we can leverage?
• Can we leverage advancements in technology to our advantage?

Filling in the opportunities quadrant may require creative thinking, exploration, and a forward-looking mindset. The key to this endeavor is to monitor the business environment continuously, stay open to new possibilities, and be proactive.

Threats are factors that pose potential risks or challenges to the business’s success. They can come from competitors, changing regulations, economic downturns, disruptive technologies, or shifting consumer preferences. While businesses may have limited control over these factors, it is essential to identify and anticipate threats to develop strategies for managing them effectively.

The following questions may help you identify your business’s potential risks or threats.

• Who are our main competitors, and what are their strengths?
• Are there any changes in regulations that may impact our operations?
• What are the shifting customer preferences or market trends that may pose risks?

As mentioned, you’ll normally see the SWOT analysis in a simple matrix. However, some companies adopt an expanded version that compartmentalizes the four elements into internal and external factors.

The organization’s Strengths and Weaknesses fall under the internal factor as their attributes are within the control of the business and can be influenced or modified. For example, your strong brand reputation may be due to past performance and effective processes.

Opportunities and Threats, on the other hand, are considered external factors because they exist outside the organization and are beyond its direct control. An example could be fluctuations in the economy. They can pose opportunities or threats to your company, but you have nothing to do with it; that’s why it’s an external factor.

By categorizing these factors separately, organizations can capitalize on external opportunities or address threats in a way that aligns with their internal capabilities and strengths. 

1. Define the Objectives

The first step of conducting a SWOT analysis is putting in place a clear purpose or objective for why you are analyzing in the first place. This goal will provide meaningful guidance when gathering relevant information and ensure that the analysis provides actionable insights for your business.

Your goal could be, for example, to evaluate the feasibility of entering a new market, assess the competitiveness of a product, or identify areas for improvement within the organization.

2. Choose a Facilitator/s

Business owners or organizational leaders should be involved in SWOT analyses. Still, it’s also important to include team members whose skills and roles align with the goal of the particular analysis.

For example, a retail clothing company that wants to enter online sales may involve the following stakeholders in conducting a SWOT analysis.

• Marketing team/manager who can analyze online consumer behavior.
• IT/Technology specialist who can provide insights into the company’s internal technological capabilities and infrastructure.
• Supply chain manager who can evaluate the company’s supply chain capabilities and logistics.
• Customer service representatives who can share the common pain points of the customers.

3. Conduct Internal Analysis

The next step would be collecting relevant data and information about the internal aspects of the organization. This can include financial statements, operational reports, and other data sources that provide insights into the organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

During this activity, gathering perspectives from various stakeholders and sources is crucial to obtain a holistic view of your business. Don’t limit the analysis to internal stakeholders – seek external perspectives as well.

For example, a company redesigning one of its products can implement customer surveys to know what satisfaction, pain points, and suggestions for improvement they have for the existing product. This feedback may be translated into strengths and weaknesses.

4. Conduct External Analysis

Next is to identify the external factors, a.k.a the opportunities and threats, that can influence the organization’s performance and decision-making.

The external analysis aims to gain insights into the broader market conditions, industry trends, customer preferences, competitive landscape, regulatory factors, and other external forces that can impact the organization’s operations and success.

Continuous monitoring is the key here so that you can stay updated on the dynamic nature of the external environment and make timely adjustments to your strategies.

Conducting a SWOT analysis is just the first step in strategic planning. What’s even more important is taking action based on its results. Identifying strategic alternatives using the SWOT result is a key objective to help you explore different courses of action and make informed decisions about your future direction.

You can use the TOWS matrix in this activity, an analysis tool by Heinz Weihrich that builds upon the SWOT analysis. The TOWS Matrix provides a framework for generating strategic alternatives and considering different internal and external factors combinations. It helps organizations think more comprehensively about their strategic choices and enables them to develop effective strategies.

Let’s take a look at how this works.

1. SO: Maximize Strengths and Opportunities

Take time to pare down the factors in the analysis and match your strengths with the opportunities to gain insights for developing an action plan. This approach ensures that you leverage your internal capabilities and resources to exploit the most promising opportunities in the market.

For example, a clothing retail store that has a strong brand reputation online (strength) can take advantage of the growing trend of online shopping (opportunity) by investing in an e-commerce website (action plan).

2. WO: Minimize Weaknesses and Maximize Opportunities

The second strategy in the TOWS matrix allows you to identify your organization’s weaknesses that may prevent you from taking advantage of market demands.

For example, a limited online presence of a retail store (weakness) may hinder them from reaching a broad customer base in the growing e-commerce market (opportunity).

It should be your priority to shore up your weaknesses, so you can fully maximize the opportunities the external environment presents to your business. In the example, the fictitious organization could expand its online marketing campaigns or build an e-commerce website , if they haven’t yet, to take up space in the online shopping industry.

3. ST: Maximize Strengths and Minimize Threats

This strategy is all about using your organization’s strengths to deal with the threats brought about by external factors. For example, a rapid change in the social media landscape (threat) may prevent an online retail store from attracting new customers. But, it can focus on maximizing the value of its loyal customer base (strength) by implementing customer retention strategies while exploring alternative marketing channels.

4. WT: Minimize Weaknesses And Threats

It is a challenging position to be in when a company is confronted with external threats and internal weaknesses. At this point, the goal is to minimize the weaknesses to be in a better position to overcome the threats. For instance, a retail company with limited digital marketing experience (weakness) can partner with an agency to help them navigate the rapidly changing social media landscape (threat).

Now that we’ve covered the elements that go into a SWOT analysis and what to do with them let’s put them to the test using an example. In this first case, we shall explore a SWOT analysis marketing application.

Imagine this scenario:

Topnotch is a well-established marketing company known for its expertise in digital marketing, social media management, and branding strategies. With a desire to diversify its service offerings and tap into new markets, the company decides to enter a new domain, namely experiential marketing. 

They successfully served clients across various industries, but the leadership team recognizes the need to adapt to the evolving demands of the market. Through extensive market research and analysis, the agency identifies experiential marketing as a promising domain with high growth potential.

With the help of a marketing SWOT analysis, they want to identify whether they can afford to pursue this endeavor considering the internal and external factors.

Using the TOWS template, let’s evaluate the different business strategic options the fictitious marketing agency has about the results of their SWOT analysis in marketing.

Strengths-Opportunities Strategies

• Capitalize on existing digital marketing and branding expertise to integrate experiential marketing into comprehensive, multi-channel marketing campaigns.
• Leverage the established client base to upsell experiential marketing services and expand revenue streams.
• Use a strong team of marketing professionals to develop unique and innovative experiential marketing strategies .

Strengths-Threats Strategies

• Leverage the well-established reputation and client base to maintain strong relationships with current clients.
• Provide continuous training to the marketing team to cope with emerging technologies.

Weaknesses-Opportunities Strategies

• Invest in training and skill development programs to enhance the team’s knowledge and capabilities in experiential marketing.
• Gain a deep understanding of AR and VR and how they can be applied to experiential marketing campaigns.

Weaknesses-Threats Strategies

• Gradually enter the market by starting with smaller-scale experiential campaigns and gaining experience before expanding.
• Allocate resources and dedicate time to research and study experiential marketing thoroughly.
• Seek partnerships or collaborations with agencies or professionals specializing in experiential marketing.

Our second case study is a little less conventional. It involves the application of a Design Thinking SWOT analysis. Although many business professionals label this tool for corporate and strictly business-related purposes, graphic designers, web designers, and creatives in general can get the benefits of applying a SWOT in design tasks. How, you may ask; the answer to this question is linked to maximizing the opportunities that a design project may bring to a customer.

To make this theory more relatable, we will consider this scenario.

La Lavende is a cosmetic brand specializing in natural-based, vegan cosmetic products. Their production strategy is to optimize skin care formulas by using only natural products, which can benefit a consumer base with allergic reactions to chemicals. The management group of La Lavende is seeking to give a refresher to their logo, as it doesn’t reflect the company’s core values. They intend to position the brand in new markets; therefore, their branding strategy is critical at this point.

A graphic design firm was hired for this process, but unlike their competitors, they took a different approach in the initial business meeting with La Lavende. These design professionals proposed to build a design SWOT analysis to tailor potential hidden gems in their branding strategy, as well as which strengths should be reflected in the company’s logo.

Once again, using the TOWS matrix, we will explore the strategic options derived from this rebranding process.

• Highlight the natural and vegan-friendly origin of the products in the branding.
• Expand into new markets seeking vegan-based & organic products.
• Partner with other health-conscious and eco-friendly brands.
• Develop marketing materials that highlight the benefits of using natural-based products for skin care in the long term.
• Change the packaging strategy to use recycled materials and an improved eco-friendly approach.
• Stay up-to-date with regulatory changes in terms of natural-based products.
• Hire professionals to minimize the risk of health reactions during the development and testing phases for the products.
• Enlist the help of influencers to promote the products beyond the health-conscious market.
• Use materials/colors in the logo that differentiate La Lavende from its competitors.
• Expand the current market base with a wider-audience marketing strategy. People outside the health-conscious users may not be aware of what La Lavende is (or if it even exists).
• Develop a compliance plan for regulatory changes.

Presenting a SWOT analysis to the stakeholders is no different from other presentation types – clarity should be the priority of the presenter.

The objective of the SWOT analysis should be explained from the get-go, and the scope of the analysis should be. That explanation should also include a brief overview of the methodology used to conduct the activity, such as the factors considered and data sources.

Then, discuss the key findings of the analysis. The negative conclusions may elicit negative reactions from the audience, so it’s paramount to present each point with evidence to support them.

Instead of dwelling solely on the negative aspects, emphasize the opportunities for improvement and growth. Highlight the key insights or patterns from the analysis, suggest specific actions that build on the strengths and opportunities, and address weaknesses and threats.

The quality of your visual aid may also enhance the overall effectiveness of your presentation. However, designing your presentation from scratch can take time. You may use ready-made templates instead to save time and benefit from professionally designed visual aids for your SWOT analysis.

NOISE Analysis

NOISE analysis is a strategic tool for Needs, Opportunities, Improvements, Strengths, and Exceptions. It is a suitable alternative for the SWOT matrix because it focuses on potential solutions and analyzes a situation.

PEST Analysis

PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal. It is a good alternative to the SWOT analysis tool if your goal is to investigate how external factors can impact your organization. It helps organizations understand the potential opportunities and threats of the landscape in which they operate.

SCORE Analysis

The SCORE analysis stands for Strengths, Challenges, Options, Responses, and Effectiveness. It is practically the same as SWOT in that it also analyzes the internal and external factors that come into play when achieving an organizational goal. Unlike SWOT, however, it goes beyond identifying the problem by exploring solutions.

SWOT Analysis Examples & Presentation Slides

1. outline swot analysis powerpoint template.

Use This Template

2. Diamond SWOT PowerPoint Template

3. SWOT Analysis Template Helix Design For PowerPoint

4. SWOT Analysis PowerPoint Template

5. Free SWOT Analysis Slide Design for PowerPoint

6. Free SWOT Infographics

7. Business SWOT Analysis Template

Performing a SWOT analysis goes beyond simply listing an organization’s strong and weak aspects. A structured approach helps organizations better understand their internal capabilities and external considerations. With these insights, businesses should be able to make informed decisions that may impact their success. Hopefully, this article helps you utilize SWOT the right way.

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A Deep Dive into SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

• Business Improvement , Business Strategy , Problem-Solving Tools
• July 15, 2024

Table of Contents

Introduction.

In today’s fast-paced business world, understanding your company’s strengths and weaknesses is more crucial than ever. One way to do that is by conducting a SWOT analysis. But what exactly is a SWOT analysis? Why is it important? And how can you use it to steer your business toward success? This comprehensive guide aims to answer all these questions and more, offering detailed insights and actionable strategies.

Definition of SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a framework used by businesses to understand their internal and external environments. By evaluating these four components, you can gain valuable insights and make informed strategic decisions.

Importance and Benefits of Conducting a SWOT Analysis

Conducting a SWOT analysis provides several benefits. It helps you identify your key strengths, which you can leverage to gain a competitive advantage. It also makes you aware of your weaknesses, allowing you to address them proactively. Moreover, spotting opportunities can open new revenue streams, while recognizing threats can help you mitigate risks. This analytical tool is essential for strategic planning, ensuring that your business not only survives but thrives.

In this blog post, we will delve into each component of SWOT analysis, guide you through the steps to conduct one, present a real-life case study, discuss common mistakes, and show you how to turn your analysis into actionable strategies. We will also explore advanced concepts and provide practical tips to enhance your strategic planning process.

Understanding SWOT Analysis

Explanation of What SWOT Stands For

Strengths are internal factors that give your business an edge over competitors. These could be your unique products, loyal customer base, or excellent customer service. For instance, a unique selling proposition (USP) or a robust brand reputation would count as strengths.

Weaknesses are internal limitations that hinder your business’s performance. These could include a lack of resources, poor location, or limited brand recognition. Acknowledging these drawbacks is the first step toward overcoming them.

Opportunities

Opportunities are external factors that your business could exploit to its advantage. These might include market growth, technological advancements, or changes in consumer behavior. Identifying opportunities can help you steer your business into new, profitable directions.

Threats are external factors that could harm your business. These could be new competitors, economic downturns, or regulatory changes. Recognizing these threats allows you to develop strategies to mitigate their impact.

When analyzing strengths, ask yourself what your business does well. For weaknesses, consider areas where you consistently face challenges. Opportunities require looking at external trends that align with your strengths. For threats, think about external challenges that could jeopardize your success.

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis

• Gather Your Team : Include members from different departments for diverse perspectives. Ensure each team member understands the purpose and importance of the SWOT analysis.
• Brainstorm Each Component : List your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Encourage open dialogue and candid feedback.
• Strength Score (SS): Assign scores from 1 to 5 based on impact.
• Weakness Score (WS): Assign scores from -1 to -5 based on severity.
• Opportunity Score (OS): Assign scores from 1 to 5 based on potential.
• Threat Score (TS): Assign scores from -1 to -5 based on risk.
• Analyze the Results : Look for patterns and connections. Use a matrix to visualize the relationships between different factors.

Importance of Being Objective and Realistic During the Process

It’s vital to be honest about your weaknesses and threats. Sugar-coating or ignoring them won’t help you in the long run. Being objective allows you to make realistic and effective strategies. Utilize quantitative data and metrics whenever possible to support your analysis.

Tips for Identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

• Strengths : Look at what sets you apart from competitors. Conduct customer surveys to gather feedback.
• Weaknesses : Consider customer complaints and operational challenges. Perform a gap analysis to identify areas of improvement.
• Opportunities : Keep an eye on industry trends and market gaps. Use tools like PESTLE analysis to understand the broader external environment.
• Threats : Monitor your competition and market conditions. Perform a risk assessment to evaluate potential threats.

Case Study: SWOT Analysis in Action

Real-life Example of a SWOT Analysis Conducted by a Successful Company

Let’s take Starbucks as an example. Their SWOT analysis might look like this:

Strengths :

• Strong brand recognition.
• Loyal customer base.
• Premium product range.

Weaknesses :

• High prices.
• Dependence on the U.S. market.

Opportunities :

• Expansion into emerging markets.
• Product diversification.
• Adoption of new technologies.
• Rising labor costs.
• Increased competition.
• Economic downturns.

Discussion of the Results and How They Were Used in Decision-Making

Starbucks used their SWOT analysis to expand globally and diversify their product range, thus capitalizing on their strengths and opportunities while addressing weaknesses and preparing for threats. This deliberate strategy allowed them to balance growth with risk management.

Also Read: 5 Changes You Can Make to Improve Business Performance in 2024

Common Mistakes in SWOT Analysis

• Being Too Vague : Specificity is crucial. Generalized statements won’t provide actionable insights.
• Ignoring External Factors : Don’t just focus on internal issues. External factors can have a significant impact on your business.
• Failing to Prioritize : Not all factors are equally important. Use a scoring system to rank them by impact.
• Lack of Follow-Up : A SWOT analysis is futile if not acted upon. Develop an action plan and assign responsibilities.

Turning Your SWOT Analysis into Actionable Strategies

How to Use the Results of a SWOT Analysis to Inform Business Strategies

After completing your SWOT analysis, the next step is to turn those insights into strategies. For instance:

• Utilize Strengths : Use your strengths to take advantage of opportunities. Leverage your strong brand to enter new markets.
• Address Weaknesses : Develop plans to improve or minimize weaknesses. Implement training programs to enhance skills.
• Capitalize on Opportunities : Create new initiatives based on identified opportunities. Launch new products to meet market demand.
• Mitigate Threats : Develop contingency plans to mitigate perceived threats. Diversify your supplier base to reduce dependency risks.

Tips for Turning Weaknesses and Threats into Opportunities for Growth

• Weaknesses : Transform weaknesses into strengths by investing in training and resources. For example, if team skills are lacking, invest in upskilling programs.
• Threats : Convert threats into opportunities by being proactive and adapting to changes. If a new competitor enters the market, differentiate your offerings to maintain a competitive edge.

In conclusion, conducting a SWOT analysis is invaluable for any business aiming to achieve sustainable growth. By understanding and acting upon your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can create robust strategies that propel your business forward. This multifaceted approach ensures that you are well-prepared to navigate the complexities of today’s business environment.

So, don’t wait. Start your SWOT analysis today and take your business strategy to the next level!

• What is a SWOT analysis used for? A SWOT analysis helps businesses identify their internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats, to create effective strategies.
• Who should conduct a SWOT analysis? Ideally, it should be conducted by a team that includes members from various departments to get diverse insights.
• How often should a SWOT analysis be performed? It should be performed regularly, at least once a year, or whenever significant changes occur in the business environment.
• Can a SWOT analysis be done for personal use? Yes, individuals can use SWOT analysis for career planning or personal development.
• What is the biggest mistake to avoid in a SWOT analysis? The biggest mistake is not being realistic and honest about your weaknesses and threats.

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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. 

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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. 

In retail management , for example, a team 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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SWOT Analysis

Swot analysis framework.

This article provides an introduction to the powerful SWOT analysis framework. In a nutshell we’ll cover the definition, introduce the framework using a case study (ABC Soups), look at a sample template, consider a simple example (SWOT analysis of Starbucks) and list down the limitations of the SWOT tool.  

SWOT Analysis Case Study | ABC Soups

The CEO of ABC Soups, which produces ready-to-eat soup mix, is worried: the company is recording good profits at the moment, but he fears that a couple of issues may affect its sustainability before long.

He wants to evolve strategies to manage these issues, and calls a meeting of his managers and team leaders. He even invites others, including lower-level employees and dealers, to the meeting—he knows almost anyone involved with the company can contribute.

At the meeting, the first thing to do is to identify ABC Soups’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOTs), and then take up a SWOT analysis.

Most of the managers at the meeting are business-school graduates and know what “SWOT” is, but he explains the concept for the benefit of the other participants.  

How to identify SWOTs

The CEO explains that a SWOT analysis is a tool for strategy development. In conducting the analysis, a business organisation places itself in a conceptual environment where there are both opportunities and threats.

It then identifies its inherent strengths and weaknesses, and plans how to make the best use of the opportunities available and minimise the threats. It also finds out how it can use opportunities to limit its weaknesses and to avoid threats. These steps together make up its strategies.

The CEO draws a “plus” sign on a display board to make four grids, and labels each of them as “Strengths,” “Weaknesses,” “Opportunities,” and “Threats” (SWOTs), respectively.

He invites the participants to identify the company’s SWOTs, reminding them that they should only use precise information drawn from the company documents for the analysis. The participants come up with the following data:

• Strengths: Good profits, product popularity, and safe ingredients of product
• Weaknesses: Poor performance of units in some regions and absence of easy-to-use packaging
• Opportunities: Growing market for ready-to-use food items and increasing popularity of instant soups
• Threats: Loss-making units eating up profits elsewhere and growing consumer awareness about harmful ingredients of packaged foods.

Using SWOT analysis to evolve business strategies

With the help of the SWOT analysis, the managers and the others at the meeting evolve strategies for maintaining the company’s profits and ensuring its sustainability.

Matching strengths (availability of funds and product popularity) with opportunity (increasing market for instant foods including soups), the participants identify opening more factories as a strategy.

Matching strength (safe ingredients of product) with threat (growing awareness about food safety), they decide upon a strategy of launching a high-profile awareness campaign about the safe ingredients of ABC’s soups.

Placing weakness (inadequate packaging) and opportunity (growing market) side by side, the participants see that it would be a good idea to sell the soup mix in a microwaveable container in which the consumer can cook soup directly.

Juxtaposing weakness (poor performance by some units) and threat (impact of loss-making units), they feel some of the loss-making units in some regions would have to be closed down.

Therefore, charting the results from the SWOT analysis, we have the following strategies evolved for ABC Soups:

• Strengths (funds’ availability and product popularity) ↔ Opportunity (growing market for instant foods including soups) = Open more factories
• Strength (safe ingredients of product) ↔ Threat (awareness of food safety) = Launch a campaign about safety of soup mix
• Weakness (inadequate packaging) ↔ Opportunity (growing market) = Sell soup mix in microwaveable container
• Weakness (poor performance by some units) ↔ Threat (impact of loss-making units) = Close down loss-making units

As seen in the example above, businesses should be able to identify their SWOTs to evolve strategies. To recognise SWOTs, managers can ask themselves the following questions:  

SWOT Analysis Template

Here are some questions to ask in order to get a better idea of your company’s strengths, weaknesses, oppirtunities and threats.

Add other questions that may be relevant for your business and industry to create a SWOT analysis template that fits your corporate strategy.

Strengths and weakness cover internal factors such as human resources, funds, infrastructure, and even past experiences, both good and bad.

Opportunities and threats relate to external factors such as changing consumer trends, economic and political factors, and laws.  

SWOT Analysis Example: Starbucks

When to use SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis can be used at any stage in the life of a company. It can be used at the start, when it is being launched, or later, when it is implementing a new plan or reviewing plans mid-course. Of course, the analysis can also help find solutions to crises at any time.

Tips for SWOT analysis

• Managers and project leaders are “natural” participants at a SWOT meeting. However, a dealer or even a consumer volunteer can offer usable perspectives.
• A SWOT meeting is best held in a relaxed atmosphere, where participants can express their views frankly. It would be a good idea to allocate adequate time—a few hours, rather than a few minutes—to brainstorming.
• To identify strengths and weaknesses, only facts and confirmed data should be used, instead of opinions. Weakness or threats may hide an opportunity. Conversely, an opportunity easily identified can turn out to be a threat if competitors have also identified the opportunity.
• A SWOT analysis can be used in conjunction with core competency analysis and PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) analysis.
• Review meetings to discuss the progress of strategy implementation help keep plans on track.

Drawbacks and limitations of the SWOT Analysis Framework

A SWOT analysis helps only if the identification of strengths and weaknesses is done honestly and candidly. Care should be taken to ensure that it does not deteriorate into an exercise to justify a past decision or strategy.

The objective should be to answer the question “Where do we go from here?” for the sake of the company.  

Personal SWOT Analysis Template

Before you leave the site, here’s a little bonus. The SWOT framework is quite flexible, and doesn’t just apply to the business world. You could use the tool to do a little self-analysis too.

Try filling up this personal SWOT analysis template to understand yourself better – as a professional, a student, a university applicant or just anyone else.

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  Image Sources: SWOT analysis of Starbucks: slidemodel.com | Personal SWOT Analysis rendestruction.blogspot.in