Imagine if you knew exactly what makes you unique, what opportunities are out there for your business to grab and what if you could identify the limitations of your business so you can address them before it’s too late or too costly to change. This is where a SWOT analysis can give you the direction and focus you need.
Most of you will have heard about a SWOT analysis but are not sure what it is or how you can apply it to your small business.
You certainly don’t have to be a corporate business with huge teams to carry this out. In fact, small business owners are often much closer to their business needs and can pinpoint their issues quickly.
So why do many businesses avoid this step in their planning. It could be down to time, as we know business owners are often guilty of working “in the business and not on the business”. There’s also the “so what now” scenario when you’ve completed it, not knowing how to apply it.
I’ve carried out many SWOT analyses over the years in my various Marketing roles and found this process invaluable to help set out the areas of businesses need to focus on.
What is a SWOT Analysis?
A SWOT is a strategic planning tool to help you get clarity over the direction of your business or project that you are working on. By carrying out a SWOT it helps give you a clear view of your current position as well as a roadmap of the changes you either need to make for your business or be alert to.
Often business owners/entrepreneurs have great ideas for their business and set off at 100mph without necessarily doing the planning stage which would give them a more robust roadmap.
SWOT stands for STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES and THREATS.
The strengths and weaknesses are more “Internal” factors whilst the opportunities and threats are “external” factors so may sometimes lie out of your control.
How do you start creating your SWOT?
As a starting point, switch off your phone, grab some paper, pens and a coffee and have an open mind.
A SWOT works best in a quadrant format, so here are some examples to get you started.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| What do you do well? What makes you unique? What makes you different from your competitors? Why do your customers/clients keep coming back to you | Do you have limitations on resource, skills, systems, processes, time and budgets? |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| What trends are out there which you can tap into? Are there any of your strengths that you can turn into opportunities? | What obstacles may lie ahead for your business? Is your business vulnerable to a competitive attack, consider pricing, copycat activities, stealing customers? Are there any technical threats that would undermine your business model? |
Here are some examples to guide you;
Examples of Strengths
Responsiveness to customers, reputation, exceptional and personal service, agile so can respond to change quickly, low overheads so can provide good value, experience, and knowledge of your sector.
Examples of Weaknesses
Small staff or solopreneur so resource, time and skills can slow the processes down. Cash flow, little or no social media presence, little marketing budget
Examples of Opportunities
Your sector is expanding, the demographic profile is changing, social attitudes and factors are more suited to your product or service.
Examples of Threats
Your competition has bigger budgets and so could “steal” your position and customers. The change in technologies mean your business maybe come outdated or not as relevant.
What do I do with this information now I’ve created this quadrant?
- By identifying your strengths, you will have the footprint for your brand, your USP and what makes you uniquely different.
- Ask your customers and clients for honest feedback on positives and negatives.
- Once you have identified your strengths, use these as key words or phrases consistently in your Marketing.
- Could your strengths open the door to opportunities? Target referrals and reviews and use them in your Marketing. Is it worth looking at some loyalty programme or rewards programme?
- Looking at your weaknesses are there any ways to convert these into strengths, is it worth considering outsourcing or looking at automation processes to save time?
- How can you neutralise your threats. Immerse yourself in your competition and their Marketing so you can identify your point of difference. Even by doing this process it will have brought those threats onto your radar so you can create plans to respond or be more agile.
I highly recommend that all businesses whatever their size do a SWOT analysis at the start of their planning process for any new product or service. It creates that roadmap for you and helps determine the priorities for the business focus.
Need a fresh pair of eyes on your business?
If you like the idea and see the benefit but struggle to organise your thoughts into a solid Marketing plan, then drop me a line and we can book in a FREE discovery call for 30 minutes.
You may just need a couple of hours mentoring and guidance or you may want to seize the opportunity for more of a deep dive where I create your Marketing plan for you. I run flexible programmes to suit different needs and budgets.
Simply fill in the contact form and I will get back to you.
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