Using SWOT in Business Analysis

Thomas Bush Jun 15, 2016

Managing a business well can be a difficult thing. For most people, it is often a compromise
between how much time and effort they are willing to put in, and how much success they
want. That’s why it’s important to use the best, most time-effective techniques to analyze,
manage and plan for your business. One popular tool for this is SWOT analysis, sometimes
referred to as just ‘SWOT’.
What is SWOT, and why use it in Business Analysis?
SWOT analyses look at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a given
organization or venture. SWOT is perfect for business analysis because it delves into the
factors that matter most, cutting right to the chase. It also reminds you, through the simple
4-letter mnemonic, to include both the positive and negative factors and both the internal
and external factors. SWOT business analysis provides profound insight into what you
really need to pay attention to in current or future situations, in an easy and approachable
way.
What does SWOT Analysis tell me?
SWOT focuses on four big variables which play a part in how well your business fares.
Let’s look at each of them in some depth, and how they relate to business analysis:
 Strengths: This is a positive, internal factor that asks “What are we good at?” It’s
important for every business to know what they excel at so they can use it to
maximum advantage. If you, for example, make a specific product better than you do
another, then narrow down your product range. If your telecoms company has
outstanding customer support and simplicity, then market your product or service to
less tech-savvy clients.
 Weaknesses: This factor is the opposite of the one above. Weaknesses are a
negative, internal factor that asks “What are we bad at?” or “What aren’t we so
good at?” Similarly to the previous factor, this can help you to decide what to do,
who to do it for, and how to do it.
 Opportunities: This factor is positive and external. This point asks “What can be
used to help us reach our goals?”, referring mainly to things that are out of our
control. Business plans shouldn’t rely on opportunities, but they are still worth
taking note of.
 Threats: In SWOT analysis, threats are a negative, external factor. Ask “What
might prevent or hinder us from reaching our goals?” In business analysis, this can
help you to take note of and plan for less than optimal situations.
How do I use SWOT in Business Analysis?
There are two SWOT matrices you might make to assist you in business analysis — one
for the present, and one for a possible future. Just sit down and separately list each of the
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for the scenario.
With just a SWOT analysis for the present, look at:
 Do our goals correspond with what we do well and poorly?
 What should we work on fixing or improving?
 What can we use to our advantage?
 What should we watch out for?
With additional SWOT analyses, ask:
 Is our current destination ideal?
 How can we position ourselves to create specific opportunities or avoid specific
threats?
Want more information about modelling a SWOT matrix for business analysis? Try this
article.
Using SWOT in business analysis is as easy as that! Just write out your Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and read over them (comparing them to ideal
ones) to help analyze the state of your business and how to improve it. Be sure to stay tuned
for an upcoming article about building a SWOT business plan for more information on this
topic.

How to Use SWOT in Business Plans

Thomas Bush Jun 16, 2016
Building a successful business requires extensive forethought and planning. The latter,
business planning, assists you in picking goals, defining strategies, and actualizing your
vision. It may sound complicated to do so, but with the help of some key business analyses,
especially the SWOT analysis, you can make the process much easier for yourself.
SWOT: What and Why?
If you’re a regular PESTLEAnalysis.com reader, you should know by now that SWOT
analysis identifies the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a business or
individual venture. A well-executed SWOT analysis reveals lots of information about the
circumstances you (do or will) find yourself in, and how to make the most out of them,
both of which are essential in business planning.
If you are still not sold on the importance of a SWOT analysis in business, it is critical that
you review this article (“How Your Business Could Fall Without Proper SWOT Analysis”)
before continuing on.
SWOT Analysis in Business Planning / Plans
Business plans often try to answer questions like “How will we grow?”, “What will we
change?”, or “What might prevent us?” The two external factors in a SWOT matrix
(Opportunities and Threats) begin the process of answering these questions, thanks to their
inherent relation to the future. The other two factors (Strengths and Weaknesses) — both
of which are internal — also contribute to an answer, but in a less explicit way. These two
factors help you pick out, amongst other things, what to make the most of and what might
need working on to reach your goals.
Business Planning, Analysis, and SWOT
You can’t plan for where you want your business to be in some amount of time if you don’t
know where it is now. Thankfully, business analyses are designed to help you work that
out. Before actually getting started with your business plan, be sure to conduct a concise
business analysis (which might also use a SWOT analysis as discussed in a previous
article) to gain some more insight into this matter.
Actually Planning with SWOT
When formulating a business plan, go through each of the variables included in a SWOT
analysis, and ask how they relate to your plan. Here are a few examples for each factor:
 Strengths:
 Does our vision correspond with what we do well?
 Are we good at what we will need to be good at?
 How will our plan make the most of what we are good at?
 Weaknesses:
 Will our business plan be hindered by certain weaknesses?
 Is it worth fixing them, or adjusting our plan to avoid them?
 Opportunities:
 What opportunities can we plan for?
 How will we make the most of unexpected, unplanned-for opportunities?
 Threats:
 What could prevent us from following our plan?
 How will we deal with any unexpected issues?
SWOT Models for Business Planning
Everything is better explained with lots of examples or outlines, and so we have an entire
article dedicated to SWOT analysis templates for more effective, efficient business
planning. Be sure to check it out for another approach to using SWOT in business.
That’s all there is to using SWOT analysis in business planning! It may seem simple, but
its benefits are surprisingly apparent. Have you used a SWOT analysis for business
planning or a previous venture? We’d love to hear about it down below, along with your
questions and comments.

SWOT Analysis Strengths: Definition &

Examples
Thomas Bush Jun 20, 2016

SWOT analyses are designed to help you fully understand the different circumstances an
organization or venture faces, or may face, which provides valuable insight into the many
different facets of business management. Conducting a good SWOT analysis is as easy as
just listing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, but what if you don’t
know what exactly each of those categories should include?
In this series of articles, we’ll be going over each of the letters in the ‘SWOT’ acronym,
explaining what they mean, and giving clear, understandable examples.
Before you read on: Not sure what a SWOT analysis really is? Read this article before
continuing.
S is for Strengths: Definition
The first letter in the SWOT acronym is S, which stands for ‘Strengths’. Strengths are a
property of every organization or venture which answer the question “What do we do
well?” or “What is good about us/our product?” Strengths are internal — that is to say,
every organization (even in the same environment) has a different set of strengths which
they worked for themselves.
Strengths differ from opportunities in that the latter is external. In other words,
organizations have no control over the presence or frequency of opportunities (but rather
whether or not and how they choose to use them), but they do have control over strengths
(by choosing to either neglect or improve certain areas).
Strengths: Why include them?
Analyzing strengths is an essential part of business analysis, mainly because it allows better
decision making, planning, and management. Knowing what you do well allows you to
make the most of it, and consequently, receive the maximum benefit.
Examples of Strengths in SWOT Analysis
Examples always make things easier to understand, so here are some general and specific
examples of strengths that might come up in a SWOT analysis.
General Examples:
 A loyal customer base for a small business: small businesses are particularly fragile,
especially in volatile markets. That’s why having a loyal customer base is a big
strength for a small business — they can push through difficult conditions and will
always have a group of people willing to support them.
 Lots of capital for a country: having lots of finances is always a plus. A healthy
financial situation allows countries to take bigger risks and survive tougher
conditions, both of which are beneficial in every regard.
 Premium quality for a handmade product: if a product is of high quality, it’s
bound to receive more sales, and do so in a part of the market which offers larger
margins.
Specific Examples:
 A wide product range for Nestle: Nestle’s large range of products means it has a
much better chance to survive and thrive as a business, especially in tough conditions,
as it is less affected by particular supply shortages or market movements.
  A healthy brand image for Apple: many smartphones and tablets are capable of
performing just as well as Apple products, and in most cases, boast the same
functionality, but yet Apple remains the forerunner in mobile technology. This is
because their name has a sense of quality and integrity associated with it, which
draws in clients.
 A well-made product for Shimano: Shimano are world leaders in producing
complex bicycle components and accessories, and hold that position rightly thanks
to their reliable quality. They produce products that work without any issues, at
acceptable prices. This means that they produce the industry standard components
in many premade bikes, and resultingly receive more sales.
For more examples, be sure to check out our complete SWOT analyses available here.
In conclusion, strengths are a positive, internal property of businesses or ventures. They
are important in building effective strategies, and are easily visible in all of the world’s
biggest companies, such as Apple and Nestle.
Do you know of any other good examples of strengths in SWOT analysis? Let us know
down below, along with your questions and comments.

SWOT Analysis Weaknesses: Definition &

Examples
Thomas Bush Jun 24, 2016

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If you’re looking to analyze a business or product, SWOT analysis can be a straight-
forward, but yet extremely effective tool. It takes into account only the most important
factors (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), but still provides a good
outlook on the circumstances your organization or venture finds, or might find itself in.
SWOT analyses are often praised for their simplicity — you list the different variables on
paper (or in a ‘SWOT Matrix’, i.e. a table), and can make some meaningful conclusions
just by reviewing them. However, many individuals may run into uncertainty when trying
to decide whether or not something fits into one of the categories, and if so, which?
In this series of articles, we’ll be focusing individually on each of the four categories,
explaining their definitions and importance, and giving informative examples. Strengths in
SWOT analysis have already been covered, which leaves weaknesses for this article.
W is for Weaknesses: Definition
Every organization or venture has its weaknesses — things that they don’t do so well (or
even do poorly), or things that aren’t so good about them/it. Weaknesses are particularly
noteworthy if they prevent you from achieving your ‘mission’ (even if that’s just earning
money), or make doing so more difficult. This might mean unnecessarily leaking finances,
improperly targeting clients, or poorly executing a service, among other things.
In more robust terms, we say that weaknesses are negative and internal — they cause harm
(or prevent benefit), and are intrinsically related to how the organization is managed or the
venture is realized.
The difference between weaknesses and threats is much like the difference between
strengths and opportunities: that the latter is external. This means that every organization
or venture competing in the same space faces the same threats, but the weaknesses are
unique to how the entity is run/designed.
Weaknesses: Why include them?
If you know your weaknesses, you can work towards improving them. As mentioned
previously, some weaknesses can prevent you from achieving your mission and goals, so
if you can get rid of them, it’s certainly worth doing so.
Examples of Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis
A few good examples should help to clarify what exactly constitutes a ‘weakness’. Here
are some both general and specific examples:
General Examples:
 Unfriendly staff for a service related business: if your clients interact with your
workers a lot, it’s important that they get along. For a service related business to have
unfriendly staff would be a big weakness — current and potential customers would
be deterred, sales would drop, and so would profits.
 Over-complexity for a tech product aimed at less savvy users: if a product’s target
market is less tech-savvy users, then they should at least be able to understand how
to use it, if not how it works. Making the documentation and usage unnecessarily
difficult would constitute a weakness, as the number of potential clients would
decrease, as well as the number of satisfied clients.
Specific Examples:
 High crash and bug rates for newer Windows operating systems: starting from
Windows Vista, Microsoft’s ‘Windows’ line of operating systems have gained
internet notoriety for their high number of issues, occurring especially at release. This
has lead to some clients switching to more reliable alternatives, like Linux, or more
straightforward alternatives, like Apple Macintosh operating systems.
 Unethical production for Nike: many of the world’s biggest apparel and footwear
companies, including Nike, have been accused of exploiting workers in the Far East
with low wages, and poor ‘sweatshop’ working conditions. Check out this PESTLE
analysis of Nike for a source and more relevant information.
  High price point for Starbucks: while this example is more subject to opinion, some
might state that Starbucks’ high price point on almost all products deters a large
portion of less well-off customers, and in turn loses them profit. However, others
might argue that the high prices are definitive in their branding and necessary for
good quality.
For more examples, be sure to check out our complete SWOT analyses available here.
Bringing it all to a conclusion, weaknesses are negative, internal properties of all
organizations and ventures. They warrant attention, as otherwise they can prevent the
reaching of goals or realizing of missions. Examples of weaknesses are visible in every
organization, even powerful, global ones across service and goods sectors.
Do you know of other specific examples of weaknesses in SWOT analysis? If so, do let us
know in the section below, along with your questions and comments.

SWOT Analysis Opportunities: Definition &

Examples
Thomas Bush Jun 27, 2016

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SWOT analysis is one of business analysis’ most important tools. Through looking at
the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a company, it can be quite easy
to gain an extensive outlook on their strategy, and how well it’s bound to work. The
problem that most run into when conducting a SWOT analysis, however, is deciding what
factors fall into which categories — a topic to which we’ve decided to dedicate an entire
series of articles.
This article is the third installment in that series, which means we’ll be covering the
definition of Opportunities and giving relatable, informative examples. If you missed
either one of the two previous articles, about Strengths or Weaknesses, you can find
them here and here, respectively.
So without further ado, let’s get into what Opportunities really are in SWOT analysis.
O is for Opportunities: Definition
Opportunities are a combination of different circumstances at a given time that offer a
positive outcome, if taken advantage of.
The key word in this definition is ‘circumstances’, because opportunities are said to
be external. That means that, unlike with Strengths, however hard anyone tries they cannot
‘create’ opportunities — they can only choose how to position themselves to gain
maximum benefit from them, or whether or not to grasp for them.
The simplest way to remember it is that opportunities are positive, and external: they
benefit those who can take advantage of them, but they cannot be ‘produced’ as and when
desired.
Opportunities: Why include them?
Opportunities come in all different sizes, from hardly noticeable ones, to life-changing
ones. Recognizing the various opportunities that a company faces will help you to act on
them and leverage them (which can increase the success of your own organization or
venture), or further understand the situations that other businesses are facing.
Examples of Opportunities in SWOT Analysis
Practical examples always help to explain topics better than just words, so here are some
both general and specific examples of opportunities that you might come across in a SWOT
analysis.
General Examples:
 A new neighbourhood for an ice cream truck: the ability to begin selling in a new
neighbourhood would be beneficial to ice cream truck-ers, as they would have more
people to sell to. This makes the pursuit of this area a valid opportunity.
 A big sporting event for an energy drink’s producers: a large sporting event would
be a great place for an energy drink producer to advertise, and sponsor athletes.
They could spot the opportunity to play a part in the event early, and secure
themselves a cheap cut of the viewers’ attention.
Specific Examples:
 Emerging markets for the entirety of the tech industry: what with the ever-growing
increase in global development, especially in less economically developed areas like
Africa or the Far East, there is lots of opportunity for those in technological fields.
Increasing incomes will result in many more individuals looking to technology (in
the form of, for example, dishwashers, computers or mobile phones) to improve their
lives. This presents tech companies with a much bigger market to profit from.
 Plant-based meat alternatives for vegan eating movements (we don’t often
feature concepts in SWOT analyses, but that doesn’t mean they are excluded!):
recent developments in plant-based alternatives to meat might be leveraged to make
veganism seem much more attractive. This is certainly a big opportunity for those
pushing the movement.
 The 2016 Olympic Games for Brazil: the next (at the time of writing) set of
Olympic Games will be held in Brazil — a huge opportunity for the country. This
internationally acclaimed event will direct the eyes of millions, if not billions, of
people to Brazil, which gives it a chance to entice investors, along with other
notable figures.
For more examples, be sure to check out our complete SWOT analyses available here.
That’s all there is to opportunities in SWOT analysis. They are simply positive, external
factors that organizations or ventures can take advantage of, without being able to control.
Opportunities are worth identifying in both your own and others’ businesses, as either way
they provide information useful to planning. These favorable situations exist for all
organizations out there, but it is up to them to make the most of it.

SWOT Analysis Threats: Definition & Examples

Thomas Bush Jun 30, 2016

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If used correctly, SWOT analyses can provide volumes of information about the
circumstances that an organization or venture finds itself in. One of the handy benefits of
using a SWOT analysis (as opposed to other business analysis tools) is its inherent
simplicity — all there is to do is list the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats,
and you’ll find yourself with plenty of worthy insight.
However, it’s not always so simple. This is true especially when you are unsure what
specifically fits into each of the S, W, O, T categories. For that reason, we’ve decided to
write this series of articles about each of the letters in the acronym, including what they
mean and what they include.
This article is the fourth installment in the series, and will be focusing on the definition and
examples of Threats in SWOT analysis. If you haven’t already, be sure to familiarize
yourself with Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities first.
T is for Threats: Definition
In business analysis, Threats are anything that could cause damage to your organization,
venture, or product. This could include anything from other companies (who might intrude
on your market), to supply shortages (which might prevent you from manufacturing a
product).
Threats are negative, and external. This mean that threats do not benefit your company, but
there is nothing you can do to stop them from coming about.
Threats are like opportunities in that you cannot change their frequency, or purposefully
bring them about, but you can still choose how to approach them and deal with them.
Threats: Why include them?
Unforeseen threats can mean horrible things for any company, which is why it’s essential
to take them into account in SWOT analysis. Thankfully though, if you can predict them,
it’s possible to reduce their impact, or avoid them entirely.
Examples of Threats in SWOT Analysis
What follows is some both general and specific examples of threats that might appear in
SWOT analyses.
General Examples:
 The introduction of a better alternative for an impersonal product: if a company
has been selling the same product for years, without ever making any effort to interact
with their customers and build trust, then the introduction of a better alternative could
be called a threat. This is because a portion of the company’s current market could
switch to the alternative, causing them to lose out on profits.
 New laws for parody artists: if new laws were to state that parodying popular
entertainment (in the form of art) for commercial purposes is illegal, then this
would certainly be a big threat to those whose careers rely on the practice.
Specific Examples:
 New entrants in mobile tech for Apple: Apple’s mobile products have long been
the go-to choice for many consumers. However, many companies, such as Samsung,
Huawei, and Sony, have been introducing viable alternatives to the iPhone and iPad.
If these products gain much traction, Apple will find themselves losing a “piece of
the pie”.
 The rise of cheaper energy drinks for Redbull and Monster: many new energy
drinks have begun stacking up on shelves across the globe — and they are often
cheaper than household names like Redbull and Monster. This could be considered
a threat as price-conscious consumers might start switching to the cheaper options.
 More mobile-friendly social networks for Facebook: companies like Snapchat
and Beme have taken a new approach to social networking, with a focus on the
accessibility of mobile phones. Snapchat has already replaced Facebook in plenty
of social scenarios, but if this continues it could mean disaster for the multibillion
dollar company.
For more examples, see our complete SWOT analyses available here.
In conclusion, threats are a negative, external occurrence which should be included in every
good SWOT analysis. Taking them into account can help in making the best decisions, and
not doing so can cause sudden damage. In today’s dynamic markets, every company
(include the biggest ones) faces a number of different threats.