market research and swot analysis

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

Published: October 05, 2023

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

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

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

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

What is a SWOT analysis?

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

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

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

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

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Importance of a SWOT Analysis

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

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

SWOT gives you the chance to worry and to dream.

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

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

SWOT forces you to define your variables.

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

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

SWOT allows you to account for mitigating factors.

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

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

SWOT helps you keep a written record.

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

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

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

Parts of a SWOT Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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SWOT Analysis Internal and External Factors

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

Internal Factors

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

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

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

External Factors

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

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

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

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

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

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

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

1. Download HubSpot's SWOT Analysis Template.

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

3. Identify your objective.

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

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

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

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

4. Identify your strengths.

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

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

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

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

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

5. Identify your weaknesses.

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

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

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

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

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

6. Consider your opportunities.

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

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

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

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

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

7. Contemplate your threats.

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

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

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

Writing down your threats helps you evaluate them objectively.

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

SWOT Analysis Chart

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

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

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

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

SWOT Analysis Examples

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

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

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

Apple’s SWOT analysis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• High prices
• Closed ecosystem
• Lack of experimentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally, let’s look at threats to Apple.

Believe it or not, they do exist.

Here are three of Apple’s biggest threats:

• Tough competition.
• International issues.

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

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

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

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

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

Starbucks SWOT Analysis

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

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

Download this Template for Free

Restaurant Small Business SWOT Analysis

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

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

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

Local Boutique SWOT Analysis

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

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

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

How to Act on a SWOT Analysis

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

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

Put your insights into action using the following steps.

Take advantage of your strengths.

Use your strengths to pursue opportunities from your analysis.

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

Address your weaknesses.

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

Make note of the threats.

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

When to Use a SWOT Analysis

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

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

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

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Now that you’ve already done the intensive work of conducting a SWO T analysis with your team—assessing your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats—you’ve probably got a lot of material to work with. Your SWOT analysis should give you a clear, comprehensive sense of your business’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the external factors that represent possible opportunities and threats to your organization. Now what do you do with all this information? How does your SWOT analysis is inform the next market research campaign you take on?

Analyzing Your SWOT Results

As you fleshed out the four categories in your SWOT matrix, you probably began to recognize relationships between the items in its quadrants. Here are some questions worth asking yourself (and your team) to clarify the ways these four categories inform each other:

• How can we act on our company’s strengths to maximize the business opportunities we identified?
• How can we use the strengths we identified to combat or reduce the threats we described?
• How can we overcome or minimize the weaknesses we identified so we can better use the opportunities we found?
• How can we overcome or minimize the weaknesses we identified to avoid the threats we listed?
• Will taking advantage of the opportunities we listed ultimately neutralize any of our threats ?
• Can any of our strengths correct any of our weaknesses ?

Your initial answers to these questions don’t have to be complex, or even fully fleshed out (leave that to your market research). For now, you only need to recognize what you can utilize and draw on, and what needs to be minimized or avoided, in order for your business to be even more successful.

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’re in a position to prioritize which of these matters to tackle first in your market research. What you decide to prioritize will likely be based on some combination of:

1) the likelihood of it happening: you’re focusing on capitalizing on an opportunity or minimizing a threat

2) the feasibility of implementation: you’re focusing on utilizing a strength

3) a possible increase in profits: you discovered a viable solution

Translating a SWOT Analysis into Market Research Questions

For example, let’s look at a fictitious Japanese restaurant located in a seaside tourist town which used its SWOT analysis to inform its market research strategies. Naturally, your SWOT matrix will look different from the one below, but hopefully it will serve as a model for what it can look like when the results of a situation analysis are narrowed down, prioritized, and translated into a set of actionable questions you can use to research more.

SWOT Example

Note we didn’t include specific numbers here (e.g., the amount allocated for their advertising budget or the price differentiation from the competition) because we didn’t need them for this example. As you conduct your own SWOT analysis, you’ll want to include those details.

Now, let’s imagine how a strategic planning conversation around the restaurant’s SWOT analysis chart might unfold. First, the participants might realize there are some items on the matrix that can be improved with easy fixes. For example, perhaps someone is put in charge of researching and acquiring a straightforward and economical employee scheduling software platform , which takes care of the fact one of their listed weaknesses (the restaurant is “still scheduling shifts with pen and paper”).

Looking at the restaurant with a big-picture perspective, though, we see that it’s got a strong reputation (especially among tourists who pass through and give them rave reviews after), an outstanding product in their sake, and a fairly strong location thanks to out-of-town foot traffic. However, much of their business comes from tourists and there’s a concern about what that might mean with new competition opening up and a less-than-ideal parking situation.

On the other hand, the fact that the town is growing means the local population in town is increasing. Maybe some SWOT participants realize that, in catering to tourists, the restaurant hasn’t addressed the local population as well as they could. Maybe that means they should register to participate in the food fair listed under Opportunities. It would mean, after all, tapping into the local population the next town over. If they do well at the fair, those residents might be willing to make the 25-minute drive on a weekend to visit their new favorite Japanese restaurant.

But it also suggests that the restaurant needs to find other ways to strengthen and nurture its relationships with local residents—a population that perhaps cooks dinner at home to avoid evening tourism on Main Street. Perhaps they ask “how could we get local residents to try our food for the first time?” As you can see, their advertising budget isn’t great, so that avenue is closed. Looking over their SWOT, one participant points to that last item in Opportunities: “Potential for partnership with a catering service to work local events.”

Now the restaurant suddenly has a direction for its market research campaign. A whole set of questions suddenly arises: How financially viable (let alone profitable) could such an endeavor be? Is there even a market for Japanese event catering in this area? And what do they mean when they say “this area”? A 15-mile radius? 30? How many catered events even occur in “this area”? And on it goes.

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Our restaurant would then have to create a strategy for answering these questions. They might begin by reading industry reports on the state of the catering business (yes, they’re out there ). They’d learn about industry growth, forecasts, and average profitability. They could narrow their search to data such as payroll and profitability by state . They might then seek out catering companies within a 50-mile radius of their restaurant, learn about their prices, their profitability, what their marketing looks like, how busy their social media profiles are, whom they’ve catered for. Maybe they’d look through local newspaper archives and marriage records, or contact cultural organizations such as museums, opera houses, and places of worship to find out how many events (weddings, holiday celebrations, graduation parties, and so on) are held annually in their town.

If initial research suggests that a catering company might indeed be a successful endeavor, it’s then time for primary research . This might come in the form of a simple questionnaire handed out to customers, a more formal, in-depth survey sent out to local organizations who often host events, or even a focus group composed of local event planners who could advise the restaurant on what they look for when hiring a catering company.

As the restaurant moves forward in its research, the questions would get more detailed: what dishes would prospects want, what dietary restrictions should they prepare for, what would customers be willing to pay for additional services, and so on.

Post-SWOT Analysis Steps

Hopefully, this fictional SWOT example gives you an idea of what’s possible in creating your own action plan. Your own SWOT analysis will allow you to take the following four steps to ready yourself for research:

1. Define the problem you want your market research to solve . There’s a lot of information out there, and diving into the data without a clear objective is only going to overwhelm you. Knowing what you need to know and why you need to know it will keep your research on target. Our restaurant, for example, used one primary question to lead their market research: how profitable would it be to introduce a catering aspect to our already-thriving restaurant?

2. Form a hypothesis about what your market research will reveal . You may end up being way off, but that’s not the point. Forming a hypothesis will keep you actively engaged in the process. What will you do if your predictions are proven right? What consequences will it have for your business? What if you’re proven wrong? Do you have a back-up plan in case you’re taken by surprise?

3. Translate your question from a business problem into a research objective . Once you know what you want your research to accomplish, you’ll have to figure out how to obtain the data to accomplish it. Will you have to dig into public data like financial records and annual reports? Will you gather your own data from surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews? What sources will best answer the question you have? What will your methodology be? How long will it take? What are the costs?

4. Determine your sample size . How many people will you need to hear from to have an accurate picture of what your target market wants? How many prospects would have to express an interest in a new feature or service to make further research worthwhile? Your sample size will depend upon many things, but it’s good to have this criteria set before the research begins. After all, you’ll need to know when it’s time to stop, so you can move forward with implementation.

Congratulations! You’ve got your market research question in hand. In the next section, we’ll dive into the details of competitor research —the strategies for gathering as much valuable information about your competitors as possible.

Lauren Shufran

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Blog Marketing

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

By Jessie Strongitharm , Jul 12, 2022

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

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

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

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

Let’s get started!

Click to jump ahead

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the competitor SWOT examples below for inspo… 

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

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

You know, just to name a few.

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

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

Define your focus 

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

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

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

Compile your data 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Customize your SWOT analysis template 

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

But wait, there’s more! 

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

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

Easy-peasy, template-squeezy. 

Download your SWOT analysis diagram

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

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

What are some common SWOT analysis mistakes?

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

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

1. Listing too many items

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

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

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

2. Making generalizations

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

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

3. Overestimating strengths

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

4. Minimizing weaknesses

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

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

SWOT analyses in marketing FAQs

What do you do with swot analysis data.

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

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

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

How important is the SWOT analysis for marketing managers?

In a word? Very. 

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

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

What are examples of threats in a marketing SWOT?

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

Some good questions to ask are:

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

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

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

Ready to create a SWOT analysis for your marketing team? 

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

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

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

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• Project management |

SWOT analysis: Examples and templates

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

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

What is a SWOT analysis?

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

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

What does SWOT stand for?

SWOT is an acronym that stands for: 

Opportunities

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

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

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

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

What’s unique about our organization?

What does our target audience like about our organization?

Which categories or features beat out our competitors?

 Example SWOT strength:

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

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

Identify the company’s weaknesses by asking:

Which initiatives are underperforming and why?

What can be improved?

What resources could improve our performance?

How do we rank against our competitors?

Example SWOT weakness:

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

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

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

What resources can we use to improve weaknesses?

Are there market gaps in our services?

What are our business goals for the year?

What do your competitors offer?

Example SWOT opportunities:

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

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

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

What changes in the industry are cause for concern?

What new market trends are on the horizon?

Where are our competitors outperforming us?

Example SWOT threats:

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

SWOT analysis example

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

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

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

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

How to do a SWOT analysis, with examples 

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

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

Tip 1: Consider internal factors 

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

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

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

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

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

Tip 2: Evaluate external factors

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

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

You can work to solve these issues by:

Competing with market trends

Forecasting market trends before they happen

Improving adaptability to improve your reaction time

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

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

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

Tip 3: Hold a brainstorming session

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

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

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

Use different brainstorming techniques that appeal to different work types.

Set a clear intention for the session.

Tip 4: Get creative

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

Tip 5: Prioritize opportunities

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

Tip 6: Take action

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

SWOT analysis template

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why is a SWOT analysis important?

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

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

1. Identifies areas of opportunity

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

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

2. Identifies areas that could be improved

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

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

3. Identifies areas that could be at risk

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

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

When should you use a SWOT analysis?

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

A SWOT analysis is most helpful:

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

When you launch a new company initiative

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

Any time you want a full overview of your business performance

If you need to identify business performance from different perspectives

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

SWOT analysis: Pros and cons

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

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

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

Versatility

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

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

Meaningful analysis

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

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

Subjectivity and bias

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

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

Lack of prioritization

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

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

Static analysis

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

SWOT analysis FAQ

What are the five elements of swot analysis.

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

What should a SWOT analysis include?

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

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

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

What are four examples of threats in SWOT analysis?

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

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

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

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

How do you use a SWOT analysis?

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

Plan for growth with a SWOT analysis

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

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

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SWOT analysis - What is and how to conduct it?

Appinio Research · 01.06.2023 · 13min read

Back to Market Research Blog

The SWOT analysis is a valuable tool used by organizations and individuals alike to evaluate their current situation, make informed decisions, and develop effective strategies. 

In this blog post, we will explore:

• What a SWOT analysis is
• How it works and provide examples
• Discuss its use cases and examine its pros and cons. 

By the end, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of this powerful analysis technique and its practical applications.

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a framework that helps individuals or organizations assess their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. 

The best thing about the SWOT analysis? It is a simple brainstorming technique!

What does SWOT analysis stand for?

The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats , which are the four key elements analyzed in this process. 

By examining these factors, a SWOT analysis enables individuals or organizations to gain insights into their current position in relation to the external environment and identify areas where they can capitalize on their strengths, address weaknesses, seize opportunities, and mitigate threats.

How does a SWOT analysis work?

A SWOT analysis involves a systematic evaluation of the four components: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Here's a breakdown of the process:

• What do you do well?
• What have your customers told you they like about your brand / business?
• What do you do better than your competitors?
• What’s unique about your business, products or services?
• What assets do you own (intellectual property, proprietary technology, capitol)?
• What can you improve?
• What are your customers dissatisfied with?
• What do you do worse than your competitors?
• Where are you lacking in knowledge and/or resources?
• What emerging trends can you take advantage of?
• Which of your strengths might be valuable to potential partners?
• What market could you tap into?
• Are there other markets or target groups with less competition?
• What is your competition doing?
• How could our weaknesses leave us vulnerable?
• What market trends are we unprepared for?
• What economic or political issue could impact our business?

Once you have identified and documented the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can move on to the next steps of the analysis.

SWOT analysis use cases

We’ve seen that a SWOT analysis is a simple and effective method, but when would you use it? A SWOT analysis can be applied to a wide range of situations and entities, including:

• Business planning and strategy development
• Market research and competitor analysis
• Project evaluation and decision-making
• Product development and innovation
• Non-profit organizations and fundraising efforts
• Personal development and career planning
• And more...

By understanding your specific use cases, you will be able to identify how a SWOT analysis can be utilized in your specific contexts to gain a competitive advantage or make informed decisions.

The next section will provide examples to illustrate how a SWOT analysis can be applied.

SWOT analysis examples

In this section, we will provide some examples of SWOT analyses to demonstrate how this framework can be used in various contexts. These examples will cover different industries and scenarios, showcasing the versatility of the SWOT analysis as a decision-making tool. By exploring these examples, readers will gain practical insights into applying the SWOT analysis to their own situations.

Let’s conduct a SWOT analysis for a brand / business / company. Imagine you’re running a skincare brand.

You have stores all over the country and you’re looking to expand into another international market. 

Your brand has a lot of different product lines catering to different concerns and to many different target groups. 

Your e-commerce is well established, but you don't provide international deliveries. What would you need to take into account before starting your expansion strategy and planning?

1. Identify Strengths

• Established Brand Reputation : The skincare brand has built a strong reputation in the domestic market, known for its quality products and effective solutions.
• Diverse product lines : The brand offers a wide range of product lines catering to different skincare concerns and target groups, providing versatility and options for customers.
• Nationwide store presence : The brand has a network of physical stores throughout the country, contributing to its visibility and accessibility.
• Strong e-commerce presence : The brand has a well-developed e-commerce platform, enabling convenient online shopping for customers within the country.

2. Weaknesses

• Limited international presence : The brand has not expanded into international markets before, lacking experience and infrastructure to support global operations.
• Lack of global distribution : The brand currently does not have a system in place for delivering products to customers in other countries, which may pose logistical challenges.
• Potential cultural adaptation : The brand may face difficulties in adapting to the cultural preferences and skincare needs of the new international market.

3. Opportunities

• Untapped international market : Expanding into a new international market presents an opportunity to tap into a potentially large customer base and increase brand recognition globally.
• Growing interest in skincare : The skincare industry is experiencing steady growth worldwide , with increasing consumer interest in skincare products and self-care routines.
• Demand for natural and sustainable skincare : There is a growing demand for natural, eco-friendly, and sustainable skincare products.
• Competitive landscape : The international skincare market is highly competitive, with established global and local brands competing for market share.
• Regulatory compliance : The brand will need to navigate and comply with different regulations and requirements in the new international market, which may involve additional costs and complexities.
• Cultural and consumer preferences : The skincare needs, preferences, and beauty standards can vary significantly across different countries and cultures, requiring customization and adaptation of products and marketing strategies.

But a SWOT analysis can also be conducted to assess ourselves.

Imagine you’re re-entering the workforce, it could be useful to run a SWOT analysis before updating your CV or joining an interview.

Personal SWOT analysis

A personal SWOT analysis could go this way.

• Strengths : Strong communication skills, extensive industry knowledge, ability to work well in a team.
• Weaknesses : Lack of advanced technical skills, limited experience in project management, limited knowledge of the latest softwares or tools.
• Opportunities : Professional development programs, networking events to expand connections, potential for career advancement.
• Threats : Strong competition for job opportunities, economic downturn impacting job stability.

How to do a SWOT analysis step-by-step

• Identify the objective : Determine the purpose and focus of the SWOT analysis. Are you evaluating a business, a project, or yourself? Clarify the specific objective to ensure a targeted analysis. You can use this formula “My business needs [X]. We can meet those needs by doing [X], [X] and [X].”
• Gather information : Collect relevant data and information about the subject of the analysis. This may include internal documents, market research, financial reports, customer feedback, or industry trends. Ensure a comprehensive understanding of the internal and external factors that impact the subject.
• Create a SWOT matrix : Draw a four-quadrant matrix on a piece of paper or use a digital tool. Label the quadrants as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
• Identify strengths : Analyze the internal factors that give the subject a competitive advantage. Consider resources, skills, expertise, assets, or positive attributes. Write down the identified strengths in the appropriate quadrant.
• Determine weaknesses : Evaluate the internal aspects that put the subject at a disadvantage. Look for areas of improvement, limitations, or challenges. Note down the identified weaknesses in the corresponding quadrant.
• Identify opportunities : Examine external factors and trends that could potentially benefit the subject. Look for emerging markets, technological advancements, changing customer needs, or favorable industry developments. Record the identified opportunities in the relevant quadrant.
• Assess threats : Analyze external factors that could pose risks or challenges to the subject. Consider competition, economic factors, regulatory changes, or disruptive technologies. Note down the identified threats in the appropriate quadrant.
• Analyze the relationships & impact : Examine the relationships between the different elements in the SWOT analysis. Look for ways strengths can capitalize on opportunities, weaknesses can be mitigated, or threats can be addressed. Identify potential strategies or actions based on these relationships.
• Develop action plans : Based on the analysis, create action plans to leverage strengths, address weaknesses, seize opportunities, and mitigate threats. Prioritize the actions based on their potential impact and feasibility.
• Review and update : A SWOT analysis is not a one-time activity. Regularly review and update the analysis as the subject and its environment evolve. This ensures the analysis remains relevant and guides ongoing decision-making.

Remember, conducting a SWOT analysis is an iterative process that requires thoughtful analysis and input from relevant stakeholders. By following these steps, you can effectively evaluate the subject's current situation and develop strategies for success.

Pros and Cons of SWOT analysis

Like any analytical tool, a SWOT analysis has its strengths and limitations. 

In this section, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a SWOT analysis. By understanding these pros and cons, readers will be able to make an informed decision about when and how to use a SWOT analysis effectively.

• Simplicity and ease of use : The SWOT analysis is a simple and straightforward brainstorming technique that can be easily understood and applied by individuals at various levels of expertise. Its simplicity allows for quick adoption and implementation.
• Comprehensive assessment : The SWOT analysis provides a holistic view of the subject by considering both internal and external factors. It helps identify a wide range of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, enabling a comprehensive assessment of the situation.
• Decision-making support : The insights gained from a SWOT analysis can inform decision-making processes. By identifying strengths and opportunities to leverage, as well as weaknesses and threats to address, decision-makers can make informed choices and develop effective strategies.
• Strategy development : The SWOT analysis serves as a valuable tool for strategy development. It helps align resources, capabilities, and market conditions to determine the best course of action. It facilitates the identification of competitive advantages and areas for improvement.
• Versatility and adaptability : The SWOT analysis can be applied to various contexts, including businesses, projects, personal development, and non-profit organizations. Its flexibility allows for adaptation to different industries and situations.
• Simplistic analysis : While the simplicity of the SWOT analysis is a strength, it can also be a limitation. The framework may oversimplify complex situations and fail to capture all relevant factors, leading to incomplete or biased analysis.
• Subjectivity and bias : The SWOT analysis is subjective and susceptible to personal biases. Different individuals may have different interpretations of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is important to involve multiple perspectives to minimize bias.
• Limited quantitative data : The SWOT analysis primarily relies on qualitative data, which may lack the precision and objectivity of quantitative data. The absence of quantitative metrics can limit the depth of analysis and hinder accurate evaluation.
• Static analysis : The SWOT analysis provides a snapshot of the current situation. However, it may not effectively capture dynamic and rapidly changing environments. Factors can evolve quickly, making the analysis outdated if not regularly reviewed and updated.
• Lack of prioritization : The SWOT analysis does not inherently prioritize the identified elements. It is essential to further analyze and prioritize the identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to focus on the most critical areas.

In conclusion, the SWOT analysis is a powerful method that enables individuals and organizations to evaluate what works well, what is no longer working and how businesses or organizations can identify those areas and improve them. 

By systematically examining these factors, the SWOT analysis provides valuable insights that can inform decision-making, strategy development, and action planning. 

While it has its limitations, the SWOT analysis remains a widely used and versatile tool in a variety of contexts. 

By leveraging the strengths and opportunities while addressing weaknesses and threats identified through a SWOT analysis, individuals and organizations can position themselves for success and navigate the ever-changing business landscape effectively.

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How to conduct a marketing swot analysis for your business.

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In today’s highly competitive business landscape, it’s crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This is where a Marketing SWOT Analysis comes into play. By conducting this analysis, you can gain valuable insights into your business and develop strategies that can propel your marketing efforts to new heights. In this article, we will guide you through the process of conducting a Marketing SWOT Analysis for your business, step by step.

Table of Contents

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It is a strategic planning tool used by businesses to assess their internal and external factors. A Marketing SWOT Analysis focuses specifically on the marketing aspects of a business.

Understanding the Four Components of SWOT

Identify your company’s internal strengths. These could be your unique products, a strong brand reputation, talented employees, or efficient processes.

Acknowledge internal weaknesses that hinder your marketing efforts. These could include limited resources, poor online presence, or lack of market research.

Opportunities

Look at external factors that can benefit your marketing. Opportunities may arise from market trends, emerging technologies, or changes in consumer behavior.

Recognize external threats that could harm your marketing strategies. These might include competition, economic downturns, or regulatory changes.

Preparing for the Analysis

Before diving into the SWOT analysis, assemble a team of individuals with various perspectives and expertise in marketing. Define the scope of the analysis and set clear objectives.

Gathering Data and Information

Collect data relevant to each of the four components. Utilize customer surveys, market research, and internal reports to obtain comprehensive information.

SWOT Analysis Framework

Identifying strengths.

List your company’s strengths. These could be your skilled marketing team, innovative products, or strong customer relationships.

Assessing Weaknesses

Honesty is key when identifying weaknesses. Address issues like outdated marketing strategies or inadequate budget allocation.

Exploring Opportunities

Examine the external landscape for opportunities. Could you expand to new markets, adopt new technologies, or collaborate with influencers?

Evaluating Threats

Identify potential threats and their impact. Analyze market competitors, economic challenges, or any external factors that might disrupt your marketing efforts.

SWOT Analysis Matrix

Create a matrix that visually represents your findings. This matrix will help you see the relationships between your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Developing Strategies

Based on the SWOT analysis, develop marketing strategies that leverage your strengths, mitigate weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and mitigate threats.

Implementation and Monitoring

Put your strategies into action and continually monitor their effectiveness. Adapt and refine your marketing efforts as needed.

Benefits of Regular SWOT Analysis

Regularly conducting SWOT analyses helps you stay adaptable in a dynamic market. It empowers you to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.

Real-life Case Study

Explore a real-life case study of a company that successfully used SWOT analysis to transform its marketing strategies.

In conclusion, conducting a Marketing SWOT Analysis is an essential step in crafting effective marketing strategies for your business. It provides a holistic view of your marketing landscape, allowing you to capitalize on strengths, address weaknesses, seize opportunities, and mitigate threats.

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Ian has marketed for some of the world's best-known brands like Hewlett-Packard, Ryder, Force Factor, and CIT Bank. His content has been downloaded 50,000+ times and viewed by over 90% of the Fortune 500. His marketing has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Adweek, Business Insider, Seeking Alpha, Tech Crunch, Y Combinator, and Lifehacker. With over 10 startups under his belt, Ian's been described as a serial entrepreneur— a badge he wears with pride. Ian's a published author and musician and when he's not obsessively testing the next marketing idea, he can be found hanging out with family and friends north of Boston.

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What Is SWOT Analysis?

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

• Fundamental Analysis

SWOT Analysis: How To With Table and Example

These frameworks are essential to fundamentally analyzing companies

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

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

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

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Key Takeaways

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

Investopedia / Xiaojie Liu

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

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

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

Components of SWOT Analysis

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

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

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

Opportunities

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

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

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

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

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

Step 1: Determine Your Objective

A SWOT analysis can be broad, though more value will likely be generated if the analysis is pointed directly at an objective. For example, the objective of a SWOT analysis may focused only on whether or not to perform a new product rollout . With an objective in mind, a company will have guidance on what they hope to achieve at the end of the process. In this example, the SWOT analysis should help determine whether or not the product should be introduced.

Step 2: Gather Resources

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

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

Step 3: Compile Ideas

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

Internal Factors

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

Potential questions to list internal factors are:

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

External Factors

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

Potential questions to list external factors are:

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

Companies may consider performing this step as a "white-boarding" or "sticky note" session. The idea is there is no right or wrong answer; all participants should be encouraged to share whatever thoughts they have. These ideas can later be discarded; in the meantime, the goal should be to come up with as many items as possible to invoke creativity and inspiration in others.

Step 4: Refine Findings

With the list of ideas within each category, it is now time to clean-up the ideas. By refining the thoughts that everyone had, a company can focus on only the best ideas or largest risks to the company. This stage may require substantial debate among analysis participants, including bringing in upper management to help rank priorities.

Step 5: Develop the Strategy

Armed with the ranked list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, it is time to convert the SWOT analysis into a strategic plan. Members of the analysis team take the bulleted list of items within each category and create a synthesized plan that provides guidance on the original objective.

For example, the company debating whether to release a new product may have identified that it is the market leader for its existing product and there is the opportunity to expand to new markets. However, increased material costs, strained distribution lines, the need for additional staff, and unpredictable product demand may outweigh the strengths and opportunities. The analysis team develops the strategy to revisit the decision in six months in hopes of costs declining and market demand becoming more transparent.

Use a SWOT analysis to identify challenges affecting your business and opportunities that can enhance it. However, note that it is one of many techniques, not a prescription.

Benefits of SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis won't solve every major question a company has. However, there's a number of benefits to a SWOT analysis that make strategic decision-making easier.

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

SWOT Analysis Example

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

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

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

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

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

What Is an Example of SWOT Analysis?

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

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

What Are the 4 Steps of SWOT Analysis?

The four steps of SWOT analysis comprise the acronym SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These four aspects can be broken into two analytical steps. First, a company assesses its internal capabilities and determines its strengths and weaknesses. Then, a company looks outward and evaluates external factors that impact its business. These external factors may create opportunities or threaten existing operations.

How Do You Write a Good SWOT Analysis?

Creating a SWOT analysis involves identifying and analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company. It is recommended to first create a list of questions to answer for each element. The questions serve as a guide for completing the SWOT analysis and creating a balanced list. The SWOT framework can be constructed in list format, as free text, or, most commonly, as a 4-cell table, with quadrants dedicated to each element. Strengths and weaknesses are listed first, followed by opportunities and threats.

Why Is SWOT Analysis Used?

A SWOT analysis is used to strategically identify areas of improvement or competitive advantages for a company. In addition to analyzing thing that a company does well, SWOT analysis takes a look at more detrimental, negative elements of a business. Using this information, a company can make smarter decisions to preserve what it does well, capitalize on its strengths, mitigate risk regarding weaknesses, and plan for events that may adversely affect the company in the future.

A SWOT analysis is a great way to guide business-strategy meetings. It's powerful to have everyone in the room discuss the company's core strengths and weaknesses, define the opportunities and threats, and brainstorm ideas. Oftentimes, the SWOT analysis you envision before the session changes throughout to reflect factors you were unaware of and would never have captured if not for the group’s input.

A company can use a SWOT for overall business strategy sessions or for a specific segment such as marketing, production, or sales. This way, you can see how the overall strategy developed from the SWOT analysis will filter down to the segments below before committing to it. You can also work in reverse with a segment-specific SWOT analysis that feeds into an overall SWOT analysis.

Although a useful planning tool, SWOT has limitations. It is one of several business planning techniques to consider and should not be used alone. Also, each point listed within the categories is not prioritized the same. SWOT does not account for the differences in weight. Therefore, a deeper analysis is needed, using another planning technique.

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

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

Panmore. " Home Depot SWOT Analysis & Recommendations ."

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Industry SWOT Analysis: The Right Metrics to Fuel Your Growth

No man is an island. That classic saying also applies to analysis. Just as humans struggle on their own, data analysis and company growth are virtually impossible to achieve with your data alone.

When you’re analyzing your internal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a SWOT analysis , having access to the industry data keeps you connected to the bigger picture and provides key information about external opportunities to optimize your business plan .

In an industry SWOT analysis, you focus on your larger industry with company and market research . The metrics important to your industry are going to be different from others. In this article, we’ll break down SWOT analysis using a few key industries as examples – marketing, media and publishers, retail, and gaming. We’ll show how you can use industry traffic and web metrics effectively to accelerate your strategy.

We’ll also provide hands-on examples based on accurate benchmarks to inform your strategic planning process.

Questions to ask in a digital marketing industry SWOT analysis

Gaining a competitive advantage over your rivals and industry starts with asking the right questions and metrics.

This lets you manage your growth with more confidence and less guesswork. With the right metrics and data, you can be more proactive and less reactive. Instead of simply following market trends, you can create and influence them in accordance with your company’s needs.

Here are some of the questions to kickstart a digital marketing industry SWOT analysis:

• How is my company performing relative to my competitors?
• What can I learn from my competitor’s strategy?
• What is the industry standard, and am I above, below, or average?
• How can I use data to identify new growth opportunities or product lines?
• Which trends can I use to my team members’ advantage?

In the following paragraphs, we’ll present you with some industry examples, including actual benchmark data, so you’ll see how the industry SWOT analysis works.

A SWOT analysis template can help you keep track of your company’s strengths and external environment over time. Download our free, easy-to-use template now.

Metrics for the media and publishers industry SWOT analysis

Online media sites thrive on traffic volume. Publishers want visitors to spend enough time-consuming content on multiple pages. The metrics you’ll monitor for this industry are therefore different from others, which might focus more on conversion.

For effective strategic management, you’ll want to know where your traffic is coming from and which devices people use to access your site. Characterizing your audience according to website demographics and behavior is equally useful.

To get an idea of where these numbers position you in the market, let’s look at some significant industry benchmarks.

• Most get their news on mobile devices – A little more than 60% access news sites on mobile devices and less than 40% on desktop. When comparing year-over-year, we see this is an ongoing trend, and the gap keeps widening.
• Direct traffic dominates. Direct traffic makes up 65% of all news traffic. Next in line is organic traffic with 23%. The direct traffic market share is growing at the expense of organic traffic and paid search remains relatively insignificant. Social media also became a strong traffic driver in 2020.
• News websites traffic is highly related to specific languages and regions. You need to access relevant numbers for your country from a platform like Similarweb where you can see data breakdown by audience geography . For example, in the U.S., people spend on average 5:33 minutes per visit on a news site and view four pages on average. In Russia, on the other hand, the average visit duration is half of that. To run an effective SWOT analysis, you need to hone in on the right metrics.

To see how this translates into a typical business model in the practice of strategic decision-making, let’s look at an example. We’ll imagine you run a major metropolitan news site in California, such as the Los Angeles Times, and publish both local and international news.

• Strengths – Your numbers show that your traffic share in California is high, and you are ranking third among the top sites for the state.
• Weaknesses – An analysis of demographics  with Similarweb’s unique visitors tool reveals that the share of millennials among your audience is low compared to your direct competitors.
• Opportunities – You identify that keywords related to the film industry bring a lot of visitors to your section on Hollywood.
• Threats – Leading sites grab more and more traffic with sophisticated apps. The device split reveals that people spend less time on your mobile app than average for the industry.

The key takeaways: Targeting keywords of Hollywood-related news about stars that are popular with millennials can help you capitalize on your opportunity with the millennial audience. Using Similarweb’s keyword research tools , you can find the specific keywords and trending topics that drive traffic to competitors’ sites and find the ones you should optimize.

You can also think about expanding social media platforms to attract younger readers. This industry SWOT analysis can be integrated into your strategic plan regularly.

Retail industry SWOT analysis plus benchmarks

eCommerce conversion rate is the number one metric to monitor if you’re a CPG or retail business.

After all, the better your conversion rate (CVR), the more revenue. To understand why you are or are not reaching your business planning goals, you need to deep-dive into the conversion funnel . Pinpoint the relevant metrics that represent your funnel stages and discover where you get prospects to engage and where you lose them.

Then benchmark to see what is considered normal in this category.

Here’s what your industry benchmarks tell you:

• Conversion rates grew 42% for your industry in the past year. You are in a rapidly growing industry. Visits to online shopping sites increased almost 10% in the past month. This presents a strong opportunity but also a considerable challenge to keep growing with the market.
• Amazon is the industry leader. The retail giant receives almost a third of the U.S. traffic, but only 9% when looked at globally.
• Organic traffic share is +30%, higher than in other categories. Direct traffic is the strongest channel though. Paid search yields relatively high traffic volume in the U.S., and the number is increasing. Also, email marketing seems to play a more significant role in eCommerce in the U.S. than elsewhere.
• Conversion rates also vary considerably across countries. Germany and the U.K. have the highest CVR with over 10%. The global average is 6.6%, but only the top 10 countries make it over 4%.
• CVR also varies per product category. Essentials reach the highest numbers, with groceries leading by far, followed by health and household items, pet supplies, and beauty care.
• Mobile use keeps steadily increasing, compared to desktop, and is at 60% in March 2021.

How can you use competitive benchmarks in your SWOT analysis? You’d define your type of company and compare your data to similar companies in size, location, and shopping category.

Let’s say you’re a retail startup for pet foods and supplies and have only recently launched your eCommerce site in the U.S. (for now). You compare your data to sites like chewy.com , petco.com , and petsmart.com .

• Strengths – Your overall growth in traffic and conversion rate exceeds the industry. Try to find out what it is that works well in your marketing and business environment.
• Weaknesses – You identify the number of return visits is low compared to the competition, and you need to start working on customer loyalty. Having learned from the industry benchmarks that email marketing is an effective tool in eCommerce in the U.S., you decide to create campaigns for retention marketing.
• Opportunities – Analytics show you receive traffic from non-English-speaking countries. Might this be a sign that you can already venture into new markets?
• Threats – You see new sites popping up and quickly growing their share over the past months. You need to keep an eye on your competition. Someone could suddenly barge in and capture your audience.

Gaming industry SWOT analysis

A good gaming site is one that people stick to and find various video games they enjoy spending time on.

At the same time, you need to keep drawing in new users. To evaluate your success, you’ll explore stickiness and engagement metrics alongside the performance of your new products’ marketing channels.

One of the unique challenges for gaming sites is graphics on mobile devices, so device use is another internal factor to follow to keep your business strategy on track.

Here’s what the industry benchmarks tell you:

• Total visits to gaming sites grew 23% in the past year. We can attribute this trend partially to COVID-19, and there’s no sign of it dying down.
• The stickiness index for the top sites worldwide is 21%. Stickiness divides unique visitors by total visits to determine how often a user accesses your site on average during a month.
• The average visit duration is slightly above eight minutes, and people access on average seven pages per visit. Interesting to notice that twitch.tv , the site with the highest traffic share in the set, falls short in visit duration and pages per visit.
• Gamers prefer desktops. The device split in 2020 was 65%–35% in favor of desktop for the top 100 sites, compared to 68%–32% the previous year.
• Direct traffic dominates. It makes up 70% of the total traffic to gaming sites . The figure has grown at the expense of other traditional channels in a year-over-year analysis. Only the social media traffic remained unchanged.

For a SWOT analysis example, let’s imagine you are running one of the leading free gaming sites.

• Strengths – Figures show that people spend more time on yours than on other gaming sites. Your games are highly engaging and last longer than average. Your product is also quite sticky.
• Weaknesses – Most of your users are returning users, and your organization’s strengths rely on stickiness (i.e., organic and direct traffic). However, you are not attracting enough new users.
• Opportunities – To figure out why you’re not bringing in new gamers, you review your web traffic sources and discover that similar sites – of both large and small businesses –get more traffic from paid search. You can now learn from your competition and utilize this channel stronger.
• Threats – The majority of users play on desktops. Although this is common in the industry, you need to keep an eye on the trend. Competition is rapidly developing new games and could come up with new genres that might reverse the trend.

Where to find data for your industry SWOT analysis

Similarweb’s research analytics tool provides the most comprehensive data set to compare your performance metrics to industry leaders , your industry average, or a selection of competitors. You can drill down into the specific metrics that matter for your industry and automatically get the percentage of your traffic share (with no math required).

Similarweb makes benchmarking using real-time accurate data seamless.

Try Similarweb’s Research Intelligence now and upgrade your industry SWOT analysis for better strategizing.

This blog post was written by Ruth M. Trucks .

What are the SWOT for industry?

The SWOT analysis of an industry uncovers internal and external factors that influence a company’s performance. Threats and opportunities are considered external factors, while strengths and weaknesses are often internally related.

What are the threats in business?

Some examples of threats in business include financial issues, economic uncertainty, and attracting and retaining talent.

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SWOT analysis template

Use these SWOT analysis templates for more strategic planning

Using this SWOT analysis template, you can save time, ensure consistency, and gain a clear overview of your business or project.

Last updated

11 April 2023

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How to use the SWOT analysis template for more strategic planning

An established business should constantly evaluate itself to remain competitive. But this recommendation isn’t limited to established businesses. Startups should also regularly take stock of where they are and what the business landscape they’re operating in looks like if they ever hope to become established.

A SWOT analysis is one of the most effective methods for this.

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a method businesses can use to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It’s a strategic planning framework used to assess how internal and external factors impact a business’s ability to achieve its goals.

The four components of a SWOT analysis are:

—internal factors that give the business an advantage

—internal factors that prevent the business from achieving its goals

Opportunities

—external factors the business can use to its advantage

—external factors that could stand in the way of the business achieving its goals

By conducting a SWOT analysis, businesses can gain insights into their current market position, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities.

What is a SWOT analysis used for?

A SWOT analysis is a versatile tool. You can gain insights into several business questions depending on how you analyze the results.

Some of the common uses for a SWOT analysis are:

Business planning

—the analysis can help you assess your current situation, identify areas for improvement, and develop a plan to grow your business.

Marketing strategy

—effective marketing is all about seizing opportunities. Through a SWOT analysis, your marketing team can learn to identify new market segments or strategies.

Product development

—before spending resources on developing a product, a SWOT analysis can alert you to major risks, such as competition in the area or changing market trends.

Competitive analysis

—if you have identified a competitor, performing a SWOT analysis on them can help you identify their weaknesses and guide you to a more competitive strategy.

These are just a few examples. Understanding the four elements of a SWOT analysis can help you arrive at a more informed decision for nearly any business decision you need to make.

SWOT analysis examples

Below, you’ll find some very basic SWOT analysis examples for various use cases.

In a real SWOT analysis, you’ll want to be more specific, go into greater detail, and format the information in a more readable way. However, these basic examples should introduce you to the types of things a SWOT analysis might include.

Marketing SWOT analysis

: strong brand reputation, extensive market knowledge, creative team

: limited budget, lack of online presence, inadequate sales force

: emerging markets, growing demand for eco-friendly products, increasing consumer interest in the brand

: intense competition, changing consumer preferences, economic downturn

The marketing team might decide to leverage the brand’s strong reputation to build a larger online presence. They will also want to leverage their strong brand reputation to differentiate themselves from the stiff competition. The business might allocate resources to build a stronger sales force to capitalize on increased brand interest.

Nonprofit SWOT analysis

: strong community support, committed volunteers, experienced staff

: limited funding, inadequate facilities, lack of marketing expertise

: partnerships with other nonprofits, increased government funding, growing demand for services

: government policy changes, increasing competition for funding, declining public support

The nonprofit might look to explore new fundraising opportunities that take advantage of strong community support. They may look to their relationships with other nonprofits to share resources and split costs. To keep the threat of declining public support at bay, they may focus on improving their facilities to enhance the quality of service they provide.

Executive SWOT analysis

: strong leadership skills, extensive industry experience, effective communication skills

: lack of technical skills, poor delegation skills, limited time management skills

: expanding the business into new markets, developing new products or services, building strategic partnerships

: economic downturn, intense competition, changing industry trends

The executive can learn to delegate more, which will also aid with time management. They can hire personnel with the necessary technical skills to fill their knowledge gaps. They can pursue opportunities to expand into new markets to mitigate economic downturn. Their strong leadership and effective communication can help them train the next generation of leaders to help run these expansion opportunities.

Personal SWOT analysis

: strong work ethic, excellent communication skills, ability to learn quickly

: lack of experience in a specific area, poor time management, difficulty with public speaking

: further education or training, expanding the network, taking on new challenges

: economic downturn, limited job opportunities, personal or family issues

The person conducting this SWOT analysis has identified weaknesses like time management and public speaking that they can improve with training courses. They can work to gain practice in the specific area where they lack experience. They will need to learn to maintain a good work–life balance to keep personal or family issues from hurting their finances.

Best practices and design tips for conducting a SWOT analysis

Learning how to create an effective analysis will take time and practice. However, there are a few best practices you can keep in mind to get you and your team off to a good start:

Involve key stakeholders

—getting a complete picture of your business requires you to involve all the key stakeholders who might have valuable insights to share.

Focus on key issues

—it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae. Instead of listing every small factor, focus on the larger ones that have the most impact on the areas you’re interested in analyzing.

Be objective

—bias can easily creep into a SWOT analysis. Everyone involved should be honest with themselves about the company’s strengths and struggles.

Use data and evidence

—assumptions and generalizations may seem true, but they paint a false picture. Try to use hard data and solid evidence where possible.

Keep it simple

—avoid using complex language or technical jargon in the SWOT analysis. Keep it simple and easy to understand.

Be specific

—when you revisit a SWOT analysis at a later date, you always want to be clear about what you were identifying. Rather than vague lists of the four items on a SWOT analysis, give detailed and concrete examples.

Review and update regularly

—it’s important to review and update the SWOT analysis regularly to ensure it remains relevant and accurate.

You will need to create a good template to put your data into. When designing a SWOT analysis template, consider using a matrix or a table format to organize the information. Use clear and concise headings for each section, and use color to highlight important information.

What is a SWOT analysis template?

A SWOT analysis template is a pre-formatted document that can be filled in with the four areas of analysis.

The template can be specific to a certain area, possibly providing specific instructions or guidance to help the people filling it out.

It could also be generic. Generic templates rely on the experience of the people using them to fill them out efficiently. Even a generic template can be extremely helpful if it allows the information to be presented in a compelling and readable way.

The template provides your team with virtual whiteboards to conveniently lay out the information you have gathered. It also includes a section for recording the insights you gain from the data.

The readme included in the template will help guide you through the process of creating a SWOT analysis. This will ensure you get the most out of the template and the information you collect.

Use these SWOT analysis templates for more strategic planning and boost your business.

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

To write a good SWOT analysis, make sure you involve key stakeholders who can help form a complete picture. During the process, focus on key issues and rely on hard data whenever possible.

How do you identify strengths and weaknesses?

Start identifying strengths and weaknesses by looking at the internal factors that impact your business. Strengths and weaknesses will reveal themselves when you compare the good with the bad.

What comes after a SWOT analysis?

After you have conducted your SWOT analysis, use the results to develop strategies that address all four areas of the analysis. These strategies should leverage strengths, address weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and mitigate risks.

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How to Perform a SWOT Analysis on Your Company with a Market Research Tool

A SWOT analysis is a simple framework that goes a long way towards helping businesses develop their strategic planning process along with grasping their own stance in their industry. In turn, this kind of analysis allows them to make informed business decisions.

This is because all businesses have their share of strengths and weaknesses, and no company exists in a vacuum. As such, you should analyze the opportunities and threats that pervade your market to take advantage of your scope of opportunities while steering clear of threats. 

A SWOT analysis allows you to do just that, in turn enabling you to understand your company’s position in your market or niche and use this knowledge to take scalable actions.

This guide explores the SWOT analysis, its importance, how to conduct one for your business and how to use a market research tool to complete your analysis. 

Understanding the SWOT Analysis

Also called the SWOT matrix , this analysis is a kind of strategic planning technique businesses use to identify internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Its components are laid out in its name, which is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

A SWOT analysis is a visual study tool that identifies specific strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and presents them in a diagram that takes the form of a two-by-two grid.  

This grid features four quadrants ; each one represents one of the letters of the SWOT and its concept. Each quadrant houses the list regarding the concept behind the letter. This format organizes the elements as internal versus external.  

You can conduct a SWOT analysis on an entire organization, or on individual projects in a single department. Aside from evaluating a company or project, a SWOT analysis is used to determine how closely a business is aligned with its growth trajectories and benchmarks . Additionally, it is used to gauge the performance of a specific project , such as a PR campaign based on preliminary predictions.

A SWOT analysis is most ideal when diverse groups or voices within a business provide actual data points rather than suggested messaging.

The Makeup of a SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is made up of a grid with four quadrants, which represent each letter of the SWOT. To understand which quadrant an idea belongs to, you ought to consider strengths and weaknesses as internal factors, as they deal with the organization, its people, workflows, processes and assets.

On the other hand, opportunities and threats are external factors, given that they originate from your niche, your competition, your market and the wider economy. The following explains each element of this framework in detail:

This element pertains to all the things your organization excels at and how you are distinct from your competitors . It, therefore, involves your advantages over other businesses, which include your price range, quality of service/products, customer experience, access to certain materials, employee satisfaction , manufacturing processes and more. 

Since your strengths empower your organization, consider the factors that make it operational. Answer the following questions for the Strengths portion of your analysis: 

• What does your business do better than others in your industry?
• Which business processes are successful?
• What assets do your teams have? ( brand equity , knowledge, education, network, skills)
• What values drive your business? 
• What kind of physical assets do you have, such as equipment, technology, cash and patents?
• What unique or valuable aspect does your business have?
• What kind of low-cost resources can you draw upon that your competitors can’t? 
• How are you innovating your products and business processes?

Virtually any aspect of your business can be considered a strength if it brings a clear advantage to your business. If all of your competitors provide a certain aspect, then it becomes a necessity, not an advantage.

While admitting the weaknesses in your organization may be unpleasant, these truths are critical to aggregate and examine as soon as possible, as you can only mitigate them when you accept them. 

Given that weaknesses are innate to your company, you should map them out by focusing on your offerings, systems, people, resources, and procedures. In the weaknesses quadrant, mull over all that you can stand to improve and the kinds of practices your company must avoid.

To do so, you’ll need to consider — and possibly uncover — how others in your market view your business. These actors, which include your target market, competitors and media outlets in your niche may notice weaknesses that you are not aware of. As such, to complete this section, investigate how and why your competitors are doing better than you to come to terms with what you lack.  

Use the following questions for the Weaknesses portion of your analysis:

• What are some of the things that your business needs to be competitive?
• Which areas of your business generate the least ROI?
• Are there any aspects of your business that require more resources? (Such as a department, a project, etc.)
• Which business processes need improvement?
• Are you lacking tangible assets such as money, space or equipment?
• Are there any gaps in your team?
• Is your location ideal for your success?
• What areas are your competitors excelling at which you aren’t or not as strong as they are?

All in all, weaknesses are the negative factors that detract your business from its strengths. You ought to consider how to reduce them, along with your key areas for improvement to remain competitive.

Opportunities

This section involves all the openings and probabilities of something positive happening to your business, whether it is publicity, higher profits, greater ROI, a larger social media following and various other business matters. You must claim opportunities for yourself, as the nature of an opportunity is that of an external situation which you must look out for so that you can use it to your full advantage.

Opportunities take the form of developments in your market, whether they are technological, service or experience-related. When it comes to being competitive in your market, spotting and using opportunities makes a major difference to your business . At times these opportunities allow you to position yourself as the leader in your industry.

At other times, opportunities can take the form of small advantages that can still effectively shape your competitiveness. These can be present in both market trends and cultural trends.  

You should also anticipate changes in government policy related to your field. These can involve regulations that create barriers for your business. Additionally, take heed of changes in social patterns, population profiles and lifestyles, as all of these can offer opportunities.

Use the following questions for the Opportunities portion of your analysis:

• What interesting market trends are you aware of, large or small, which could impact your business in a positive way?
• If your market is growing, are there trends that will encourage people to buy more of your products and/ or services?
• What events can your company take advantage of to grow the business?
• Are there any imminent changes to regulations that might affect your company positively?
• Why kind of content opportunities can you execute to your advantage?
• Are there any current events or cultural trends that you can capitalize on?
• Are your vendors or manufacturers offering any perks or bargains that your business can benefit from?
• Do you receive cold emails with opportunities to either be featured in or collaborate with a media outlet or company in your niche?

This element includes anything that can negatively affect your business from the outside, including, but not limited to higher standards in market requirements, supply chain issues, shortage of employees, negative press and more.

No matter your revenue or standing, you should always anticipate threats to your business and be prepared to take the necessary action to thwart them before they take a toll on your business and stunt your growth . 

Threats can arise from anywhere; as such, consider all the obstacles you contend with in getting your product to market and selling it. These can easily include constant changes to quality standards or specifications for either your products, services or overall CX (customer experience). You’ll need to adapt to these changes if you intend on being competitive.

Additionally, although changes in technology are generally viewed positively, they can present threats to your business. As such, you should be wary of these changes so that you can adapt to them before they become true threats .  

Use the following questions for the Threats portion of your analysis:

• Do you have any potential competitors who may enter your market?
• Could upcoming developments in technology change how you do business?
• Have any media outlets spoke negatively about your business or focused their attention on praising your competitors?
• Will your vendors always be able to supply the exact materials you need at the prices that you seek?
• Is customer behavior changing in a way that could have a negative impact on your business?
• Are there any issues with your employees that can lead to high turnover and negative reviews?
• Are there any regulations the may have negative consequences on your business?
• Are there any market trends that could potentially become a threat?

Although threats are external and you have no control over their presence, you can still keep them at bay by conducting various market research techniques .

The Importance of a SWOT Analysis

This kind of technique is important on several fronts. First off, in a general sense, it allows you to make well-informed decisions, as it makes it possible to prioritize the work that you’ll need to do to grow your business.

Understanding your company’s position in your market or industry is crucial for any business in that it allows you to strategically develop your business and avoid wasting resources, efforts and time. This is crucial for various situations and scenarios, whether you’re trying to expand into a new market or compete with a surprise contender in your industry.

A SWOT analysis provides a comprehensive and unbiased overview of your entire business or a specific campaign or product . It forces you to consider every factor that could affect your project or business in one way or another. This is especially useful if you’re dealing with difficulties or lack confidence in your current strategy .

This is because a SWOT analysis offers all the details you’ll need to make actionable plans . The four quadrants grant you an easy way to organize your insights. 

This analysis helps your business operate more strategically, thereby granting you a better chance of reaping success . This is because it addresses what your business lacks, which allows you to minimize risks . It also pinpoints your greatest advantages and chances of success.

A SWOT analysis can be used to jumpstart your strategy whether it is in an informal or full-fledged way , as this tool can serve both approaches . 

Finally, you can also use it to better understand your competitors and their standing. This kind of intelligence lessens their threat to your business, as you can form a competitive narrative for your business, based on your analysis of your competitors . 

Performing a SWOT Analysis & The Need for Conducting Primary Research

In order to form a holistic SWOT analysis, you’ll need to dedicate a significant amount of time to formulate it. But not to worry, there are several steps you can follow and tips to take into consideration.

Additionally, you can objectively strengthen all of your SWOT analysis efforts with a market research tool . Whether or not you decide on using a market research platform, you’ll need to conduct market research for your analysis regardless . This is because this analysis is composed of data and insights from both your company and the market at large. 

While conducting secondary market research is inevitable and necessary, this kind of research alone is insufficient for a SWOT analysis. Consider this: you’re going to need answers to questions concerning both your company and market, both of which secondary research doesn’t provide all the answers for . 

In fact, many secondary sources may be loosely related to your business concerns, but do not answer the specific questions you require answered to adequately fill out your SWOT analysis.   

When you carry out your analysis, be realistic and rigorous and use a strong market research tool with various capabilities that ease the process. 

How to Perform a SWOT Analysis with a Market Research Tool

The following explains how to conduct a SWOT analysis with the use of a market research tool. Remember, market research plays a major role in executing this technique properly. 

• First, create the SWOT Analysis matrix, made up of the four quadrants. The following image shows what it should look like.
• You should aim your SWOT analysis on a specific objective or campaign to reap value from it. 
• For example, you could perform a SWOT analysis to help you decide if you should create a new product, change your CX or internal processes.
• Study trade magazines, news websites, industry sites, reports, blogs and even social media accounts pertaining to your industry.
• This includes studying your competitors through internet research and designated competitor research tools. 
• Examine all the available resources that detail your customer buying behavior , preferences, lifestyles and more. 
• These involve your financial resources, physical location, cost advantages, product features, brand visibility , customer experience, consumer loyalty and more.  
• This also includes employee relations. This is where a market research tool comes in handy. This kind of tool allows you to understand how your workers view your business and can point out their problems, concerns and desires to determine your strengths and weaknesses. 
• Employee feedback survey
• Employee recognition survey
• Employee burnout survey
• List things that you consider to be weaknesses, such as the things that put your business at a disadvantage when compared with others. 
• They can include a lack of new products, customers, staff absenteeism, a lack of intellectual property, declining market share, distance to market and a low customer lifetime value (CLV) among your customers.
• Check on these for accuracy, given that, as time progresses, your weaknesses may change or dissipate. 
• When you review your SWOT analysis after a year, your weaknesses may be resolved, a clear sign of progress.
• Product satisfaction survey
• Customer satisfaction score survey (CSAT survey)
• Customer effort score survey (CES survey)
• Consider different external opportunities for your business. These are not your internal strengths and are not definite.
• One opportunity for business could be a threat to another.
• Do not list the same item as both an opportunity and threat. You should weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a seeming opportunity before you can determine if it indeed is an opportunity or a threat.
• Opportunities include new technologies, training programs, partnerships, a diverse marketplace, new talent, new campaign ideas and a change of government policy.
• Survey your vendors and partners to discover opportunities with B2B surveys . 
• Identify your target market with an online survey platform. 
• Find cultural opportunities by using surveys to unlock cultural trends .
• Segment your target market via market segmentation with surveys. 
• List all the external factors that could cause a problem for your business or threaten it in any way. 
• Threats include high turnover, disgruntled workers, unsatisfied customers, rising unemployment, increasing competition, higher interest rates and the uncertainty of global markets.
• Brand tracking survey
• Brand awareness survey
• Create 4 separate lists on each SWOT element.
• Display them side-by-side so you can have a clear visualization of how your business is running and all of its issues. 
• Prioritize the most pressing issues along with categorizing those that can be dealt with later.
• Review the foremost issues in each of the four elements. 
• How can we overcome the threats we identified?
• How can we make the most of our opportunities?
• How can we use our strengths to take advantage of the opportunities identified?
• What do we need to do to overcome the weaknesses we identified to take advantage of the opportunities?
• How will we minimize our weaknesses to eliminate the identified threats?
• Don’t stop testing or conducting primary market research. Use your market research tool for A/B testing , sending personal surveys to exact targets via the Link Distribution Link feature and extracting any kind of customer information you need.

Supporting the SWOT and Beyond

A SWOT analysis is a strong tool that allows you to understand how your business is faring in your industry, while laying out external factors about your competitors and the industry at large. While you may offer competitive products and good prices, external factors will always affect your business.

In order to perform a SWOT analysis, generally stay informed on your customers and industry and remain competitive, you’ll need to conduct market research . Secondary research provides a useful starting point for studying all of your external factors, from your competitors to how others view your own business.

But it is primary research that will provide you with the most valuable insights. With a potent market research tool, you can easily gather all the insights you need about virtually any topic. A strong tool will make it easy to create and deploy surveys to your intended audience. 

When you’re deciding on the best market research tool for your organization, seek one that offers a mobile-first platform, as the use of mobile devices dominates the digital space.  

It should also include advanced skip logic to route respondents to relevant follow-up questions , use artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically remove low-quality data, offer a broad range of filtering data options and engage respondents in their natural digital environments via random device engagement (RDE) sampling.

Most importantly, it should allow you to survey anyone. As such, you should opt for an online survey platform that deploys hundreds of millions of surveys to a wide network of digital publisher s . Ideally, these are highly-trafficked websites and apps. 

When you use an online survey platform with all of these capabilities, you’ll quickly obtain your data and extract only the highest quality of it to support the SWOT and any other analysis.   

Do you want to distribute your survey? Pollfish offers you access to millions of targeted consumers to get survey responses from $0.95 per complete. Launch your survey today.

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The Strategic Value of a SWOT Analysis

by Sarah Schmidt , on August 21, 2023

• A company’s strengths and weaknesses could relate to its cash flow, location, technology, brand, trademarks, company culture, or distribution networks.
• Its opportunities and threats could involve factors such as market trends, technological changes, regulations, or demographics.

By assessing these areas, you can find out where a company might have a competitive edge and where it needs to improve.

What information does a SWOT analysis report include?

You can conduct your own SWOT analysis using internal company data or publicly available information. To save time and benefit from an objective third-party assessment, you can also purchase a SWOT report written by a market research firm. (Thousands of these reports are available on MarketResearch.com and cover companies in a wide array of industries.) Many SWOT reports are 60 pages or less and are relatively inexpensive, making them a quick and affordable resource for busy consultants, executives, and analysts.

As the name implies, these reports include a SWOT analysis, but they often include other information as well such as a company’s history, contact information, products and services, revenues by division, major competitors, key employees, and locations and subsidiaries.

What are the benefits of a SWOT analysis report?

By scanning through a SWOT report, you can quickly understand the most important aspects of a company and identify factors that are affecting the industry as a whole.

Moreover, a SWOT report can help you:

• Better understand your competitors, partners, or customers
• Evaluate new partnership possibilities
• Assess a company as a prospective vendor or supplier
• Stay up to date on a company’s business strategy, prospects, and new developments
• Learn about your competitor’s weaknesses
• Formulate business strategies that align with a company’s core competencies and address areas for improvement
• Aid quick decision-making during crisis management scenarios by distilling complex problems into a digestible framework

When should you use a SWOT report?

Because a SWOT report gives you a succinct summary of information, it’s especially useful for understanding a new client or preparing for a consulting or sales engagement. By assessing a company’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the overall market environment, you will have a deeper understanding of a client’s needs and how you can help them achieve strategic goals.

A SWOT report can also help you focus a company's marketing activities and clarify its brand messaging. With this type of analysis, you can design a marketing strategy that will address a company’s weaknesses and reinforce its strengths.

As mentioned above, a SWOT report can also be helpful in analyzing the competition and developing a plan to improve your strategic advantage. In particular, a SWOT report can help you overcome subconscious blind spots and biases you may have. You may not recognize all the weaknesses of a company you are affiliated with, and you may underestimate the strengths of the competition. A SWOT report will give you an objective assessment that can help you develop a more comprehensive, realistic action plan.

A SWOT analysis serves as a compass for informed decision-making. Its structured approach to evaluating internal and external factors can equip you with a holistic perspective, empowering you to make well-calibrated choices.

Curious to learn more? Check out  SWOT reports  available on our website.

About the Author:  Sarah Schmidt is a Managing Editor at MarketResearch.com,  a leading provider of global market intelligence products and services.

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Where do I find published SWOT analysis?

Databases for published swot analysis reports.

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that is used to assess the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in an organization, business or a project.  A SWOT analysis is particularly useful in identifying both internal and external factors that are essential in decision-making.

There are not SWOT analyses available for all companies in these databases. If there has not been one published on your company, or if your company is a privately owned, you may need to put together a SWOT analysis yourself using information found in company reports in these databases. Look for reports on 2 or 3 larger public companies in the same industry.  For example, in the computer software industry, try Microsoft and Oracle .  Companies in the same industry will often use or adapt their own strengths to capitalize on another company's weaknesses.

NOTE:  A published SWOT analysis may be a good starting point for your company analysis, but DO NOT simply cut and paste from a published SWOT or SWOT graph/chart.  This is plagiarism. Do not risk your academic career but instead use a variety of sources to support your claims.

• Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window From the main search page, go to Company Information (at the top of the page), and search for your company. Open the company profile and click "SWOT Analyses" on the left side of the page. This will open a list of available SWOT analysis reports for that company, including older reports.
• LexisNexis Academic This link opens in a new window Click "Advanced Search" and click "Select a specific content type." Click "Company and Financial" and click "Company Profiles." On the Advanced Search form, you can to conduct a segment/field search. Using the Company and Publication segments, type “Home Depot” in the Company field. (Tip: To find an exact phrase, you must put the phrase in quotation marks.) Type SWOT in the Publication field. Click the Search icon. On the right side of the report you select, you have links to related business content available on Nexis Uni.
• Proquest This link opens in a new window From the main search bar, type in the name of your company and SWOT. Be sure to check the full-text box. You can change the date range using the slider bar on the left side to narrow down newer reports.
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• Last Updated: Jan 25, 2024 7:39 AM
• URL: https://libguides.unomaha.edu/marketing

SWOT Analysis

All business students are assigned to conduct SWOT analysis, usually at the earlier stages of their studies. This page focuses on the application of SWOT analysis in a business context as a part of academic assignments . This is a comprehensive SWOT resource and it contains an explanation of SWOT theory, an illustration of how to do a SWOT analysis and links to examples of SWOT analysis of major multinational brands. Moreover, SWOT analysis template further below can be used to generate SWOT tables of top multinational companies along a range of industries.

SWOT Analysis: Theory

SWOT is a strategic analytical tool for assessing strengths and weaknesses of a business, analyzing opportunities available to the business, as well as, threats faced by the business. SWOT analysis can be used at organizational and personal levels.

As it is illustrated below, strengths and weaknesses are internal, i.e. businesses are able to influence and to manipulate with their strengths and weaknesses. Opportunities and threats, on the other hand, are external. It means businesses can only react to opportunities and threats and they do not have any means to influence opportunities and threats.

SWOT analysis has important practical implications. Specifically, with findings of SWOT analysis in their hands, the senior level management identify and built upon their strengths, discover new opportunities and work upon eliminating or minimising threats to the business. Accordingly, SWOT can be a powerful aid for senior level management to develop appropriate strategy for the business.

As a strategic analytical tool, SWOT analysis has some weaknesses as well. Specifically, the application of this tool may encourage users to focus on quantity of factors, instead of focusing on a few, but the most powerful factors having the biggest impact on the business. In other words, SWOT analysis lacks guidance and provision in terms of differences in importance between factors. As a result weak strengths may appear to balance strong weaknesses.

The majority of sources explaining SWOT analysis assume that their audience is businesses aiming to improve their operational efficiency. This SWOT analysis resource is different. It explains SWOT analysis assuming that you a business student and you have been assigned to conduct SWOT analysis as a part of your assignment.

How to do SWOT Analysis

You can conduct a SWOT analysis with the following four steps:

Step 1: Selecting a company

If your assignment requires conducting a SWOT analysis, you are either given a case study company by your educational institution or you are free to analyze a company of your own choice. In the first scenario, you have no option but to conduct a SWOT analysis of the company named in your assignment instructions. However, the majority of educational institutions provide students the flexibility to conduct SWOT analysis of a company of their own choice.

Students are often tempted to conduct SWOT analysis of their employer. Choosing your employer as a case study can be a good strategy if you have an access to detailed relevant information. Please note that only descriptive information would not suffice and you will have to justify your arguments by referring to relevant quantitative data. Therefore, if you are not able to find relevant quantitative data about your employer, your best choice could be to conduct SWOT analysis of a multinational enterprise. This is due to the availability of data about the majority multinational enterprises. This portal offers up-to-date sample SWOT analyses of the most famous multinational enterprises as part of company reports .

Step 2: Finding information

If you are conducting a SWOT analysis of a small or medium sized organization such as your employer, family business or a company you are related to in some ways, approaching the company directly may prove to be an efficient strategy to obtain required information. You may try to secure a meeting with a senior level manager and explain practical implications of your SWOT analysis for the business. In other words, you may be able to convince a senior manager that results of your SWOT analysis may provide an important insight into the business and managers can act upon this knowledge to increase the efficiency of the business at various fronts.

Alternatively, if you are conducting SWOT analysis of a multinational enterprise, company annual report is usually the most comprehensive source of the relevant information. Note that annual reports highlight information about strengths of the business within the first few pages and you cannot find information about weaknesses of a company in its annual report for obvious reasons.

Information about Strengths in SWOT Analysis

Information about strengths of the company is easiest to find in your SWOT analysis. Strengths are competitive advantages of the business that made it successful in the first place. In case of small or medium sized organizations, the manager you are interviewing will be happy to discuss the strengths of the business.

In case of multinational companies, on the other hand, the first few pages of annual reports boast about competitive advantages of the business by referring to specific figures and charts. Using some of these charts in your assignment and properly referencing the source is going to increase the quality of your work.

You can determine strengths of businesses in answers to the following questions:

• What advantages does the company have?
• What does the company better than its competitors?
• What unique or low-cost resources are available to the company that are not available to its rivals?
• What Unique Selling Propositions (UPS) are associated with the company?

The following table illustrates the major strengths possessed by businesses and tips about how to discuss these strengths in your swot analysis:

Information about Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis

It may not be easy to find information about weaknesses of small and medium sized businesses. The manager you are interviewing may not want to discuss weaknesses of their business either intentionally, or they may not be aware of weaknesses. It is important for you to motivate your interviewee to discuss weaknesses of their company by asking relevant questions in a polite way.

It is easier with multinational organizations. An extensive online research can reveal relevant information about weaknesses associated with the company you are analyzing.The majority of big corporations have been involved in some kind of scandals during the past two years and you can discuss the damage of these scandals to the brand image as noteworthy weakness of the company.

For example, suppose you have chosen Coca Cola Company for your SWOT analysis assignment. If you google the term ‘Coca Cola scandal’, search results on the top relate to a scandal where the company funded obesity research that downplayed the negative health implications of Coca Cola products. Negative implications of this incident on Coca Cola brand image is brand’s weakness you can discuss in you SWOT analysis.

All arguments and numbers need to be referenced using referencing style required by your educational institution in an appropriate manner. Preference has to be given to online journals and magazines over online discussion forums and personal blogs.

Answers to the following questions can help to identify weaknesses of your case study company:

• What aspects of the business could the company improve?
• What should the company avoid?
• What factors are causing the company to lose sales?
• What aspects of products/services are customers are likely to see as weaknesses?

Major weaknesses of businesses and brief tips about discussing them in your assignment are illustrated in the following table:

Information about Opportunities in SWOT Analysis

Information about opportunities available to the business can be derived from its weaknesses in a way that businesses often have an opportunity to turn their weaknesses into strengths. At the same time, it is important that your SWOT analysis also identifies a set of opportunities that are not related to weaknesses. If you can’t think of any company-specific opportunities, you can discuss business opportunities that can be explored by any business in general, such as new product development, international market expansion and increasing the level of effectiveness of social media marketing. Interesting trends in the industry can also be opportunities for the business.

Opportunities can be identified through answering the following questions:

• What are interesting trends in the market that can be profitably explored by the company?
• What are the demographic and social changes that present new opportunities in the industry?
• Are there any government policies and regulations that can help the industry?
• Are there any opportunities for the company related to technological developments?

The following table illustrates the major opportunities available for businesses and tips about how to discuss these opportunities in your SWOT analysis:

Information about Threats in SWOT Analysis

Threats faced by the business can be classified into two categories. Firstly, there are company-specific threats that stem from company-specific factors such as the threat of losing market share due to ineffective cost structure or the threat of negative media coverage and damage to the brand image due to neglecting the importance of corporate social responsibility. Secondly, there are threats to the industry or to the economy on the whole, such as a threat of introducing tariffs to a certain range of products or the threat of a global economic and financial crisis. You will need to find information about threats belonging to both categories with more emphasis on the threats from the first category, i.e. company-specific threats.

You can identify the main threats to the business through answering the following questions:

• What are the main obstacles faced by the company?
• What are the latest developments in competitor Unique Selling Propositions?
• Does the company have substantial amount of bad debts or cash-flow problems?
• Was the company involved in any scandal recently?

Main threat facing the majority of businesses and brief tips about discussing them in your SWOT analysis are illustrated in the following table:

Step 3: Writing

You can structure your writing of SWOT analysis in the following way:

Firstly, you will need to discuss the company profile, its strategy and the most recent changes that have taken place in the company prior to presenting your SWOT analysis. The length of such a discussion depends on your assignment instructions and the total word count for your assignment.

Secondly, develop a SWOT Analysis Matrix for your chosen company. You can develop a table containing four sections headed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your chosen company can be presented in bullet points under respective boxes. These should be precise and verifiable statements.

Using steps 1 and 2 above, you should have long list of factors related to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the business. Now it is time to prioritize factors to be included in your SWOT analysis by focusing on the most significant factors. The numbers of factors that should be discussed under each category depends on the total word-count for your assignment.

Thirdly, you have to discuss bullet points in your SWOT table. Your analysis needs to contain statistical data and ideally graphs and tables as well. Do not forget to reference sources, using referencing system  required by your university. Moreover, you can discuss how to address weaknesses and threats identified as a result of your SWOT analysis and get additional marks for your work.

SWOT Analysis Example

This portal contains example SWOT analysis of the following companies:

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to organizations. The following table illustrates SWOT analysis:

SWOT Analysis Template

Please choose an industry and a company below to generate a SWOT table containing bullet points of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your chosen company. In order to complete the SWOT analysis you will need to expand the bullet points into a couple of paragraphs with discussions and references from reliable sources to support your arguments.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) Overview, Industry Trends, Marketed and Pipeline Products, Opportunities and Challenges

All the vital news, analysis, and commentary curated by our industry experts.

Published: March 29, 2024 Report Code: GDHCHT474-ST

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Antibody-Drug Conjugates Market Report Overview

An Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) drug consists of monoclonal antibodies conjugated to a payload via a linker, for the precise targeting of antigen-positive cancer cells. ADCs are developed to target protein receptors with high expression such as HER2, TROP-2, CD22, and others.

There are two cytotoxic payload types predominantly used in ADCs including microtubule inhibitors, and the more potent DNA-damaging payloads such as topoisomerase I inhibitors.

The ADC market research report will aid clients in gaining insight into the competitive landscape of leading antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) in oncology. The report includes a SWOT analysis for key marketed and pipeline drugs, clinical benchmark comparisons, key clinical trial analysis, analyst consensus forecasts, and commentary on current and future players. The report also offers an outlook from four key opinion leaders in the US and analyzes key opportunities and challenges in the space. Additionally, the report provides commentary on the latest trends in ADC development including payload and linker analysis.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) – Marketed Drugs

The key marketed drugs in the ADC market are Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu, Gilead’s Trodelvy, Genmab’s Tivdak, and Rakuten Medical’s Akalux among others.

Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu: This drug is considered best-in-class ADC approved in multiple indications where HER2 is prevalent. Its key strength includes a high drug-antibody ratio with eight deruxtecan payload molecules conjugated to each trastuzumab mAb, for a higher antitumor effect. It also has higher efficacy in terms of OS and PFS versus Kadcyla in mHER2 BC.

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Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) – Pipeline Drugs

The key pipeline drugs in the ADC market are Ambrx Biopharma’s ARX788, Bispecific ADC Alphamab Oncology’s JSKN003, Daiichi Sankyo & AstraZeneca’s DS-1062, and Daiichi Sankyo’s U-31402 among others.

Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu: This is a first-in-class HER3-directed deruxtecan ADC product. The ADC received breakthrough designation and priority review of its BLA from the FDA for 3L+ EGFR mutated NSCLC.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) Market Analysis by Pipeline Drugs

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Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) – Competitive Landscape

The key players in the ADC market are Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer, Roche, AstraZeneca, Hengrui Medicine, and AbbVie among others.

Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd: Daiichi Sankyo is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a holding company, which carries out the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products. The company offers a wide range of prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, vaccines, and others. Its portfolio encompasses medicines for cardiovascular, neurological, nephrological, diabetic, metabolic, and infectious diseases, and various types of cancers. Besides cancer, the company’s other research areas include rare diseases and immune disorders. Daiichi Sankyo sells its products through its group companies and an extensive network of medical representatives. It has operations in North America, South and Central America, Europe, and Asia.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) Market Analysis by Players

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