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When
you are planning strategically with any company--online or offline--it is
useful to complete an analysis that takes into account not only your own
business, but your competitor's businesses and the current business
environment as well. A SWOT is one such analysis.
Completing
a SWOT analysis helps you identify ways to minimize the effect of weaknesses
in your business while maximizing your strengths.
Ideally,
you will match your strengths against market opportunities that result from
your competitors’ weaknesses or voids.
Basic
SWOT
You
can develop a basic SWOT analysis in a brainstorming session with members of
your company, or by yourself if you are a one-person shop. To begin a basic
SWOT analysis create a four-cell grid or four lists, one for each SWOT
component:
Then,
begin filling in the lists.
-
Strengths
- Think about what your company does well. What makes you stand out from
your competitors? What advantages do you have over other businesses?
-
Weaknesses
- List the areas that are a struggle. What do your customers complain
about? What are the unmet needs of your sales force?
-
Opportunities
- Try to uncover areas where your strengths are not being fully
utilized. Are there emerging trends that fit with your company's
strengths? Is there a product/service area that you could do well in but
are not yet competing?
-
Threats
- Look both inside and outside of your company for things that could
damage your business. Internally, do you have financial, development, or
other problems? Externally, are your competitors becoming stronger, are
there emerging trends that amplify one of your weaknesses, or do you see
other threats to your company's success?
Advanced
SWOT
A
more in-depth SWOT analysis can help you better understand your company's
competitive situation. One way to improve upon the basic SWOT is to include
more detailed competitor information in the analysis.
Note
Internet-related activities such as trade organization participation, search
engine inclusion, and outside links to the sites. This will better help you
spot opportunities for and threats to your company.
You
can also take a closer look at the business environment. Often,
opportunities arise as a result of a changing business environment.
Some
examples are:
-
A
new trend develops for which demand outstrips the supply of quality
options. For example, early on, the trend toward healthy eating coupled
with an insistence on good-tasting food produced a shortage of
acceptable natural food alternatives.
-
A
customer segment is becoming more predominant, but their specific needs
are not being fully met by your competitors. The U.S. Hispanic
population experienced this phenomenon in the late 1990s and early
2000s.
-
A
customer, competitor, or supplier goes out of business or merges with
another company. With the demise of many pure-play dot-coms, examples of
this abound. As each went out of business, opportunities arise to gain
the defunct business--customers.
You
can also enhance a SWOT analysis through surveys. You can learn more about
your own as well as competitor sites and businesses. Areas you can research
include 1) customer awareness, interest, trial, and usage levels; 2) brand,
site, and/or company image; 3) importance of different site or product
attributes to your customers; and 4) product and/or site performance.
Whether
using a basic or more advanced approach to SWOT analysis, you are sure to
come away with newfound insights. Use these to increase your company's
effectiveness and as input into your business or marketing plan.
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