As we mentioned a few lines back, SWOT analysis is not only useful for understanding a company's environment, there are situations in which this method will be of great help in defining the purpose of the object to be studied. We recommend implementing it in situations such as these:
Investment opportunity.
Scenario for making a new acquisition.
Knowing the market . In this case, to know if a product or service will have growth opportunities.
Change provider.
New business idea.
Analyze new methods or instruments to distribute products.
Questions to ask yourself to put the SWOT study into practice
SWOT Analysis
Learning to know yourself is a basic principle electrical contractors email list of life itself, and in the business world it is more valid than we might think. Performing a SWOT analysis will help you to know yourself as a company and in turn to understand the environment in which your online business operates.
But in order to find the answers that will help you create a successful marketing plan , you have to learn to ask yourself the right questions. With regard to strengths, ask yourself the following questions:
Is it price, value or quality that sets me apart from the competition? If none of these can set you apart, the next question would be:
What is my competitive advantage?
What innovative elements will make me stand out in the market?
Does my market prefer value and quality over price? or the opposite?
Is the price of my product and/or service what they prefer?
In fact, there are many questions that can arise when you start studying the competition . These may be the most common ones.
Get together with your marketing team and brainstorm. They are great for finding solutions and answers.
Now, we will try to generalize the questions that will arise when analyzing your weaknesses:
What are the disadvantages of my proposal ?
Problems when covering my capacity in the market?
Is my proposal lacking competitiveness?
Is my reputation good enough for the client to accept me?
Will I be able to meet the product's price, date, value or quality requirements over the long term?
If you are an entrepreneur looking to position a brand by force of force, it is likely that at the end of the SWOT analysis, you will feel that you have more weaknesses than anything else.
Don't worry, when you find a solution to your weaknesses, you can turn your environment into a world of opportunities, even if new questions arise, such as:
What are the failures of the competition ?
Where are market trends headed?
Will I be able to launch new products or services in response to market trends in the near future?
Is there an opportunity to expand my capabilities in the market?
How can I manage market influences in my favor?
Opportunities usually arise as the business progresses, it is a matter of having the ability to capture them as time goes by.
Threats are the point of instability of any business, you have to be prepared to face them and be able to keep the business stable, despite the difficulties. Let's review:
What is the political, economic and social situation in the area where I intend to develop my business idea? Are these optimal for me?
What is the positioning of the competition in the market ?
What gives them an advantage over me?
What are the weaknesses that I couldn't overcome?
What is the market demand? Can I meet the needs? Do my finances allow me to cover the needs of the niche?
There are external factors that we must look at and study carefully, such as: The seasons of the year, fashions or trends, among other things.
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SWOT analysis example
Let's imagine that you are the owner of a shoe business located in the city center with several branches in places with a high influx of potential customers and consumers in general.
You are a 60-year-old man married to a 55-year-old woman, together with their two children they make up the Esposito family.
Your grandparents and parents were part of a generation dedicated to the shoe trade and know everything about the product. In total, they have been in the shoe business for over 100 years.
Now your family is dedicated to the business, your wife and oldest son work full time, while your youngest son works part time, since he spends half of his time studying to obtain his university degree.
The business has seen few sales because fashion is focused on a more “modern” and affordable type of footwear. Your shoes have the style of a classic Italian shoe line. A luxury, but expensive.
Your eldest son is 30 years old, has a wife and a baby who has just arrived in this world, and depends on corporate profits to support his family.
With the economic situation so difficult, he thinks it would be a good idea to start his own shoe business, but this time becoming a supplier, he wants to manufacture shoes.
But to do so, more staff and qualified managers who are knowledgeable in the field must be hired to grow the shoe factory.
However, not everything is bad, the Esposito family has a large premises that, with investment, could be the perfect location to start the shoe factory.
While your youngest son is about to get his college degree in entrepreneurship, he doesn't want to go into the family business.
Now, faced with this fictitious scenario, we are going to carry out a SWOT analysis taking into account the entire family situation.
Situations where it is useful to perform a SWOT analysis
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