How to do a SWOT analysis

If you have ever worked in a corporate office environment, you may have come across the term “SWOT analysis.” This has nothing to do with evaluating law enforcement military response units, and everything to do with taking a long, hard look at your company. Conducting a SWOT analysis is a powerful way to evaluate your company or project, whether you are two people or 500. In this article, you will learn: what is a SWOT analysis, see some SWOT analysis examples, and learn tips and strategies for conducting your own comprehensive SWOT analysis. You’ll also see how you can use the data produced by a SWOT exercise to improve internal processes and workflows, and get a free, editable SWOT analysis template.

How to do a SWOT analysis: What is a SWOT analysis?

SWOT analysis is a technique used to identify and define SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analyzes can be applied to an entire company or organization, or individual projects within a single department. Most commonly, SWOT analyzes are used at the organizational level to determine how well a business aligns with its growth paths and success criteria, but they can also be used to ascertain how well a particular project – such as an online advertising campaign – is performing according to initial expectations. Whatever you choose to call it, SWOT analyzes are often presented as a grid-like matrix with four distinct quadrants – each representing each individual element. This presentation offers several benefits, such as identifying internal versus external elements, and displaying a wide range of data in an easy-to-read and often visual format.

How to do a SWOT analysis

We know that SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats – but what does each of these elements mean? Let’s take a look at each component individually.

strength point

Things your company does well
The qualities that distinguish you from your competitors
Internal resources such as skilled and knowledgeable employees
Tangible assets such as intellectual property, capital, proprietary technologies, etc.
As you’ve probably guessed, this item addresses the things your company or project does particularly well. This could be something intangible, such as your company’s brand attributes, or something easy to define such as the unique selling proposition of a particular product line. It could also be your actual employees or HR: strong leadership or a great engineering team.

Weaknesses

Things your company lacks
Things your competitors do better than
you Resource constraints
Unclear unique selling proposition

What is holding you back from your business or project? This element can include organizational challenges such as shortages of skilled people and financial or budget constraints. This element of the SWOT analysis may also include weaknesses in relation to other companies in your industry, such as the lack of a clearly defined USP in a crowded market.

Opportunities

Markets deprived of certain products
Few competitors in your area
Emerging needs for your products or services
Press/media coverage of your company

Can’t keep up with the volume of leads being generated by your marketing team? This is an opportunity. Is your company developing an innovative new idea that will open up new markets or demographics? This is another chance. In short, this element of a SWOT analysis covers everything you can do to improve sales, grow as a company, or advance your organization’s mission.

Threats

Emerging competitors
The changing regulatory environment
Negative press/media coverage
Change customer attitudes towards your company

This can include things like emerging competitors, changes in regulatory law, financial risks, and everything else that could put the future of your company or project at risk.

How to do a SWOT analysis: SWOT analysis of internal and external factors

The above four elements are common to all SWOT analyses. However, many companies divide these elements into two distinct subgroups: internal and external.

Internal factors

Typically, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, in that they are the result of organizational decisions under your company or team’s control. A high tear rate, for example, could be classified as a weakness, but improving a high tear rate is still within your control, making it an internal factor.

External factors

Likewise, emerging competitors will be classified as a threat in a SWOT analysis, but because there is very little you can do about it, this makes it an external factor. That’s why you may have seen SWOT analyzes referred to as internal-external analyzes or IE matrices.