SWOT
Analysis for Your Small Business
Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats
When conducted thoroughly, a SWOT analysis can uncover a wealth of information, and can be useful in a number of situations.
This article will walk
you through how to conduct a SWOT analysis and provide some tips that will help
you use the tool effectively.
Using
a SWOT Analysis Matrix
A SWOT matrix is usually depicted as
a square divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one element of
the SWOT analysis -- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
Questions
to Ask During the Process
The easiest way to start filling in
each quadrant in the matrix above is by answering a series of questions. Use
the list below to get started, focusing on the questions that are most relevant
for your business and current situation.Strengths: For this quadrant, think about the attributes of yourself and your business that will help you achieve your objective. Questions to consider:
- What do you do well?
- What are your unique skills?
- What expert or specialized knowledge do you have?
- What experience do you have?
- What do you do better than your competitors?
Where should you
keep your money?
Savings
accounts? Money markets? Under the mattress? Here's where you should be keeping
your savings.
SAVE SMARTER
- Where are you most profitable in your business?
- In what areas do you need to improve?
- What resources do you lack?
- What parts of your business are not very profitable?
- Where do you need further education and/or experience?
- What costs you time and/or money?
- What are the business goals you are currently
working towards?
- How can you do more for your existing customers or
clients?
- How can you use technology to enhance your
business?
- Are there new target audiences you have the potential
to reach?
- Are there related products and services that provide an
opportunity for your business?
- What obstacles do you face?
- What are the strengths of your biggest competitors?
- What are your competitors doing that you're not?
- What's going on in the economy?
- What's going on in the industry?
Using
Data Compiled in a SWOT Analysis
One of the most important parts of
your SWOT analysis is using the data you compiled to identify new strategies and goals for your
business. For example, you can:- Create a plan to build up your strengths even more
- List ways you can work on building up your weaknesses
- Set SMART goals for each of the
opportunities you identified
- Devise a plan to use your strengths to decrease the
threats you identified
- Explore how you can combine your strengths and
opportunities to develop new strategies
- Try combining strengths and threats to identify threats
you can eliminate
- Look at your weaknesses and opportunities to create a
list of areas ready for improvement
- Make a list of areas to avoid that fall under
weaknesses and threats