SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
SWOT analysis originated in the 1960s as a strategic planning tool. It remains popular to this day for several reasons:
🧩 Simplicity - it's easy to understand and apply across industries without needing jargon or advanced data
🔍 Analsysis Tool - it helps identify performance gaps, opportunities to exploit, and threats to mitigate
🔁 Versatile - can be used for companies as a whole, individual business units, or personal career planning
Strengths are internal factors - people, systems, processes, product innovation - that give the business an advantage.
Weaknesses are internal factors that put the business at a disadvantage
Opportunities are external factors - competitors, consumer trends, economic conditions, regulations - that give the business an advantage.
Threats are external factors that put the business at a disadvantage
Strengths are internal factors - inside the business - that give the business an advantage.
🧑🤝🧑People - Right people, right skills, good culture
🖥️Systems - Appropriate systems, up to date
⚙️Processes - Efficient processes, flexible
🎯Market fit - Offering meet needs of the market, adapting to new environment
🏆Competitive position - Price/product features/product quality/speed remains competitive
Weaknesses are internal factors - inside the business - that put the business at a disadvantage
🧑🤝🧑People - People in wrong positions, lack of skills, poor culture
🖥️Systems - Systems are a poor fit, not up to date
⚙️Processes - Inefficiencies, lack of flexibility
🎯Market fit - Offering does not meet needs of the market, slow to adapt to new conditions
🏆Competitive position - Competition offers better pricing/product features
Opportunities are external factors that give the business an advantage.
💻 Technology:New products or markets possible
📜 Regulations:Regulations open markets, offer subsidies
🥇 Competition:Competitors weaken
📣 Market or Social Trends:Consumers shift towards our offering, good publicity
💰 Economic: Lower taxes, lower interest rates, higher economic growth
Threats are external factors that place the business at a disadvantage.
💻 Technology:Our products become obsolete
📜 Regulations:Markets are restricted, more compliance rules, lower subsidies
🥇 Competition:New entrants, price wars, new innovation from competition
📣 Market or Social Trends:Consumers move away from our offering, bad publicity
💰 Economic: Higher taxes, high interest rates, low economic growth
👥 People – Do we have the right people in the right roles with the right skills and a strong culture?
👥 People – Are there mismatches in roles, skill gaps, or cultural misalignment?
💻 Systems – Are our systems appropriate and up to date to support our operations?
💻 Systems – Are outdated or misaligned systems hindering performance?
⚙️ Processes – Are our processes efficient and adaptable to change?
⚙️ Processes – Are there bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or a lack of flexibility?
🎯 Market Fit – Does our product or service meet current customer needs and adapt to market changes?
🎯 Market Fit – Are we slow to respond to market shifts or customer expectations?
🏆 Competitive Position – Do we offer strong pricing, quality, features, or speed relative to competitors?
🏆 Competitive Position – Are competitors offering better value, pricing, or features than us?
💻 Technology – Are there new technologies that could improve products, processes, or customer experience?
🎯 Market – Are there unmet needs or market gaps we can target?
💻 Technology – Are there technologies or innovations that threaten to weaken or replace our offerings?
📜 Regulations – Are there regulatory changes that could open up new opportunities or reduce restrictions?
📜 Regulations – What new laws or compliance requirements could increase our costs or constrain our business?
📣 Social Trends – Are changing consumer preferences or behaviours making our products less relevant?
🥇 Competition – Are our competitors weakening, exiting, or failing to meet customer needs?
🥇 Competition – Are new competitors or substitutes entering the market and threatening our share?
