How to Create a SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis is a useful tool to help your company decide which strategies to implement, whether it’s marketing, expanding or starting up. This type of analysis can be used in about any situation in which the outcome is critical to success.
They can highlight opportunities for success and help you understand areas where you need improvement. That’s because you’ll create a grid in which you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It forces you to take a critical look at where you are in achieving your goals. This can be an eye-opener and force you to accept some realities you may have overlooked.
A successful SWOT will require a group of people to work together. This allows different viewpoints and ideas that having one or two people would certainly miss. The more diverse the group, the better. If it’s a company, this might mean having people from different departments, and even people outside the company.
A good way to start would be to have everyone write their ideas on paper. This way, nobody is left out and all ideas are heard.
- To identify your strengths, have everyone ask themselves what the business does right. Where is it successful? What assets does the company have? How are employees equipped for success?
- For weaknesses, where is there room for improvement? Are you in a good location? And is there anything you need that could make the company better?
- You can identify opportunities by looking at market trends and how customers perceive you.
- And threats will be competitors, lack of supplies, and changes in technology and demand.
One everyone has been given time to complete their lists, you can then transfer those ideas to a larger board so everyone can see. Everyone will then prioritize the ideas in each category by vote.
The result of this work will be converted into a real strategy. From there, place goals on a calendar so you work together to reach that strategy. It’s important to give yourself realistic time frames that can met, otherwise it will all have been a waste of time.
A SWOT analysis has the ability to transform your company in positive ways. By allowing people from different departments and outside the company to take part, you are able to create a realistic look at your company. You may even be surprised by the things you learn from this exercise. But the best part is you will have created a roadmap to success.
