How is the analysis done. Conducting swot analysis at enterprises. Questions to Identify Strengths in a SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis- one of the most common methods that evaluate the complex internal and external factors affecting the development of the company. This is an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, as well as opportunities and threats from the external environment. "S" and "W" refer to the state of the company, and "O" and "T" to the external environment of the organization.

SWOT analysis is a preliminary research stage in the preparation of strategic plans, the development of strategic goals and objectives of the company.

The term SWOT was first used by Kenneth Andrews in 1963 at the Harvard Business Policy Conference.

Term in English: SWOT analysis.

Main parameters of SWOT-analysis

SWOT stands for:

strengths- strengths

Weakness- weak sides,

Opportunities- capabilities,

Threats- Threats.

Based on the results of the situational analysis, it is possible to assess whether the company has the internal forces and resources to realize the existing opportunities and withstand external threats. Accordingly, an analysis of the internal and external situation is necessary.

When evaluating external situation worth considering:

• legislation and political climate,
• expected or possible changes that may affect the operation of the company. (Ex: changes in customs legislation);
• the economic situation of the country, region (changes in GNP indicators, possible major changes in the economy that potentially affect the company, expected inflation);
• socio-demographic factors;
• technology change (waiting for technical innovations);
• ecological environment.

During the analysis internal situation company, the resources of the company, its business processes are evaluated, competitiveness is analyzed.

In the course of the analysis, the formulation of the company's sustainable competitive advantages is confirmed or changed. Key analysis factors:

Method decoding

The main idea of ​​the technique SWOT Analysis consists in an attempt to determine by calculation how much each of the possible development paths can affect the success of the current, tactical and strategic business processes of the enterprise. When ranking threats in the SWOT-analysis matrix according to the degree of impact, it is supposed to determine the estimated time at which the enterprise will reach a certain degree of destruction, and the sooner economic performance deteriorates, the more attention should be paid to eliminating this threat. After the full completion of work, based on a SWOT analysis and associated with identifying the greatest threats to the enterprise and determining priority areas for development that promise the greatest economic effect with the available financial and human resources, the next stage begins to optimize the work of personnel.

The results of the SWOT analysis are entered into tables.

Decisive for success are always specific actions (measures) associated with specific goals and consistently implemented.

Nextmistakesmost often found in SWOT analysis tables:

1. Conducting a SWOT analysis without a pre-established overall goal. SWOT is not an abstract analysis, its use implies the achievement of a specific goal

2. External chances are often confused with internal strengths (Strengths) of the company, while they should be strictly demarcated.

3. SWOT analysis is often confused with all kinds of strategies. We must not forget the main difference between one and the other (SWOT analysis describes states, and strategy describes actions)

4. In the process of SWOT-analysis, priorities are not identified, specific activities are not named. SWOT analysis.

Rules for conducting a SWOT analysis

No formal training is required to conduct a SWOT analysis. Any manager who understands the company and is familiar with the market can complete a simple SWOT form.
But this simplicity and ease of use has a downside. There is a risk of misuse, hasty and meaningless conclusions, use of vague and ambiguous concepts. In addition, do not forget that for the objectivity of the picture it is necessary to use only relevant, verified and fresh information for analysis, which many users simply forget about.
Here are a few simple rules that will help you avoid such mistakes and get the most out of your SWOT analysis.
Rule 1. For an objective SWOT analysis, a business must be segmented into areas or specific markets. A general analysis that covers the entire business is inappropriate, as the results will be too generalized and useless. Focusing the SWOT analysis on a specific segment will ensure that the company's most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are identified.
Rule 2. One must be aware that the SWOT elements differ significantly from each other, in particular with regard to origin and spheres of influence. For example, strengths and weaknesses are internal characteristics of the company, therefore, they are under its control. Opportunities and threats are external, objective, independent characteristics of the market environment, and they are not subject to the influence of the organization.
Rule 3. The strengths and weaknesses of the company are subjective concepts. But opinions about these characteristics should be expressed not by managers or even competitors, but by customers, buyers, partners, investors. How they consider and perceive these elements is the way it is. Strengths will be considered as such as long as the market perceives them as competitive.
Rule 4 For objective analysis, diversified input data should be used. Even if it is not possible to obtain the results of extensive marketing research, this does not mean that it is enough to limit oneself to the achievements of one person. For accuracy and depth of analysis, it is best to organize a group discussion with an exchange of ideas, to learn and take into account the points of view of all functional departments of the company. Any information or source data must be supported by substantiated evidence (legal letters, verified citations, industry statistics, press reports, information from dealers, customer opinions and comments, government publications).
Rule 5. The more precise the formulations, the more useful the analysis will be. Therefore, long, unspecified, and ambiguous statements that mean nothing to most buyers should be avoided.

Pros and cons

SWOT analysis is often criticized. This is a standardized analysis scheme that is not suitable for all enterprises and firms.

Benefits of a SWOT Analysis

• Helps a company to use internal strengths or differentiating advantages in its strategy.
• If the company does not yet have strong distinctive advantages, it is possible to analyze its potential strengths and use them to achieve marketing goals.
• Analyze all the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the company in order to understand whether they affect competition, market position, can they be corrected based on strategic considerations?
• Know what resources and skills are best used to maximize opportunities.
• Identify the threats that are the most critical for the company, take a number of strategic actions for good protection.

Flaws

• SWOT analysis is just a tool for obtaining visual structured information, it does not contain clear recommendations or specific formulated answers. Next is the work of the analyst.
• The simplicity of the SWOT analysis is deceptive; its results are extremely dependent on the completeness and quality of the source information. An objective SWOT analysis requires experts with a deep understanding of market development trends and its current state, or a large amount of work to collect and analyze primary information.
• In the process of generating tables, mechanical errors can be made (loss of important factors or inclusion of unnecessary ones, incorrect estimation of weight coefficients, etc.). They are difficult to identify, except for very obvious errors, but they affect the process of further analysis and lead to incorrect conclusions and erroneous strategic decisions.

Literature and references

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Have you ever wondered what a good military leader does before a fight? He studies the field of the upcoming battle, looking for all the winning hills and dangerous swampy places, assesses his own strength and the strength of the enemy. If he does not, he will doom his army to defeat.

The same principles work in business. Business is a never-ending series of small and large battles. If you do not assess the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, do not identify market opportunities and threats (those very uneven terrain that become of great importance in the heat of battle) before the battle, your chances of success will drastically decrease.

In order to get a clear assessment of the strength of your company and the situation in the market, there is a SWOT analysis.

SWOT-analysis is the definition of the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, as well as the opportunities and threats coming from its immediate environment (external environment).

• Strengths (S trengths) - the benefits of your organization;
• Weaknesses (W eaknesses) are the shortcomings of your organization;
• Capabilities (O pportunities) - environmental factors, the use of which will create advantages for your organization in the market;
• Threats (T hreats) are factors that can potentially worsen your organization's position in the market.

The use of SWOT analysis will allow you to systematize all available information and, seeing a clear picture of the "battlefield", make informed decisions regarding the development of your business.

SWOT analysis in the marketing plan of your company

SWOT analysis is an intermediate link between the formulation of the mission of your enterprise and the definition of its goals and objectives. Everything happens in the following sequence (see Figure 1):

1. You have determined the main direction for the development of your enterprise (its mission)
2. Then you weigh your strengths and assess the market situation in order to understand whether you can move in the indicated direction and how best to do it (SWOT analysis);
3. After that, you set goals for your enterprise, taking into account its real capabilities (determining the strategic goals of your enterprise, which will be devoted to one of the following articles).

So, after conducting a SWOT analysis, you will have a clearer idea of ​​the advantages and disadvantages of your enterprise, as well as the situation in the market. This will allow you to choose the best development path, avoid dangers and make the most of the resources at your disposal, while taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the market.

Even if you are sure that you are already well aware of everything, we still advise you to conduct a SWOT analysis, as in this case it will help to structure the available information about the enterprise and the market and take a fresh look at the current situation and opening prospects.

How to conduct a SWOT analysis

In general, conducting a SWOT analysis comes down to filling in the matrix shown in Figure 2, the so-called. SWOT Analysis Matrices. In the appropriate cells of the matrix, you need to enter the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, as well as market opportunities and threats.

Strengths of your enterprise, something it excels at or some feature that gives you additional opportunities. Strength may lie in your experience, access to unique resources, advanced technology and modern equipment, highly qualified personnel, high quality of your products, brand awareness, etc.

The weaknesses of your enterprise are the absence of something important for the functioning of the enterprise or something that you have not yet succeeded in comparison with other companies and puts you in a disadvantageous position. As an example of weaknesses, one can cite a too narrow range of manufactured goods, a bad reputation of the company in the market, lack of funding, low level of service, etc.

Market opportunities are favorable circumstances that your business can take advantage of. As an example of market opportunities, we can cite the deterioration of the position of your competitors, a sharp increase in demand, the emergence of new technologies for the production of your products, an increase in the level of income of the population, etc. It should be noted that the opportunities in terms of SWOT analysis are not all the opportunities that exist in the market, but only those that your company can use.

Market Threats are events that could adversely affect your business. Examples of market threats: new competitors entering the market, tax increases, changing consumer tastes, declining birth rates, etc.

Note: the same factor for different enterprises can be both a threat and an opportunity. For example, for a store that sells expensive products, the growth of household income may be an opportunity, as it will lead to an increase in the number of customers. At the same time, for a discount store, the same factor can become a threat, as its customers with rising salaries can move to competitors offering a higher level of service.

So, we have determined what should be the result of the SWOT analysis. Now let's talk about how to come to this result.

From words to deeds

Step 1. Determining the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise

The first step in a SWOT analysis is to assess your own strengths. The first stage will allow you to determine what are the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise.

In order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, you need to:

1. Make a list of parameters by which you will evaluate your company;
2. For each parameter, determine what is the strength of your enterprise and what is weak;
3. From the entire list, select the most important strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise and enter them into the SWOT analysis matrix (Figure 2).

Let's illustrate this technique with an example.

So, you have already done a significant part of the work on the SWOT analysis of your enterprise. Let's move on to the second step - identifying opportunities and threats.

Step 2. Identify market opportunities and threats

The second step of the SWOT analysis is a kind of "reconnaissance" - market assessment. This stage will allow you to assess the situation outside your enterprise and understand what opportunities you have, as well as what threats you should be aware of (and, accordingly, prepare for them in advance).

The methodology for identifying market opportunities and threats is almost identical to the methodology for determining the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise:

Let's move on to an example.

As a basis for assessing market opportunities and threats, you can take the following list of parameters:

1. Demand factors (here it is advisable to take into account the market capacity, the rate of its growth or contraction, the structure of demand for the products of your enterprise, etc.)
2. Competition factors (you should take into account the number of your main competitors, the presence of substitute products on the market, the height of entry and exit barriers to the market, the distribution of market shares among the main market participants, etc.)
3. Sales factors (it is necessary to pay attention to the number of intermediaries, the availability of distribution networks, the conditions for the supply of materials and components, etc.)
4. Economic factors (taking into account the exchange rate of the ruble (dollar, euro), inflation rate, changes in the level of income of the population, tax policy of the state, etc.)
5. Political and legal factors (the level of political stability in the country, the level of legal literacy of the population, the level of law-abidingness, the level of corruption in power, etc.) are assessed.
6. Scientific and technical factors (usually taken into account is the level of development of science, the degree of introduction of innovations (new goods, technologies) into industrial production, the level of state support for the development of science, etc.)
7. Socio-demographic factors (you should take into account the size and age and sex structure of the population of the region in which your enterprise operates, the birth and death rates, the level of employment, etc.)
8. Socio-cultural factors (traditions and the system of values ​​of society, the existing culture of consumption of goods and services, existing stereotypes of people's behavior, etc. are usually taken into account)
9. Natural and environmental factors (taking into account the climatic zone in which your company operates, the state of the environment, public attitudes towards environmental protection, etc.)
10. And finally international factors(among them, the level of stability in the world, the presence of local conflicts, etc. are taken into account)

Then, as in the first case, you fill in the table (Table 2): in the first column you write down the assessment parameter, and in the second and third - the existing opportunities and threats associated with this parameter. The examples in the table will help you understand how to list the opportunities and threats in your business.

Table 2. Identifying Market Opportunities and Threats

Evaluation parameters	Capabilities	Threats
1. Competition	Barriers to entry to the market have increased: from this year it is necessary to obtain a license to engage in this type of activity	A major foreign competitor is expected to enter the market this year
2. Sales	A new retail chain has appeared on the market, which is currently selecting suppliers	Starting this year, our largest wholesale buyer selects suppliers based on the results of a tender
3. etc.

After filling in Table 2, as in the first case, you need to select the most important ones from the entire list of opportunities and threats. To do this, you need to evaluate each opportunity (or threat) in two dimensions by asking yourself two questions: “How likely is it that this will happen?” and “How will this affect my business?”. Select those events that are highly likely to happen and have a significant impact on your business. Enter these 5-10 opportunities and approximately the same number of threats into the appropriate cells of the SWOT analysis matrix (Figure 2).

So, the SWOT analysis matrix is ​​completed, and you see before you a complete list of the main strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, as well as the opportunities that open up for your business and the dangers that threaten it. However, that's not all. Now you need to take the final step and match your company's strengths and weaknesses with market opportunities and threats.

Step 3: Matching the Strengths and Weaknesses of Your Enterprise with Market Opportunities and Threats

Matching strengths and weaknesses with market opportunities and threats will allow you to answer the following questions regarding the further development of your business:

1. How can I take advantage of the opportunities that are opening up, using the strengths of the enterprise?
2. What weaknesses of the enterprise can prevent me from doing this?
3. What strengths can be used to neutralize existing threats?
4. What threats, exacerbated by weaknesses in the enterprise, should I be most wary of?

To compare the capabilities of your enterprise to market conditions, a slightly modified SWOT analysis matrix is ​​used (table 3).

Table 3. SWOT Analysis Matrix

	CAPABILITIES 1. Emergence of a new retail network 2. etc.	THREATS 1. Emergence of a major competitor 2. etc.
STRENGTHS 1. High quality products 2. 3. etc.	1. How to seize opportunities Try to become one of the suppliers of the new network, focusing on the quality of our products	2. How you can reduce threats Keep our customers from switching to a competitor by informing them about the high quality of our products
WEAK SIDES 1.High production cost 2. 3. etc.	3. What can prevent you from taking advantage of opportunities The new chain may refuse to purchase our products, as our wholesale prices are higher than those of competitors	4. The biggest dangers for the firm An emerging competitor can offer the market products similar to ours at lower prices.

Once you complete this matrix (which we hope our examples will help you with), you will find that:

1. determined the main directions of development of your enterprise(Cell 1 showing how you can take advantage of the opportunity);
2. formulated the main problems of your enterprise, to be resolved as soon as possible for the successful development of your business (the remaining cells of table 3).

Now you are ready to set goals and objectives for your enterprise. However, we will talk about this in one of the following articles, and now we will dwell on the question that is probably of interest to you:

Where can I get information for conducting a SWOT analysis?

In fact, most of the information needed to conduct a SWOT analysis is already at your disposal. Basically, this is, of course, data on the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise. All you have to do is collect all these disparate facts (taking reports from accounting, production and sales departments, talking with your employees who have the necessary information) and organize them. It will be better if you can involve several key employees of your enterprise in the collection and analysis of this information, since it is easy to miss any important detail alone.

Of course, information about the market (opportunities and threats) is somewhat more difficult to obtain. But even here the situation is not hopeless. Here are a few sources you can get useful information from:

1. results of marketing research, reviews of your market, which are sometimes published in some newspapers (for example, Delovoy Peterburg, Vedomosti, etc.) and magazines (for example, Practical Marketing, Exclusive Marketing, etc.);
2. reports and collections of the State Statistics Committee and Petersburgkomstat (information on the population, mortality and birth rates, age and sex structure of the population and other useful data);
3. finally, you can get all the necessary information by ordering a marketing research from a specialized company.

We will tell you more about the sources and methods of collecting information that you may need to conduct a SWOT analysis in the following articles. Now let's sum up all of the above.

Summary

SWOT analysis- this is a definition of the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, as well as the opportunities and threats emanating from its immediate environment (external environment).

SWOT analysis will allow you to choose the best way to develop your business, avoid dangers and make the most of the resources at your disposal.

The procedure for conducting a SWOT analysis in general comes down to filling out a matrix that reflects and then compares the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise and the opportunities and threats of the market. This mapping allows you to determine what steps can be taken to grow your business and what problems you urgently need to address.

The following materials were used in preparing the article:

Zavgorodnyaya A.V., Yampolskaya D.O. Marketing planning. - St. Petersburg: Peter. 2002. - 352p.

Kotler F. Marketing management. - St. Petersburg, Peter Kom, 1998. - 896s.

Solovieva DV Electronic course of lectures on modeling. 1999.

If you think that SWOT analysis is a boring theory from a marketing course, you are mistaken! Where do you start to analyze the situation in your business, what do you do first of all when you don’t know what to do and how to do it right, how you weigh everything "Per" and "Against"? Advice from friends and colleagues, find a solution on the Internet, act on a boom? This is not enough, you need a real tool that will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of the project and make the right decisions.

A SWOT analysis will help you with this issue. You can not only weigh risks with its help, but also build strategies, do audits, and analyze complex decisions. In this article, we will consider in detail the capabilities of this tool using an example and learn how to apply it in practice.

A bit of history

SWOT analysis was first introduced to the world in 1963 at Harvard by academic Kenneth Richmond Andrews. At the conference, for the first time, this method of strategic planning was introduced into the arsenal of modern business, which is used by all marketers, analysts and business owners today. It is a mandatory step in strategic planning and an excellent tool for auditing a company.

This method of analysis allows you to look at the business as a whole, at a separate cell of the company, business process or product from the standpoint of weaknesses and strengths, advantages and threats, both internal and external. And also, many use it in everyday life. Let's learn how to use it.

S.V.O.T. is an English abbreviation for four words:

S (Strengths)- strengths. When describing the strengths of the analyzed object, you should describe more of its own internal advantages. It is easy to do this if you perform this task as a team and with the help of the Internet. The more broadly and objectively you look at the subject of analysis (company, process, product, etc.), the more likely it is that SWOT analysis will provide effective conclusions, so do not assign this task only to marketers or managers.

W (Weaknesses)- limitations. A similar situation with disadvantages, remember all the disadvantages, all the unpleasant moments associated with the subject of analysis and write them down. Everything that weakens it and makes it unattractive, weighs it down - fix everything. Objectively and only in relation to the analyzed object.

O (opportunities)- capabilities. Describe what opportunities the external environment gives you? What favorable concomitant external factors help your subject of analysis to develop?

T (Threats)- Threats. Fix the facts that negatively affect the development or promotion of your object of analysis from the outside. In most cases, it deals with the competitive environment and changes in the external market that may threaten you.

SWOT Template

An analysis is performed by compiling a table or a 2 by 2 matrix in each cell of which the evaluation criteria are entered, for example:

You can copy this sample template into MS Word and print it for work.

There is an opinion that SWOT analysis is a superficial inaccurate analysis tool based on the subjective opinion of one person. However, if you do an audit by a team of specialists from different fields, you can quite achieve an objective picture of the situation.

SWOT analysis on the example of a company

We will now fill in the SWOT template or matrix with the data of one company X, which is in the auto business (selling new cars, parts, and repair services).

Let's start from the upper left corner with the strengths of the company that it has at the present time, then fill in the upper right field - we enter the internal existing shortcomings / weaknesses of the company there. In the lower left square we write the possibilities of the external environment that may be realized in the future, and in the right square we write threats and risks that are terrible for the business as a whole.

When you fill out the SWOT analysis matrix, analyze the upper squares from the side of the manager and from the side of your customers, and the lower ones from the side of the company's management.

1. As we see in the green square with a plus, you need to fix the company's resources. Personnel, equipment, software, finance, uniqueness, business processes, etc.
2. In the beige sector, we fix shortcomings within the company. Answer these questions:

• What's stopping you from selling more?
• “What do you lack compared to your competitors?”
• “Who hinders development or does not correspond to the assigned competencies?”
• “What or what resource is missing to solve the problem?”
• “What do your customers not like?”

3. The blue sector should reveal the opportunities that are provided to your company from outside. Answer these questions:

• “What are the prospects for the development of your line of business in the modern market?”
• “Is there an increase in demand for your product/service? Are the needs of your target audience growing?
• “What are the legal trends in your area of ​​business?”
• “Are there free niches where your company could make additional profit?”
• “Is there an opportunity to expand the range of your product?”
• “Who could help you grow your business? How?"

4. The most important threat sector. It is he who is a priority and will give us material for the development of specific measures. To fill in the red sector, you need to write answers to the questions:

• "What are my worst fears?"
• “I would have done….. but if not…. »
• The company will cease to exist if...
• “What actions of competitors will affect the development of the company?”
• “What changes in policy and legislation are undesirable for business?”

These are the questions you need to answer as a team of managers and executives.

We get the result

What to do with these records next? The following is a ranking of your entries by importance, by their weight and value. In the example above, each entry is listed under its own importance number - the first most important. Determine the three most important positions in the "Threats" block; first of all, you need to develop a strategic action plan, the company's actions to eliminate or prepare for these threats.

Below the first paragraph is: "Loss of dealership due to failure to meet sales target." The sales plan is an internal factor, but the fate of the company is still influenced by the importer, who analyzes the share of sales in the region and can deprive you of the right to sell cars of a certain brand. It turns out that this is an external factor that is associated with internal and external problems. Solution: make a SWOT analysis of the sales department, it will show the problems that do not allow enough sales. Problem #1 is clear.

Further. "Dependence of income on fluctuations in the exchange rate". If you have internal accounting in foreign currency, you need to develop measures to reduce the impact of this factor on profitability, otherwise an increase in the exchange rate will destroy your margin (markup). For example: sell goods without arriving at the warehouse, increase the turnover of goods (sell quickly), form an insurance fund in case of fluctuations, make an adaptive price list that will be automatically converted into national currency at the current exchange rate on the day of payment, etc.

Further. "Dependence on the policies and decisions of the importer". Allocate an employee who will monitor changes and sales rules that the importer regulates. Let him deal only with communication with the importing company. Find a contact person in the importing company who can help with advice and establish contact with him for a long-term cooperation.

This data is entered into a table similar to this one:

About the pros and cons of the technique

advantage This method is - the ability to get a general spatial picture of the state of the object of analysis, which will help make the right decision. SWOT analysis can be applied in various fields and is available to everyone.

disadvantage is - the lack of accurate quantitative data that can show the dynamics of changes and the subjective factor in compiling.

Summary

That is how you will be able to understand: what to do next, where to move, what is stopping you. Such an analysis can be carried out separately for each department, which will help to identify more problems and, as a result, develop a strategy for further development or solution of the problem. The effectiveness of a SWOT analysis depends on the objectivity of the people who compiled it, as well as on the number of questions (coverage of the problem or condition). The more questions - the deeper you will touch the problem, the more auditors - the more questions and subtleties you will be able to work out.

As you can see, SWOT analysis is a fairly powerful marketing tool that allows you to draw up a competent business development strategy and correct existing shortcomings.

We offer a simple and convenient case for compiling a SWOT analysis of an enterprise with a ready-made template in Excel format. The example of SWOT analysis discussed in the article is suitable for any manufacturing enterprise, manufacturing company or non-profit organization.

If your company is a point of sale, then this article on SWOT analysis using the example of an enterprise is not very suitable for you. We recommend that you go to an example designed specifically for the retail industry. An example of a shop analysis is suitable for both a stand-alone trading department, a pharmacy, a grocery store, as well as for a trading company and a large retail chain.

Comments from the author

This business SWOT analysis example includes a free sample to fill out. You can download the template at the end of the article in Excel format. The example is absolutely practical and will suit even a non-profit organization: it contains extremely practical tips for compiling. If you are not fully familiar with the SWOT analysis method, we recommend that you first familiarize yourself with t.

This example of a SWOT analysis is purely illustrative. The purpose of the example is to show the correct sequence of actions, to systematize the theoretical information about the method as much as possible and to help everyone compose their own SWOT analysis from scratch.

So let's get to the first step.

Features of the SWOT analysis of the enterprise

When looking for strengths, weaknesses, threats, or growth opportunities while doing your analysis, keep in mind the following differences between a manufacturing company and a trading company:

• No or limited direct access to the buyer, there are intermediaries
• Makes decisions about product positioning and can set requirements for dealers regarding the terms of sale of the product
• May affect consumer qualities and product characteristics
• May affect product packaging
• Can adjust the price of the product
• Has a budget to promote their product

Stage One: Finding Strengths and Weaknesses

The first step is to consider all options for strengths and weaknesses, and for each area, select at least 3 parameters by which you can assess the competitiveness of a business.

Table 1 An example of finding strengths and weaknesses when compiling a swot analysis

The second step is to conduct an additional generation of ideas of the strengths and weaknesses of the product by answering 6 questions:

• What competitive advantages does the product have?
• What are the main reasons for buying a product?
• What characteristics of the product help to set a higher price?
• Name the main disadvantages of the product
• List the main reasons for product rejection
• What prevents you from setting a higher price for a product?

Table 2 An example of additional generation of ideas for SWOT analysis of an enterprise

As a result of the first two steps, you will receive a list of possible strengths and weaknesses of the company.

third step analyze each selected factor:

• note those factors that are key success factors in the market
• Rank all factors according to the degree of influence on sales and profits of the company from 1 to ...
• for each factor, compare your product with the products of key competitors: the parameters by which your product is better than competitors are the strengths of the product, and vice versa

Stage two: checking the importance of strengths and weaknesses

Not all of the listed strengths and weaknesses should be used in a swot analysis. Minor factors need to be ruled out. To do this, evaluate the importance of the selected parameters, evaluating the impact of each parameter on customer satisfaction and on the company's profit.

Table 3 An example of assessing the importance of strengths

Table 4 An example of assessing the importance of weaknesses

As a result of the check, all minor parameters will be eliminated and the final rating of strengths and weaknesses will be ready.

Table 5 The final list of strengths and weaknesses of the product

Stage Three: Finding Growth Opportunities

List possible sources of sales growth based on the information. Think of additional sources of growth by answering 2 questions:

• How else can a company increase sales?
• What are the ways to reduce costs?

Stage Four: Reality Checking Every Growth Opportunity

We exclude unnecessary opportunities that do not affect business profits and customer satisfaction:

Table 7. Checking for Growth Opportunities

Stage Five: Finding Business Threats

List possible threat options using the information. Think about additional business threats by answering 2 questions:

• What other factors can affect the decline in sales of the company?
• What other factors can affect the increase in cost or decrease in profit?

Table 9 Preliminary list of threats to the company's competitiveness

Step Six: Validate the Significance of Business Threats

We eliminate unnecessary threats to business that do not affect business profits and customer satisfaction for 5 years:

Table 10 Checking the list of business threats

Step Seven: Example of Compiling a SWOT Analysis Table

We transfer all factors to the table of our analysis, keeping the importance rating.

Table 12 SWOT analysis table

Stage eight: writing conclusions on the conducted SWOT analysis

We draw conclusions on the analysis carried out using the recommendations.

Table 13 SWOT Analysis Conclusions

SWOT analysis is ready. If this example of an enterprise SWOT analysis was useful to you, please leave feedback.

Detailed video course

Have questions about drafting? Watch our best video course on SWOT analysis methodology. The video course contains detailed information on how to prepare a SWOT analysis from scratch, write high-quality conclusions and present the work done to management.

Part one: SWOT analysis, determination of the strengths and weaknesses of the product

The name of the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats - SWOT analysis, comes from the abbreviation of the words:

strengths- strengths, strengths;

Weaknesses- weakness;

Opportunities- capabilities;

treats- Threats.

SWOT analysis is a fairly simple and popular technique that allows you to assess the consequences of your decision, in making which you are guided by knowledge and understanding of the surrounding situation. And it does not matter whether this decision lies in the field of marketing, the choice of a company development strategy, or any of your decisions related to current activities, not even related to business.

So, using the WSOT method, you can analyze whether you (or your friend) should wear that blue dress that she bought in a boutique last month. When choosing a profession, or a particular company for employment, we evaluate our strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities that open up in a new place, as well as the threats of a job change. As for marketing, in fact, this technique, to one degree or another, is owned by every marketer involved in making strategic decisions.

Intuitively, we use SWOT analysis quite often, but few people independently bring such an assessment to its logical conclusion, stopping at a fundamental understanding of the situation and not delving into the analysis of marketing details.

The following are the two most simple methods, the use of which will allow a novice entrepreneur to independently conduct a SWOT analysis. There are in-depth options for SWOT analysis. Their application requires a more careful approach, preparation and elaboration of details.

Methodology of SWOT - analysis

In principle, everything is simple, the analysis is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. Expert articulation of your strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Their basis is only you. If we are talking about a company, then these are the strengths and weaknesses that are inherent in the company. For an expert description of this, it is enough to use the results of an express survey of enterprise management.

Strengths and weaknesses should be assessed by at least 3 vectors:

• Management (condition, quality, motivation, qualifications)
• Business processes
• Finance

To analyze internal factors, I suggest using a different model. For
analysis of internal factors, we should pay attention to compliance with:

• marketing activities of the firm to its external environment;
• the company's sales system and its adequacy to the marketing channel;
• organization of production processes and the adequacy of products to the market (for manufacturing companies);
• organization of logistics processes and their adequacy to the marketing channel;
• the financial condition of the company and its tasks;
• administrative system and quality of business process administration;
• management system, human resource management

2. Describing opportunities and threats- which are external factors, which are based on the situation outside the company, the business environment of the company.

There is no need to invent threats, they are always the same. It is enough to assess the typical potential threats for the presence of those for your company (for you).

Threats are:

• social;
• economic;
• technological;
• political;
• environmental;
• competition.

3. We rank the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats according to the degree of influence on the company, throwing out the far-fetched.

4. We bring everything into a SWOT matrix (into a table).

5. We analyze the effect of factors

6. Having finished with the description and marketing analysis, define strategy, based on the results of the description above, using the strengths, and compensating for the shortcomings of your (company) .

SWOT matrix

All data is summarized in one table consisting of 4 main fields: strength, weakness,
opportunities and threats. Such a table is also called a SWOT analysis matrix.

We analyze the effect of factors

Actually, what we have compiled above is not yet a SWOT analysis, but only a form (matrix) for a convenient description of the parties, opportunities and threats. Analysis - a conclusion about how your "strengths" will help realize the company's capabilities in achieving certain planned goals.

Let's try to rebuild the table and answer the questions:

	Capabilities ( O)	Threats ( T)
strengths ( S)	We correlate "strength" and "opportunities", and understand how "power" is able to provide company opportunities. 1. ....... 2. ....... 3. .......	We correlate "force" and "threats", and we understand, how "force" can eliminate threats to the company 1. ....... 2. ....... 3. ....... (do not be shy, describe in words)
Weak sides ( W)	Listing "weaknesses", we describe, how weak sides interfere use listed opportunities 1. ....... 2. ....... 3. ....... (do not be shy, describe in words)	Listing "weaknesses", we describe the most embarrassing for the company: how much are your weaknesses lead to the onset of those threats, which you have listed. 1. ....... 2. ....... 3. ....... (do not be shy, describe in words)

SWOT Analysis Strategies Matrix

Further - the most interesting - that for which actually everything was started. Based on the results of the analysis, we use the results of the SWOT analysis to develop certain strategy vectors, according to which we will work. The company, as a rule, works in several directions (vectors) at once:

• implement strengths;
• we correct the weaknesses of the company, use its strengths;
• taking measures to compensate for the threats.

Analyzing the data in the table, we compile a matrix of necessary actions to correct the weaknesses of the company, including at the expense of strengths. We bring all the data into one table (matrix) consisting of 4 main fields: strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. Such a table is called: "SWOT Analysis Strategies Matrix".

Analyzing the data located in the table, a list of possible actions (marketing plan) is compiled to neutralize the weaknesses of the company, including at the expense of strengths. Also, possible options for the development of the company when external factors change, ways to use strengths to reduce risks, etc. are being developed.