How to Do a SWOT Analysis With Examples: 2023 Guide

A SWOT analysis is a great way for small businesses to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In addition, it can help you identify areas of your business that need improvement and make strategic plans for the future. This article will discuss how to do one and give you some examples to help get you started. Let's dive in!

What Is A SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that businesses use to assess their overall business situation and pinpoint areas for growth and potential obstacles. In other words, it helps identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a business. This type of analysis can be helpful when you're trying to make decisions about your business or when you're entering a new market. You can do SWOT analyses individually or with a group. For example, if you're doing one for your business, you may want to involve your employees or other stakeholders in the process. This can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and has a voice.

Why Should You Do SWOT Analyses?

There are many reasons why you might want to do a SWOT analysis. For example, maybe you're thinking about starting a new business and want to assess the risks involved. Or, perhaps you're already running one, and you want to evaluate your performance. A SWOT analysis can also be helpful when you're trying to make decisions, develop strategies, or enter a new market. It also allows you to create a new business strategy or launch a new product line.

What Are The Correct Parts Of A SWOT Analysis?

The main parts of the SWOT framework are:

• Strengths: These are the positive aspects of your business or project. For instance, what do you do well? What is your competitive advantage?
• Weaknesses: These are the negative aspects of your business or project. What could you improve? Are there any areas where you're lacking?
• Opportunities: These are factors that could be advantageous to your business or project. For example, what trends are happening in your industry? Are there any new markets or technologies that you could tap into?
• Threats: These are factors that could be harmful to your business or project. What trends are happening in your industry that could negatively impact you? Are there any new competitors entering the market?

#DidYouKnow Strengths and opportunities are positive factors. Conversely, weaknesses and threats are negative factors.

A SWOT analysis takes into account both internal and external factors.

Internal Factors: Strengths & Weaknesses

Internal factors are things you have control over, such as your employees, your products or services, and your business model. The internal workings of your business have strengths that you can continue to emphasize and weaknesses that you can directly improve.

External Factors: Opportunities & Threats

External factors are things that you can't control, such as the economy, the political landscape, or your competition. These factors are part of a SWOT analysis since they can positively or negatively affect your business.

#Internal versus external factors Internal factors are things you can change or improve, external ones you can't (although you can plan how to avoid them).

Characteristics Of A SWOT Analysis

So, what does a good  SWOT analysis look like? Here are some characteristics to keep in mind:

• It's factual. You should base it on objective data and not on opinions. This means that you'll need to do your research before you start writing.
• It's realistic. The analysis should not be overly optimistic or pessimistic. Above all, be honest about your business's strengths and weaknesses, and don't try to sugarcoat anything.
• It's actionable. It should lead to concrete plans and goals. However, simply identifying your company's strengths and weaknesses isn't enough – you need to set specific goals and target dates for making improvements.
• It's flexible. You should not set the analysis in stone. Consequently, as your business grows and changes, so too should your SWOT analysis.

How To Write A Business Plan

How To Do A SWOT Analysis

Step 1: Prepare

Decide on the objective of your SWOT analysis. For instance, is it to get a general panorama of your business? Is it to know if it's time to expand? It could be helpful to have your objectives and key results in hand. You also need to research your industry, potential competitors, your clients, your market position, and the global economy to better understand external influences.

#CaminoTip You could do a market research or use an existing one.

Step 2: Identify Your Company's Strengths

These could be things like:

• Great products or services
• A loyal customer base
• Low overhead costs
• A talented team

Step 3: List Your Company's Weaknesses

For example:

• Low public awareness of your company
• A lack of marketing expertise
• High overhead costs
• A small team

Step 4: Recognize Your Company's Opportunities

Opportunities could include:

• New industry trends that you could capitalize on
• A new market that you could tap into
• A new technology that can improve your product or service

Step 5: Determine Your Company's Threats

For example:

• New competitors in your industry or region
• A struggling economy
• A rapidly changing industry that makes it challenging to stay relevant

Step 6: Create Your SWOT Analysis

Now that you've identified your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can do your SWOT analysis. Firstly, you'll want to create a SWOT matrix, which is just a SWOT analysis table with four quadrants. Then, in each quadrant, list the corresponding information.

Step 7: Strategic Planning And Course Of Action

Once you have your SWOT analysis created, you can use it to create a concrete business strategy and the goals you need to achieve to improve your business. You should prioritize which items in each list are more pressing or essential than the others. Make plans to help you:

• take advantage of the newfound SWOT analysis opportunities
• avoid threats or minimize them as much as possible
• convert weaknesses into strengths
• further all decision-making processes
• decide on your future operations
• mistakes you need to avoid

Choose the different departments (for example, human resources or R&D) or people (your copywriter or CEO) that will have which action items.

Tips To Write Your Analysis

If you're having trouble writing your SWOT analysis, here are some tips to help you get started:

• Be specific. A SWOT analysis is only as good as the information you put into it. So make sure that you're being specific and not generalizing anything.
• Be objective. As we mentioned before, you should base your analysis on facts and not opinions. This means that you'll need to do your research before you start writing.
• Be realistic. A SWOT analysis should be realistic and not overly optimistic or pessimistic. Be honest about your business's strengths and weaknesses, and don't try to sugarcoat anything.
• Be practical. It should be actionable, which means that it should lead to concrete plans and goals. Simply identifying your strengths and weaknesses isn't enough – you need to set specific goals and target dates for making improvements.
• Be flexible. An analysis should be flexible and not set in stone. As your business grows and changes, so too should your SWOT analysis.

How To Use A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, And Threats Analysis

A SWOT analysis is an excellent tool for businesses to improve their chances of success. By identifying your company's characteristics, you can create concrete plans and goals for improving your business. By completing a thorough analysis, you will have a good overview of where your business stands and what areas you need to work on. Then, you can create specific goals and target dates for improving your business. Remember to be realistic and actionable in your plans and update your SWOT analysis as your business grows and changes. Using a SWOT analysis correctly can be an invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes. For example, it can let you know what improvements or investments you can make and help you understand if you need to apply for a small business loan.

When Should You Perform A SWOT Analysis?

You can perform a SWOT analysis at any time, but it's especially beneficial when you're starting a new business or making major changes to an existing business. This is because a SWOT analysis can help you pinpoint potential problems and opportunities. This will help you plan accordingly.

How Often Should You Update Your SWOT Analysis?

You should update it regularly, preferably once every six or twelve months. This is because your business will inevitably change over time, and it needs to reflect these changes. As your business grows and changes, so too should your SWOT analysis. Steps To Develop A Strategic Plan

SWOT Examples

Here are some SWOT analysis examples to give you an idea of how to use this tool:

SWOT Analysis Of A Business

A small business owner may want to use a SWOT analysis to help them decide whether to expand their business. Identifying such factors as the current economic climate, the competition, and their own financial situation will allow them to decide.

*This SWOT analysis example is for a fictitious business.

SWOT Analysis For A Restaurant

Restaurants can use SWOT analyses to help them decide which menu items are most popular and what changes they need to make. It is vital for restaurants to stay ahead of the curve in an ever-changing industry.

*This SWOT analysis example is for a fictitious business.

Amazon SWOT Analysis

The largest online retailer globally, Amazon, uses SWOT analysis to evaluate its business and determine areas where it can improve. This is because Amazon is constantly expanding and growing its business, so it needs to discover the areas where it can improve.

Apple SWOT Analysis

Apple, one of the most valuable companies in the world, uses SWOT analysis to evaluate its company and identify areas where it can improve. As one of the leading Fortune 500 companies, Apple is constantly expanding in the tech space.

Ready To SWOT Your Business?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that allows you to understand your business and the markets you’re looking to enter. It can help you decide where to allocate your resources, what strategies to pursue, and how to respond to potential threats. We hope this article can be helpful for your company. If you want more management tools, subscribe to the Camino Financial Newsletter. We send out weekly tips and tricks designed to help small businesses grow and succeed. ADD_THIS_TEXT As we always say, “No Business Left Behind.”