It’s early in the ’09 baseball season and every team has already scoped out the other teams and every player they’ll face. Can you say the same about your business or your marketing plan?
When you need a quick snapshot of your strategic marketing plans that explores your business’ performance, the competitive climate, emerging market trends, and impending obstacles, try a quick SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis. Take a good SWOT at your marketing plan and you could just hit it out of the park.
Whether you do this on your own or with a team, taking a SWOT at your marketing plan helps you find ways to minimize the weaknesses while maximizing the strengths. Match the strengths against market opportunities that can result from your competitors’ weaknesses or shortcomings.
And remember, when you are taking your SWOT, there are no dumb ideas or thoughts. Sometimes a seemingly inconsequential comment can spark a great opportunity.
How Does SWOT Work?
Using a whiteboard, flip chart or sheet of paper create a four-cell grid or four lists. Label each grid with an S for Strength, W for Weakness, O for Opportunity and T for Threat. Begin your brainstorming. Even if you’re doing this solo, it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to get creative.
Think big picture and be painfully honest as you brainstorm the four SWOT components. Here are some sample questions to consider for each quadrant of the chart:
- Strengths: What makes your company unique? What are the things about your company that makes it good at what it does? How does your company stand out from your competitors? What advantages do you have over other businesses?
- Weaknesses: In what areas does your company struggle? What do your customers complain about? What do your employees complain about? What are the unmet needs of your sales force? What are your greatest operating weaknesses? Funding? R&D? Sales? Company size?
- Opportunities: Where are your strengths not being fully exploited? Are there emerging trends that fit with your company’s strengths? Is there a product/service area that you could do well in but are not yet competing? Can you build on the weaknesses of your competitors? Can you take advantage of industry consolidation to acquire/merge?
- Threats: Internally, what financial, developmental, or other problem areas threaten your company performance? Externally, are your competitors becoming stronger than you in niche areas? Are there emerging trends that amplify one of your weaknesses? Are their economic, geographic or political threats to your operational success?
Making the most of your SWOT
Kick off a SWOT analysis anytime you’re stuck in a strategic or creative rut. Use it to identify strategies and goals for building comprehensive marketing programs, content requirements for any writing project, components essential to an internal communications programs, pluses and minuses of a new product introduction, or any other strategic project.
If you can afford the time, research your topic so that you approach the SWOT with a truly open mind and objectively substantiated view. Customer, vendor or market surveys can also help you to gain valuable insights that will enhance your SWOT, as well as your business. Survey customers to gauge perceptions on brand and/or company image, product attribute preferences, and Web usage preferences.
Go ahead. Take a SWOT, come out swinging on your marketing programs.
AUTOPOST by BEDEWY VISIT GAHZLY
