We present a simple and convenient method for conducting a SWOT analysis with ready-made examples for a manufacturing and trading enterprise, as well as a template in Excel format.

The SWOT analysis method described in the article is universal and is suitable for a company of any profile: an industrial company, a non-profit organization, a retail store or a separate department.

After reading the article, you will definitely be able to create a SWOT analysis for your product or an entire enterprise from scratch, even if you are conducting it for the first time.

Definition: SWOT analysis (from English SWOT Analysis) is a type of situational analysis that allows you to assess the current and future competitiveness of a company’s product on the market by analyzing the internal and external environment of the organization.

The essence and main elements of SWOT analysis

Briefly about the swot analysis method, we can say the following:

• SWOT analysis technology is widely used in strategic management and management, as it is both a simple and high-quality tool for a company on the market.
• The peculiarity of the method is that since the 1980s, SWOT analysis has been actively used to develop strategic decisions and has not lost its relevance throughout its existence in the toolkit of managers.
• Why is SWOT analysis necessary? The purpose of the method is to study the current position of the company in the market and the correct structuring of information for the development of the enterprise.
• Explanation of SWOT: S= Strengths, strengths of the product; W=Weaknesses, weaknesses of the product; O=Opportunities, company capabilities; T=Threats, threats to the company.

You can learn more about the theoretical foundations of SWOT analysis of a product in the article:.

How to prepare for a SWOT analysis?

Remember that the SWOT analysis method is only a convenient tool for systematizing available information. Therefore, an effective SWOT analysis must begin with two steps:

• Conduct where the company operates, pay important attention to consumer research and identifying key characteristics. More than 70% of the SWOT analysis conclusions depend on who your company is and what quality criteria your consumer places on the product.
• Swipe and . Determining the strengths and weaknesses of the product will depend on who your competitor is.

Step One: Identify the Product's Strengths and Weaknesses

The first step in conducting a SWOT analysis is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the product or service. To do this, make a comparative analysis of the internal resources of the company or product with key competitors:

• Those parameters that turned out to be better than those of competitors are the strengths of your product.
• Parameters that turned out to be worse than those of competitors are the weaknesses of your product

Table 1 Example of analysis of strengths and weaknesses

Strengths (S = Strengths) are internal characteristics of a company that provide a competitive advantage in the market or a more advantageous position in comparison with competitors.

Weaknesses (W=Weaknesses) or shortcomings of a product or service are internal characteristics of a company that impede business growth, prevent the product from leading the market, and are uncompetitive in the market.

• Prioritize the level of influence of factors on the company's sales volume and profit.
• Leave 6-8 key factors.
• The rest may be useful in the future - take note of them.

Be sure to check out. The methodology contains more than 14 areas of various internal environmental factors that can become strengths or weaknesses of the company.

Step Two: Identify Threats and Opportunities for Business Growth

The second step of a SWOT analysis is to identify the opportunities and threats to the business's future growth. To do this, an analysis of external environmental factors is carried out, the level of influence of each factor on the company’s sales, and the likelihood of occurrence are assessed.

Company opportunities (O=Opportunities) are external environmental factors that will allow the company to increase sales or increase profits.

Company threats (T=Threats) are external environmental factors that may reduce the company's sales or profit level in the future.

Illustrative examples of SWOT analysis

Most of the concepts and tools used in strategic planning are difficult to use for the first time without clear examples. For those who doubt the correctness of drawing up a SWOT analysis, we have prepared ready-made solutions:

• : Includes a brief analysis of the key success factors and threats of the world's largest retail chain.
• : contains detailed recommendations for conducting SWOT analysis in the trading industry.
• - this is the most complete and step-by-step example that will be useful to a greater extent to manufacturing companies and organizations.

Quantitative method of SWOT analysis

In modern literature, a quantitative example of SWOT analysis is often found: a model in which it is necessary to evaluate the analyzed factors of the external and internal environment on a point scale.

The quantitative approach is undoubtedly effective, as it allows us to demonstrate the significance of factors, but it is too time-consuming.

It would be more effective to evaluate each factor of the company’s internal and external environment in terms of importance and priority expertly, without resorting to complex quantitative scoring. The accuracy of this approach will be close to the quantitative method of assessment, since in both cases you yourself, and therefore expertly evaluate each factor of the SWOT matrix.

If after compiling a SWOT analysis you still have a free minute, we suggest you familiarize yourself with

Detailed video course

Four detailed video lectures on the SWOT analysis methodology provide concise and fully structured information on: how to do a SWOT analysis “from scratch”, how to find the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s product, identify opportunities and threats for a business, how to write the correct conclusions on SWOT analysis and effectively present the results of the work done.

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

Fully.

Ready-made samples, templates and cases

You can download a ready-made template - a sample of compiling a SWOT analysis from scratch in Excel, as well as an example of presenting the results of a SWOT analysis in PowerPoint format in the section.

SWOT analysis- one of the most common methods that comprehensively evaluate internal and external factors influencing the development of a company. It is an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, as well as the opportunities and threats from the external environment. “S” and “W” refer to the state of the company, and “O” and “T” refer to the external environment of the organization.

SWOT analysis is a preliminary research stage in drawing up strategic plans, developing strategic goals and objectives of the company.

The term SWOT was first used by Kenneth Andrews in 1963 at Harvard at a business policy conference.

Term in English: SWOT analysis.

Main parameters of SWOT analysis

Strengths– strengths,

Weakness- weak sides,

Opportunities- possibilities,

Threats– threats.

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

When assessing external situation worth considering:

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

During the analysis internal situation the company's resources and business processes are assessed, and competitiveness is analyzed.

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

Deciphering the method

The main idea of ​​the technique SWOT analysis consists of an attempt to determine by calculation how much each of the possible development paths can influence the success of the current, tactical and strategic business processes of the enterprise. When ranking threats in the SWOT analysis matrix by degree of impact, it is assumed to determine the estimated time at which the enterprise will reach a certain degree of destruction, and the sooner economic performance indicators deteriorate, the more attention should be paid to eliminating this threat. After complete completion of the work, based on a SWOT analysis and associated with identifying the greatest threats to the enterprise’s activities and identifying priority areas of 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 (events) related to specific goals and consistently implemented.

NexterrorsMost 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 involves achieving a specific goal

2. External chances are often confused with internal strengths of the company, while they should be strictly distinguished

3. SWOT analysis is often confused with all sorts 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 and specific activities are not named. SWOT-Analysis.

Rules for conducting SWOT analysis

No formal training is required to conduct a SWOT analysis. Any manager who understands the company's affairs and is familiar with the market can draw up a simple SWOT form.
But this simplicity and ease of use also has a downside. There is a risk of misuse, hasty and meaningless conclusions, and the use of vague and ambiguous concepts. In addition, do not forget that for the objectivity of the picture, only relevant, verified and fresh information must be used 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 by area or specific market. A general analysis that covers the entire business is inappropriate, as the results will be too generalized and useless. Focusing a SWOT analysis on a specific segment will ensure that the company's most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are identified.
Rule 2. We must be aware that the elements of SWOT differ significantly from each other, in particular regarding their 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 a company are subjective concepts. But opinions on these characteristics should not be expressed by managers or even competitors, but by clients, customers, partners, and 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, diverse 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 work of one person. For accuracy and depth of analysis, it is best to organize a group discussion with the exchange of ideas, learn and take into account the points of view of all functional departments of the company. Any information or initial data must be supported by reasoned evidence (official letters, verified quotes, industry statistics, press reports, information from dealers, customer opinions and comments, government publications).
Rule 5. The more precise the wording, the more useful the analysis will be. Therefore, one should avoid broad, vague and ambiguous statements that mean nothing to most buyers.

Pros and cons

SWOT analysis is often criticized. We are talking about a standardized analysis scheme, which is not suitable for all enterprises and firms.

Benefits of SWOT Analysis

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

Flaws

• SWOT analysis is simply 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 SWOT analysis is deceptive; its results are extremely dependent on the completeness and quality of the initial information. An objective SWOT analysis requires experts with a deep understanding of market development trends and its current state, or to carry out a large amount of work on collecting and analyzing primary information.
• In the process of generating tables, mechanical errors may be made (loss of important factors or inclusion of unnecessary ones, incorrect assessment of weighting 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 links

This is a preliminary encyclopedic article on this topic. You can contribute to the development of the project by improving and expanding the text of the publication in accordance with the rules of the project. You can find the user manual

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

Strengths- strengths, strengths;

Weaknesses- weaknesses;

Opportunities- possibilities;

Treats- threats.

SWOT analysis is a fairly simple and popular technique that allows you to assess the consequences of the decision you make, when making which you are guided by knowledge and understanding of the surrounding situation. And it doesn’t matter whether this decision lies in the field of marketing, choosing a company development strategy, or any of your decisions related to current activities, even not 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 this or that company for employment, we evaluate our strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities offered in a new place, as well as the threats of changing jobs. As for marketing, in fact, every marketer involved in making strategic decisions owns this technique, to one degree or another.

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 without delving into the analysis of marketing details.

The following are two of the simplest 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 use requires a more careful approach, preparation and elaboration of details.

SWOT analysis methodology

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

1. Expert formulation of your strengths and weaknesses- these 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 must be assessed according to at least 3 vectors:

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

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

• marketing activities of the company to its external environment;
• the company's sales system and its adequacy to the marketing channel;
• organization of production processes and adequacy of manufactured 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 objectives;
• administrative system and quality of business process administration;
• management system, human resources management

2. We describe opportunities and threats- which are external factors, based on the situation outside the company, the company’s business environment.

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

There are threats:

• 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 put everything into the SWOT matrix (in a table).

5. Analyze the effect of factors

6. Having finished with the description and marketing analysis, define a strategy, based on the results of the description above, using the strengths, and compensating for the weaknesses 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.

Analyzing 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 sides, opportunities and threats. Analysis is a conclusion about how much your “strengths” will help realize the company’s capabilities in achieving certain planned goals.

Let’s try to rearrange what has been summarized in the table and answer the questions:

SWOT Analysis Strategies Matrix

Next comes the most interesting part, the reason why everything was started. Based on the results of the analysis, we use the results of the SWOT analysis to develop certain strategy vectors along which we will work. The company, as a pravvilo, works in several directions (vectors) at once:

• We realize our strengths;
• We correct the company’s weaknesses and use its strengths;
• We take measures to compensate for threats.

Analyzing the data in the table, we draw up a matrix of necessary actions to correct the company’s weaknesses, including at the expense of the strengths. We bring all the data into one table (matrix) consisting of 4 main fields: strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. This 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 company’s weaknesses, including at the expense of the strengths. Also, possible options for the company’s development when external factors change, ways to use strengths to reduce risks, etc. are being developed.