swot analysis for business plan template

SWOT Analysis: How To Do One [With Template & Examples]

Published: October 05, 2023

As your business grows, you need a roadmap to help navigate the obstacles, challenges, opportunities, and projects that come your way. Enter: the SWOT analysis.

This framework can help you develop a plan to determine your priorities, maximize opportunities, and minimize roadblocks as you scale your organization. Below, let’s go over exactly what a SWOT analysis is, a few SWOT analysis examples, and how to conduct one for your business.

When you’re done reading, you’ll have all the inspiration and tactical advice you need to tackle a SWOT analysis for your business.

What is a SWOT analysis? Importance of a SWOT Analysis How to Write a Good SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis Examples How to Act on a SWOT Analysis

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that puts your business in perspective using the following lenses: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Using a SWOT analysis helps you identify ways your business can improve and maximize opportunities, while simultaneously determining negative factors that might hinder your chances of success.

While it may seem simple on the surface, a SWOT analysis allows you to make unbiased evaluations on:

• Your business or brand.
• Market positioning.
• A new project or initiative.
• A specific campaign or channel.

Practically anything that requires strategic planning, internal or external, can have the SWOT framework applied to it, helping you avoid unnecessary errors down the road from lack of insight.

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Importance of a SWOT Analysis

You’ve noticed by now that SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The framework seems simple enough that you’d be tempted to forgo using it at all, relying instead on your intuition to take these things into account.

But you shouldn’t. Doing a SWOT analysis is important. Here’s why.

SWOT gives you the chance to worry and to dream.

A SWOT analysis is an important step in your strategic process because it gives you the opportunity to explore both the potential risks and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.  You’re giving yourself the space to dream, evaluate, and worry before taking action. Your insights then turn into assets as you create the roadmap for your initiative.

For instance, when you consider the weaknesses and threats that your business may face, you can address any concerns or challenges and strategize on how to mitigate those risks. At the same time, you can identify strengths and opportunities, which can inspire innovative ideas and help you dream big. Both are equally important. 

SWOT forces you to define your variables.

Instead of diving head first into planning and execution, you’re taking inventory of all your assets and roadblocks. This process will help you  develop strategies that leverage your strengths and opportunities while addressing and mitigating the impact of weaknesses and threats.

As a result, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of your current situation and create a more specific and effective roadmap. Plus, a SWOT analysis is inherently proactive. That means you'll be better equipped to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and set realistic goals. 

SWOT allows you to account for mitigating factors.

As you identify weaknesses and threats, you’re better able to account for them in your roadmap, improving your chances of success.

Moreover, accounting for mitigating factors allows you to allocate your resources wisely and make informed decisions that lead to sustainable growth. With a SWOT analysis as a guide, you can confidently face challenges and seize opportunities.

SWOT helps you keep a written record.

As your organization grows and changes, you’ll be able to strike things off your old SWOTs and make additions. You can look back at where you came from and look ahead at what’s to come.

In other words, SWOT analyses serve as a tangible history of your progress and provide a reference point for future decision-making. With each update, your SWOT analysis becomes a living document that guides your strategic thinking and helps you stay agile and adaptable in an ever-changing business landscape.

By maintaining this written record, you foster a culture of continuous improvement and empower your team to make data-driven decisions and stay aligned with your long-term vision.

Parts of a SWOT Analysis

Conducting a SWOT analysis will help you strategize effectively, unlock valuable insights, and make informed decisions. But what exactly does a SWOT analysis include?

Let’s explore each component: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Your strengths are the unique advantages and internal capabilities that give your company a competitive edge in the market. A strong brand reputation, innovative products or services, or exceptional customer service are just a few examples. By identifying and capitalizing on your strengths, you can foster customer loyalty and build a solid foundation for growth.

No business is flawless. Weaknesses are areas where you may face challenges or fall short of your potential. It could be outdated processes, skill gaps within the team, or inadequate resources. By acknowledging these weaknesses, you can establish targeted initiatives for improvement, upskill your team, adopt new technologies, and enhance your overall operational efficiency.

Opportunities are external factors that can contribute to your company's progress. These may include emerging markets, technological advancements, changes in consumer behavior, or gaps in the market that your company can fill. By seizing these opportunities, you can expand your market reach, diversify your product offerings, forge strategic partnerships, or even venture into untapped territories.

Threats are external factors that are beyond your control and pose challenges to your business. Increased competition, economic volatility, evolving regulatory landscapes, or even changing market trends are examples of threats. By proactively assessing and addressing them, you can develop contingency plans, adjust your strategies, and minimize their impact on your operations.

In a SWOT analysis, you’ll have to take both internal and external factors into account. We’ll cover those next.

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SWOT Analysis Internal and External Factors

A SWOT analysis typically has internal (i.e., within your organization) and external (i.e., outside your organization) factors at play. Here's a breakdown of each.

Internal Factors

Internal factors refer to the characteristics and resources within your organization that directly influence its operations and performance. These factors are completely within your organization's control, so they can be modified, improved, or capitalized upon.

In a SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses are categorized as internal factors. Let’s look at a few examples.

• Brand reputation
• Unique expertise
• Loyal customer base
• Talented workforce
• Efficient processes
• Proprietary technology
• Outdated technology
• Inadequate resources
• Poor financial health
• Inefficient processes
• Skill gaps within the team

External Factors

External factors are elements outside the organization's control that have an impact on its operations, market position, and success. These factors arise from the industry climate and the broader business environment. You typically have no control over external factors, but you can respond to them.

In a SWOT analysis, opportunities and threats are categorized as external factors. Let’s look at a few examples.

• Emerging markets
• Changing consumer trends
• Technological advancements
• Positive shifts in regulations
• New gaps in the market you could fill
• Intense competition
• Economic downturns
• Disruptive technologies
• Changing regulations
• Negative shifts in consumer behavior

Remember, a well-rounded SWOT analysis empowers you to capitalize on strengths, address weaknesses, seize opportunities, and navigate threats — all while making informed decisions for the future.

Now, let’s take a look at how you can write a good SWOT analysis for yourself or for stakeholders.

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

There are several steps you’ll want to take when evaluating your business and conducting a strategic SWOT analysis.

1. Download HubSpot's SWOT Analysis Template.

There’s no need to start from scratch for your analysis. Instead, start by downloading a free, editable template from HubSpot. Feel free to use the model yourself, or create your own as it suits your needs.

3. Identify your objective.

Before you start writing things down, you’ll need to figure out what you’re evaluating with your SWOT analysis.

Be specific about what you want to analyze. Otherwise, your SWOT analysis may end up being too broad, and you’ll get analysis paralysis as you are making your evaluations.

If you’re creating a new social media program, you’ll want to conduct an analysis to inform your content creation strategy. If you’re launching a new product, you’ll want to understand its potential positioning in the space. If you’re considering a brand redesign, you’ll want to consider existing and future brand conceptions.

All of these are examples of good reasons to conduct a SWOT analysis. By identifying your objective, you’ll be able to tailor your evaluation to get more actionable insights.

4. Identify your strengths.

“Strengths” refers to what you are currently doing well. Think about the factors that are going in your favor as well as the things you offer that your competitors just can’t beat.

For example, let’s say you want to use a SWOT analysis to evaluate your new social media strategy.

If you’re looking at a new social media program, perhaps you want to evaluate how your brand is perceived by the public. Is it easily recognizable and well-known? Even if it’s not popular with a widespread group, is it well-received by a specific audience?

Next, think about your process: Is it effective or innovative? Is there good communication between marketing and sales?

Finally, evaluate your social media message, and in particular, how it differs from the rest of the industry. I’m willing to bet you can make a lengthy list of some major strengths of your social media strategy over your competitors, so try to dive into your strengths from there.

5. Identify your weaknesses.

In contrast to your strengths, what are the roadblocks hindering you from reaching your goals? What do your competitors offer that continues to be a thorn in your side?

This section isn’t about dwelling on negative aspects. Rather, it’s critical to foresee any potential obstacles that could mitigate your success.

When identifying weaknesses, consider what areas of your business are the least profitable, where you lack certain resources, or what costs you the most time and money. Take input from employees in different departments, as they’ll likely see weaknesses you hadn’t considered.

If you’re examining a new social media strategy, you might start by asking yourself these questions: First, if I were a consumer, what would prevent me from buying this product, or engaging with this business? What would make me click away from the screen?

Second, what do I foresee as the biggest hindrance to my employees’ productivity, or their ability to get the job done efficiently? What derails their social media efforts?

6. Consider your opportunities.

This is your chance to dream big. What are some opportunities for your social media strategy you hope, but don’t necessarily expect, to reach?

For instance, maybe you’re hoping your Facebook ads will attract a new, larger demographic. Maybe you’re hoping your YouTube video gets 10,000 views and increases sales by 10%.

Whatever the case, it’s important to include potential opportunities in your SWOT analysis. Ask yourself these questions:

• What technologies do I want my business to use to make it more effective?
• What new target audience do I want to reach?
• How can the business stand out more in the current industry?
• Is there something our customers complain about that we could fix?

The opportunities category goes hand-in-hand with the weaknesses category. Once you’ve made a list of weaknesses, it should be easy to create a list of potential opportunities that could arise if you eliminate your weaknesses.

7. Contemplate your threats.

It’s likely, especially if you’re prone to worry, you already have a good list of threats in your head.

If not, gather your employees and brainstorm. Start with these questions:

• What obstacles might prevent us from reaching our goals?
• What’s going on in the industry, or with our competitors, that might mitigate our success?
• Is there new technology out there that could conflict with our product?

Writing down your threats helps you evaluate them objectively.

For instance, maybe you list your threats in terms of least and most likely to occur and divide and conquer each. If one of your biggest threats is your competitor’s popular Instagram account, you could work with your marketing department to create content that showcases your product’s unique features.

SWOT Analysis Chart

Download a free SWOT analysis chart included in HubSpot’s free market research kit .

A SWOT analysis doesn’t have to be fancy. Our SWOT analysis chart provides a clear and structured framework for capturing and organizing your internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. It's the perfect visual aid to make sense of the wealth of information gathered during your analysis.

(Plus, you can always customize and paste it into a document you plan to share with stakeholders.)

But remember: Filling out the SWOT chart is just one step in the process. Combine it with our entire market research kit , and you'll have all the tools necessary to help your organization navigate new opportunities and threats.

SWOT Analysis Examples

The template above helps get you started on your own SWOT analysis.

But, if you’re anything like me, it’s not enough to see a template. To fully understand a concept, you need to see how it plays out in the real world.

These SWOT examples are not exhaustive. However, they are a great starting point to inspire you as you do your own SWOT analysis.

Apple’s SWOT analysis

Here’s how we’d conduct a SWOT analysis on Apple.

First off, strengths. While Apple has many strengths, let’s identify the top three:

• Brand recognition.
• Innovative products.
• Ease of use.

Apple’s brand is undeniably strong, and its business is considered the most valuable in the world . Since it’s easily recognized, Apple can produce new products and almost ensure a certain degree of success by virtue of the brand name itself.

Apple’s highly innovative products are often at the forefront of the industry. One thing that sets Apple apart from the competition is its product inter-connectivity.

For instance, an Apple user can easily sync their iPhone and iPad together. They can access all of their photos, contacts, apps, and more no matter which device they are using.

Lastly, customers enjoy how easy it is to use Apple’s products. With a sleek and simple design, each product is developed so that most people can quickly learn how to use them.

Next, let’s look at three of Apple’s weaknesses.

• High prices
• Closed ecosystem
• Lack of experimentation

While the high prices don’t deter Apple’s middle- and upper-class customer base, they do hinder Apple’s ability to reach a lower-class demographic.

Apple also suffers from its own exclusivity. Apple controls all its services and products in-house, and while many customers become loyal brand advocates for this reason, it means all burdens fall on Apple employees.

Ultimately, Apple’s tight control over who distributes its products limits its market reach.

Lastly, Apple is held to a high standard when it comes to creating and distributing products. Apple’s brand carries a high level of prestige. That level of recognition inhibits Apple from taking risks and experimenting freely with new products that could fail.

Now, let’s take a look at opportunities for Apple.

It’s easy to recognize opportunities for improvement, once you consider Apple’s weaknesses. Here’s a list of three we came up with:

• Expand distribution options.
• Create new product lines.
• Technological advancement.

One of Apple’s biggest weaknesses is its distribution network, which, in the name of exclusivity, remains relatively small. If Apple expanded its network and enabled third-party businesses to sell its products, it could reach more people globally, while alleviating some of the stress currently put on in-house employees.

There are also plenty of opportunities for Apple to create new products. Apple could consider creating more affordable products to reach a larger demographic, or spreading out into new industries — Apple self-driving cars, perhaps?

Finally, Apple could continue advancing its products’ technology. Apple can take existing products and refine them, ensuring each product offers as many unique features as possible.

Finally, let’s look at threats to Apple.

Believe it or not, they do exist.

Here are three of Apple’s biggest threats:

• Tough competition.
• International issues.

Apple isn’t the only innovative tech company out there, and it continues to face tough competition from Samsung, Google, and other major forces. In fact, Samsung sold more smartphones than Apple did in Q1 of 2022 , shipping 17 million more units than Apple and holding 24% of the market share.

Many of Apple’s weaknesses hinder Apple’s ability to compete with the tech corporations that have more freedom to experiment, or that don’t operate in a closed ecosystem.

A second threat to Apple is lawsuits. Apple has faced plenty of lawsuits, particularly between Apple and Samsung . These lawsuits interfere with Apple’s reputable image and could steer some customers to purchase elsewhere.

Finally, Apple needs to improve its reach internationally. The company isn’t number one in China and doesn’t have a very positive relationship with the Chinese government. In India, which has one of the largest consumer markets in the world, Apple’s market share is low , and the company has trouble bringing stores to India’s market.

If Apple can’t compete globally the way Samsung or Google can, it risks falling behind in the industry.

Starbucks SWOT Analysis

Now that we’ve explored the nuances involved with a SWOT analysis, let’s fill out a SWOT template using Starbucks as an example.

Here’s how we’d fill out a SWOT template if we were Starbucks:

Download this Template for Free

Restaurant Small Business SWOT Analysis

Some small business marketers may have difficulty relating to the SWOTs of big brands like Apple and Starbucks. Here’s an example of how a dine-in Thai restaurant might visualize each element.

Small restaurants can lean into their culinary expertise and service skills to find opportunities for growth and brand awareness. A SWOT analysis can also help identify weaknesses that can be improved, such as menu variation and pricing.

While a restaurant might not be as worried about high-level lawsuits, a small business might be more concerned about competitors or disruptors that might enter the playing field.

Local Boutique SWOT Analysis

In another small business example, let’s take a look at a SWOT analysis for a local boutique.

This shop might be well known in its neighborhood, but it also might take time to build an online presence or get its products in an online store.

Because of this, some of its strengths and opportunities might relate to physical factors while weaknesses and threats might relate to online situations.

How to Act on a SWOT Analysis

After conducting a SWOT analysis, you may be asking yourself: What’s next?

Putting together a SWOT analysis is only one step. Executing the findings identified by the analysis is just as important — if not more.

Put your insights into action using the following steps.

Take advantage of your strengths.

Use your strengths to pursue opportunities from your analysis.

For example, if we look at the local boutique example above, the strength of having affordable prices can be a value proposition. You can emphasize your affordable prices on social media or launch an online store.

Address your weaknesses.

Back to the boutique example, one of its weaknesses is having a poor social media presence. To mitigate this, the boutique could hire a social media consultant to improve its strategy. They may even tap into the expertise of a social-savvy employee.

Make note of the threats.

Threats are often external factors that can’t be controlled, so it’s best to monitor the threats outlined in your SWOT analysis to be aware of their impacts on your business.

When to Use a SWOT Analysis

While the examples above focus on business strategy in general, you can also use a SWOT analysis to evaluate and predict how a singular product will play out in the market.

Ultimately, a SWOT analysis can measure and tackle both big and small challenges, from deciding whether or not to launch a new product to refining your social media strategy.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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SWOT Analysis

Understanding your business, informing your strategy.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Key Takeaways:

SWOT stands for S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats.

A "SWOT analysis" involves carefully assessing these four factors in order to make clear and effective plans.

A SWOT analysis can help you to challenge risky assumptions, uncover dangerous blindspots, and reveal important new insights.

The SWOT analysis process is most effective when done collaboratively.

What Is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and so a SWOT analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects of your business.

SWOT Analysis is a tool that can help you to analyze what your company does best now, and to devise a successful strategy for the future. SWOT can also uncover areas of the business that are holding you back, or that your competitors could exploit if you don't protect yourself.

A SWOT analysis examines both internal and external factors – that is, what's going on inside and outside your organization. So some of these factors will be within your control and some will not. In either case, the wisest action you can take in response will become clearer once you've discovered, recorded and analyzed as many factors as you can.

In this article, video and infographic, we explore how to carry out a SWOT analysis, and how to put your findings into action. We also include a worked example and a template to help you get started on a SWOT analysis in your own workplace.

Why Is SWOT Analysis Important?

SWOT analysis can help you to challenge risky assumptions and to uncover dangerous blindspots about your organization's performance. If you use it carefully and collaboratively, it can deliver new insights on where your business currently is, and help you to develop exactly the right strategy for any situation.

For example, you may be well aware of some of your organization's strengths, but until you record them alongside weaknesses and threats you might not realize how unreliable those strengths actually are.

Equally, you likely have reasonable concerns about some of your business weaknesses but, by going through the analysis systematically, you could find an opportunity, previously overlooked, that could more than compensate.

How to Write a SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis involves making lists – but so much more, too! When you begin to write one list (say, Strengths), the thought process and research that you'll go through will prompt ideas for the other lists (Weaknesses, Opportunities or Threats). And if you compare these lists side by side, you will likely notice connections and contradictions, which you'll want to highlight and explore.

You'll find yourself moving back and forth between your lists frequently. So, make the task easier and more effective by arranging your four lists together in one view.

A SWOT matrix is a 2x2 grid, with one square for each of the four aspects of SWOT. (Figure 1 shows what it should look like.) Each section is headed by some questions to get your thinking started.

Figure 1. A SWOT Analysis Matrix.

Swot analysis template.

When conducting your SWOT analysis, you can either draw your own matrix, or use our free downloadable template .

How to Do a SWOT Analysis

Avoid relying on your own, partial understanding of your organization. Your assumptions could be wrong. Instead, gather a team of people from a range of functions and levels to build a broad and insightful list of observations.

Then, every time you identify a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, or Threat, write it down in the relevant part of the SWOT analysis grid for all to see.

Let's look at each area in more detail and consider what fits where, and what questions you could ask as part of your data gathering.

Strengths are things that your organization does particularly well, or in a way that distinguishes you from your competitors. Think about the advantages your organization has over other organizations. These might be the motivation of your staff, access to certain materials, or a strong set of manufacturing processes.

Your strengths are an integral part of your organization, so think about what makes it "tick." What do you do better than anyone else? What values drive your business? What unique or lowest-cost resources can you draw upon that others can't? Identify and analyze your organization's Unique Selling Proposition (USP), and add this to the Strengths section.

Then turn your perspective around and ask yourself what your competitors might see as your strengths. What factors mean that you get the sale ahead of them?

Remember, any aspect of your organization is only a strength if it brings you a clear advantage. For example, if all of your competitors provide high-quality products, then a high-quality production process is not a strength in your market: it's a necessity.

Weaknesses, like strengths, are inherent features of your organization, so focus on your people, resources, systems, and procedures. Think about what you could improve, and the sorts of practices you should avoid.

Once again, imagine (or find out) how other people in your market see you. Do they notice weaknesses that you tend to be blind to? Take time to examine how and why your competitors are doing better than you. What are you lacking?

Be honest! A SWOT analysis will only be valuable if you gather all the information you need. So, it's best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.

Opportunities

Opportunities are openings or chances for something positive to happen, but you'll need to claim them for yourself!

They usually arise from situations outside your organization, and require an eye to what might happen in the future. They might arise as developments in the market you serve, or in the technology you use. Being able to spot and exploit opportunities can make a huge difference to your organization's ability to compete and take the lead in your market.

Think about good opportunities that you can exploit immediately. These don't need to be game-changers: even small advantages can increase your organization's competitiveness. What interesting market trends are you aware of, large or small, which could have an impact?

You should also watch out for changes in government policy related to your field. And changes in social patterns, population profiles, and lifestyles can all throw up interesting opportunities.

Threats include anything that can negatively affect your business from the outside, such as supply-chain problems, shifts in market requirements, or a shortage of recruits. It's vital to anticipate threats and to take action against them before you become a victim of them and your growth stalls.

Think about the obstacles you face in getting your product to market and selling. You may notice that quality standards or specifications for your products are changing, and that you'll need to change those products if you're to stay in the lead. Evolving technology is an ever-present threat, as well as an opportunity!

Always consider what your competitors are doing, and whether you should be changing your organization's emphasis to meet the challenge. But remember that what they're doing might not be the right thing for you to do. So, avoid copying them without knowing how it will improve your position.

Be sure to explore whether your organization is especially exposed to external challenges. Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems, for example, that could make you vulnerable to even small changes in your market? This is the kind of threat that can seriously damage your business, so be alert.

Use PEST Analysis to ensure that you don't overlook threatening external factors. And PMESII-PT is an especially helpful check in very unfamiliar or uncertain environments.

A SWOT Analysis Example

Imagine this scenario: a small start-up consultancy wants a clear picture of its current situation, to decide on a future strategy for growth. The team gathers, and draws up the SWOT Analysis shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. A Completed SWOT Analysis.

As a result of the team's analysis, it's clear that the consultancy's main strengths lie in its agility, technical expertise, and low overheads. These allow it to offer excellent customer service to a relatively small client base.

The company's weaknesses are also to do with its size. It will need to invest in training, to improve the skills base of the small staff. It'll also need to focus on retention, so it doesn't lose key team members.

There are opportunities in offering rapid-response, good-value services to local businesses and to local government organizations. The company can likely be first to market with new products and services, given that its competitors are slow adopters.

The threats require the consultancy to keep up-to-date with changes in technology. It also needs to keep a close eye on its largest competitors, given its vulnerability to large-scale changes in its market. To counteract this, the business needs to focus its marketing on selected industry websites, to get the greatest possible market presence on a small advertising budget.

Frequently Asked Questions About SWOT Analysis

1. who invented swot analysis.

Many people attribute SWOT Analysis to Albert S. Humphrey. However, there has been some debate on the originator of the tool, as discussed in the International Journal of Business Research .

2. What Does SWOT Analysis Stand For?

SWOT Analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

3. What Can a SWOT Analysis Be Used For?

SWOT analysis is a useful tool to help you determine your organization's position in the market. You can then use this information to create an informed strategy suited to your needs and capabilities.

4. How Do I Write a SWOT Analysis?

To conduct a SWOT analysis, you first need to create a 2x2 matrix grid. Each square is then assigned to one of the four aspects of SWOT. You can either draw this grid yourself or use our downloadable template to get started.

5. How Do SWOT Analysis and the TOWS Matrix compare?

While SWOT analysis puts the emphasis on the internal environment (your strengths and weaknesses), TOWS forces you to look at your external environment first (your threats and opportunities). In most cases, you'll do a SWOT Analysis first, and follow up with a TOWS Matrix to offer a broader context.

6. What Are the Biggest SWOT Analysis Mistakes?

• Making your lists too long. Ask yourself if your ideas are feasible as you go along.
• Being vague. Be specific to provide more focus for later discussions.
• Not seeing weaknesses. Be sure to ask customers and colleagues what they experience in real life.
• Not thinking ahead. It's easy to come up with nice ideas without taking them through to their logical conclusion. Always consider their practical impact.
• Being unrealistic. Don't plan in detail for opportunities that don't exist yet. For example, that export market you've been eyeing may be available at some point, but the trade negotiations to open it up could take years.
• Relying on SWOT Analysis alone. SWOT Analysis is valuable. But when you use it alongside other planning tools (SOAR, TOWS or PEST), the results will be more vigorous.

How to Use a SWOT Analysis

Use a SWOT Analysis to assess your organization's current position before you decide on any new strategy. Find out what's working well, and what's not so good. Ask yourself where you want to go, how you might get there – and what might get in your way.

Once you've examined all four aspects of SWOT, you'll want to build on your strengths, boost your weaker areas, head off any threats, and exploit every opportunity. In fact, you'll likely be faced with a long list of potential actions.

But before you go ahead, be sure to develop your ideas further. Look for potential connections between the quadrants of your matrix. For example, could you use some of your strengths to open up further opportunities? And, would even more opportunities become available by eliminating some of your weaknesses?

Finally, it's time to ruthlessly prune and prioritize your ideas, so that you can focus time and money on the most significant and impactful ones. Refine each point to make your comparisons clearer. For example, only accept precise, verifiable statements such as, "Cost advantage of $30/ton in sourcing raw material x," rather than, "Better value for money."

Remember to apply your learnings at the right level in your organization. For example, at a product or product-line level, rather than at the much vaguer whole-company level. And use your SWOT analysis alongside other strategy tools (for example, Core Competencies Analysis ), so that you get a comprehensive picture of the situation you're dealing with.

SWOT Analysis Tips

Here are four tips for getting more out of a SWOT analysis:

• Be specific. The more focused and accurate you are about the points you write down, the more useful your SWOT analysis will be.
• Work backwards. Experiment with filling in the four sections of your SWOT analysis in a different order, to stimulate new ways of thinking. Working backwards, in particular, from threats to strengths, may cast new light on the situation.
• Get together. Highlight the most useful people to contribute to your SWOT analysis, then gather information and ideas from them all.
• SWOT your competition ! To stay ahead of your competitors, carry out a regular SWOT analysis on them . Use everything you know about them to evaluate their situation, and use SWOT analysis to plan your competitive strategies accordingly.

It's also possible to carry out a Personal SWOT Analysis . This can be useful for developing your career in ways that take best advantage of your talents, abilities and opportunities.

SWOT Analysis Infographic

See SWOT Analysis represented in our infographic :

SWOT Analysis helps you to identify your organization's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

It guides you to build on what you do well, address what you're lacking, seize new openings, and minimize risks.

Apply a SWOT Analysis to assess your organization's position before you decide on any new strategy.

Use a SWOT matrix to prompt your research and to record your ideas. Avoid making huge lists of suggestions. Be as specific as you can, and be honest about your weaknesses.

Be realistic and rigorous. Prune and prioritize your ideas, to focus time and money on the most significant and impactful actions and solutions. Complement your use of SWOT with other tools.

Collaborate with a team of people from across the business. This will help to uncover a more accurate and honest picture.

Find out what's working well, and what's not so good. Ask yourself where you want to go, how you might get there – and what might get in your way.

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Personal swot analysis.

How to carry out a personal SWOT Analysis and apply the findings to your career and life

Seeing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

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SWOT is useless. When you try it and you find Weaknesses box bulging, but Strengths & Opportunities completely empty, what can that possibly achieve?

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SWOT analysis: Examples and templates

A SWOT analysis helps you identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a specific project or your overall business plan. It’s used for strategic planning and to stay ahead of market trends. Below, we describe each part of the SWOT framework and show you how to conduct your own.

Whether you’re looking for external opportunities or internal strengths, we’ll walk you through how to perform your own SWOT analysis, with helpful examples along the way. 

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a technique used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your business or even a specific project. It’s most widely used by organizations—from small businesses and non-profits to large enterprises—but a SWOT analysis can be used for personal purposes as well. 

While simple, a SWOT analysis is a powerful tool for helping you identify competitive opportunities for improvement. It helps you improve your team and business while staying ahead of market trends.

What does SWOT stand for?

SWOT is an acronym that stands for: 

Opportunities

When analyzed together, the SWOT framework can paint a larger picture of where you are and how to get to the next step. Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these terms and how they can help identify areas of improvement. 

Strengths in SWOT refer to internal initiatives that are performing well. Examining these areas helps you understand what’s already working. You can then use the techniques that you know work—your strengths—in other areas that might need additional support, like improving your team’s efficiency . 

When looking into the strengths of your organization, ask yourself the following questions:

What do we do well? Or, even better: What do we do best?

What’s unique about our organization?

What does our target audience like about our organization?

Which categories or features beat out our competitors?

 Example SWOT strength:

Customer service: Our world-class customer service has an NPS score of 90 as compared to our competitors, who average an NPS score of 70.

Weaknesses in SWOT refer to internal initiatives that are underperforming. It’s a good idea to analyze your strengths before your weaknesses in order to create a baseline for success and failure. Identifying internal weaknesses provides a starting point for improving those projects.

Identify the company’s weaknesses by asking:

Which initiatives are underperforming and why?

What can be improved?

What resources could improve our performance?

How do we rank against our competitors?

Example SWOT weakness:

E-commerce visibility: Our website visibility is low because of a lack of marketing budget , leading to a decrease in mobile app transactions.

Opportunities in SWOT result from your existing strengths and weaknesses, along with any external initiatives that will put you in a stronger competitive position. These could be anything from weaknesses that you’d like to improve or areas that weren’t identified in the first two phases of your analysis. 

Since there are multiple ways to come up with opportunities, it’s helpful to consider these questions before getting started:

What resources can we use to improve weaknesses?

Are there market gaps in our services?

What are our business goals for the year?

What do your competitors offer?

Example SWOT opportunities:

Marketing campaign: To improve brand visibility, we’ll run ad campaigns on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Threats in SWOT are areas with the potential to cause problems. Different from weaknesses, threats are external and ‌out of your control. This can include anything from a global pandemic to a change in the competitive landscape. 

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to identify external threats:

What changes in the industry are cause for concern?

What new market trends are on the horizon?

Where are our competitors outperforming us?

Example SWOT threats:

New competitor: With a new e-commerce competitor set to launch within the next month, we could see a decline in customers.

SWOT analysis example

One of the most popular ways to create a SWOT analysis is through a SWOT matrix—a visual representation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The matrix comprises four separate squares that create one larger square. 

A SWOT matrix is great for collecting information and documenting the questions and decision-making process . Not only will it be handy to reference later on, but it’s also great for visualizing any patterns that arise. 

Check out the SWOT matrix below for a simple example. As you can see, each of the quadrants lists out the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

When used correctly and effectively, your matrix can be a great toolkit for evaluating your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. 

How to do a SWOT analysis, with examples 

A SWOT analysis can be conducted in a variety of ways. Some teams like to meet and throw ideas on a whiteboard, while others prefer the structure of a SWOT matrix. However you choose to make your SWOT analysis, getting creative with your planning process allows new ideas to flow and results in more unique solutions. 

There are a few ways to ensure that your SWOT analysis is thorough and done correctly. Let’s take a closer look at some tips to help you get started.

Tip 1: Consider internal factors 

Often, strengths and weaknesses stem from internal processes. These tend to be easier to solve since you have more control over the outcome. When you come across internal factors, you can start implementing improvements in a couple of different ways.

Meet with department stakeholders to form a business plan around how to improve your current situation.

Research and implement new tools, such as a project management tool , that can help streamline these processes for you. 

Take immediate action on anything that can be changed in 24 hours or less. If you don’t have the capacity, consider delegating these items to others with deadlines. 

The way you go about solving internal factors will depend on the type of problem. If it’s more complex, you might need to use a combination of the above or a more thorough problem management process.

Tip 2: Evaluate external factors

External factors stem from processes outside of your control. This includes competitors, market trends, and anything else that’s affecting your organization from the outside in. 

External factors are trickier to solve, as you can’t directly control the outcome. What you can do is pivot your own processes in a way that mitigates negative external factors. 

You can work to solve these issues by:

Competing with market trends

Forecasting market trends before they happen

Improving adaptability to improve your reaction time

Track competitors using reporting tools that automatically update you as soon as changes occur 

While you won’t be able to control an external environment, you can control how your organization reacts to it. 

Let’s say, for instance, that you’re looking to compete with a market trend. For example, a competitor introduced a new product to the market that’s outperforming your own. While you can’t take that product away, you can work to launch an even better product or marketing campaign to mitigate any decline in sales. 

Tip 3: Hold a brainstorming session

Brainstorming new and innovative ideas can help to spur creativity and inspire action. To host a high impact brainstorming session, you’ll want to: 

Invite team members from various departments. That way, ideas from each part of the company are represented. 

Be intentional about the number of team members you invite, since too many participants could lead to a lack of focus or participation. The sweet spot for a productive brainstorming session is around 10 teammates. 

Use different brainstorming techniques that appeal to different work types.

Set a clear intention for the session.

Tip 4: Get creative

In order to generate creative ideas, you have to first invite them. That means creating fun ways to come up with opportunities. Try randomly selecting anonymous ideas, talking through obviously bad examples, or playing team building games to psych up the team.

Tip 5: Prioritize opportunities

Now, rank the opportunities. This can be done as a team or with a smaller group of leaders. Talk through each idea and rank it on a scale of one through 10. Once you’ve agreed on your top ideas based on team capabilities, competencies, and overall impact, it’s easier to implement them.

Tip 6: Take action

It’s all too easy to feel finished at this stage —but the actual work is just beginning. After your SWOT analysis, you’ll have a list of prioritized opportunities. Now is the time to turn them into strengths. Use a structured system such as a business case , project plan, or implementation plan to outline what needs to get done—and how you plan to do it.

SWOT analysis template

A SWOT analysis template is often presented in a grid format, divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one of the four elements. 

Use this free SWOT analysis template to jump-start your team’s strategic planning.

Identify the strengths that contribute to achieving your objectives. These are internal characteristics that give you an advantage. Some examples could be a strong brand reputation, an innovative culture, or an experienced management team.

Next, focus on weaknesses. These are internal factors that could serve as obstacles to achieving your objectives. Common examples might include a lack of financial resources, high operational costs, or outdated technology. 

Move on to the opportunities. These are external conditions that could be helpful in achieving your goals. For example, you might be looking at emerging markets, increased demand, or favorable shifts in regulations.

Lastly, let's address threats. These are external conditions that could negatively impact your objectives. Examples include increased competition or potential economic downturns.

Why is a SWOT analysis important?

A SWOT analysis can help you improve processes and plan for growth. While similar to a competitive analysis , it differs because it evaluates both internal and external factors. Analyzing key areas around these opportunities and threats will equip you with the insights needed to set your team up for success.

A SWOT analysis isn’t only useful for organizations. With a personal SWOT analysis, you can examine areas of your life that could benefit from improvement, from your leadership style to your communication skills. These are the benefits of using a SWOT analysis in any scenario. 

1. Identifies areas of opportunity

One of the biggest benefits of conducting an analysis is to determine opportunities for growth. It’s a great starting point for startups and teams that know they want to improve but aren’t exactly sure how to get started. 

Opportunities can come from many different avenues, like external factors such as diversifying your products for competitive advantage or internal factors like improving your team’s workflow . Either way, capitalizing on opportunities is an excellent way to grow as a team.

2. Identifies areas that could be improved

Identifying weaknesses and threats during a SWOT analysis can pave the way for a better business strategy.

Ultimately, learning from your mistakes is the best way to excel. Once you find areas to streamline, you can work with team members to brainstorm an action plan . This will let you use what you already know works and build on your company’s strengths.

3. Identifies areas that could be at risk

Whether you have a risk register in place or not, it’s always crucial to identify risks before they become a cause for concern. A SWOT analysis can help you stay on top of actionable items that may play a part in your risk decision-making process. 

It may be beneficial to pair your SWOT analysis with a PEST analysis, which examines external solutions such as political, economic, social, and technological factors—all of which can help you identify and plan for project risks .

When should you use a SWOT analysis?

You won’t always need an in-depth SWOT analysis. It’s most useful for large, general overviews of situations, scenarios, or your business.

A SWOT analysis is most helpful:

Before you implement a large change—including as part of a larger change management plan

When you launch a new company initiative

If you’d like to identify opportunities for growth and improvement

Any time you want a full overview of your business performance

If you need to identify business performance from different perspectives

SWOT analyses are general for a reason—so they can be applied to almost any scenario, project, or business. 

SWOT analysis: Pros and cons

Although SWOT is a useful strategic planning tool for businesses and individuals alike, it does have limitations. Here’s what you can expect.

The simplicity of SWOT analysis makes it a go-to tool for many. Because it is simple, it takes the mystery out of strategic planning and lets people think critically about their situations without feeling overwhelmed. 

For instance, a small bakery looking to expand its operations can use SWOT analysis to easily understand its current standing. Identifying strengths like a loyal customer base, weaknesses such as limited seating space, opportunities like a rising trend in artisanal baked goods, and threats from larger chain bakeries nearby can all be accomplished without any specialized knowledge or technical expertise.

Versatility

Its versatile nature allows SWOT analysis to be used across various domains. Whether it’s a business strategizing for the future or an individual planning their career path, SWOT analysis lends itself well. 

For example, a tech start-up in the competitive Silicon Valley landscape could employ SWOT to navigate its pathway to profitability. Strengths might include a highly skilled development team; weaknesses could be a lack of brand recognition; opportunities might lie in emerging markets; and threats could include established tech giants. 

Meaningful analysis

SWOT excels in identifying external factors that could impact performance. It nudges organizations to look beyond the present and anticipate potential future scenarios. 

A retail company, for example, could use SWOT analysis to identify opportunities in e-commerce and threats from changing consumer behavior or new competitors entering the market. By doing so, the company can strategize on how to leverage online platforms to boost sales and counteract threats by enhancing the customer experience or adopting new technologies.

Subjectivity and bias

The subjective nature of SWOT analysis may lead to biases. It relies heavily on individual perceptions, which can sometimes overlook crucial data or misinterpret information, leading to skewed conclusions. 

For example, a manufacturing company might undervalue the threat of new entrants in the market due to an overconfidence bias among the management. This subjectivity might lead to a lack of preparation for competitive pricing strategies, ultimately affecting the company's market share.

Lack of prioritization

SWOT analysis lays out issues but falls short on prioritizing them. Organizations might struggle to identify which elements deserve immediate attention and resources. 

For instance, a healthcare provider identifying numerous opportunities for expansion into new services may become overwhelmed with the choices. Without a clear way to rank these opportunities, resources could be spread too thinly or given to projects that do not have as much of an impact, leading to less-than-ideal outcomes.

Static analysis

Since SWOT analysis captures a snapshot at a particular moment, it may miss the evolving nature of challenges and opportunities, possibly leading to outdated strategies. An example could be a traditional retail business that performs a SWOT analysis and decides to focus on expanding physical stores, overlooking the growing trend of e-commerce. As online shopping continues to evolve and gain popularity, the static analysis might lead to investment in areas with diminishing returns while missing out on the booming e-commerce market trend.

SWOT analysis FAQ

What are the five elements of swot analysis.

Traditionally, SWOT stands for its four main elements: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. However, a fifth essential element often overlooked is "actionable strategies." Originally developed by Albert Humphrey, SWOT is more than just a list—it's a planning tool designed to generate actionable strategies for making informed business decisions. This fifth element serves to tie the other four together, enabling departments like human resources and marketing to turn analysis into actionable plans.

What should a SWOT analysis include?

A comprehensive SWOT analysis should focus on the internal and external factors that affect your organization. Internally, consider your strong brand and product line as your strengths, and maybe your supply chain weaknesses. Externally, you'll want to look at market share, partnerships, and new technologies that could either pose opportunities or threats. You should also account for demographics, as it helps in market targeting and segmentation.

How do you write a good SWOT analysis?

Writing an effective SWOT analysis begins with research. Start by identifying your strengths, like a strong brand, and your weaknesses, like a small human resources department. Following that, look outward to find opportunities, possibly in technological advancement, and threats, like fluctuations in market share. Many businesses find it helpful to use a free SWOT analysis template to structure this information. A good SWOT analysis doesn't just list these elements; it integrates them to provide a clear roadmap for making business decisions.

What are four examples of threats in SWOT analysis?

New technologies: Rapid technological advancement can make your product or service obsolete.

Supply chain disruptions: Whether due to natural disasters or geopolitical tensions, an unstable supply chain can seriously jeopardize your operations.

Emerging competitors: New players entering the market can erode your market share and offer alternative solutions to your customer base.

Regulatory changes: New laws or regulations can add costs and complexity to your business, affecting your competitiveness.

How do you use a SWOT analysis?

Once you've completed a SWOT analysis, use the results as a decision-making aid. It can help prioritize actions, develop strategic plans that play to your strengths, improve weaknesses, seize opportunities, and counteract threats. It’s a useful tool for setting objectives and creating a roadmap for achieving them.

Plan for growth with a SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis can be an effective technique for identifying key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Understanding where you are now can be the most impactful way to determine where you want to go next. 

Don’t forget, a bit of creativity and collaboration can go a long way. Encourage your team to think outside of the box with 100+ team motivational quotes .

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How to Write a SWOT Analysis for a Business Plan

• March 21, 2024
• Business Plan , How to Write

Navigating the complexities of business requires a clear understanding of your strategic position, and a SWOT analysis is an essential tool to help you achieve this clarity. It’s a straightforward method that breaks down into Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, providing a snapshot of where your business stands and guiding your future strategic moves.

With this guide, you’ll learn how to leverage your advantages, address challenges, seize new opportunities, and guard against potential threats. Let’s dive into the process together and set a strong foundation for your business’s strategic planning. Let’s dive in!

What is a SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify and understand the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning. This method helps organizations in assessing both internal and external factors that could impact their objectives.

• Strengths : Positive attributes internal to the organization and within its control. Strengths are resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage.
• Weaknesses : Factors that are within an organization’s control but detract from its ability to attain the desired goal. These are areas the business needs to improve to remain competitive.
• Opportunities : External chances to improve performance in the environment. Opportunities reflect the potential you can leverage to grow your business or project.
• Threats : External challenges to the business’s performance or project’s success. Threats might stem from various sources, such as economic downturns, increased competition, or changes in regulatory landscapes.

Why Use a SWOT Analysis?

We use a SWOT analysis for several important reasons in business and strategic planning:

• Strategic Overview : It provides a concise and comprehensive overview of the current strategic position of the business or project. By examining internal and external factors, stakeholders can get a clear picture of their situation.
• Decision Making : SWOT analysis aids in decision-making by highlighting the strengths to leverage, weaknesses to address, opportunities to pursue, and threats to mitigate. It helps in prioritizing actions based on the analysis.
• Opportunity Identification : SWOT analysis is instrumental in identifying new opportunities for growth and expansion. Opportunities might come from market trends , economic shifts, or changes in technology.
• Risk Management : By identifying threats, organizations can develop strategies to address or mitigate these risks before they become significant issues. It’s a proactive approach to managing potential external challenges.
• Resource Allocation : Understanding the organization’s strengths and weaknesses helps in the effective allocation of resources. Resources can be directed to areas where they are needed most or where they will have the highest impact.
• Competitive Advantage : It helps businesses identify unique features and capabilities that give them a competitive edge in the market. Recognizing these strengths can guide marketing strategies and business development.

How to Write a SWOT Analysis

Writing a strength in a SWOT analysis involves identifying and articulating the internal attributes and resources of a business or project that contribute to its success and competitive advantage. Here’s how to effectively write a strength in a SWOT analysis:

• Identify Internal Positive Attributes : Focus on internal factors that are within the control of the business. These can include resources, skills, or other advantages relative to competitors. Consider areas like strong brand reputation, proprietary technology, skilled workforce, financial resources, strategic location, and efficient processes.
• Be Specific and Relevant : General statements like “we have a good team” are less helpful than specific ones like “our team includes industry-recognized experts in X field.” The more precise you are, the more actionable your analysis will be. Ensure that the strengths are directly relevant to achieving the business’s goals and objectives.
• Use Quantifiable Data When Possible : Whenever you can, back up your strengths with quantifiable data. For example, “a customer satisfaction rate of 95%” or “a 20% lower production cost than industry average” provides concrete evidence of your strengths.
• Compare to Competitors : Strengths are often relative to the competition. Identify areas where your business outperforms competitors or fills a gap in the market. This might involve superior product quality, a unique service model, or a more extensive distribution network.

Example: Instead of simply stating “Experienced management team” as a strength, you could write: “Our management team has over 50 years of combined experience in the tech industry, including a track record of successful product launches and market expansions. This depth of experience provides us with strategic insights and operational expertise that have consistently resulted in market share growth and above-industry-average profitability.”

Writing a weakness in a SWOT analysis involves acknowledging and detailing the internal factors that limit or challenge your business or project’s ability to achieve its goals. Here’s a structured approach to effectively articulate weaknesses in a SWOT analysis:

• Identify Internal Limitations : Focus on internal attributes that are within the control of the organization but currently act as disadvantages. Weaknesses might include insufficient resources, lack of expertise, outdated technology, poor location, limited product range, or inefficiencies in processes.
• Be Specific and Honest : It’s important to be honest and specific about your organization’s weaknesses. Vague statements won’t help in addressing these issues. For instance, rather than saying “we need to improve our marketing,” specify “our current marketing strategy does not effectively reach our target demographic of 18-25-year-olds on digital platforms.”
• Use Internal Comparisons and Feedback : Compare your performance, processes, and resources against your own past performance or industry benchmarks. Utilize customer feedback, employee insights, and performance data to identify areas of weakness.
• Keep it Constructive : While it’s crucial to be honest about weaknesses, frame them in a way that focuses on potential for improvement. Consider each weakness as an area for development and growth.

Example: Instead of a broad statement like “Inadequate online presence,” a more effective description would be: “Our business currently lacks a robust online presence, reflected in our outdated website and minimal engagement on key social media platforms. This limits our ability to attract younger demographics who predominantly discover and interact with brands online. Improving our online visibility and engagement could enhance brand awareness and customer acquisition.”

Opportunities

Writing opportunities in a SWOT analysis involves identifying and articulating external factors that your business or project could exploit to its advantage. Opportunities are elements in the environment that, if leveraged effectively, could provide a pathway for growth, improvement, or competitive advantage. Here’s how to systematically approach writing opportunities in your SWOT analysis:

• Spot External Trends : Focus on the trends and changes outside your organization that could be beneficial. These might include technological advancements, shifts in consumer behavior, market gaps, regulatory changes, or economic trends.
• Be Relevant and Actionable : Ensure that the opportunities you identify are relevant to your business and actionable. They should align with your business’s strengths and capabilities, allowing you to take practical steps toward capitalizing on them.
• Use Market Research : Base your identification of opportunities on solid market research. Understand your target market , industry trends, and the competitive landscape to pinpoint where the real opportunities lie.
• Detail Potential Benefits : Clearly articulate how each opportunity could benefit your business. Whether it’s entering a new market, launching a new product line, or adopting new technology, explain the potential impact on your business growth and success.

Example: Rather than vaguely stating “New market segments,” a more strategic description of an opportunity could be: “With increasing consumer interest in sustainable living, there’s a growing market segment for eco-friendly products. Our business’s strong commitment to sustainability and existing lineup of environmentally friendly products positions us well to capture this emerging market. Expanding our product range to include more items that cater to eco-conscious consumers can tap into this trend, potentially opening up new revenue streams and enhancing our brand’s reputation as a leader in sustainability.”

Writing threats in a SWOT analysis involves identifying external challenges that could pose risks to your business or project’s success. These are factors outside your control that have the potential to harm your operations, financial performance, or strategic positioning. Addressing threats effectively in a SWOT analysis requires a focused approach:

• Identify External Challenges : Start by pinpointing the external factors that could negatively impact your business. This can include new competitors entering the market, changes in consumer preferences, technological advancements that render your product less desirable, regulatory changes, or economic downturns.
• Be Precise and Realistic : Clearly define each threat in specific terms, avoiding vague descriptions. Being realistic about the level of risk each threat poses is crucial; not every external challenge is a dire threat, but understanding the potential impact is key for strategic planning.
• Assess the Impact : For each threat identified, evaluate how it could impact your business. Consider the worst-case scenario and more likely outcomes to gauge the potential severity of the threat. This helps in prioritizing which threats need immediate attention and strategic response.
• Use Reliable Sources : Base your identification of threats on solid, reliable information. This might include industry reports, economic forecasts, and news sources that provide insights into market dynamics and external conditions.
• Consider Your Weaknesses : Link potential threats to your identified weaknesses. Understanding how external threats could exploit your vulnerabilities offers valuable insights for fortifying your business against these challenges.

Example: Instead of broadly stating “Economic uncertainty,” a more actionable description of a threat would be: “The looming economic downturn poses a significant threat to discretionary consumer spending. Given our business’s reliance on non-essential luxury products, a reduction in consumer spending could directly impact sales. This economic uncertainty requires us to diversify our product offerings and identify more value-oriented options to maintain customer engagement and spending during tighter economic conditions.”

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Small Business Trends

Swot analysis guide: powerful examples and a free template.

Are you looking for an easy way to gain a better understanding of your business, understand what is driving your success, and plan for the future? A SWOT analysis is a great tool for doing all of this. This SWOT Analysis Guide provides examples, a free template, and helpful information to help you create a comprehensive report on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing your organization. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is a SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis, standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is a strategic tool that assists businesses in comprehending their current position and future planning. This robust framework plays an essential role in strategic planning and analysis for any organization.

For example, a dip in profit margins for a business can be scrutinized using a SWOT analysis. This tool helps identify internal factors, such as inefficient practices or inflated costs, that might be causing this dip. Using the SWOT pillars – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – one can derive strategies to rectify the problem and enhance profit margins.

Through a SWOT analysis, businesses can:

• Identify and assess their strengths and weaknesses : This might include distinct capabilities, resources, or operational inefficiencies within the business.
• Spot external opportunities : Such as emerging markets or untapped customer segments that can offer growth prospects.
• Pinpoint potential threats : For example, regulatory changes or competitive pressures that might pose a challenge in the future.

In essence, this analysis delivers a holistic view of the business’s internal and external landscape, paving the way for informed decision-making and strategy creation.

Particularly for startups, employing a SWOT analysis is a crucial aspect of business planning. It aids in strategizing effectively, ensuring a smooth launch, and setting a clear trajectory for the journey ahead. Employing this strategic tool early on can foster a robust foundation for the business, empowering it to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape with confidence.

A SWOT analysis serves as a cornerstone for strategic planning, enabling businesses to align their goals with internal capabilities and market realities. Strengths and Weaknesses are introspective elements, helping businesses to capitalize on their unique competencies and address internal shortcomings.

Opportunities and Threats, on the other hand, require an outward focus, assessing market trends, competitive landscapes, and external risks.

Understanding these four elements in unison allows businesses to construct a comprehensive strategy that plays to their strengths, mitigates risks, leverages market opportunities, and avoids potential pitfalls.

Be sure to watch SmartDraw’s insightful video, ‘What is SWOT? Definition, Examples and How to Do a SWOT Analysis.’ It’s a great addition to our comprehensive SWOT Analysis Guide, reinforcing key concepts and showcasing practical examples. This video enhances your understanding and makes the whole process of performing a SWOT analysis more digestible and engaging.

What is the Goal of a SWOT Analysis?

The primary goal of a SWOT analysis is to leverage strengths and opportunities while addressing weaknesses and mitigating threats.

By understanding the internal and external factors that impact the business, organizations can make informed decisions about allocating resources, pursuing growth opportunities, and minimizing risks.

It provides a structured approach to strategic planning and helps businesses align their actions with their goals and aspirations, ultimately increasing their chances of success in the marketplace.

Pros of SWOT Analysis

A SWOT Analysis offers invaluable insight for those making decisions at all levels of the organization, from upper management to individual teams. Here are five key pros of using this powerful tool:

• Identify Strengths and Weaknesses. A SWOT Analysis can help identify an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. This information can help businesses make smarter decisions about how they utilize their resources and plan for the future.
• Information is Quickly Obtained: A SWOT matrix is designed to be easily skimmed. This facet allows stakeholders and decision-makers to quickly grasp the internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the external opportunities and threats faced by the business. This visual representation aids in identifying strategic priorities, facilitating discussions, and guiding the formulation of effective strategies based on the insights derived from the analysis.
• Focus on Goals. By analyzing factors that could have an impact on achieving a specific goal, businesses are better able to focus their efforts more strategically. This helps ensure that actions are taken in a way that could maximize positive outcomes while minimizing potential risks or drawbacks.
• See the Big Picture. Having an overall view of what is happening within a business allows those making decisions to take into account more than just immediate consequences but also the long-term effects of certain choices further down the line.
• Improve Communication and Collaboration. Conducting a SWOT Analysis encourages collaboration between different teams, departments, or individuals within an organization. Doing so helps ensure everyone involved is aligned for collective success by creating a shared understanding of all factors impacting decision-making processes.
• Gain Insight and Make Informed Decisions. When all relevant pieces of information are taken into consideration, organizations gain valuable insight which can help guide conversations around strategy development, budgeting priorities, and more leading to better-informed business decisions.

Cons of SWOT Analysis

Although a SWOT Analysis is a useful tool, there can be certain drawbacks that should be considered when utilizing this framework. Here are three potential cons of the SWOT Analysis:

• Time Consumption. Conducting a thorough and accurate SWOT Analysis requires significant time. It can be a lengthy process to collect, analyze, and synthesize all relevant data into actionable insights.
• Potential for Bias. As with any analysis or assessment, there can be potential bias as to what is included in the process. This could lead to incomplete results or faulty conclusions if too much emphasis is placed on one particular aspect of the analysis over others.
• Limited Usefulness Over Time. The facts and data used for most SWOT Analyses will change over time, thus making them less effective in predicting future outcomes with certainty. To be successful with SWOT Analyses, they must be regularly updated as new developments unfold in order to remain applicable and accurate.

Breaking Down a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)

Writing a good SWOT analysis is crucial for small businesses looking to expand quickly and maintain a competitive edge over emerging competitors. It serves as a strategic planning tool that enables businesses to assess their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

Conducting a SWOT analysis is about analyzing every aspect of a company and developing potential strategies accordingly.

First, we’ll go through each of the components of a SWOT analysis and what to put down for each section to help you conduct a SWOT analysis. Make sure to research how to do a competitive analysis to get an idea of what your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are.

Your first step is to identify and list these business strengths. Your strengths are internal factors that are positive and within your control.

To help build your list of business strengths, ask yourself the following:

• What internal processes of your company are successful? These could be good supplier relations, an advantage in the market over others, marketing, and online presence, additional services offered/value-adds, etc.
• What assets does your marketing team possess? Examples can be education, skills, knowledge, reputation, networking, and technical expertise.
• What assets does your company have: Assets can be in the form of location, equipment, software tools, unique selling points, robust processes, intellectual property, patents and other factors contributing to your business’s success.
• What competitive advantages does your company have? This refers to unique strengths or capabilities that set your business apart from the competition and give you an edge in the market. It could include factors such as proprietary technology, exclusive partnerships, strong brand reputation, superior customer service, efficient supply chain management, or a highly skilled and experienced team.

This is the tough part of the four quadrants since it’s difficult to confront the strengths and weaknesses of a business objectively. But your main priority here is to identify the company’s weaknesses both internally and externally.

Think of this as the building blocks to help you convert weaknesses into strengths.

This could include external environment factors such as pricing, competition, lowered demand, and more. It can also include internal weaknesses that negatively affect the business, such as a lack of budget, small teams, etc.

Opportunities

Now that you’ve done a deep dive into your business’s strengths and your business’s weaknesses, it’s time to identify potential opportunities. Based on the strengths and weaknesses you’ve laid out, where does your company have the advantage?

Are there markets where you’re performing well that can be further expanded? Do you have a strong marketing strategy that you could ramp up to drive demand? Think of the external factors you’ve identified and where your business might have an opportunity to grow.

Research how to create a one-page marketing plan and other business marketing plan tips to help you further develop your strategies.

The threats part of SWOT analyses can also scare off many. Essentially, the goal here is to look at potential threats that could negatively impact your business. Again, this can include internal issues and external threats that you identify.

Internal threats can include lack of staff, budgetary constraints, and other threats. External threats, as an example, can include markets you are not taking advantage of, negative reviews, strong competitors, and supplier issues.

When breaking down the SWOT analysis, businesses should consider questions like: For strengths, what unique resources do we possess? For weaknesses, what areas need improvement to compete effectively?

Opportunities can be identified by analyzing market trends: What new customer needs can we meet? Lastly, for threats, consider external changes like technological shifts: How can these disrupt our business model?

By methodically examining these elements, a business can develop strategies that leverage their strong points, improve weaknesses, reinforce opportunities, and guard against external threats.

External and Internal Factors

When looking at internal versus external factors, it’s important to differentiate between the two and understand how they could impact your business. Let’s take a look at both below…

Internal Factors

Internal factors are crucial components of your business’s internal environment, encompassing various aspects such as team size, resources, budget, processes, equipment, and other internal elements.

These factors are under the direct control of your business and hold the potential to exert a significant impact on your outcomes. By effectively managing and optimizing these internal factors, you can enhance efficiency, productivity, and overall performance.

It is essential to understand your strengths and weaknesses in these areas to make strategic decisions and strengthen your competitive position.

Human resources play a vital role in internal factors. A skilled and motivated team can contribute to higher productivity levels and increased customer satisfaction. Properly allocating resources and implementing well-defined processes ensures smooth operations and streamlined workflows.

Conversely, challenges such as limited budgets can pose constraints on hiring and training, while outdated equipment may impede efficiency and hinder progress. By assessing and addressing the specific needs of your human resources, you can optimize their potential and drive positive outcomes.

Financials are another critical aspect of internal factors. Managing your budget effectively allows for the proper allocation of resources and investment in growth opportunities.

It enables you to make informed financial decisions, such as allocating funds for research and development, marketing campaigns, or infrastructure improvements.

Monitoring and analyzing your financial data provides insights into cash flow, profitability, and overall financial health, allowing you to identify areas of improvement and make strategic adjustments.

External Factors

External factors, in contrast, refer to elements that are outside of your control and exist in the external environment of your business. These factors can include market size, economic conditions, technological advancements, legal and regulatory changes, and consumer trends.

While you may not have direct control over these factors, it is essential to be aware of their potential impact on your business.

External factors can present opportunities or threats to your business. For example, a growing market or favorable economic conditions can create opportunities for expansion and increased demand for your products or services.

On the other hand, factors such as economic downturns or disruptive technological advancements can pose challenges and require adaptation in order to remain competitive.

By closely monitoring and understanding external factors, you can anticipate changes, adjust your strategies, and take advantage of opportunities while mitigating potential risks.

Home Depot Example

One successful instance of SWOT analysis can be observed in the case of Home Depot. The company conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external factors that posed potential threats to its market position and growth strategy.

Home Depot identified several noteworthy strengths, including high-quality customer service, strong brand recognition, and positive supplier relationships. Conversely, its weaknesses were identified as a constrained supply chain, reliance on the U.S. market, and a business model that could be easily replicated.

Aligned with its weaknesses, Home Depot recognized various threats, such as the presence of close competitors, the availability of substitute products, and the condition of the U.S. market.

Through the SWOT analysis and other assessments, the company concluded that expanding its supply chain and global footprint would be essential for its growth and success.

By addressing its weaknesses and mitigating potential threats, Home Depot aimed to capitalize on its strengths and enhance its competitive position in the market.

How do You do a SWOT Analysis?

The following table breaks down the SWOT analysis that follows into simple steps, making it easy to understand and follow. It serves as a concise, clear guide, making the process less overwhelming and more manageable.

A SWOT analysis provides businesses with an outline of the current state and tangible areas to focus on for improved performance or development. Research how to perform a personal swot analysis if you are conducting a SWOT analysis for yourself. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do a successful business SWOT analysis:

Step 1: Gather Data

The first step in conducting a SWOT Analysis is to gather internal and external data about you or your company. Internal data includes financial statements, customer feedback surveys, and employee reviews, while external data may include industry trends and news reports from around the world.

This data will help identify your strengths and weaknesses as well as potential opportunities and threats in the environment.

Financial Statements

Financial statements are key for any company wanting to conduct a SWOT Analysis. These documents provide insight into your company’s revenue, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Knowing these numbers can help you identify where your company stands financially.

Employee Feedback

Employee feedback is an essential resource for any company looking to conduct an effective SWOT Analysis. This data can provide insight into the issues facing your business, as well as potential solutions that could be beneficial for the company.

Step 2: Brainstorm

Once you have gathered the necessary data, it’s time to start brainstorming around it. Break down the information into categories such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Start by listing out any ideas that come up during the brainstorming process without any judgments or filters.

Don’t worry if some of these seem far-fetched or irrelevant. This list is simply meant as a starting point for further examination into each category.

Some of the strongest areas for your business could include a strong brand, motivated employees, an excellent track record with customers, a presence in multiple markets, and more.

As an illustration, let’s consider a hedge fund that has devised an exclusive trading strategy generating exceptional returns that outperform the market. The fund now faces the task of determining the most effective approach to utilize these outcomes in order to appeal to prospective investors and expand its investor base.

Similarly, for your business, notable strengths may encompass a well-established brand, a highly motivated workforce, a stellar history of customer satisfaction, a strong market presence across multiple sectors, and various other aspects that can help attract new investors.

Areas where you could stand to improve include communication, customer service, lack of employees with specific skill sets, limited resources, etc.

Potential areas of growth could include international expansion, increased market share in a certain region, new products, or a better customer experience.

External factors to keep an eye on could include new competition, changes in the economy, or shifting customer preferences.

Step 3: Analyze Strengths

The next step is analyzing the strength category by asking questions such as what are your main advantages, what resources do you have access to, or what makes your company stand out in the market. Looking at these inquiries objectively will allow you to gain insight into what makes you or your company successful.

Some of the main advantages could include a great reputation in the industry, a team of experienced employees, access to capital resources, and more.

What resources do you have access to that others in the market may not? This could include things such as experienced advisors, research and development teams, or reliable suppliers.

Unique Features

What makes your company stand out in the market? This could include a strong brand, state-of-the-art technology, or a diversified product line.

Step 4: Analyze Weaknesses

Continuing on from analyzing strengths comes looking at weaknesses within yourself or your organization. What processes could be improved?

Where can decisions be better informed? Allowing yourself and your team time to think about areas that need attention ensures that possible solutions can be discussed further down the line.

Improvements

Are there any processes that could be improved upon or streamlined? This can include anything from the way customer complaints are handled to the approval process for new projects.

Decision-Making

Are decisions being made with enough information? Having access to the right data is key for making informed decisions that will benefit the company.

Do you have access to the right experts that can help make better decisions or provide assistance in certain areas of the business? If not, what steps can be taken to obtain the necessary expertise?

Step 5: Identify Opportunities

In order to find potential opportunities for change and growth look toward external factors such as what new technologies are emerging, what regulations are changing, and whether there are gaps in current products or services providing space for improvement. Keeping up with current events opens your mind up to alternative options.

Step 6: Analyze Threats

External factors can also bring along with them possible threats. What competition exists in your market? Does anything pose a risk of disruption within existing services or products being provided? Monitoring all aspects of outside forces should be continuously done in order to optimize decision-making abilities when needed quickly.

Step 7: Construct an Action Plan + Implement Solutions

Applying possible solutions found through each of these steps comes down to constructing an action plan on how they can be implemented within your organization.

Writing out desired goals in regards to members responsible for obtaining them by certain dates set out beforehand coupled with methods of their achievement should lead towards meeting targets quickly and efficiently.

SWOT Analysis Template

Now that we’ve gone through some examples in different industries, how do you get started on creating a SWOT analysis of your own? Luckily, this kind of analysis is pretty easy to structure. You can create one using your computer or even just divide a piece of paper into four quadrants and start writing.

These videos by Starbucks and Tesla show how they performed SWOT analyses on their companies. These examples can give you real-life applications to get you started on your own SWOT analysis.

Watching how established companies like Starbucks and Tesla conduct their SWOT analyses provides valuable insights and practical examples. It can help you understand the intricacies of the process and effectively implement it in your own business scenario.

As a helpful tool, we’ve created a free SWOT Analysis template for different types of businesses. You can use them to get started with your analysis:

SWOT Analysis Examples

When trying to come up with a SWOT analysis for your own business, it’s sometimes easier to see what others in your industry are doing. Before conducting a SWOT analysis for your company, you can look at some examples below to get some inspiration.

SWOT Analysis Example: Small Business

Regardless of industry, it can be difficult for a small business to identify weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Here’s a great example to help you understand how to structure your SWOT analysis:

Marketing SWOT Analysis

For businesses focusing on improving one specific aspect of the business, such as sales or marketing, here is a marketing SWOT analysis example that you can use as a starting point for your own SWOT analysis.

3. Company SWOT Analysis Example

For larger companies, it’s sometimes difficult to hone down and focus on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats because there are so many competing aspects. That’s why it can be helpful to look at a SWOT Analysis of a company example to help you structure your own.

SWOT Analysis Example for a Restaurant

Food service businesses tend to have their own unique challenges, so identifying potential strategies is often difficult. However, using a Restaurant SWOT analysis example, you can build off it and create a SWOT analysis for your business that’s reflective of the market.

Acting on Your Results

A SWOT analysis is a powerful tool for understanding the internal and external factors that are impacting your business and is useful for startups, along with a proper business plan. It’s important to use the results of the analysis to create actionable steps and set realistic timelines for reaching your goals.

By staying focused and organized, you can use a SWOT analysis to make analysis a part of your long-term business strategy to ensure the future success of your business. And if you don’t have a business plan, be sure to research how to write a business plan to help set your business up for success.

While on the subject of planning, make sure to also learn how to create a one-page marketing plan . With all the data you have from your SWOT analysis, you will be able to establish a more effective marketing strategy.

SWOT Analysis Tips

A strong SWOT analysis is about diving deep into your business and collating all the information in an organized way. The more you’re able to tap into what makes your business unique and what needs to improve, the more actionable your SWOT analysis will be.

Here are some tips to ensure you’re getting the most out of a SWOT analysis:

Don’t be Afraid

A good SWOT analysis is about confronting each part of the business: the good, the bad, and everything in between. Of course, it can be difficult to put down everything and objectively confront aspects of the business.

However, it’s important to move past that feeling and be truly objective about your business – that will ultimately help it improve.

Ask for Feedback

To make sure your SWOT analysis truly covers everything, ask for feedback and suggestions. Involving a mix of team members, including more senior and junior stakeholders, can help you spot problems you might not have known about.

Be Systematic

Sometimes, the easiest way to fill out a SWOT analysis is to have a system. That can mean going through internal issues across each quadrant first and then moving to external factors. Or you can choose to do two quadrants at a time, such as strengths and opportunities if that is easier.

Create Timelines

In order for your SWOT analysis to be actionable, you need to create timelines alongside to meet your goals. For all the opportunities you identify, what is a reasonable timeframe to make them happen? For threats, think about how close or far threats are so you can prioritize action items more realistically.

Learn Business Abbreviations and Acronyms

In order to make sure you’re accounting for everything in the business, it’s important to learn any business abbreviations or acronyms that are used in the industry, especially for external factors.

The Takeaways

As you can see, a SWOT analysis is an essential tool for businesses and organizations to evaluate their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

By conducting a thorough SWOT analysis, businesses can gain valuable insights into their current position and make informed decisions to drive success and growth.

Whether it’s identifying areas for improvement, capitalizing on strengths, or mitigating risks, the SWOT analysis provides a structured framework for strategic planning and decision-making.

Utilizing the examples and free template provided in this article, businesses can effectively apply the SWOT analysis to enhance their competitiveness and achieve their goals.

Image: Envato Elements

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How to Write a SWOT Analysis (Template and Examples Included)

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Written by  Scribendi

Planning for the Future

Where do you see yourself in five years? How about your career? Your business? 

These questions keep a staggering amount of people awake at night. All too often, the future can seem like a dark, ominous cloud that looms just out of view. As the old proverb goes, we fear the unknown—and little can possibly be more unknowable than the future.

While there is no crystal ball that can accurately predict future market trends or the steps you should take to optimize your productivity and sharpen your competitive edge, we can offer some advice: Reframe the question. Rather than trying to pinpoint where you think you might be in five years, think about where you want to be at that point in time. Once you have a destination in mind, you can start planning a route to get there. After all, maps are great tools, but they can't help you if you don't know where you're going.

So, what's the metaphorical map in this scenario? We present to you the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.

How to Write a SWOT Analysis

SWOT analyses are great strategic tools that are useful in project planning, business development , financial strategizing, and personal advancement . Simple, honest, and to-the-point, they facilitate a profound understanding of your or your business's current standing. Essentially, a SWOT analysis is a comparative list of all your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

There's more power in this process than you might think. You may be only hazily aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. However, thoughtfully recording and reflecting on them creates a thorough, conscious familiarity with both the resources available to you and the obstacles standing in your way. This awareness allows you to map out a path toward your goals with great precision and purpose. Writing a SWOT analysis will help you clearly evaluate whether your goals are feasible according to your resources and needs.

In this guide, we'll break down exactly how to write a SWOT analysis and provide a few examples along the way. Feel free to use our SWOT analysis template, given below, to write your own!

Our SWOT Analysis Template

Your list of strengths should focus on your current resources and abilities. It should relate to things that you do or that your company does well. These might be your or your company's accomplishments—both great and small—and the assets that you or your company have. Your strengths give you your greatest edge; they are the resources that propel you forward and that you can continue to develop as you progress.

When you draw up your first SWOT analysis, you may find yourself at a loss. Don't worry—it's difficult for most people to come up with an objective list of strengths and weaknesses on the spot. For your convenience, we've included a list of questions you can ask yourself to get started.

These questions should help you identify a few of your strengths. Remember, while our example questions mostly relate to business strengths, they can also apply to personal strengths. Go ahead and boast as much as you can.

• What sets your company apart from others?
• What do you have that other companies don't?
• What are you most proud of about your company?
• What makes clients come back to you?
• What does your company do well?
• What assets do you have access to?
• What qualities does your company have that other companies try to emulate?
• What has always been easy for your company? 

Listing your weaknesses might be a little more uncomfortable than detailing your strengths, but trust us—doing so will help you in the long run. Understanding the obstacles in your path and the elements of your business or skills you may need to improve is just as important as appreciating your strengths. Once you're aware of your weaknesses, you can start working on them and building your next steps around them.

Your list of weaknesses should pertain to any current problems and challenges. Check out the list of questions below—it should give you an idea of where to start. Again, if you'd rather focus on your personal or career growth, feel free to alter these questions to suit your needs.

• What makes your company blend in with its competition?
• What do other companies have that you don't?
• What are the most common criticisms that you receive from clients?
• Why have certain clients not returned to you?
• What does your company need to improve upon?
• What kind of feedback do you receive from your employees?
• What might your competition consider to be a weakness?
• What has always been difficult for your company?
• What are you unwilling to do or change?

Opportunities

Think about the opportunities available to you as potential future strengths. Your opportunities are the assets, resources, and events that could be beneficial to you in some way in the future. You may need to change some of your current approaches or adapt in other ways to capitalize on these opportunities, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to identify your potential opportunities:

• What is happening in the current market that you could capitalize upon?
• What changes have you been making that have returned positive results?
• What is working for other companies?
• How could you introduce new technology to make your processes more efficient?
• What costs can you cut?
• Could you access new sectors or demographic groups?
• How can you improve or modernize your marketing techniques?
• How can you remove existing obstacles?

  Threats

Just as your opportunities are based on potential, so are your threats; these are the possible obstacles or issues that are not yet directly affecting your progress. But this doesn't mean that you shouldn't start thinking about them! Being aware of the challenges that you may encounter will help you either plan around them or confront them with solutions. Try to come up with several future events that may realistically hinder the momentum you build from engaging with your strengths and opportunities.

To get started, take a peek at our list of questions:

• What obstacles might your weaknesses create?
• Do changing market trends negatively affect your competitive edge?
• What might stand in the way of the changes you make to accommodate your strengths and opportunities?
• Do you have a lot of debt?
• Could your competition exploit your weaknesses?

How did you do? Do you feel like you've listed everything? Or do you think you're missing something? Below, we've drafted examples of a business and a personal SWOT analysis to provide you with some perspective on what a completed one might look like.

An Example of a Personal SWOT Analysis

An Example of a Business SWOT Analysis  

Final Words

The humble but effective SWOT analysis will produce a detailed map of your current environment—its hills and valleys alike. Knowing how to write a SWOT analysis will provide you with the vantage point you need to choose a direction and blaze a trail toward your goals. SWOT analyses may not be crystal balls, but they are something like compasses. Use them wisely, and you will never be lost.

Image source: cookelma/unspla sh.com

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Blog Marketing 20+ Free SWOT Analysis Templates

20+ Free SWOT Analysis Templates

Written by: Midori Nediger Oct 12, 2023

You know what you need if you’re contemplating producing a new product line, jumping into a new industry, or even just working on a company analysis for a school assignment?

A SWOT analysis chart.

SWOT analysis is a great way to effectively evaluate a person, campaign, strategy or product — and if you want to create a SWOT table that impresses (your stakeholders or your college professor), you need a SWOT analysis template.

Read on to see different types of SWOT analysis templates you can create with Venngage, plus top tips and plenty of SWOT analysis examples.

Click to skip ahead:

SWOT analysis templates for strategic decision making

How to do a swot analysis, swot analysis best practices & design tips (+examples).

Ready to dive into your SWOT analysis? I’ve got some cool templates lined up that you can use as a starting point:

SWOT analysis templates for Word

Swot analysis templates for powerpoint, personal swot analysis templates, company swot analysis templates, marketing swot analysis templates, nonprofit swot analysis templates, exec swot analysis templates, consultant swot analysis templates.

You can actually edit any of our SWOT analysis templates above and add them to your Word document as an image file. We offer PNG or PNG HD download options.

Here’s another example of a SWOT analysis template you can create for your Word or Google Docs file:

Note: download capability is only available in a paid Venngage plan .

To create a SWOT analysis for PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation, you can edit one of Venngage’s professionally designed SWOT analysis templates and download them as a PNG. A Venngage Business user can also download the template as a PPTX file and upload it directly to your presentation as a slide.

Besides simple SWOT analysis templates, we also offer presentation templates containing SWOT charts:

To use a Personal SWOT analysis template, first, identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Prioritize and make action plans for personal and professional growth based on the analysis.

Comparing strengths and weaknesses directly can help give you clarity over areas that you can improve, like in this personal SWOT analysis example.

Rather than thinking about competitors or change in the market, think more about things that may hold you back personally – i.e. a lack of business finances , or an upcoming relocation, as you can see in this SWOT analysis example.

When composing a SWOT analysis for a company, start by taking stock of the company’s internal capabilities. This includes what the company excels at, such as a strong brand or skilled workforce. Be honest about areas where there’s room for improvement.

Next, consider external factors that can impact the company. This could involve exciting possibilities like new markets or technological advancements. Be mindful of potential challenges like increased competition or economic instability.

It aids in understanding the competitive landscape, customer preferences and market trends, allowing companies to make informed decisions about product development, marketing strategies and market expansion.

Simultaneously, honestly identify internal weaknesses such as inadequate resources, operational inefficiencies or gaps in skills.

To thoroughly assess the external environment, remain attentive to emerging market trends and potential growth areas as opportunities, while also considering potential threats such as evolving consumer preferences, regulatory changes or intensified market competition.

It is crucial to maintain objectivity, involve key stakeholders and consider the analysis in the context of both short-term and long-term business objectives. That way, you can ensure the strategic insights gleaned from the SWOT analysis are effectively translated into actionable plans and initiatives.

Analyzing your marketing plan with a SWOT template is a strategic approach. Simply list your marketing strengths (brand recognition, creative content) and weaknesses (limited budget, outdated website).

Then, consider external factors like new social media trends or increased competition. By understanding these elements, you can craft a plan to leverage strengths for new opportunities, address weaknesses to not miss out, and adapt to external challenges.

Most importantly, don’t forget to regularly revisit this analysis to stay on top of the ever-changing marketing landscape.

Equally, by looking at opportunities you can begin to understand potential new markets, as well as under-served areas that you already market within. Marketers, consultants and freelancers often include SWOT analyses in competitor analysis reports .

Looking for more marketing resources?

• How to conduct a SWOT analysis in marketing (+examples)
• The complete guide to marketing infographics
• How to use SEO in your visual marketing
• How to make a marketing plan

Nonprofit organizations can use SWOT analyses to help inform their strategic planning.

A SWOT is a great way to understand how your nonprofit fits into the market, and how you can maximize your impact by running effective targeted campaigns and fundraising initiatives. This SWOT analysis example showcases areas where a nonprofit can improve.

Especially in nonprofits, you often don’t have the luxury of testing out multiple ideas or strategies due to time and budget constraints. Conducting a SWOT analysis early on in your strategy development can help you make the most informed decisions. This SWOT analysis example highlights the threats that a nonprofit should be looking to overcome soon.

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Execs have to wear many different hats within their roles and organizations. Business development is a crucial part of company success, and being fully aware of your organizational strengths and weaknesses is invaluable. For example, there are numerous opportunities in this SWOT analysis example.

When going through a period of rapid growth within your business, you should take some time to conduct a SWOT analysis. This will help to ensure that you are able to reach your growth goals. Doing a SWOT also helps you identify any possible weaknesses that may become issues for your growth further down the line.

The weaknesses in this free SWOT analysis template for Word should be addressed quickly before they become a threat to the company.

A SWOT diagram can also be used to help evaluate employees’ work. You can assess your employees’ performances and provide detailed feedback, like in this SWOT analysis example.

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Consultants are in a unique position because they are looking to market themselves. Starting out as a consultant can be difficult, but conducting a SWOT analysis of yourself as a consultant can help you discover any unique selling points for your services.

You might also want to conduct a SWOT analysis when delivering work for clients. A SWOT can help inform any project or growth plans that you are recommending. The SWOT analysis example below makes a strong case for the business.

Take a look at page 4 of this consulting proposal template for an example of how to use SWOT analyses in a consulting proposal :

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A SWOT analysis helps you understand your business’s current position in the market and aids in developing strategies to leverage strengths, mitigate weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities and counter threats.

Follow these simple steps to create a comprehensive SWOT analysis:

• Identify strengths: Recognize internal positive attributes that are within your control, such as unique selling points, skilled workforce or strong brand recognition.
• Pinpoint weaknesses: Assess internal areas that need improvement, such as lack of resources, inefficient processes or poor brand reputation.
• Recognize opportunities: Analyze external factors that could benefit your business, such as emerging markets, technological advancements or changes in consumer behavior.
• Acknowledge threats: Consider external factors that could potentially harm your business, such as new competitors, changing regulations or economic downturns.

Whilst a SWOT diagram is a fairly straightforward evaluation model, there are a couple of SWOT best practice tips you should follow in order to maximize the effectiveness of your SWOT:

Use measurable and quantifiable statements in your SWOT

You should be able to evidence all of the points in your SWOT template, aka prove that you are good at the thing you said you are good at. Highlighting quick delivery is great, but specifying delivery times, like in the template below, is even better:

Make sure all areas of your business are represented when developing the SWOT

Get feedback from different departments on both what their strengths/weaknesses are, but ask what they think your strengths/weaknesses are. Regardless of your business niche, a SWOT analysis can make a difference in your project. You can develop a SWOT analysis for restaurants , startups, e-commerce, travel agencies, and many other types of businesses.

This SWOT analysis example has gathered feedback from multiple teams.

Try and keep the lists an even number

If you have 5 strengths, find 5 weaknesses. For every opportunity, try and write down a threat. This makes it easier to compare the categories in your SWOT template.

Have a goal in mind when doing your SWOT analysis

Whether this is developing a new project plan or business, or scaling your revenue – a SWOT diagram is particularly useful when there’s a definitive outcome you’re trying to achieve.

When doing your SWOT analysis, explicitly tie each strength, weakness, opportunity and threat back to how it impacts achieving your goal with this template:

Don’t aim for the perfect SWOT list straight away

When you’re customizing your SWOT analysis template, start with much longer lists gathered in a brainstorming session and whittle the lists down.

Talk about each factor in a category and figure out which ones matter the most to have your SWOT analysis focusing on the most important stuff. Methods like voting or group agreement typically work in this type of setting.

Using online templates or ready-made structures can help organize your thoughts and brainstorming sessions. Here’s one to help you capture your ideas easily.

Make sure your SWOT is thorough

Make sure you’ve thought about every possible strength, weakness, threat, and opportunity. A SWOT is only as valuable as the information you include, so make sure you do your due diligence during the analysis. Take inspiration from this SWOT analysis example.

Format your SWOT in a way that makes sense for multiple uses

If you plan to present your SWOT analysis to an executive at your company, make sure it is clear to understand, and presented in a way that makes it easy to take in all of the information at once – such as a 2×2 grid template. If it’s for a company presentation, use a horizontal SWOT analysis template for PowerPoint.

Think short, mid and long term impacts

Your product might be great now, but what could be happening in the next 6 months that might affect that? What about within the next year? Sure that competitor could be small fish now, but what about if they have an aggressive growth plan in place? You need to be prepared for that to stay ahead of the game, and that’s where a SWOT analysis template comes in.

For example, in this SWOT analysis, both short and long term opportunities were taken into consideration:

Use clever design tricks

Use color in your SWOT matrix to help grab attention. Differentiate different areas of your SWOT, as this SWOT analysis template does.

Are you ready to create your SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is an invaluable tool for evaluation and is particularly useful for small businesses or businesses in times of change. Make sure you follow these SWOT analysis best practice tips to maximize your evaluation opportunities and further your evaluation by conducting a thorough Competitor Analysis .

All of the SWOT analysis examples featured in this blog post are fully customizable SWOT analysis templates available for use on Venngage.  You can also use our Smart Templates to create documents easily.

Once you’ve created your business or personal SWOT analysis, make sure to keep a copy safe for the next time you conduct an evaluation. With Venngage you can keep your work online or download a SWOT analysis PDF if you’re a Business user.

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SWOT Analysis Template

June 28, 2023 - 10 min read

You’ve likely heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Whether you’re working on a personal or work project , setting time for intentional planning significantly increases chances of follow-through and success.

There are many planning techniques to choose from. The SWOT analysis framework is one of the most widely adopted in business and project management . It is invaluable for creating a startup business plan , positioning yourself in a new market, and driving growth. 

SWOT analysis templates are easy to use and understand. They provide a structured layout for teams to take a holistic view of their company’s current state and think strategically about its goals and capabilities. Project managers can use SWOT templates to reduce blindsides and optimize upsides before pumping resources into any project.

This article breaks down everything you need to know about SWOT analysis. We’ll cover the following: 

What is a SWOT analysis?

Benefits of conducting a swot analysis, how to conduct a swot analysis.

• How to use a SWOT analysis template

We’ll also share tips you can implement to simplify your business planning process with Wrike’s project management templates. Read on to learn how to conduct a SWOT analysis .

Try Wrike’s templates

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used by organizations to identify their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, hence the acronym SWOT. It assists in decision-making by offering insight into both internal and external factors that may affect their objectives. This analysis fosters a comprehensive understanding of a business's situation, informing strategic planning and resource allocation .

• Strengths: Internal attributes or advantages that give the business a competitive edge.
• Weaknesses: Internal disadvantages, areas for improvement within the business.
• Opportunities: External factors or trends that the business can utilize to its advantage.
• Threats: External elements that could potentially harm the business's operations or profitability.

Advanced Tips for Maximizing Your SWOT Analysis

Even for those who have mastered the basics of SWOT analysis, there is scope for refining your approach and extracting even more value from this essential strategic planning tool. Up your SWOT game with these advanced tips:

• Perform Competitor SWOTs : Analyzing your competitors can yield invaluable insights that can help shape your business strategies. Understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to spot gaps in the market, identify industry trends, and benchmark your own progress.
• Quantitative SWOT : While SWOT analysis revolves around qualitative data, incorporating quantitative data where possible can make your SWOT analysis more grounded and precise. For instance, you could integrate financial ratios, unique visitors per month, or customer retention rates as part of your strengths and weaknesses.
• SWOT Overlay with PESTEL Analysis : To gain a more comprehensive outlook, consider complementing your SWOT analysis with a PESTEL (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) analysis. Where SWOT focuses on internal and immediate external aspects, PESTEL offers a macro-view to understand the broader context. The combined insights from both can lead to more robust strategies.
• Regular SWOT Update : A SWOT analysis isn't a one-time activity. As your business environment and conditions change, regularly revisiting and updating your SWOT analysis keeps your strategy aligned with current realities. Annual reviews are a good rule of thumb, but significant market changes might mandate more frequent updates.
• Balance SWOT quadrants : You shouldn't disproportionately focus on one quadrant and neglect others while analyzing . Each quadrant is equally critical for a well-rounded strategy. For instance, excessive focus on threats and weaknesses without considering strengths and opportunities might lead to overly cautious or defensive strategies.

By employing these advanced techniques, you can elevate your SWOT analysis, resulting in more nuanced strategy formation and business success. Remember, the power of a SWOT analysis lies in its ability to provide a 360-degree view of your business, turning insights into action.

So, why should you bother with a SWOT analysis? Conducting a SWOT analysis provides insights into your business’s standing and future potential, thus enabling business leaders and project managers to make data-informed decisions and devise effective strategies. 

Other benefits of SWOT include:

Understand strengths

SWOT analysis assists businesses in understanding their strengths, allowing them to leverage them to gain a competitive advantage and improve profitability. Examples include a skilled workforce, strong brand reputation, superior products or services, strong customer relationships, financial resources, or unique business processes or technology. 

Address weaknesses

SWOT analysis helps identify any weaknesses in a project or the business. Once identified, teams can get to work on reducing or eliminating them. Examples include a lack of funding or skilled staff, outdated technology, weak customer relations, high employee turnover , or ineffective processes. 

Uncover new opportunities

This is one of the most important benefits of a SWOT analysis. SWOT reveals opportunities for improvement and growth. Examples include new market trends, regulation changes, technological advancements, or evolving customer needs and behaviors .

Pinpoint threats

SWOT analysis also helps in identifying potential threats. These could emerge from evolving market dynamics, new competition, regulatory changes, or other external factors.

Enhance risk management

SWOT analysis also contributes to effective risk management . It enables businesses to foresee potential risks and develop realistic contingency plans that can minimize the impact of these events. 

Improve decision making

SWOT analysis provides a comprehensive view of a business’s internal and external environment. It can help identify limitations, advantages, and a unique selling proposition . These insights improve the quality of decision making in an organization.

Foster collaboration

SWOT analysis encourages teamwork and cooperation. The process is one that gets the best results when relevant team members and stakeholders are involved.

Tired of all the theory? Just want someone to do the thinking for you? We’ve got you covered. 

Below is a step-by-step guide to running a thorough SWOT analysis:

• Identify the objective: Start by identifying the business or project goals to clarify what you hope to achieve with the SWOT analysis. It could be estimating the viability of a new project, developing a new business strategy, or identifying areas of improvement.
• Assemble a diverse team: Assemble a team that can offer a range of perspectives. This should include representatives from various departments and levels within the organization.
• Conduct a brainstorming session: Organize a brainstorming session and encourage open discussion about the business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Identify strengths: List your organization’s internal positive traits and resources. What does the business do well? What are your unique skills or resources? Consider what your company excels at, what sets you apart from competitors, and what resources you have. 
• Identify weaknesses: List the internal challenges that limit your organization’s success. Where can you improve? What disadvantages do you face? Be honest about where your organization falls short, as recognizing weaknesses is the first step toward improving them.
• Identify opportunities: Monitor external conditions your business can leverage for growth. List all possibilities, potential shifts, and changes that can positively affect your business.
• Identify threats: Look for and compile all the external factors that could pose risks to your business. What obstacles does your business face? Are there unfavorable changes on the horizon? What are the hurdles in your industry? By identifying these threats, you can prepare for them.
• Prioritize each element: Review the findings and prioritize them based on their impact on your objectives . This helps you focus on the areas that matter most, as not all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats carry the same weight. 
• Develop actionable strategies: Use your SWOT analysis to devise strategies for hitting your targets. This might involve leveraging strengths and opportunities, mitigating weaknesses, or preparing for threats.
• Review regularly: Regularly revisit your analysis to ensure it stays relevant and continues to inform smart decisions.

Plan effectively with Wrike

We think you’ve got the hang of it by this stage but let’s summarize: A SWOT analysis can help you develop a strong business strategy that amplifies your business or project’s strengths and opportunities, and minimizes its weaknesses and potential threats. SWOT analysis templates bring added clarity, making the process a lot smoother.

Wrike’s project management platform provides a collaborative workspace that can streamline your SWOT analysis process from start to finish. You can create and share a SWOT analysis template with your team, in-office or remotely, and collaboratively brainstorm to fill out the template and keep track of your findings. 

Wrike also allows multiple views for easy tracking of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in any project. The platform is cloud-based and accessible from any location with an internet connection, making it easy to share your SWOT analysis results and refer back to them as needed.

Whether you’re a small startup looking to get a handle on your competitive landscape or a large corporation strategizing for the future, a SWOT analysis — facilitated by a template and platform such as Wrike — is the best place to start. Browse our library and pick a template for your next project . 

Kelechi Udoagwu

Kelechi is a freelance writer and founder of Week of Saturdays, a platform for digital freelancers and remote workers living in Africa.

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PESTLE Analysis

Insights and resources on business analysis tools

3 SWOT Analysis Templates for Efficient Business Planning

Last Updated: Mar 26, 2024 by PESTLEanalysis Contributor Filed Under: SWOT Analysis

What is SWOT Analysis?  SWOT Analysis is a strategic business planning tool that can be used for analyzing different business situations faced by a company.

This analysis allows businesses to assess their current positions in the market. It also extends to the resources and efforts required to change, sustain or strengthen that position. Four key aspects of a situation are analyzed, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, to provide a clear picture of the situation. All these factors are included a SWOT analysis template.

SWOT Analysis can be used for various purposes including:

• Marketing Analysis
• Business Development
• Strategic Planning
• Research Report
• Business Planning
• Competitor Evaluation

What is a SWOT Analysis Template?

A SWOT analysis template provides business managers with a structured format that they can use to analyze the key factors of SWOT . This analysis is typically done before a strategy formulation and planning process is undertaken by the company for its business, products or teams.

A template can help managers understand what factors should be rightfully included in the categories of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

To help you better understand how this analytical framework is used, here is a SWOT Analysis template :

Types of SWOT Templates

There are three types of SWOT analysis templates available that can be used by businesses to carry out a SWOT analysis.

The Classic SWOT Analysis Template

Often used in strategic planning, this template sums up the four key factors of the business environment including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats . Explaining a few key elements that can be added to these categories in a broad and subjective manner, this template is easy to use and can help you record outcomes at the end of a strategic planning meeting or brainstorming session.

However, this analysis is usually used when you are already done with your strategic analysis.

The Ultimate SWOT Analysis Template

Having more than 50 analytical questions in all categories, this type of SWOT template provides you with a thorough analysis of the situation . This analysis is to be conducted before you make any strategic plans since it has the power to help you effectively analyze your resources and current market position clearly.

This type of analysis acts as a guiding tool for formulating a business strategy since it highlights weak areas of your business that you need to focus on and the threats you should mitigate.

The Distinctive SWOT Analysis Template

This template is connective in nature and allows you to develop a relationship between your internal and external factors .

This creates a grid like structure having categories including Strengths-Opportunities, Weaknesses –Opportunities, Strengths-Threats and Weaknesses-Threats. This can help you analyze how you can implement the results of a SWOT analysis for turning around the situation in your favor. In addition, it will give a clear idea of factors that should be enhanced and eliminated .

Depending on your own specific assessment needs, you can decide which type of SWOT template you should choose for carrying out the analysis. The Classic one can help you sort out your key strategic points, the Ultimate template can help you formulate the strategy, and the Distinctive one can help you relate the internal and external factors of your business environment.

How to Do a SWOT Analysis Template

For business managers, SWOT analysis is an extremely helpful business tool that can help them assess situations before they take any decision regarding their actions and strategy.

This analysis helps a company determine what its Strengths and Weaknesses in terms of resources and processes are and what the Opportunities and Threats they would have to deal with would be if they pursue a certain course of action. This way, a business can have a clear idea of the internal and external factors that come into play during a situation like a new venture, a recent advertising campaign , or a new product launch.

This SWOT analysis template can give you an idea of factors that can be included in each of these categories.

In every SWOT analysis table , it is common that a set of two elements always negates the set of the other two elements. Strengths oppose the weaknesses while opportunities and threats go against each other. In that particular order, you can consider all possible market elements that relate to a situation, putting them in either one of these categories. While you are running a SWOT over a situation, a factor that isn’t exactly your strength is counted as your weakness.

SWOT is a subjective form of analysis that is made by a business manager.

Every manager would interpret this SWOT analysis template in his or her own way, making somewhat biased assumptions. This is one of the biggest limitations associated with this analysis and the reason why managers prefer to carry out SWOT with a team through a brainstorming session, allowing multiple opinions to be heard and completely unbiased decisions to be made.

External consultants can also be hired to analyze a business and develop a SWOT analytical report for the company’s current situation in order to limit the bias, based on the aforementioned SWOT analysis template.

Image: Ivanov Alexey, dizain/ Shutterstock.com and DepositPhotos

How to Do a SWOT Analysis in Project Management: Template & Examples

As project managers, we’re lucky to have a full set of tools available to help us approach any project challenge. We have tools that bring our teams together, uncover issues, guide a project to an end, and everything in between. (I’m still waiting on that “easy” button, though!)

Determining what tool should be used in each situation can feel daunting. There are definitely some I pull out for every project, while others collect a bit more dust. 

The SWOT analysis is one I’ve left in the toolbox a bit too often. It’s probably not fair though. It’s a great tool that can bring the team together, create transparency around tough issues, and identify key risks and opportunities that will help with project planning . 

Let’s take a deeper look to see when and why you should give a SWOT analysis a bigger spotlight in your projects. 

What is a SWOT analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that allows you and your team to determine organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It’s typically represented as a table or matrix with each element in its own section or quadrant. 

A SWOT analysis assesses both internal and external factors:

• Internal factors are aspects within your control. They include skills, assets, resources, and competitive advantages. They are typically the strengths and weaknesses categories in the SWOT matrix.
• External factors are outside of your control. They might be major events, economic changes, marketplace shifts, pandemics, and more. These are the opportunities and threats. 

You can use a SWOT analysis to evaluate a project, business plan, content strategy, and even yourself. It’s very adaptable to many situations.

This type of analysis can be useful in project management because it allows you to identify areas of risk and growth within a project or team. From there, you and your team can use those findings to create a strategic plan that improves your chance of project success. 

Elements of the SWOT framework with examples

A SWOT analysis is made up of 4 core elements:

• S = Strengths
• W = Weaknesses
• O = Opportunities
• T = Threats

Let’s dive into what each SWOT component means and explore simple examples of each one.

Strengths are factors within your control that will help the project succeed. They might include a person, existing skill set, how the organization is positioned, or a specific aspect about the scoped project. I recommend listing out your strengths first to create a clear understanding of what success looks like and start your SWOT analysis on a positive note. 

Examples of project strengths

• Your team has experience delivering a similar custom application.
• The client team has full authority to make decisions.
• Leadership is on board and already started a company-wide digital strategy conversion.
• The budget has contingency built in.
• Your content team is fully staffed for the project.
• Your team has done 4 sites in that vertical in the last year.
• You already have detailed specifications of the product scope.
• A full brand redesign is already complete.

Weaknesses are internal factors that could negatively impact the project and make it difficult to succeed. Some strengths on your list might lead to a clear weakness, while weaknesses can help you identify opportunities in the next step.

Talking about weaknesses can be uncomfortable because no one likes dwelling on the gaps. If you do a SWOT analysis with an external client, let your team know what’s okay to call out in front of the client vs what’s best discussed internally. For example, it's good to alert your client to the fact your team is working on 2 projects at once because it sets clear expectations around your availability and response time.

Examples of project weaknesses

• Your team has never worked together.
• The client has all new leadership.
• Your team is allocated to 2 projects at the same time.
• Your client lacks resources in content, media production, or other areas.
• Your client has multiple levels of stakeholders.
• Project funding is limited and must be spent by a certain date.
• All content needs to pass through the legal department.
• Your team and clients use different project tools.

Opportunities

Opportunities are factors that can help your project succeed—or save it from failure—if correctly executed. The tricky thing is, they’re a bit outside of your control. They might be opportunities that already exist but haven’t been acted on, or they might be future wins that will come with the completion of the project. 

Reviewing the strengths and weaknesses you’ve already captured in your SWOT analysis will help you get ideas for this list. Just be sure any opportunities you include are concrete and realistic.

Examples of project opportunities

• Moving a more experienced team member to your project team
• Creating new channels for the company to capture revenue
• Obtaining a discount from a vendor
• Receiving another grant to fund the project
• Hiring someone new on the client side to support the work
• Attending an upcoming conference with access to real users
• Capturing new leads because of the project

Threats are external factors that could hurt the success of your project and are often out of your control. Identifying these factors before the project begins can help you set expectations with your team and stakeholders around potential points of failure. 

Examples of project threats

• A competitor is releasing a similar product on a faster timeline.
• The software code base for a section was recently released and could be buggy.
• A project vendor hasn’t been responsive.
• A team member is on maternity leave for 3 months.
• The client won’t give you access to other stakeholders.
• You don’t have access to users (or don’t think it’s important).

What are the benefits of using a SWOT analysis in project management?

A SWOT analysis is a simple yet powerful exercise that can easily flow into a project manager’s strategic planning process. It gives you and your team space to worry and dream and can also bring the project and its variables into more focus.

But how you complete the analysis—and what you do with its findings—determines the true value of the tool. Let’s look at several advantages a SWOT analysis can provide when it’s done right.

Identify (and address) project risks and gaps

Conducting a SWOT analysis enables you to identify areas of weakness and potential project gaps from the start. That way, you can address any concerns with a proactive project plan. Of course, not all risks are factors you can control, but at least knowing them allows you to create a better strategy. 

Set a positive tone

Performing a SWOT analysis also gives you the chance to discuss strengths and opportunities. Focusing on the good aspects of your project and team sets a positive tone right from the start. It also shines a light on skills and aspects you might not have realized you have available to you. 

Uncover client expectations

As a project manager, I’m always thinking, “But what do they really want?” I know a lot of time goes into the project scope, but the client always forgets to mention something. 

Think of your SWOT analysis as a free-form brainstorming session that gives you another chance to listen and learn. It’s always easier to work new insights or hidden scope into the plan at the beginning of a project instead of the middle or end.

Identify new revenue

Doing a SWOT analysis before a project begins can also uncover new project opportunities. While some of these items might be addressed in the current scope, many will not. This opens the door to discuss phase 2 work that could generate additional revenue for both you and the client.

Establish a framework for red flags

When reviewing a project’s contract scope, I always find red flags—those pesky items that keep every project manager up at night. 

A SWOT analysis makes it easy to sneak those concerns in with the positives so you don’t have to be a downer in your first meetings. It also gives others a chance to raise red flags so the bad news isn’t always coming from you. Discussing these upfront makes everyone aware of the risks, not just select stakeholders. 

Build a foundation for team communication

Completing this activity as a team with different levels of stakeholders from both sides can set the stage for effective communication . Establishing an open, transparent, direct, and welcoming environment early on can help everyone navigate future conversations—no matter how tricky. 

It also builds a culture of collaborative problem-solving. As a project manager, you might feel like you have to solve all the hard issues yourself. But creating a team approach can lift some of that weight right off your shoulders.

When should you skip a SWOT analysis?

While a SWOT analysis can be a useful planning tool in project management, other tools are too. So when does it make sense to leave this tool in the toolbox?

Here are a few reasons a SWOT analysis might not be a productive use of your time.

You lack stakeholder access

Sometimes a client limits your access to their team, leaving you with only 1-2 people to talk to on the client side. If you can’t pull a diverse group of stakeholders together from both sides, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to build a comprehensive and effective SWOT matrix. 

You and/or your client can’t be honest

The reality is, you won’t have an open and transparent relationship with every client. It might be because they’re new or have a different culture of communication in their organization. Or maybe your sales team committed to a project they shouldn’t have. 

Whatever the reason, if you or your client can’t be transparent about weaknesses and threats, your SWOT analysis won’t be very useful.

You have limited resources

If your budget is small, you likely have limited resources to complete the project—and that includes your own time as a project manager. 

While conducting a SWOT analysis workshop is a relatively quick task, it’s not going to be effective unless you spend time creating and executing an action plan afterwards. If you can’t reasonably take action on what you may uncover, go ahead and skip the SWOT analysis. 

You’re working with a repeat client

If you’ve worked with a client several times before and don’t appear to be solving a new, hard problem—or approaching a new product or revenue stream—there’s no need to go through the motions of a SWOT exercise.

Your project has an unclear scope

Are you managing a project with muddy goals and a scope that’s constantly changing (even though somehow a contract got signed)? If so, it’s best to put all your energy into workshops and tools that focus on clearly defining what you’re doing. In my experience, projects like these just lead to vague SWOTs anyway.

How to do a SWOT analysis for a project

There’s no wrong way to complete a SWOT analysis. It just depends on the project and the preferences of your team and stakeholders. Just be sure whatever process you use effectively brings everyone together. 

Here are the key steps I recommend taking to execute a good SWOT analysis. 

1. Identify your SWOT analysis goal

Every good process starts with a clear goal. If you know why you’re doing a SWOT analysis and what you hope to achieve, you can tailor your approach and conversations accordingly. This clarity might even lead you to other tools in your project manager toolbox that will help you reach your goals.

2. Determine your stakeholders

Next, figure out who needs to participate in the SWOT analysis for you to achieve your goal. While there might be times you need to do this exercise quickly on your own, working as a team that includes both internal and external stakeholders will give you a more comprehensive analysis.

Participants should represent different groups at all levels of the organization to bring a full and diverse perspective. They should also be willing to participate fully, honestly, and kindly in the conversation and be open to talking about some tough topics. For example, someone might have a role in a weakness or threat that ends up on the list. If people aren’t willing to dig in, you’ll end up with a surface-level analysis that’s less useful.

Including more people in the conversion will encourage teamwork and transparency—all things you want for the rest of your project. Of course, too many people could cause chaos and a lack of focus, so shoot for around 10 or fewer participants.

3. Identify which tool you’ll use for the SWOT analysis

Next, decide where you’ll create your SWOT analysis. Many folks love working within the classic SWOT matrix, and you can easily create one using Word or PowerPoint.

If you’re conducting your workshop remotely—or want folks to add ideas before, during, or after the meeting—consider using a collaborative tool instead. You could use an interactive whiteboard tool to create a shared matrix or set up a list or Kanban board in TeamGantt. What’s nice about a tool like TeamGantt is you can immediately transform items from your SWOT analysis into tasks with deadlines and responsibilities assigned.

Lay a clear path to success with a visual plan that’s easy to understand, and keep everyone in sync with flexible workflows and team collaboration.

4. Prepare your team 

One of the most important steps you can take is effectively preparing your team for the workshop. I have to admit, I’ve been lazy about this step at times in the past, but it’s really critical if you want people to be successful in the meeting.

Send the team attending the SWOT analysis workshop the following items ahead of time:

• The goal of the SWOT analysis
• Why they’ve been chosen to participate in the workshop
• An explanation of how the SWOT analysis will work
• What they should do to prepare for the meeting and how much time they need to set aside to prep
• Access to the tool you’ll use to conduct the SWOT analysis so they can get in and comfortable with it beforehand
• Next steps they can expect after the meeting (even if it doesn’t involve them) 
• Gratitude in advance for their thoughts, respect, and time

5. Conduct the SWOT analysis workshop

Use this workshop to brainstorm project strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as a team. Guide the discussion to make sure the thoughts are clear and specific. If more information has to be gathered for a couple of items after the meeting, that’s okay, but the majority shouldn’t need follow-up.

Since I include both my team and the client in a project SWOT analysis, I like to keep the format simple. While I talk about the concept of internal vs external factors, I don’t build my matrix or workshop around it. In my experience, it’s just another layer for folks to process. Participants should be focused on brainstorming—not figuring out how to work within a complex framework. 

Try to fill in 2-3 items for each box of the SWOT matrix ahead of time to jump start the conversation. If the room gets quiet, give folks 10 minutes to gather thoughts and then share back. You could also use starter questions like the ones below to get ideas rolling.

Example questions to guide your SWOT analysis workshop

• What do your customers love about what you do?
• Does anyone have expertise in this subject or scope? 
• What resources are available in-house?
• What advantages do you have over your competitors?

Weaknesses:

• What do your customers dislike about what you do?
• Could any organizational factors negatively impact this project?
• Are there any gaps in team or project knowledge?
• Do you have any hard limits on the project (e.g., timeline, budget, scope)?

Opportunities:

• What can you do to compete better in your market?
• What resource changes or additions would help you?
• What tools will help you be effective?
• Can you help other areas of the business?
• Do other business initiatives depend on project completion and success? If so, how?
• Are your competitors doing anything related to your project?
• Are you working with any new or untested tools or software?
• Do you rely on any outside vendors?

Download an expanded list of example questions.

6. Prioritize and confirm

In this step, you’ll want to rank the factors from most to least important. Since time is usually limited, I focus on prioritizing the opportunities and threats lists. 

Questions like these can help you weigh the importance of each item on your list:

• Will it impact the project the most? 
• Is it something you can actually do something about? 
• Are there things you can’t address unless the project has more budget? 

You can either jump into prioritization at the end of your brainstorming session or tackle it online as a team after your SWOT workshop.

Once you feel good about the priorities you’ve set, clean up your SWOT analysis document, and send it to all your stakeholders to confirm everyone’s on the same page. 

7. Create and execute an action plan

Now it’s time to create a clear plan of action to execute on. Your to-do list might only take a couple of weeks to knock out, or it might take longer to work through. Either way, you’ll want to jump on an action plan quickly to show participants you took their feedback seriously and are committed to making the project a success.

It’s probably easiest to start with the internal SWOT factors you have control over, so focus on maximizing strengths and mitigating weaknesses first. Your action plan might include rearranging your team, finding a new tool, adding more resources, talking to sales, or more. 

Once these internal factors are in motion, take a look at the threats and opportunities that are more outside of your control. Work closely with your primary stakeholder or client-side project manager to determine the best course of action, including how you’ll handle any new opportunities or threats that may arise.

After you have a game plan, schedule any necessary meetings. Then create a clear plan with deadlines, and assign tasks to team members. Using an online project planner like TeamGantt makes it easy to communicate priorities to your team and report back to stakeholders so they know what steps have been taken and what’s to come. 

Get your action plan off the ground faster with one of our free project templates!

8. Monitor and revisit your SWOT strategy

If time allows, go back to your SWOT analysis throughout the project, as well as at the end. See if you’re accomplishing what you set out to do or if you have room to tackle any additional items now.

Self-reflection and solid data can help you hone your skills as a project manager and improve projects over time.

SWOT analysis example

To help you get a better understanding of how this process might work, let’s take a look at a sample SWOT analysis for a new marketing website build. Our example project also features a large lead-capture component that connects to Salesforce.

• Our development team has completed several Salesforce integrations.
• This project is a top priority for the client. Leadership has given staff permission to set other initiatives aside to help with the project.
• The core team has been through a website redesign in the past.
• The strategists are available right now and can jump into discovery and research.
• The new brand has already been created and approved, and all website assets are available.
• We don’t have much user data or feedback collected yet.
• The timeline is immovable.
• This is the project’s first phase, so the full team has not worked together.
• The company’s top 3 leadership positions changed in the last 6 months.
• The best new feature of the project won’t be ready until launch, so no video or images will be available for the website.
• The client has strict security procedures, and we need to work solely in Microsoft to share documents. However, our team is used to using Google.
• The Salesforce implementation contractor has offered to scale up their team to help implement the tool quickly.
• The client views this launch as phase 1 and has funding for 2 more phases.
• If the dev team gets stuck on another project, we have other dev team members we can move over to start all builds, except the Salesforce integration. 
• For another project, our team created a revenue-generating resource library. It could be another source of income.
• We’ve identified that 75% of site visitors don’t go past the homepage.
• The client doesn’t like their current workflow for lead capture, but they’re arguing internally about how it should change.
• The client has not used Salesforce before.
• The client’s main competitor just launched a new, sleek website. 
• The launch date is set for 4 months. We think the project needs 6 months. 
• Launch is expected to happen right after the December holidays.
• Our dev team has another project to wrap up before starting this project, and it’s been known to miss all its deadlines.

While the matrix format provides a nice visual in the meeting, it doesn’t transition nicely into your next steps as a project manager. Here’s how you might adapt this example to a Kanban board that allows you to prioritize action items easily, assign deadlines and people to tasks, add notes, etc.

Free SWOT analysis templates

If you're looking for a SWOT analysis template, a free one is always a great place to start. We created a few different options to help you save time preparing for and creating a SWOT analysis of your own. 

• SWOT analysis planner template [PDF] : Use these example questions to guide discussions around project strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• SWOT analysis template [Word] : Download this editable SWOT analysis template to create a simple one-page matrix for your project.
• SWOT analysis template [PowerPoint] : Use this SWOT analysis template to present your final analysis to your project team and/or stakeholders.

Take easy action on your SWOT analysis with TeamGantt

Want to make a SWOT analysis everyone can collaborate on? Try TeamGantt for free , and use our board feature to create and prioritize your SWOT analysis as a team. 

Once your analysis is done, transform action items into a plan that’s easy to schedule, manage, and track. Check out our free project template hub for ideas you can use to get your plan off the ground faster.

About the author: Lynn Winter

Lynn is a freelance Digital Strategist who combines 20+ years of experience in content strategy, user experience, and project management to bring a holistic approach to her work. She has spoken at numerous local and national conferences and hosts an annual conference for Digital Project Managers called Manage Digital ( http://managedigital.io/ ). You can connect with her at lynnwintermn.com .

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10+ business plan swot analysis template – pdf.

All sample plans start with an analysis of the situation. If that plan involves a business, the planning process usually begins with the said business taking a stock of their situation. One method of analysis for any business is the SWOT analysis. Whether it be for strategic plans, operational plans , or business plan, the SWOT analysis will surely come through.

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4. Strategy Building

5. matching and converting, 6. corporate planning.

• Set objectives
• Scan the environment
• Analyze existing strategies
• Define strategic issues
• Develop new/revised strategies
• Establish critical success factors
• Prepare plans (strategy, operational, resource, project) for the implementation of the strategy
• Monitor results

7. Marketing

• Qualitative marketing research (focus groups)
• Quantitative marketing research (statistical surveys)
• Experimental techniques (test markets)
• Observational techniques (on-site observations)

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SWOT Analysis Strategies: Empower Your Business

What Is SWOT Analysis? SWOT Analysis is a framework used in strategic planning to assess a company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It examines both internal capabilities and external possibilities, highlighting areas where a business currently thrives and where it may succeed in the future.

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Seeking a competitive edge? You’ve landed in the perfect spot! SWOT Analysis is your go-to strategy tool. It dissects four key aspects to measure your business’s industry standing. This technique sheds light on real-world data for smarter decisions and sparks innovation for fresh offerings or tactics. 

Dive into this blog to understand What is SWOT Analysis, its significance, and the perks it brings. Plus, we’ve thrown in  a handy template to kick-start your own SWOT journey at work. All set in straightforward, engaging language to keep you hooked! 

Table of Contents

1) What is SWOT Analysis?  

2) Why is SWOT Analysis important?  

3) SWOT Analysis components  

4) SWOT table    

5) SWOT Analysis benefits  

6) How to conduct a SWOT Analysis?  

7) SWOT Analysis example  

8) SWOT Analysis template  

9) Conclusion  

What is SWOT Analysis?  

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Conducting a SWOT Analysis can challenge precarious presumptions and reveal hidden pitfalls in your organisation’s performance. It offers fresh perspectives on your business’s current state and, crucially, guides you in crafting the perfect strategy for any scenario. 

Consider this: You might recognise several strengths within your business. But juxtaposing them with weaknesses and threats could expose their fragility and unreliability. 

On the flip side, while you may have legitimate worries about certain weaknesses, a thorough SWOT Analysis could uncover a missed opportunity that might well outweigh the drawbacks.  

SWOT Analysis components  

SWOT framework can paint a bigger picture of where you are at and how to take the next step. As you understand What Is a SWOT Analysis, let's explore its various components and see how it can help point out areas of improvement.  

1) Strength  

The "S" of SWOT stands for strengths. When analysing these areas, you will learn what is already working and be able to apply your strength in other areas that may require a little more help, like making your team more productive. To determine the possible strengths of your organisation, ask questions like the following:  

1) What are we doing well, even better, or best?  

2) What makes our organisation different?  

3) What will the target audience like about this organisation?  

4) Which categories or features are better than others and prevail over our competitors?  

2) Weaknesses  

Weaknesses in SWOT denotes to internal initiatives that underperform. It's advised to analyse strengths before weaknesses, so that benchmarking of both success and failure can be done. It allows identifying the internal weaknesses and hence aims to improve those projects. Figure out what your company's weaknesses are by asking these queries.  

1) Which of the programs/initiatives are not performing as they are?  

2) What could you do with improvement?  

3) What resources will give us the best performance?  

4) How do we fare when competing with our colleagues?   

3) Opportunities  

SWOT opportunities arise from your existing strengths and weaknesses, along with further external initiatives that will put you in a stronger competitive position. These could be anything from weaknesses that you would like to improve or areas that were either not identified or focused on in the first two phases of your analysis. Here are some questions to consider before you start since you can come up with opportunities in many ways: 

What kind of resources can we access to improve our weaknesses?  

1) Do we have any market gaps in our services?  

2) What would some of our business goals for the year look like?  

3) What do your competitors have that you don't?  

4) Threats 

Threats in a SWOT are the areas with potential problems. Unlike weaknesses, threats are external and out of your control. This could be anything from a global pandemic to a shift in the market. A couple of questions that should come to mind are the following in which you can seek external threats:  

1) What changes in the industry are to be of concern?  

2) What kind of emerging trends are coming in the new market?  

3) Where do we fall behind our competitors? .  

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SWOT table  

A SWOT Analysis is presented as a square with each of the four quadrants dedicated to an element of SWOT. This layout gives a view of the position of the company that can be quickly scanned. While not all points under any given heading have equal importance, they should represent key aspects of the balance of opportunities and threats, advantages and disadvantages, etc. 

The SWOT table most often has: 

1)  Internal factors on the top row  

2) External factors on the bottom row  

3) Positive/favourable aspects on the left side of the table 

4) Concerning/negative elements on the right side 

SWOT Analysis benefits  

A SWOT Analysis is not going to answer every major question a company has. Nonetheless, a SWOT Analysis does have certain advantages that make it easier for strategic decision-makers to move on to the subsequent steps of the process. 

1) Problem management   

When a complex decision is to be made, there will possibly be an overwhelming amount of data to analyse and the relevant points to consider. Generally, a SWOT Analysis is prepared after all ideas are pared down, and the bullets ranked by importance will aggregate a large problem into a more digestible report.  

2) External factors   

Often, a company may be tempted to only consider internal factors while making decisions. However, there are various external factors that are often out of the company's control. This could yield influence, affecting the outcome of a business decision. SWOT analysis covers internal factors that a firm can have control over and the external factors that are also not quite controllable.    

3) Versatile application   

A SWOT Analysis could be related to an organisation, a team, or an individual. It could also conduct a full product line, change to a brand, geographical expansion, or acquisition. The SWOT Analysis is a very versatile tool with many applications.  

4) Data utilisation   

A company will use the internal information for analysing strength and weaknesses. For opportunities and threats, they will need to collect information from the outside pertaining to broad markets, competition, or the macroeconomic forces. A good SWOT Analysis compiles a few of the angles, rather than depending on only one source, which could be full of bias.   

5) Cost effective   

Some of the SWOT reports may not need to be too technical. Thus, many different staff members can contribute to its preparation without training or external consulting. 

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How to conduct a SWOT Analysis?  

Here are a few ways you can make sure your SWOT Analysis is comprehensive and correct. Take a look at some tips for getting started below.  

Step 1: Assess internal factors  

Strengths and weaknesses are typically rooted in an organisation’s internal operations. They are often more manageable to address because they fall within the organisation’s sphere of influence. To tackle these internal elements, consider adopting the following strategies: 

a) Organise a strategic session with key departmental figures to craft a business strategy aimed at enhancing your current operational status. 

b) Investigate and adopt new technological solutions, such as project management software, to help streamline your workflows. 

c) Promptly act on any modifiable factors within a day’s reach. If personal bandwidth is limited, assign these tasks to others, especially if they are time-sensitive. 

Step 2: Analyse external factors  

External factors are influences that originate beyond the immediate scope of your organisation’s control, including competition and prevailing market dynamics. Broadly, they include any circumstances that impact your organisation from an external standpoint. These factors are often more challenging to address due to their uncontrollable nature. However, you can adapt your internal strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of these external elements. To navigate these challenges, you might: 

1) Competing with current market trends  

2) Understand the market trends that happen  

3) Enhancing adaptability to improve your reaction time  

4) Track competitors in real-time by using reporting tools to notify you when it occurs.  

You are not able to manage an external environment, but you can manage the way your organisation responds to it.   

Step 3: Facilitate brainstorming  

You may want to have high-impact brainstorming sessions in which new and innovative ideas give rise to creativity, inspiring action. To that end, you might want to:  

1) Have representatives from all parts of the company: sales, customer support, research, and finance.  

2) Be judicious about the number of team members you invite; over-inviting can dilute focus or participation. The ideal number of team members for a successful brainstorming session is around ten teammates.  

3) Work on people's different brainstorming techniques that will appeal to their work types.  

4) Set a clear intention for the session.  

Step 4: Foster creativity  

There should be the generation of creative ideas, fun ways to generate creative opportunities. This could involve randomly picking up anonymous ideas, talking through obviously bad examples, or playing team-building games to psych up the team.  

Step 5: Rank opportunities  

You have to invite creative ideas in order to generate them, which means putting some fun ways in which to look for opportunities. It could be randomly drawing up anonymous ideas, talking through obviously bad examples, or playing team-building games to psych up the team.  

Step 6: Implement plans  

At this stage, one really feels "done," but the work has just, in the words of another candidate, "really begun." What shall we do after doing our SWOT Analysis and getting a list of prioritised opportunities? It's time for action. It's time for turning these into strengths. A structured system, such as using a business case, project plan, or implementation plan, outlines what needs to get done and how you plan to do it.  

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SWOT Analysis example  

This SWOT Analysis helps the company identify areas where it excels, where it can improve, and external factors that could impact its success. By understanding these elements, the company can formulate strategies to capitalise on its strengths and opportunities while mitigating its weaknesses and threats. 

 Here’s an example of a SWOT Analysis for a hypothetical technology company: 

Strengths: 

a) Innovative culture: The company fosters an environment that encourages creativity and innovation, leading to the development of cutting-edge products. 

b)Strong brand: Recognised as a leader in technology, the company has a loyal customer base and a strong brand image. 

c) Financial health: With robust revenue streams and significant market share, the company is financially stable and capable of investing in new projects. 

Weaknesses: 

a) High dependence on a single market: The majority of the company’s revenue comes from one geographic region, making it vulnerable to regional economic fluctuations. 

b) Limited product range: The company specialises in a narrow range of products, which could be a disadvantage if market trends shift. 

c) Skill gaps: There is a shortage of skilled professionals in certain departments, impacting the company’s ability to innovate rapidly. 

Opportunities: 

a) Emerging markets: There are emerging markets that the company has not yet tapped into, presenting opportunities for expansion. 

b) Technological advancements: The company can leverage new technologies to improve its products and services, staying ahead of competitors. 

c) Strategic partnerships: Forming alliances with other businesses could open up new markets and enhance the company’s offerings. 

Threats: 

a) Intense competition: The technology sector is highly competitive, with new players constantly entering the market. 

b) Regulatory changes: New regulations could impose additional costs or restrict the company’s operations in certain regions. 

c) Cyber security risks: As a tech company, there is a constant threat of cyber attacks that could compromise data security and customer trust.

Conclusion  

A SWOT Analysis can guide business strategy meetings. It is powerful to have everyone in the room discuss the core strengths and weaknesses of the company, explore the opportunities and threats, and brainstorm different ideas. Mostly, the SWOT Analysis helps you reflect on factors you were unaware of before and would never have captured if not for the group’s input. We hope this blog about What is SWOT Analysis has helped you get an idea about the topic. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

SWOT Analysis helps businesses strategies by identifying strengths to leverage, weaknesses to improve, opportunities to explore, and threats to mitigate. This technique guides decision-making and strategic planning.  

Threats are certain factors that can potentially harm an organisation. A threat combined with weakness is a risk. Examples of threats include rising material costs, tight labour supply, increasing competition, failure to get approvals, supply chain breakdowns, legal/regulatory issues, weather/natural disasters, etc. 

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10 Free Business Plan Templates in Word, Excel, & ClickUp

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

February 13, 2024

Turning your vision into a clear and coherent business plan can be confusing and tough. 

Hours of brainstorming and facing an intimidating blank page can raise more questions than answers. Are you covering everything? What should go where? How do you keep each section thorough but brief?

If these questions have kept you up at night and slowed your progress, know you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve put together the top 10 business plan templates in Word, Excel, and ClickUp—to provide answers, clarity, and a structured framework to work with. This way, you’re sure to capture all the relevant information without wasting time. 

And the best part? Business planning becomes a little less “ugh!” and a lot more “aha!” 🤩

What is a Business Plan Template?

What makes a good business plan template, 1. clickup business plan template, 2. clickup sales plan template, 3. clickup business development action plan template, 4. clickup business roadmap template, 5. clickup business continuity plan template, 6. clickup lean business plan template, 7. clickup small business action plan template, 8. clickup strategic business roadmap template , 9. microsoft word business plan template by microsoft, 10. excel business plan template by vertex42.

A business plan template is a structured framework for entrepreneurs and business executives who want to create business plans. It comes with pre-arranged sections and headings that cover key elements like the executive summary , business overview, target customers, unique value proposition, marketing plans, and financial statements.  

A good business plan template helps with thorough planning, clear documentation, and practical implementation. Here’s what to look for:

• Comprehensive structure: A good template comes with all the relevant sections to outline a business strategy, such as executive summary, market research and analysis, and financial projections 
• Clarity and guidance: A good template is easy to follow. It has brief instructions or prompts for each section, guiding you to think deeply about your business and ensuring you don’t skip important details
• Clean design: Aesthetics matter. Choose a template that’s not just functional but also professionally designed. This ensures your plan is presentable to stakeholders, partners, and potential investors
• Flexibility : Your template should easily accommodate changes without hassle, like adding or removing sections, changing content and style, and rearranging parts 🛠️ 

While a template provides the structure, it’s the information you feed it that brings it to life. These pointers will help you pick a template that aligns with your business needs and clearly showcases your vision.

10 Business Plan Templates to Use in 2024

Preparing for business success in 2024 (and beyond) requires a comprehensive and organized business plan. We’ve handpicked the best templates to help you guide your team, attract investors, and secure funding. Let’s check them out.

If you’re looking to replace a traditional business plan document, then ClickUp’s Business Plan Template is for you!

This one-page business plan template, designed in ClickUp Docs , is neatly broken down into the following sections:

• Company description : Overview, mission, vision, and team
• Market analysis : Problem, solution, target market, competition, and competitive advantage
• Sales and marketing strategy : Products/services and marketing channels
• Operational plan : Location and facilities, equipment and tools, manpower, and financial forecasts
• Milestones and metrics: Targets and KPIs

Customize the template with your company logo and contact details, and easily navigate to different sections using the collapsible table of contents. The mini prompts under each section guide you on what to include—with suggestions on how to present the data (e.g., bullet lists, pictures, charts, and tables). 

You can share the document with anyone via URL and collaborate in real time. And when the business plan is ready, you have the option to print it or export it to PDF, HTML, or Markdown.

But that’s not all. This template is equipped with basic and enterprise project management features to streamline the business plan creation process . The Topics List view has a list of all the different sections and subsections of the template and allows you to assign it to a team member, set a due date, and attach relevant documents and references.

Switch from List to Board view to track and update task statuses according to the following: To Do, In Progress, Needs Revision, and Complete. 

This template is a comprehensive toolkit for documenting the different sections of your business plan and streamlining the creation process to ensure it’s completed on time. 🗓️

If you’re looking for a tool to kickstart or update your sales plan, ClickUp’s Sales Plan Template has got you covered. This sales plan template features a project summary list with tasks to help you craft a comprehensive and effective sales strategy. Some of these tasks include:

• Determine sales objectives and goals
• Draft positioning statement
• Perform competitive analysis
• Draft ideal customer persona
• Create a lead generation strategy

Assign each task to a specific individual or team, set priority levels , and add due dates. Specify what section of the sales plan each task belongs to (e.g., executive summary, revenue goals, team structure, etc.), deliverable type (such as document, task, or meeting), and approval state (like pending, needs revisions, and approved).

And in ClickUp style, you can switch to multiple views: List for a list of all tasks, Board for visual task management, Timeline for an overview of task durations, and Gantt to get a view of task dependencies. 

This simple business plan template is perfect for any type of business looking to create a winning sales strategy while clarifying team roles and keeping tasks organized. ✨

Thinking about scaling your business’s reach and operations but unsure where or how to start? It can be overwhelming, no doubt—you need a clear vision, measurable goals, and an actionable plan that every member of your team can rally behind. 

Thankfully, ClickUp’s Business Development Action Plan Template is designed to use automations to simplify this process so every step toward your business growth is clear, trackable, and actionable.

Start by assessing your current situation and deciding on your main growth goal. Are you aiming to increase revenue, tap into new markets, or introduce new products or services? With ClickUp Whiteboards or Docs, brainstorm and collaborate with your team on this decision.

Set and track your short- and long-term growth goals with ClickUp’s Goals , break them down into smaller targets, and assign these targets to team members, complete with due dates. Add these targets to a new ClickUp Dashboard to track real-time progress and celebrate small wins. 🎉

Whether you’re a startup or small business owner looking to hit your next major milestone or an established business exploring new avenues, this template keeps your team aligned, engaged, and informed every step of the way.

ClickUp’s Business Roadmap Template is your go-to for mapping out major strategies and initiatives in areas like revenue growth, brand awareness, community engagement, and customer satisfaction. 

Use the List view to populate tasks under each initiative. With Custom Fields, you can capture which business category (e.g., Product, Operations, Sales & Marketing, etc.) tasks fall under and which quarter they’re slated for. You can also link to relevant documents and resources and evaluate tasks by effort and impact to ensure the most critical tasks get the attention they deserve. 👀

Depending on your focus, this template provides different views to show just what you need. For example, the All Initiatives per Quarter view lets you focus on what’s ahead by seeing tasks that need completion within a specific quarter. This ensures timely execution and helps in aligning resources effectively for the short term.

This template is ideal for business executives and management teams who need to coordinate multiple short- and long-term initiatives and business strategies.

In business, unexpected threats to operations can arise at any moment. Whether it’s economic turbulence, a global health crisis, or supply chain interruptions, every company needs to be ready. ClickUp’s Business Continuity Plan Template lets you prepare proactively for these unforeseen challenges.

The template organizes tasks into three main categories:

• Priorities: Tasks that need immediate attention
• Continuity coverage: Tasks that must continue despite challenges
• Guiding principles: Resources and protocols to ensure smooth operations

The Board view makes it easy to visualize all the tasks under each of these categories. And the Priorities List sorts tasks by those that are overdue, the upcoming ones, and then the ones due later.

In times of uncertainty, being prepared is your best strategy. This template helps your business not just survive but thrive in challenging situations, keeping your customers, employees, and investors satisfied. 🤝

Looking to execute your business plan the “lean” way? Use ClickUp’s Lean Business Plan Template . It’s designed to help you optimize resource usage and cut unnecessary steps—giving you better results with less effort.

In the Plan Summary List view, list all the tasks that need to get done. Add specific details like who’s doing each task, when it’s due, and which part of the Business Model Canvas (BMC) it falls under. The By Priority view sorts this list based on priorities like Urgent, High, Normal, and Low. This makes it easy to spot the most important tasks and tackle them first.

Additionally, the Board view gives you an overview of task progression from start to finish. And the BMC view rearranges these tasks based on the various BMC components. 

Each task can further be broken down into subtasks and multiple checklists to ensure all related action items are executed. ✔️

This template is an invaluable resource for startups and large enterprises looking to maximize process efficiencies and results in a streamlined and cost-effective way.

The Small Business Action Plan Template by ClickUp is tailor-made for small businesses looking to transform their business ideas and goals into actionable steps and, eventually, into reality. 

It provides a simple and organized framework for creating, assigning, prioritizing, and tracking tasks. And in effect, it ensures that goals are not just set but achieved. Through the native dashboard and goal-setting features, you can monitor task progress and how they move you closer to achieving your goals.

Thanks to ClickUp’s robust communication features like chat, comments, and @mentions, it’s easy to get every team member on the same page and quickly address questions or concerns.

Use this action plan template to hit your business goals by streamlining your internal processes and aligning team efforts.

For larger businesses and scaling enterprises, getting different departments to work together toward a big goal can be challenging. The ClickUp Strategic Business Roadmap Template makes it easier by giving you a clear plan to follow.

This template is packaged in a folder and split into different lists for each department in your business, like Sales, Product, Marketing, and Enablement. This way, every team can focus on their tasks while collectively contributing to the bigger goal.

There are multiple viewing options available for team members. These include:

• Progress Board: Visualize tasks that are on track, those at risk, and those behind
• Gantt view: Get an overview of project timelines and dependencies
• Team view: See what each team member is working on so you can balance workloads for maximum productivity

While this template may feel overwhelming at first, the getting started guide offers a step-by-step breakdown to help you navigate it with ease. And like all ClickUp templates, you can easily customize it to suit your business needs and preferences.

Microsoft’s 20-page traditional business plan template simplifies the process of drafting comprehensive business plans. It’s made up of different sections, including:

• Executive summary : Highlights, objectives, mission statement, and keys to success
• Description of business: Company ownership and legal structure, hours of operation, products and services, suppliers, financial plans, etc.
• Marketing: Market analysis, market segmentation, competition, and pricing
• Appendix: Start-up expenses, cash flow statements, income statements, sales forecast, milestones, break-even analysis, etc.

The table of contents makes it easy to move to different sections of the document. And the text placeholders under each section provide clarity on the specific details required—making the process easier for users who may not be familiar with certain business terminology.

No business template roundup is complete without an Excel template. This business plan template lets you work on your business financials in Excel. It comes with customizable tables, formulas, and charts to help you look at the following areas:

• Highlight charts
• Market analysis
• Start-up assets and expenses
• Sales forecasts
• Profit and loss
• Balance sheet
• Cash flow projections
• Break-even analysis

This Excel template is especially useful when you want to create a clear and visual financial section for your business plan document—an essential element for attracting investors and lenders. However, there might be a steep learning curve to using this template if you’re not familiar with business financial planning and using Excel.

Try a Free Business Plan Template in ClickUp

Launching and running a successful business requires a well-thought-out and carefully crafted business plan. However, the business planning process doesn’t have to be complicated, boring, or take up too much time. Use any of the above 10 free business plan formats to simplify and speed up the process.

ClickUp templates go beyond offering a solid foundation to build your business plans. They come with extensive project management features to turn your vision into reality. And that’s not all— ClickUp’s template library offers over 1,000 additional templates to help manage various aspects of your business, from decision-making to product development to resource management .

Sign up for ClickUp’s Free Forever Plan today to fast-track your business’s growth! 🏆

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Free MS Word Strategic Planning Templates

By Courtney Patterson | May 11, 2024

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Below is a collection of the best strategic planning templates in Microsoft Word to help you create a comprehensive roadmap for future growth and success.

Included in this article, you'll find: 

• One-page business strategy template

Microsoft Word IT Strategic Plan Template

• 5-year strategic business plan template
• Nonprofit strategic plan template
• List of related strategic planning templates

Microsoft Word Basic Strategic Plan Template

Download the Sample Basic Strategic Plan Template for Microsoft Word   Download the Blank Basic Strategic Plan Template for Microsoft Word  

When to Use This Template : Use this template with or without sample data when you are starting your business and need to outline a clear direction and foundational strategies. This tool is crucial for transitioning from an informal approach to a more structured strategic planning process. 

Notable Template Features : This basic strategic plan template simplifies the planning process with a clear, easy-to-follow structure that covers essential strategic elements. It includes sections for mission and vision statements, a SWOT analysis, goals, and action plans, making it accessible for first-time strategists.

Check out these  free strategic planning templates that offer robust resources, including ready-to-use frameworks and expert advice, so you can meticulously craft and execute your strategic vision.

Microsoft Word One-Page Business Strategic Plan Template

Download Sample One-Page Business Strategic Plan Template for Microsoft Word Download Blank One-Page Business Strategic Plan Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Consider this template when you’re on a deadline and need a swift, comprehensive snapshot of your strategy. Available with or without sample data, the template is ideal for pre-meeting preparations, allowing you to quickly and thoroughly review your strategic position.

Notable Template Features : This one-page business strategic plan template boils down intricate strategies to a single, accessible page. Featuring streamlined sections for goals, actions, and metrics, it delivers a clear and concise strategic outline that's easy to share and discuss. Download the sample version for a pre-filled template, or try the blank version to fill in the sections with your own data.

Check out this  strategic planning guide , complete with free templates that offer you all the tools and insights you need to expertly develop and implement your strategic plans.

Download Microsoft Word IT Strategic Plan Template Download Sample IT Strategic Plan Template  

When to Use This Template : Dive into this template when your IT department is gearing up for a major overhaul or aligning with new business strategies. Available with or without example text, the template is a must-have for plotting out the technological roadmap that supports your organization's long-term vision.

Notable Template Features : This IT strategic plan template features IT-specific sections, such as technology assessments and future roadmaps, making it a powerhouse for managing and planning IT investments. The template includes detailed prompts, so you can thoroughly address and align each aspect of your IT strategy, from cybersecurity to cloud computing, with overarching business objectives.

Explore this  article on crafting strategic plans . It offers a treasure trove of free templates to guide your team through the strategic planning process, ensuring a seamless and effective strategy formulation.

Microsoft Word Advanced Strategic Planning Template

Download the Sample Advanced Strategic Planning Template for Microsoft Word Download the Blank Advanced Strategic Planning Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Turn to this dynamic template with or without sample data when you’re ready to plan an all-inclusive strategy. Perfect for times of significant growth or change, it's especially useful for teams looking to blend comprehensive market insights with long-term planning.

Notable Template Features : This advanced strategic planning template is designed to guide you through every facet of strategic development, from SWOT analysis to detailed financial planning. Offering structured sections for an all-encompassing view of your business landscape, it ensures that you have a robust foundation for decision-making and future growth. Download the sample version for a pre-filled template, or try the blank version to fill in your own data.

Dive into this comprehensive  guide on strategic planning model templates to access a diverse array of free resources and streamline the path to your strategic goals.

Microsoft Word One-Year Strategic Business Plan Template

Download Sample One-Year Strategic Business Plan Template for Microsoft Word Download Blank One-Year Strategic Business Plan Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Use this one-year template with or without sample data to reach your key goals within the next year. It's a must for companies looking to translate annual objectives into clear, actionable steps.

Notable Template Features : This one-year strategic business plan template is designed with simplicity in mind, featuring sections that help break down goals into achievable actions and timelines. The template’s streamlined approach ensures that you can focus on what matters most, making it easier to track progress and adjust strategies as needed.

Microsoft Word 5-Year Strategic Business Plan Template

Download the Sample 5-Year Strategic Business Plan Template for Microsoft Word Download the Blank 5-Year Strategic Business Plan Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Use this template to lay the strategic groundwork for the medium-term achievements your organization aims to reach in the next five years. Available with or without sample text, it's perfect for transitioning from startup to established entity, allowing you to focus on expansion and scalability.

Notable Template Features : This 5-year strategic business plan template empowers you to set ambitious yet attainable goals and create strategies for market expansion. It also includes tools for financial forecasting and resource allocation, making it easier to manage growth and measure success over a longer period.

Microsoft Word Long-Term Strategic Business Plan Template

Download the Long-Term Strategic Business Plan Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Use this template when you’re aiming for a plan of 10 years or longer and envisioning your business's journey toward long-term innovation and industry leadership.

Notable Template Features : Featuring a decade-spanning outlook, this long-term strategic plan template empowers you to set visionary goals and detailed strategies for sustainable growth and innovation. It’s designed to help you align your long-range plans with actionable steps, ensuring every department is moving toward a common, ambitious future.

Microsoft Word University Strategic Plan Outline Template

Download Sample University Strategic Plan Outline Template for Microsoft Word Download Blank University Strategic Plan Outline Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : This template helps university leaders chart a future course that enriches academic excellence and campus life. Use it during periods of strategic reflection or in advance of accreditation reviews to ensure all goals align with the institution's mission and vision.

Notable Template Features : Tailored to the academic sector, this strategic plan outline includes sections for setting educational priorities, creating a strategy for program development, and planning campus enhancements. Available with or without example text, it facilitates a comprehensive approach to institutional growth, encouraging stakeholder engagement and long-term planning for academic and infrastructural improvements.

Microsoft Word Marketing Strategic Planning Template

Download the Sample Marketing Strategic Planning Template for Microsoft Word Download the Blank Marketing Strategic Planning Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Turn to this template when you're preparing to put a new product on the market or revamping your brand's presence. It's ideal for synchronizing your marketing initiatives with your overarching business goals.

Notable Template Features : This template with or without sample data stands out with its clear sections for defining marketing objectives, pinpointing your audience, and crafting detailed campaign strategies. It supports marketers by laying out a comprehensive plan that not only attracts but also retains customers, ensuring all marketing activities are in lockstep with the business's vision and objectives. Try the pre-filled template to see sample text, or use the blank template to fill in your own data.

Microsoft Word Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

Download the Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template : Reach for this template when your nonprofit is gearing up for a period of strategic renewal or aiming to better align its efforts with its core mission. Helping you clearly articulate your organization's direction and impact, this tool is crucial for running annual planning sessions or preparing funding and grant applications.

Notable Template Features : This template is designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, featuring sections dedicated to mission statement clarification, stakeholder engagement strategies, and impact assessment methods. It offers a comprehensive framework for nonprofits to navigate the complexities of sustainability and mission-driven planning, ensuring every activity contributes to long-term success.

Related Strategic Planning Templates

Discover this list of free templates that perfectly complement your strategic planning needs. From business model canvases to detailed market analyses and customer journeys, these tools ensure a solid value proposition and guide your business toward success.

Free Microsoft Word Action Plan Templates

Check out these  free Microsoft Word action plan templates for tools to streamline your project planning, enhance your task management, and achieve your goals more efficiently.

Free Gap Analysis Templates

Explore this  collection of free gap analysis templates to help you identify the discrepancies between your business's current state and its desired future state, offering a clear pathway for strategic improvement and goal achievement.

Free Scenario Analysis Templates

Use these  free scenario analysis templates to get frameworks that prepare you for various future possibilities, enabling strategic decision-making and risk management.

Secure Your Organization’s Future Success with Strategic Planning Templates from Smartsheet

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Money Talks News

Plan Your Job and Career With a SWOT Analysis

Posted: January 3, 2024 | Last updated: May 23, 2024

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on FlexJobs.com .

Are you looking to gain insight into your next career move? Whether you’ve already launched your job search or you’re simply analyzing your career map, are you seeking a direction that’s intentional and not based on circumstance? If so, consider using a SWOT analysis to strategize your job search and your career as a whole.

Businesses frequently use SWOT analyses to strategize and plan based on an overview of their current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Even though the SWOT analysis was created for project management and large strategizing, it can be just as effective for career planning. A SWOT analysis involves two areas: The first involves factors you can control — internal strengths and weaknesses; the second involves analyzing factors outside of your control — external opportunities and threats.

When you work through a SWOT analysis, you’ll better understand how you can impact external factors in your career by highlighting or developing your skills.

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How Does a SWOT Analysis Work? (Template)

Break your brainstorming and analysis into four distinct sections: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Although a traditional SWOT analysis comprises a large square broken into four separate segments, you can also create four lists. The key is to create them independently but in a way that allows you to analyze correlations between them.

As the name implies, this is what you’re good at. However, digging deeper into your strengths is vital to career success. In the context of your job search, it’s your on-the-job experience, certificates, and education. Along with all of those hard skills , list out your soft skills .

Include anything that sets you apart or might give you an edge over the competition. If you’re drawing a blank, think back to previous performance reviews or feedback from professors, previous managers, or coworkers. That should give you a good starting place for your list.

Perhaps you’re an excellent communicator, able to articulate complex ideas in a way anyone can understand. Or, maybe your project management skills have kept your previous teams on track and under budget. These experiences, skills, and talents make you a catch for employers.

Brainstorming questions :

• What top three skills help me approach projects uniquely from others with the same title?
• What tasks or situations have made me feel the most confident and effective?
• What personal qualities do my bosses and coworkers acknowledge or praise (team leadership, innovative thinking, attention to detail)?
• What accomplishment am I most proud of in my career?

Avoid spiraling into self-criticism. Consider your weaknesses in the context of a future job or promotion you’d like. Be honest about where your skills lie and where they need improvement in order to achieve your goals.

• What skills do I feel less confident in, but need to advance in my field?
• Have I received feedback from colleagues, supervisors, or clients about specific aspects of my work that need improving?
• Are there recurring patterns in my professional life that lead to being overwhelmed?
• What gaps in my education, certification, or professional development do I need to address?

No one’s perfect, and recognizing areas for improvement is good. Perhaps you need help with public speaking or getting too anxious when it’s time to present in a meeting. Or, maybe you’ve received specific feedback, such as your writing could be more transparent, or you can only progress once you become proficient in specific software.

Your weaknesses might not be interpersonal. They could be qualifications you need, such as specific software or certification. These aren’t failures but areas where you can grow.

Opportunities

At first glance, your opportunities overlap with your weaknesses. But they’re two very distinct categories. Opportunities refer to external factors that you don’t control. You’ll add potential careers and positions that you might pursue. That could be a company whose products or mission aligns more closely with your interests.

You may be tech-savvy with a passion for helping others. Have new digital tools created opportunities in health or finance that weren’t there before? This could be a perfect niche for you to explore.

On the other hand, it could be a more lucrative salary or flexible schedule that you’re after. Maybe technology is advancing and creating growth in a specific area of your job. Are there new roles opening up because of that? Those are opportunities for your job search and your career.

• Are there any projects or initiatives your team hasn’t approached yet but would be a great fit?
• What industry advancements are happening that you could lean into and help your team embrace?
• Is there growth potential on the horizon due to company expansion or retirement? How do you set yourself up for promotion when those opportunities arise?
• Is there a specific aspect of your role that you really enjoy? How could you set yourself up for a career move where you can focus more heavily on that aspect?

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When assessing threats in the context of your job search or career plan , consider all of the factors beyond your control. Analyze industry trends, job market competition, technological advancements, or economic conditions. Although you can’t eliminate these external factors, you can develop strategies to mitigate their impact on your career path.

• Is your company considering a merger or acquisition that could limit your momentum?
• Are technology advances significantly impacting your industry, possibly leading to fewer high-quality positions?
• Has your life situation or health impacted your ability to fulfill your duties?
• Does your current situation lack opportunity for growth?

Economic factors, like local and national financial concerns, are well outside your control. As you craft your job search and overall career plan, strategize effectively to weather any threats.

Related: 17 Surprising Things You Can Sell for Extra Money

Apply SWOT Analysis in Your Job Search

Once you’ve got a target, you can create a plan to get there. Consider how your experiences align with your target and what development you need, and plan to meet any external threats you listed.

Self-awareness is powerful! But you still need to take action on your findings. Create an actionable plan using SMART goal-setting — make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).

Break down larger tasks into smaller, more approachable tasks to build momentum.

If you need help building a clear path from where you’re at to where you want to be, consider working with a mentor or career coach to help you strategize. Remember to put a placeholder on your calendar for each quarter to reassess your SWOT analysis and adjust as needed.

Using a SWOT analysis to help you create a clear pathway is an innovative way to take a step back and strategize your career moves. It can offer a powerful insight that enables you to navigate the job market with more focus, intention, and confidence. So, roll up your sleeves and start SWOT-ing your way to a successful career!

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