What is SWOT Analysis and how to develop a strategy for Success ?

SWOT analysis is a technique that developed at Stanford in the 1970s. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats and a structured planning method that evaluates those four elements of a corporation , project, or business venture. A SWOT analysis is a simple, but powerful, framework for leveraging the organization’s strengths, improving weaknesses, minimizing threats, and taking the best possible advantage of opportunities.

SWOT analysis is a process where the management team identifies the interior and external factors which will affect the company’s future performance. It helps us to spot what’s happening internally and externally in order that you’ll plan and manage your business most effectively and efficiently.

When to Use SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT involves identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, and the opportunities and threats present in the market that it operates in. It can be used for studying the various situation of a business:

• An organization can perform a SWOT analysis for every of its products, services, and markets when choosing the simplest thanks to achieve future growth

• At the beginning of a project, it is vital to urge a handle on the present situation. Appreciating your strengths, studying opportunities, pinpointing weaknesses and identifying threats may be a prudent thanks to begin the start-ups within the right direction.

SWOT Question and Checklist.

We can conduct the SWOT analysis by answering the group of comparable questions (depending on the context or nature of the issues you’d wish to solve) for every of the four components:

Strengths.

1. Identify skills and capabilities that you have.
2. What can you do particularly well, relative to rivals?
3. What resources do you have?
4. Is your brand or reputation strong?

Weaknesses.

1. What do rivals do better than you?
2. What do you do poorly?
3. What generates the most customer dissatisfaction and complaints?
4. What processes and activities can you improve?

Opportunities.

1. Where can you apply your strengths?
2. How are your customers and their needs changing?
3. How is technology changing your business?
4. Are there new ways of producing your products?
5. Are your rivals’ customers dissatisfied?

Threats.

1. Are customers able to meet their needs with alternative products?
2. Are customers needs changing away from your product?
3. What are your competitors developing?
4. Are your rivals improving their product offerings or prices?
5. Are your employees satisfied?
6. Is turnover high?
7. Is new competition coming?
8. Are sales growing slower than the industry average?

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