Companies generally use a range of analysis techniques to define their strategy. One of the most widely used methods is SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). This method is easy to understand and adopt. It enables companies to focus on their strengths while identifying weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

1. How does SWOT work?

The SWOT consists of four categories: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These four categories are placed in a five-box « cross » type table. Each box corresponds to a category.

Strengths are all the characteristics you possess that enable you to compete in a given market. These are the strengths that make you competitive.

Weaknesses are the characteristics that prevent you from being competitive in a given market. This refers to anything that handicaps you in the exercise of your professional activity.

Opportunities are all the characteristics you could exploit to achieve your strategic objectives in a given situation. These are the opportunities that can be created from the exercise of your professional activity.

Threats are the characteristics that can prevent you from achieving your strategic objectives in a given situation. These are threats that have an impact on your business activities.

1.1. Strengths

In the first stages of the assessment process, you need to define your company’s strengths. In general, your company’s strengths are :

– Your company’s strengths are experience and expertise. They have enabled the company to grow and acquire a good reputation in the community.

– Your strengths as a company are your ability to offer a quality service at a competitive price and your reputation with customers.

– Your company’s strengths are its relationships with suppliers and customers.

– Your company’s strengths are your employees’ skills and their efficiency.

1.2. Weaknesses

Next, you need to find your company’s weaknesses. Your company’s weaknesses are factors that could prevent you from achieving your strategic objectives in a given situation. These are factors that have an impact on the quality of your product or service, and which can damage the company’s reputation and long-term viability.

– Your primary weakness is insufficient funding. You don’t have enough equity to invest in improving your equipment and production facilities. Nor can you hire more employees or expand. Your primary weakness is therefore your lack of equity.

– Your primary weakness also lies in the shortage of human resources. You don’t have a lot of skilled labor, especially for the director position. Your primary weakness is therefore the shortage of human resources.

– Your primary weakness also lies in the poor quality of your products or services. Your repairs are unreliable and time-consuming for your customers. Your first weakness is the poor quality of your products or services.

– Finally, your primary weakness lies in your lack of brand image. Your products or services are not recognized and are difficult to sell. Your first weakness is therefore a lack of brand image.

Once you’ve identified your company’s weaknesses, you can start to address them. Here are a few tips to help you along the way:

– Start by identifying the causes of your weaknesses.

Why is there a lack of brand image?

Why is there a shortage of qualified human resources?

Why is there a problem with the quality of your products or services?

– Next, define your objectives.

You want to enhance your brand image, increase the number of qualified people working for you, improve the quality of your products or services. Here are just a few examples.

– Finally, make a concrete plan to achieve these goals.

1.3. The opportunities

are opportunities that exist in your business sector. You can define them according to different criteria: geographical, technological, socio-cultural, economic.

– Development threats are threats that exist in your business sector. You can identify them using a variety of criteria: geographical, technological, socio-cultural and economic.

– An inventory is an objective description of your current situation. It enables you to define your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improving your development strategy.

1.4. The risks

are risks that exist or could emerge in your sector. You can identify them using a variety of criteria: geographical, technological, socio-cultural and economic.

– Development threats are threats that exist in your business sector. You can identify them using a variety of criteria: geographical, technological, socio-cultural and economic.

2. SWOT in your company

Start with your mission, vision and strategic objectives.

Identify your company’s strengths and weaknesses:

– Define your generic strengths and weaknesses by formulating positive statements about strengths and negative statements about weaknesses.

– Focus your attention on the negative aspects that are not generic factors but apply to your particular situation.

– Analyze possible synergies between strengths and weaknesses.

Identify your development opportunities and threats:

– Define your opportunities by formulating positive statements about the positives and negative statements about the negatives.

– Focus your attention on the negative aspects that are not generic factors but apply to your particular situation.

– Analyze possible synergies between positive and negative points.

Your mission and vision are descriptors of your company:

– Your mission: describing the action you intend to take to meet customers’ needs, it must be clear, precise, universal and defined in positive terms.

– Your vision : describing the perspectives in which you see yourself, it must be clear, precise and specific to your field of activity.

– Your principles: describing your company’s values and philosophy, they should be clear, positive and precise.

– Your definitions: describing the concept you intend to develop in positive terms, they must be clear, precise and universal.

Your strategies are the translation of your objectives and intentions: they must be expressed in positive, precise and universal terms.

Your actions are your means of achieving your goals and realizing your intentions: they must be clear, precise and universal.

Your means are the resources you intend to mobilize to achieve your objectives and realize your intentions: they must be universal.

Your image is the reference point you intend to offer others so that they can locate and identify with your company: it must be positive, precise and universal.

Your values are the point of reference you intend to offer others so that they can understand and support your company: they must be positive, precise and universal.

Your project is the foundation on which you intend to build your company and to which other companies can relate: it must be positive, precise and universal.

Your plan is the roadmap that will enable you to achieve your objectives, put your intentions into practice, mobilize your resources and build your project: it must be positive, precise and universal.

Your actions are the steps you intend to take to achieve your goals and realize your intentions: they must be clear, precise and universal.

3. SWOT, the essential tool

How can SWOT help you define your strategy?

SWOT analysis helps define and develop winning strategies. The first step is to identify your company’s strengths and weaknesses. Then we identify the opportunities and risks that could be generated by your company’s environment. This information allows us to define a clear strategy and set precise objectives.

Setting up a winning strategy involves defining precise objectives, drawing up a roadmap and implementing concrete actions to achieve these objectives. That’s why we’re going to detail all the steps involved in setting up your business strategy.

You can learn about SWOT with our digital marketing training course .

Article source: www.instants-web-formation.fr