SWOT Analysis Case Studies

The SWOT analysis method is the situation analysis method. It was proposed by Weirik, a professor of management at the University of San Francisco in the early 1980s. It is often used in enterprise strategy formulation, competitor analysis and other occasions including analysis of S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats. Therefore, the SWOT analysis is a method that comprehensively summarizes the various aspects of the internal and external conditions of the enterprise, and then analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, opportunities, and threats faced.

Through SWOT analysis, you can help companies to pool resources and actions in their strengths and where there are the most opportunities; and to make their strategy clearer.

SWOT Analysis Model

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What is a SWOT model

The analysis of strengths and weaknesses focuses on the strength of the company itself and its comparison with competitors, while the opportunity and threat analysis focus on changes in the external environment and possible impact on the company. In the analysis, all internal factors (i.e., strengths and weaknesses) should be grouped together and then evaluated by external forces (opportunities and threats).

Internal Factors (Strengths and weaknesses)

The analysis of strengths and weaknesses (S-W) of internal conditions is an internal method of assessment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between expertise and ability of the organization’s internal conditions. The strengths and weaknesses of its internal conditions are internal factors that the organization can control, including financial resources, technical resources, research and development, organizational culture, human resources, product characteristics, and marketing resources.

External Factors (opportunities and threats)

With the rapid development of economy, science and technology and many other aspects, especially the acceleration of globalization and integration of the world economy, the establishment of global information networks and the diversification of consumer demand, the environment in which companies are located are more open and volatile. This change has had a profound effect on almost all businesses. Because of this, environmental analysis has become an increasingly important corporate function.

The Opportunity and Threat (O-T) analysis is a method of evaluating the external environment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between the competitions of the industrial environment outside the organization. The opportunities and threats of the external environment are external factors that cannot be controlled by the organization, including factors such as competition, politics, economy, law, society, culture, science and technology, and demographic environment.

What is a Competitive Advantage?

Identifying attractive opportunities in the environment is one thing, and having the necessary competency to succeed in an opportunity is another matter. Each company must regularly check its strengths and weaknesses. When two companies are in the same market or they all can provide products and services to the same customer group, if one of them has higher profitability or profit potential, then we think that the company has a higher competitive advantage than the other. In other words, the so-called competitive advantage refers to a company’s ability to surpass its competitors, and this ability helps to achieve the company’s main goal – profitability. However, it is worth noting that competitive advantage is not necessarily fully reflected in higher profitability, because sometimes companies prefer to increase market share or employees.

Competitive advantage can refer to any superiority in the eyes of a consumer or its product in comparison with its competitors. It can be the breadth of the product line, the size, quality, reliability, suitability, style, and image of the product and services. Although a competitive advantage refers to a company that has a stronger overall advantage than its competitors, it is more meaningful to specify in which area the company has an advantage, because only in this way can we foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, or we can defeat the weakness.

Since the enterprise is a whole and the sources of competitive strengths are very extensive, it is necessary to make a detailed comparison between the company and its competitors from the aspects of the entire value chain when analyzing the strengths and weaknesses. Such as whether the product is novel, whether the manufacturing process is complicated, whether the sales channel is unimpeded, and whether the price is competitive. If an enterprise’s advantage in one aspect or several aspects is the key success factor that a company in the industry should have, then the enterprise’s comprehensive competitive advantage may be stronger. It should be pointed out that to measure whether a company and its products have a competitive advantage can only stand on the perspective of existing potential users, rather than stand on the perspective of the company.

In the process of maintaining a competitive advantage, enterprises must profoundly understand their resources and capabilities and take appropriate measures. Because once a company has a competitive advantage in one aspect, it is bound to attract the attention of competitors. Generally speaking, after a period of hard work, the company establishes a certain competitive advantage; then it is in a situation to maintain this competitive advantage, and competitors start to respond gradually; and if the competitors directly attack the advantage of the company, or Taking other more powerful strategies will weaken this advantage.

The main factors affecting the duration of a company’s competitive strengths are:

  • How long does it take to establish this advantage?
  • What are the advantages to be obtained?
  • How long does it take for a competitor to make a strong reaction?

If the company analyzes these three factors clearly, it will identify itself in establishing and maintaining its competitive advantage.

The company should not correct all its weaknesses, nor should it make use of all its strengths. The main question is whether the company should be limited to the opportunities it already has, or whether it should acquire and develop some strengths to find better opportunities.

SWOT Analysis Strategies

In the process of adaptability analysis, enterprise top management should be based on the determination of internal and external variables, using leverage, inhibitory, vulnerability, and problematic four basic concepts to analyze this model.

  • Leverage (S + O).  Leverage effects arise when internal and external opportunities are consistent and adaptive to one another. In this situation, companies can use their internal strengths to pick up external opportunities and fully integrate opportunities and strengths. However, opportunities are often fleeting, so companies must sharply capture opportunities and seize the opportunity to seek greater development.
  • Inhibitory (W + O).  Inhibiting means impeding, preventing, influencing and controlling. When the opportunities provided by the environment are not suited to the internal resource advantages of the company, or cannot be overlapped with each other, the strengths of the enterprise will no longer be realized. In this situation, companies need to provide and add certain resources to promote the transformation of internal resources and weaknesses into strengths to cater to or adapt to external opportunities.
  • Vulnerability (S + T).  Vulnerability means the decrease or decrease in the degree or intensity of strengths. When environmental conditions pose a threat to the company’s strengths, the strengths cannot be fully exerted and ending up with a fragile situation. In this situation, companies must overcome the threats to take advantage of them.
  • Problematic (W + T).  When the company’s internal weaknesses and corporate external threats meet, companies face severe challenges. If they are not properly handled, they may directly threaten the survival of the company.

Steps for Conducting SWOT Analysis

  • What is the current strategy?
  • Confirm the changes in the external environment of the company (Porter 5 force or PEST)
  • According to the company’s resource mix, confirm the company’s key capabilities and key constraints.
  • Construct the SWOT Matrix by placing each one of already identified factors. This is an excellent graphic presentation of what is good and what is bad in your company, and what you can expect as an opportunity or threat.
  • Define SWOT Strategies
  • Choose what strategy to be adopted and determine the future direction and improvement actions to be taken

Case Study 1: Amazon SWOT Analysis

Amazon logo

Amazon Detailed SWOT Analysis

Amazon Swot Analysis

  • Brand Identity: Amazon is synonymous with online sales services, and Amazon focuses on improving customer satisfaction during the business process.
  • Pioneer advantage: Amazon is undoubtedly the leader in the online retail industry.
  • Cost structure: Amazon effectively uses its cost advantage, operates on thin profits, and is still profitable in trading.
  • Business Development: Amazon continuously improves its service level and provides diversified services.
  • Low-profit margins: Amazon has a very thin profit margin to maintain its cost-leading strategy. But low-profit margins make companies vulnerable to external shocks and crises, as well as other market changes.
  • Seasonality: There is a seasonal difference between Amazon’s revenue and business scope, with sales and revenue peaking in the fourth quarter of each year.

Opportunity

  • Today’s diversification of e-commerce business
  • Continues to increase awareness of its own branded products and services.
  • Amazon develops more local websites to participate in the international market. With the international expansion of Amazon, some local businesses have the opportunity to enter the international market.
  • Promoting the strategic cooperation between Amazon e-commerce and its related affiliated industries will drive positive development of the industry
  • Loss of profits due to low-profit margins
  • Patent infringement and other aspects of Amazon’s litigation
  • E-commerce industry barriers to entry barriers
  • Cybersecurity issues

Amazon – Recent Development

What do you need to do next after you understand strengths and weaknesses and identify opportunities and threats? Let us take a look at how Amazon has seized the opportunity to successfully transform itself from an e-commerce company into a global leading technology company! When Amazon realized the limitations of the retail industry, it expanded its business boundaries promptly. In addition to cloud computing and smart voice, Amazon has also contacted third-party platforms such as logistics and suppliers, and even invested in the film and television industry, making its business model more diversify. In 2008, Amazon realized that content can attract and extend users’ time on the platform, and began to provide original content on Prime Instant Video, Amazon’s mainstream media video platform, and as part of the Prime membership service. Amazon’s ecology can be described as a rotating flywheel. This flywheel is centered on Prime’s membership system, and new interests have been added to it, gradually creating an all-encompassing ecology. While continuing to attract new users, it has promoted the development of Amazon’s e-commerce and other new businesses, and it will continue to do so.

Case Study 2: Starbucks SWOT Analysis

  • Strengths – The Starbucks Group has strong profitability, with 2004 revenue exceeding $600 million.
  • Weaknesses – Starbucks is known for its continuous improvement and innovation. (Translator’s Note: It can be understood as the instability of the product line)
  • Opportunity – The launch of new products and services, such as the sale of coffee at the show.
  • Threats – rising costs of coffee and dairy products.

Starbucks Detailed SWOT Analysis

Starbucks SWOT Analysis

  • Starbucks Corporation is a very profitable organization, earning more than $600 million in 2004. The company generated revenue of more than $5000 million in the same year.
  • It is a global coffee brand built a reputation for fine products and services. It has almost 9000 cafe shop in almost 40 countries.
  • Starbucks was one of the Fortune Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2005. The company is a respected employer that values ​​its workforce.
  • The organization has strong ethical values ​​and an ethical mission statement as follows, ‘Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business.’
  • Starbucks has a reputation for new product development and creativity. However, they can vulnerable to the possibility that their innovation may falter over time.
  • The organization has a strong presence in the United States of America with more than three-quarters of its cafe shop located in the home market. Some people think they need to invest in different countries (national portfolios) to spread business risks.
  • The organization is dependent on a main competitive advantage, the retail of coffee. This could make them slow to diversify into other sectors should the need arise.

Opportunities

  • Starbucks is very good at taking advantage of opportunities. E.g. In 2004 the company created a CD-burning service in their Santa Monica (California USA) cafe with Hewlett Packard, where customers created their music CD.
  • New products and services that can be retailed in their cafe shop, such as low price products.
  • The company has the opportunity to expand its global operations. New markets for coffee such as India and the Pacific Rim nations are beginning to emerge.
  • Co-branding with other manufacturers of food and drink and brand franchising to manufacturers of other goods and services both have potential.
  • Who knows if the market for coffee will grow and stay in favor with customers, or whether another type of beverage or leisure activity will replace coffee in the future?
  • Starbucks is exposed to rises in the cost of coffee and dairy products.
  • Since its conception in Pike Place Market, Seattle in 1971, Starbucks’ success has to lead to the market entry of many competitors and copycat brands that pose potential threats.

Case Studies 3: Coca-Cola SWOT Analysis Example

Coca Cola logo

Coca-Cola Detailed SWOT Analysis

Colo Cola SWOT Analysis

  • Most sponsored corporate partners.
  • Spread across the world in 650 languages ​​and regions.
  • The market territory spans nearly 200 countries on five continents.
  • To develop new products, the Coca-Cola Company not only sells cola but also other types of beverages.
  • Coca-Cola has a long history, so it has a certain status in the market.
  • There is no certain integration and the common goal of strategic management.
  • The failure to develop new tastes.
  • The gradual transfer of customer loyalty.
  • Loss of market development opportunities.
  • Sponsor the Olympic Games, use this opportunity to replace their brands, products, and make advertisements, especially The Olympic Games is a worldwide movement that allows the world’s population to recognize this product, expand its market reach, and raise awareness of its products.
  • Participate in the World Cup, take this world-wide activity to pave the way for your products and gain popularity.
  • Enter the Chinese rural market.
  • Enter the American film market.
  • Pepsi is Coca-Cola’s biggest competitor
  • The products produced by the company may not be favored by young people today.
  • Coca-Cola is not considered to be good for health by many people

Formulating Actions for SWOT Analysis

Having completed a SWOT Analysis, so what’s next? Is this enough to conduct the SWOT analysis? You need to know when you are analyzing that at the end of the process you need to expect future directions for next actions. Here is an example of formulating actions for a SWOT analysis:

Disclaimer : This case study has been compiled from information freely available from public sources. It is merely intended to be used for educational purposes only.

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

Caroline Forsey

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.

man conducting swot analysis for his business

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.

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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.

how to write swot analysis in case study

Free SWOT Analysis Template

A free SWOT analysis template, plus other helpful market research resources.

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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.

swot analysis chart: strengths

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.

swot analysis chart: weaknesses

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.

swot analysis chart: opportunities

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.

swot analysis chart: threats

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.

how to write swot analysis in case study

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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.

HubSpot’s free SWOT analysis template explains how to do a SWOT analysis.

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

swot analysis chart: hubspot swot analysis template

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.

An example SWOT analysis of 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:

An example SWOT analysis for Starbucks.

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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.

A SWOT analysis example for a restaurant small business.

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.

A SWOT analysis example 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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Research-Methodology

SWOT Analysis

All business students are assigned to conduct SWOT analysis, usually at the earlier stages of their studies. This page focuses on the application of SWOT analysis in a business context as a part of academic assignments . This is a comprehensive SWOT resource and it contains an explanation of SWOT theory, an illustration of how to do a SWOT analysis and links to examples of SWOT analysis of major multinational brands. Moreover, SWOT analysis template further below can be used to generate SWOT tables of top multinational companies along a range of industries.

SWOT Analysis: Theory

SWOT is a strategic analytical tool for assessing strengths and weaknesses of a business, analyzing opportunities available to the business, as well as, threats faced by the business. SWOT analysis can be used at organizational and personal levels.

SWOT-Analysis

As it is illustrated below, strengths and weaknesses are internal, i.e. businesses are able to influence and to manipulate with their strengths and weaknesses. Opportunities and threats, on the other hand, are external. It means businesses can only react to opportunities and threats and they do not have any means to influence opportunities and threats.

SWOT analysis has important practical implications. Specifically, with findings of SWOT analysis in their hands, the senior level management identify and built upon their strengths, discover new opportunities and work upon eliminating or minimising threats to the business. Accordingly, SWOT can be a powerful aid for senior level management to develop appropriate strategy for the business.

As a strategic analytical tool, SWOT analysis has some weaknesses as well. Specifically, the application of this tool may encourage users to focus on quantity of factors, instead of focusing on a few, but the most powerful factors having the biggest impact on the business. In other words, SWOT analysis lacks guidance and provision in terms of differences in importance between factors. As a result weak strengths may appear to balance strong weaknesses.

How to do SWOT analysis

The majority of sources explaining SWOT analysis assume that their audience is businesses aiming to improve their operational efficiency. This SWOT analysis resource is different. It explains SWOT analysis assuming that you a business student and you have been assigned to conduct SWOT analysis as a part of your assignment.

How to do SWOT Analysis

You can conduct a SWOT analysis with the following four steps:

Step 1: Selecting a company

If your assignment requires conducting a SWOT analysis, you are either given a case study company by your educational institution or you are free to analyze a company of your own choice. In the first scenario, you have no option but to conduct a SWOT analysis of the company named in your assignment instructions. However, the majority of educational institutions provide students the flexibility to conduct SWOT analysis of a company of their own choice.

Students are often tempted to conduct SWOT analysis of their employer. Choosing your employer as a case study can be a good strategy if you have an access to detailed relevant information. Please note that only descriptive information would not suffice and you will have to justify your arguments by referring to relevant quantitative data. Therefore, if you are not able to find relevant quantitative data about your employer, your best choice could be to conduct SWOT analysis of a multinational enterprise. This is due to the availability of data about the majority multinational enterprises. This portal offers up-to-date sample SWOT analyses of the most famous multinational enterprises as part of company reports .

Step 2: Finding information

If you are conducting a SWOT analysis of a small or medium sized organization such as your employer, family business or a company you are related to in some ways, approaching the company directly may prove to be an efficient strategy to obtain required information. You may try to secure a meeting with a senior level manager and explain practical implications of your SWOT analysis for the business. In other words, you may be able to convince a senior manager that results of your SWOT analysis may provide an important insight into the business and managers can act upon this knowledge to increase the efficiency of the business at various fronts.

Alternatively, if you are conducting SWOT analysis of a multinational enterprise, company annual report is usually the most comprehensive source of the relevant information. Note that annual reports highlight information about strengths of the business within the first few pages and you cannot find information about weaknesses of a company in its annual report for obvious reasons.

Information about Strengths in SWOT Analysis

Information about strengths of the company is easiest to find in your SWOT analysis. Strengths are competitive advantages of the business that made it successful in the first place. In case of small or medium sized organizations, the manager you are interviewing will be happy to discuss the strengths of the business.

In case of multinational companies, on the other hand, the first few pages of annual reports boast about competitive advantages of the business by referring to specific figures and charts. Using some of these charts in your assignment and properly referencing the source is going to increase the quality of your work.

You can determine strengths of businesses in answers to the following questions:

  • What advantages does the company have?
  • What does the company better than its competitors?
  • What unique or low-cost resources are available to the company that are not available to its rivals?
  • What Unique Selling Propositions (UPS) are associated with the company?

The following table illustrates the major strengths possessed by businesses and tips about how to discuss these strengths in your swot analysis:

Information about Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis

It may not be easy to find information about weaknesses of small and medium sized businesses. The manager you are interviewing may not want to discuss weaknesses of their business either intentionally, or they may not be aware of weaknesses. It is important for you to motivate your interviewee to discuss weaknesses of their company by asking relevant questions in a polite way.

It is easier with multinational organizations. An extensive online research can reveal relevant information about weaknesses associated with the company you are analyzing.The majority of big corporations have been involved in some kind of scandals during the past two years and you can discuss the damage of these scandals to the brand image as noteworthy weakness of the company.

For example, suppose you have chosen Coca Cola Company for your SWOT analysis assignment. If you google the term ‘Coca Cola scandal’, search results on the top relate to a scandal where the company funded obesity research that downplayed the negative health implications of Coca Cola products. Negative implications of this incident on Coca Cola brand image is brand’s weakness you can discuss in you SWOT analysis.

All arguments and numbers need to be referenced using referencing style required by your educational institution in an appropriate manner. Preference has to be given to online journals and magazines over online discussion forums and personal blogs.

Answers to the following questions can help to identify weaknesses of your case study company:

  • What aspects of the business could the company improve?
  • What should the company avoid?
  • What factors are causing the company to lose sales?
  • What aspects of products/services are customers are likely to see as weaknesses?

Major weaknesses of businesses and brief tips about discussing them in your assignment are illustrated in the following table:

Information about Opportunities in SWOT Analysis

Information about opportunities available to the business can be derived from its weaknesses in a way that businesses often have an opportunity to turn their weaknesses into strengths. At the same time, it is important that your SWOT analysis also identifies a set of opportunities that are not related to weaknesses. If you can’t think of any company-specific opportunities, you can discuss business opportunities that can be explored by any business in general, such as new product development, international market expansion and increasing the level of effectiveness of social media marketing. Interesting trends in the industry can also be opportunities for the business.

Opportunities can be identified through answering the following questions:

  • What are interesting trends in the market that can be profitably explored by the company?
  • What are the demographic and social changes that present new opportunities in the industry?
  • Are there any government policies and regulations that can help the industry?
  • Are there any opportunities for the company related to technological developments?

The following table illustrates the major opportunities available for businesses and tips about how to discuss these opportunities in your SWOT analysis:

Information about Threats in SWOT Analysis

Threats faced by the business can be classified into two categories. Firstly, there are company-specific threats that stem from company-specific factors such as the threat of losing market share due to ineffective cost structure or the threat of negative media coverage and damage to the brand image due to neglecting the importance of corporate social responsibility. Secondly, there are threats to the industry or to the economy on the whole, such as a threat of introducing tariffs to a certain range of products or the threat of a global economic and financial crisis. You will need to find information about threats belonging to both categories with more emphasis on the threats from the first category, i.e. company-specific threats.

You can identify the main threats to the business through answering the following questions:

  • What are the main obstacles faced by the company?
  • What are the latest developments in competitor Unique Selling Propositions?
  • Does the company have substantial amount of bad debts or cash-flow problems?
  • Was the company involved in any scandal recently?

Main threat facing the majority of businesses and brief tips about discussing them in your SWOT analysis are illustrated in the following table:

Step 3: Writing

You can structure your writing of SWOT analysis in the following way:

Firstly, you will need to discuss the company profile, its strategy and the most recent changes that have taken place in the company prior to presenting your SWOT analysis. The length of such a discussion depends on your assignment instructions and the total word count for your assignment.

Secondly, develop a SWOT Analysis Matrix for your chosen company. You can develop a table containing four sections headed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your chosen company can be presented in bullet points under respective boxes. These should be precise and verifiable statements.

Using steps 1 and 2 above, you should have long list of factors related to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the business. Now it is time to prioritize factors to be included in your SWOT analysis by focusing on the most significant factors. The numbers of factors that should be discussed under each category depends on the total word-count for your assignment.

Thirdly, you have to discuss bullet points in your SWOT table. Your analysis needs to contain statistical data and ideally graphs and tables as well. Do not forget to reference sources, using referencing system  required by your university. Moreover, you can discuss how to address weaknesses and threats identified as a result of your SWOT analysis and get additional marks for your work.

SWOT Analysis Example

This portal contains example SWOT analysis of the following companies:

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SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to organizations. The following table illustrates SWOT analysis:

SWOT Analysis Template

Please choose an industry and a company below to generate a SWOT table containing bullet points of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your chosen company. In order to complete the SWOT analysis you will need to expand the bullet points into a couple of paragraphs with discussions and references from reliable sources to support your arguments.

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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

how to write swot analysis in case study

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

how to write swot analysis in case study

An Example of a Business SWOT Analysis  

how to write swot analysis in case study

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.

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SWOT analysis: Examples and templates

Alicia Raeburn contributor headshot

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

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

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.

[Inline illustration] SWOT analysis (Example)

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.

Why is a SWOT analysis important?

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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SWOT Analysis

Understanding your business, informing your strategy.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

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.

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.

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.

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

Leslie Bartnicki

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how to write swot analysis in case study

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How to Write a Case Study Analysis

Step-By-Step Instructions

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When writing a business case study analysis , you must first have a good understanding of the case study . Before you begin the steps below, read the business case carefully, taking notes all the while. It may be necessary to read the case several times to get all of the details and fully grasp the issues facing the group, company, or industry.

As you are reading, do your best to identify key issues, key players, and the most pertinent facts. After you are comfortable with the information, use the following step-by-step instructions (geared toward a single-company analysis) to write your report. To write about an industry, just adapt the steps listed here to discuss the segment as a whole.

Step 1: Investigate the Company’s History and Growth

A company’s past can greatly affect the present and future state of the organization. To begin, investigate the company’s founding, critical incidents, structure, and growth. Create a timeline of events, issues, and achievements. This timeline will come in handy for the next step. 

Step 2: Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Using the information you gathered in step one, continue by examining and making a list of the value creation functions of the company. For example, the company may be weak in product development but strong in marketing. Make a list of problems that have occurred and note the effects they have had on the company. You should also list areas where the company has excelled. Note the effects of these incidents as well.

You're essentially conducting a partial SWOT analysis to get a better understanding of the company's strengths and weaknesses. A SWOT analysis involves documenting things like internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and external opportunities (O) and threats (T). 

Step 3: Examine the External Environment

The third step involves identifying opportunities and threats within the company’s external environment. This is where the second part of the SWOT analysis (the O and the T) comes into play. Special items to note include competition within the industry, bargaining powers, and the threat of substitute products. Some examples of opportunities include expansion into new markets or new technology. Some examples of threats include increasing competition and higher interest rates.

Step 4: Analyze Your Findings

Using the information in steps 2 and 3, create an evaluation for this portion of your case study analysis. Compare the strengths and weaknesses within the company to the external threats and opportunities. Determine if the company is in a strong competitive position, and decide if it can continue at its current pace successfully.

Step 5: Identify Corporate-Level Strategy

To identify a company’s corporate-level strategy, identify and evaluate the company’s mission , goals, and actions toward those goals. Analyze the company’s line of business and its subsidiaries and acquisitions. You also want to debate the pros and cons of the company strategy to determine whether or not a change might benefit the company in the short or long term.​

Step 6: Identify Business-Level Strategy

Thus far, your case study analysis has identified the company’s corporate-level strategy. To perform a complete analysis, you will need to identify the company’s business-level strategy. (Note: If it is a single business, without multiple companies under one umbrella, and not an industry-wide review, the corporate strategy and the business-level strategy are the same.) For this part, you should identify and analyze each company’s competitive strategy, marketing strategy, costs, and general focus.

Step 7: Analyze Implementations

This portion requires that you identify and analyze the structure and control systems that the company is using to implement its business strategies. Evaluate organizational change, levels of hierarchy, employee rewards, conflicts, and other issues that are important to the company you are analyzing.

Step 8: Make Recommendations

The final part of your case study analysis should include your recommendations for the company. Every recommendation you make should be based on and supported by the context of your analysis. Never share hunches or make a baseless recommendation.

You also want to make sure that your suggested solutions are actually realistic. If the solutions cannot be implemented due to some sort of restraint, they are not realistic enough to make the final cut.

Finally, consider some of the alternative solutions that you considered and rejected. Write down the reasons why these solutions were rejected. 

Step 9: Review

Look over your analysis when you have finished writing. Critique your work to make sure every step has been covered. Look for grammatical errors , poor sentence structure, or other things that can be improved. It should be clear, accurate, and professional.

Business Case Study Analysis Tips

Keep these strategic tips in mind:

  • Know the case study ​backward and forward before you begin your case study analysis.
  • Give yourself enough time to write the case study analysis. You don't want to rush through it.
  • Be honest in your evaluations. Don't let personal issues and opinions cloud your judgment.
  • Be analytical, not descriptive.
  • Proofread your work, and even let a test reader give it a once-over for dropped words or typos that you no longer can see.
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Home » blog » Understand SWOT Analysis With 3 Examples – Netflix, Pepsico & Starbucks

Understand SWOT Analysis With 3 Examples – Netflix, Pepsico & Starbucks

Brand marketing is an ancient art form. Did you know ancient civilizations would stamp their goods for customers to guarantee the quality? That was probably the earliest form of cultivating brand loyalty. 

Then came the printing press. With it, we entered the age of pamphlets, posters and paper-centric information. 

With mass media, brands made an appearance everywhere. Outside your window on a billboard, next to your favorite newspaper crossword and in between your favorite TV show. 

If you follow the trail, brands go where the customers are. When the consumer moved online, all companies followed suit. We are now in the age of digital marketing. It’s an advanced form of the marketing industry that uses sophisticated techniques and technology to reach the target customer. Unlike earlier, you no longer have to shout from the rooftops about your brand. Now you can quietly slip into someone’s email or cleverly catch their attention through social media algorithms. In 2022, five billion people were on the internet. With digital marketing, not only can you effectively reach out to this massive number, but you can also personalize the message to have a significant impact. It also helps to perform a SWOT analysis in marketing as it always helps to understand your company better and enhance productivity. 

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a form of online communication that uses different electronic media to promote brands and spread messages. People are constantly on their phones, tablets or computers. Look around, and you’ll see eyeballs glued to phone screens everywhere. That tiny piece of digital space is prime marketing real estate. You can use it to showcase ads, banners, links, direct emails and social media posts that are tailor-made to appeal to the customer. It’s an exciting opportunity to be creative yet precise. You can fine-tune your strategy to appeal to specific consumers. It is a fantastic way to generate interest in your products among potential customers as you create a unique connection. 

Read more about Digital Marketing

Why Do Digital Marketing Agencies Use SWOT Analysis? 

The competition between brands has never been more fierce. If you want the online user to prefer your brand and be a loyal customer, you need a structured system to form your strategy. That is what SWOT is all about. Here is the SWOT full form in marketing:

Opportunities 

SWOT isn’t a new tool. It has already been implemented by companies the world over. However, it has also proven useful when it comes to digital marketing. It is a valuable method to help your business become successful and stay ahead of the competition. 

What is SWOT analysis? 

The SWOT method can help you create a long-term digital marketing strategy that works. It is essential to ask the right questions when doing the analysis. 

Internal factors

  • What is the company’s USP?
  • What is the quality of services compared to other businesses?
  • How strong is our brand recall?
  • Do we have a strong clientele?

Weaknesses 

  • In which areas are we lacking productivity? 
  • Where are we falling behind our competition?
  • What complaints have we received?
  • Any internal limitations are affecting our targets?

External factors  

  • Will the new product fill in a gap in the market?
  • Can we reach out to a larger audience? 
  • Is there a faster, more efficient way to increase numbers?
  • Is new technology affecting our business?
  • Are new products in the market taking our customers?
  • Is there a lack of resources due to unforeseen circumstances? 

Benefits Of Doing A SWOT Analysis In Marketing

  • You can build an efficient model that helps you accurately gauge the business performance
  • Analyze the organization’s internal and external strengths 
  • You learn how to increase visibility in the market
  • Develop a plan of action that is implemented when needed 
  • Discover new areas of opportunities 
  • You can understand your business position in the market better, especially when compared to the competition
  • You solve customer problems and business-related challenges 
  • Understand where the company needs improvement 

Case studies for SWOT Analysis in digital marketing

The electronic transformation of businesses has created a paradigm shift in how companies are run. You need a high-powered digital strategy to optimize your presence across all online channels. Here are a few major companies that have successfully used product SWOT analysis to enhance their digital marketing campaign. 

As one of the most viewed OTT platforms, Netflix has nearly 200 million subscribers all over the world. However, they are facing a lot of competition from other streaming services and have lost quite a few subscriptions in 2022. Here is the SWOT analysis for Netflix: 

  • The streaming service enjoys a strong reputation worldwide and has a big name in the market 
  • Award-winning, original content across various genres that is customized to every region 
  • Flexible services
  • Uses data analytics to create algorithms for personalized recommendations 
  • The user-centric strategy aimed at keeping the customers happy 
  • Available across different media platforms such as phones, tablets and laptops
  • Uses SEO, social media channels and emails to attract and retain customers 
  • Prime content is largely aimed at the North American region and needs to improve quality for non-English speaking areas 
  • Limited copyright issues which affect their profits 
  • Weak customer service department that influences consumer satisfaction 
  • Pricing is higher than the competition
  • Increasing debt 

OPPORTUNITIES 

  • Can enter other digital domains such as gaming, VR, interactive channels, etc. 
  • Tie up with production companies in various countries and encourage new talent to create high-quality yet localized content
  • Improve social media presence by collaborating with influencers, celebrities and industry giants 
  • Create an innovative digital marketing strategy to promote content and create hype
  • Use algorithms to personalize direct emails to every customer 
  • Introduce an advertising-based model to increase revenue 
  • Losing subscribers to cheaper services like Amazon Prime and Disney+, YouTube
  • Stricter government rules in some countries can affect the content streamed there 
  • Saturated markets as subscription rates have slowed down 
  • Piracy over Netflix shows occurs all over the world, leading to several losses 

What started as a beverage company to rival Coca-Cola, is now a multi-brand, diversified food giant with a steady hold over the market in many countries. However, the packaged food industry is saturated with many products. Can the company continue to command such a large share of market value?

Here is the SWOT analysis for PepsiCo: 

  • Overwhelming global presence in over 200 countries 
  • Occupies a dominant position in all major outlets, such as restaurants, supermarkets, vending machines, etc.
  • Known for its award-winning advertising and traditional marketing strategies 
  • Targets the younger generation 
  • Excellent supply chain management system that reduces production costs 
  • Partners with major sports events and hires famous celebrities as brand ambassadors 

WEAKNESSES 

  • The entire portfolio of products is in the ‘unhealthy’ classification, therefore a large section of the target audience, i.e. children, are not allowed to indulge often
  • Spends too much money on retaining big celebrities, TV ads and other forms of traditional media 
  • Are responsible for contributing to major environmental issues such as excess plastic production, water and air pollution, etc. 
  • Have quite a few failed products in their kitty, such as Pepsi Blue
  • The company has been in several controversies over the years, which has tarnished their reputation 
  • Expanding their presence online through various e-commerce platforms 
  • Increase research and development funding in the health food sector of the industry 
  • Adapt to changing trends by introducing newer flavors and updating older packaging to appeal to a younger audience 
  • Most of the younger generation is now found online
  • Explore options to connect with target audiences through social media ads, online content sponsorships, banners and emails
  • Hire digital content creators to add value to PepsiCo’s online presence 
  • Tie up with online food brands or food delivery apps 
  • There is intense competition in the food and beverage industry
  • Many consumers are moving towards a healthier lifestyle and are well aware of the harmful effects of excess salt and sugar 
  • If PepsiCo doesn’t adapt to newer technology and changes in the marketplace, it will lose out to stronger competitors 
  • Government regulations about ‘unhealthy’ foods can affect their business 
  • Demographics are changing as some countries have a higher population of older people which is not PepsiCo’s target audience 
  • Sales are hit during economic crises and recessions

A multinational chain of coffeehouses that is also a multi-billion dollar enterprise, Starbucks is a textbook corporate success story. The organization took the humble cup of coffee and transformed it into an addictive experience. However, can they make as much of an impact with most of their customers shopping online? 

Here is the SWOT analysis for Starbucks:

  • Loyal customers who are devoted to buying Starbucks products 
  • A wide selection of premium beverages and edibles 
  • Cool, urban vibe that appeals to most coffee drinkers 
  • Huge presence and a strong reputation around the world 
  • Continues to be a profitable venture 
  • There are a lot of newer, cheaper options available on the local level in several countries 
  • The company is subjected to different government regulations and tax laws that exist in other nations
  • It can be a challenge to procure coffee beans at competitive prices, especially from other countries 
  • The menu needs to change periodically to ensure customers don’t tire of the brand

OPPORTUNITIES

  • The Asian markets are an untapped segment and prime for expansion 
  • Moving to online delivery apps can help reach a wider net of customers 
  • Direct marketing methods such as social media tie-ups and emailers can keep the customer aware of new products and discounts 
  • Use data analytics to observe the more popular, trending products and capitalize on them 
  • Other multinational fast-food chains such as Mcdonald’s offer cheaper coffee 
  • The younger generation prefers healthier or vegan options for hot beverages 
  • Too many sugary drinks or salty foods can be considered a ‘health hazard’ 
  • The lack of a strong digital presence can cause the brand to lose some of its value

About The Digital Marketing Course 

If you want to be the next big thing in digital marketing, you need to do a course and get certified first. A digital marketing qualification teaches you industry-centric knowledge and skills to master the genre. Once you receive your certificate, you can work in any company. Almost all organizations are now online or are getting there. As a digital marketing specialist, you will be in great demand.

Course Syllabus

Here are some of the topics that are covered in the digital marketing certification

  • Internet marketing foundation
  • Paid Search Marketing
  • Display Advertising
  • Email Marketing
  • Social Media

Why Proschool’s Digital Marketing Course Is One Of TheBest

A good coaching center helps you holistically prepare for the digital marketing course . Proschool has a wide range of resources, innovative teaching methods and a stellar faculty to ensure you are well-equipped to join the industry. The institute has adopted active learning methods, so the students learn from real-world examples. The students are put together in groups and work as a team. The onus is to learn by ‘doing’. There is also a strong focus on skill development. Once you finish the course, you are eligible to apply for six certifications by Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. 

Course highlights:

  • There is a 3-week that spans 20 hours 
  • The 3-month course has an 80-hour duration
  • You receive an NSDC certification with the 3-month program 
  • You can attend weekend classes or do the course online 
  • The coaching classes cover all the subjects, including case studies using SWOT analysis 
  • On completion, Proschool offers all its students job placement assistance 
  • You are well-trained in digital marketing and ready to apply for any entry-level job

In Conclusion 

Digital marketing is here to stay. Traditional companies are fast making a move online while new start-ups begin their journey in cyberspace. To help businesses grow, a SWOT analysis of digital marketing is an important tool. It draws focus on the key points of the company and areas where improvement is needed. You can do it at any time, for any reason. And the results will help you achieve your targets. 

Find out more about the digital marketing course here

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How to Write a SWOT Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide

Having a plan and a smart strategy is really important in today’s changing world. A SWOT analysis helps to analyze strengths and weaknesses and address potential opposing sides of the project. Composing a SWOT analysis can give you a clear understanding of your current situation and the factors affecting your future performance.

A SWOT analysis can be used for various purposes, such as business, education, health, personal development, and more. Hence, the ability to write a SWOT analysis is critical for both students who work on a case study and business analyst who writes a SWOT analysis report.

This guide will take you through the detailed steps of writing a SWOT analysis and give practical advice to write a SWOT analysis paper.

identify threats in swot analysis

Benefits of Writing a SWOT Analysis

Writing a SWOT analysis skill is important for business planning and personal development. People with this ability can form a structured framework to discover their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, they will be aware of external opportunities and threats.

Writing a SWOT analysis will ensure that your business plan will achieve success. If you want to write a good SWOT analysis about yourself, this guide will also be helpful. Before diving deeper into the topic, let us explain the SWOT analysis concept. This method consists of four dimensions, each letter for one aspect:

  • S stands for Strength .These are internal factors that give you an advantage. They could be skills, resources, or qualities that set you apart. Your strong sides can set you apart from competitors and become a determinant of your success. Strengths are very important for your personal and business strategy to move forward.
  • W stands for Weaknesses .These are internal factors that hold you back and do not allow you to develop. Know your weaknesses if you want to succeed. Identifying them is crucial for improvement. A person who is aware of their own weak sides will learn how to address them for the good. 
  • O stands for Opportunities .These are external factors in your environment that you can leverage to your advantage. You can see opportunities in new courses or classes to improve your knowledge and proficiency. Opportunities can be everywhere, and SWOT analysis helps to recognize them. Seeing opportunities is essential for personal and professional growth. 
  • T stands for Threats . These are external factors that pose challenges and risks to your goals. They could be people or organizations that also want to succeed or just random or repetitive events that can prevent you from achieving goals. Knowing your threats will help you prepare and respond to challenges.

7 Easy Steps to Write a Great SWOT Analysis Paper

Writing a SWOT analysis may seem difficult. Indeed, you have to conduct a real investigation to reveal all necessary factors. However, do not worry, we will help! You only need to follow our six steps to make a detailed SWOT analysis paper in the best way.

Read carefully if you want to find out how to compose a SWOT analysis report. Let’s get started and make an effective paper together! 

Step 1: Research and gather information

Research the subject of your analysis carefully before starting a SWOT analysis report. You need to collect data on performance, market trends, and competitors for the company’s report. For a personal SWOT analysis, reflect on your goals, values, and skills.

Step 2: Create a detailed SWOT matrix

Organize a SWOT analysis table with four cells for each dimension. Then organize your findings in the matrix to make navigation easier. List each point clearly and provide examples to support them. The SWOT matrix will help you visualize your insights to facilitate the research.

Step 3: Write a SWOT analysis summary

Write a SWOT analysis summary that is clear and informative. Try to include all key points and important insights from the matrix. Your summary only includes the most important points of the analysis so other people can immediately get an outlook of your SWOT analysis. This section will become the backbone of your SWOT analysis report.

Step 4: Make an effective conclusion

Offer a final assessment of the situation in your conclusion. State how you aim to use strength and opportunities while mitigating weaknesses and threats. Make your conclusion strong and explicit, leaving no room for uncertainty.

how to write swot analysis in case study

Step 5: Follow APA format (if applicable)

Working on the academic essay may require the use of APA format for citations and references. Various guidelines will provide you with an outlook on basic rules and principles. Always pay attention to the formatting style to make your SWOT analysis report neat.

Step 6: Provide examples

Always use examples to support your points and make your analysis more informative. Examples add credibility to both case studies and personal essays. They will show your understanding of the topic and your experience and illustrate your writing skills.

Step 7: Seek for advice

Advice and professional assistance is an important part of learning. If you are struggling with your assignment, seek writing help from professional services. You can easily visit CustomWritings to write your paper by experienced writers offering assistance with various tasks, particularly SWOT analysis reports.

Crafting Your Path to Success

Seeking feedback from peers and mentors can also improve your SWOT analysis quality. Don’t be afraid to show your work to classmates and tutors to hear constructive criticism from other people. Your reviewer can provide a fresh perspective on your SWOT analysis paper and give suggestions for improvement.

Remember that we live in a society, so collaboration is key for personal and professional growth. The quality of your SWOT analysis report depends not only on you but on your ability to learn and perceive.

Now, we have learned about SWOT analysis and are aware of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This knowledge has many applications, whether in school or work. You can use it for a business plan, personal goals, or case studies. SWOT analysis allows you to use your strengths wisely and proactively address challenges.

A SWOT analysis is not just a paper or report that you need for work or education. It is a dynamic tool for continuous improvement and decision-making in all life domains.

As you continue your journey, keep in mind these key takeaways. A thorough research is the backbone for a SWOT analysis. Real-world examples will provide depth and add credibility. Finally, the structured SWOT matrix and solid conclusion will make your report full. Use your SWOT analysis to guide your next steps and strategies.

It does not matter if you are a business professional, a student, or a person seeking development. A proper SWOT analysis is a tool for constant growth and adaptation.

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how to write swot analysis in case study

SWOT analysis: how-to, example and alternatives

Oct 24th, 2023

how to write swot analysis in case study

What is SWOT analysis?

How to do a swot analysis, swot analysis example - amazon case study, swot analysis alternatives.

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To succeed, businesses should evaluate their operations to see what they do well and what areas require improvement. Understanding the features of your company will help you grow and increase profitability. In contrast, you risk falling behind if you don't keep up with the competition by consistently enhancing every element of your business. However,  auditing your organization to learn how you can improve it may seem intimidating. SWOT analysis can facilitate this process.

This framework will help you collect the necessary information and come up with ideas on how to strengthen your weaknesses, get rid of dangers, and highlight your advantages. In this article, we will describe the purpose of SWOT analysis and demonstrate how to apply it in practice.

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SWOT analysis is a framework used to assess a company’s strategic position and analyze internal and external aspects that impact its success. This technique will help your business determine competitive advantages, address issues, discover new possibilities, and minimize risks. With this framework, you can gain new insights and identify areas for improvement.

Companies use SWOT analysis to uncover internal and external factors that can influence a business decision. In the 1960s, business and management consultant Albert Humphrey developed this technique to understand the reasons for the failures of corporate planning. Since then, SWOT analysis has become one of the most valuable tools for business owners to evaluate a company’s current landscape and make necessary adjustments.

You can use SWOT analysis to examine an organization, a project, or a new venture. For example, your marketing department can analyze the email marketing strategy and determine how the competition differs from your company in this regard. Moreover, the technique can be a helpful tool for market research . Using the framework, you can identify your unique selling proposition and find market gaps or new niches. In addition, with this technique, you can assess the viability and profitability of a new product, service, or market segment.

SWOT analysis comprises four components: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that influence a company’s objectives, such as manufacturing capabilities, personnel, and finance. Opportunities and threats are external factors or aspects your company cannot control, such as technological development, macroeconomics, and legislation. We will cover internal and external elements of the SWOT framework in more detail below.

Strengths are areas where your business excels. These components may include the organization’s accomplishments or resources. For example, if you assess the company’s marketing strategy, these factors might contain a strong mission statement or consistent branding.

On the other hand, if you consider an organization’s overall strengths, they can include great brand awareness or a solid reputation. Moreover, some potential examples of these factors are employee skills, effective processes, exclusive technology, and customer loyalty. Your strengths should set you apart from competitors and highlight what you do better than anyone else.

Weaknesses are areas that the company must strengthen to stay competitive. These are fields where you need more proficiency and factors that keep you from achieving your company objectives. Knowing your vulnerabilities is crucial since they expose a company to risk.

Some weaknesses may include a weak supply chain, lack of funds, employee skill gaps, low customer satisfaction , or substantial debt. Weaknesses may prevent you from taking advantage of opportunities. However, these factors are mostly within your control, so you can improve these areas with the appropriate strategy and tools.

Opportunities

Opportunities are favorable external factors that can provide a competitive edge for a company. These elements can arise from the target market , rivalry, industry, and technology. A business can take advantage of conditions in the environment to develop and execute effective strategies.

Some examples of opportunities are improvements in governmental policies, new business models, unexplored markets , and lowered export tariffs. If you evaluate your marketing strategy, your options might include digital advertisements or new techniques you haven’t used before.

Threats are factors that can negatively affect an organization. They occur when conditions in the external environment endanger the dependability and profitability of an organization's operations. When threats relate to weaknesses, they increase vulnerability. It is crucial to foresee future dangers to protect the company and promote its success.

Examples of threats include declining industry and technological advancements that may disrupt an already existing company's operations. Other aspects may be changing societal standards that make products less appealing to customers, growing production costs, or the seasonality of your business.

You can determine these factors at any point by performing a SWOT analysis. However, it is critical to conduct this study before taking any action that can impact your organization. You can use SWOT analysis to make better decisions when considering new initiatives, changing the business strategy, or establishing partnerships with other businesses. 

We will break the SWOT analysis process into six steps with actionable recommendations. Let us take a closer look at this framework.

Step 1. Set an objective for your analysis

A SWOT analysis may be general, but it will be more practical if narrowed down to one particular objective . As you perform a study before making significant business choices, each opportunity calls for a comprehensive evaluation.

For example, the goal of a SWOT analysis would be to decide whether or not to introduce a new product. Your company will clearly understand what you want to achieve at the end of the process if the employees have an objective in mind.

Step 2. Gather your team and brainstorm ideas

While doing a SWOT analysis, you need a diversified team from various departments. The analysis should include input from every company unit to provide a thorough picture of your business. Choose team members whose responsibility will be to perform a study. In addition, you may also hire a third-party expert or group to advise you on the process.

The team charged with conducting the study should start compiling ideas related to each category of SWOT analysis. Take into account the following areas: innovation, productivity, service, quality, and technological procedures. Evaluate the company’s achievements, recent risks and obstacles, customers’ complaints, employee turnover rate, new industry trends, changes in regulations, and rivals.

List all the suggestions. Some problems may appear on many lists. For instance, a business or department could excel at providing outstanding customer service, but it might also have weaknesses or deficiencies in that area. The objective of this phase is to write down as many ideas as possible. You will evaluate them later. 

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Step 3. Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

When defining strengths, consider what you do well, including your most valuable asset and positive qualities. Strengths typically include product quality, innovation, productivity, and leadership. Understand your competitive advantage , resources, best products, and things that help your company reach its objectives.

Then, analyze weaknesses. Assess your business's shortcomings. To identify potential weaknesses, you can collect feedback from team members, stakeholders, and consumers. Analyzing profit margins and assessing whether teams achieve their goals are other ways to collect more objective data. In addition, examine underperforming product lines, lack of resources, and aspects of the company that interfere with your objectives, including a high staff turnover rate.

Defining your opportunities and threats can be more challenging since you do not consider them frequently. However, these elements are crucial to a company's success as internal factors. Opportunities might include emerging markets, new technology, cost reduction, or geographic expansion. Evaluate how you can benefit from existing economic or market trends and what products or services are popular with your customers. Furthermore, explore new demographics you may want to target.

Finally, analyze the threats. These factors may include the entrance of a new rival, regulations that can affect production, and a declining market. While threats and weaknesses are similar, threats often haven't significantly impacted the company yet. However, they can cause stress on your employees, so it is crucial to recognize threats and create strategies to cope with them.

Step 4. Refine and organize the ideas

Now, it is time to organize the ideas and focus on the greatest opportunities or considerable risks for your business. This stage typically requires serious discussion, so you need to involve top management to summarize and prioritize the findings.

Before developing an action plan for larger company projects, you need to review tasks that may be completed quickly rather than putting them off. Once you identify the most crucial ideas, add them to your SWOT matrix.

Step 5. Develop an action plan

At this stage, you can start turning a SWOT analysis into a strategic plan . First, brainstorm future possible steps with your team. Then, use the bulleted list of factors under each category to create a final strategy.

For example, you are going to launch a new product, and you discover that there is an opportunity to grow to new niche markets . However, weaknesses like rising material costs, the need for more employees, and unpredictable product demand may exceed opportunities and strengths. As a result, you can develop an action plan and reconsider the decision in six months when expenses decline and market demand becomes more transparent.

Step 6. Apply knowledge in practice

Make a final document that is easily accessible for team members so they can check it if necessary. You may review your SWOT analysis quarterly, monthly, or annually to ensure you meet your objectives. Use the document with your findings as a reference while making future decisions or handling other company issues.

Conducting a SWOT analysis is a great way to visualize where you are now and the future objectives you want to reach. By following these steps, you can accomplish the goals and motivate the team at the same time. 

This Amazon SWOT analysis demonstrates how the biggest online retailer utilized its advantages over rivals to dominate the industry. We will examine the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and observe how these factors impact Amazon's business strategy. 

Amazon strengths

One of the company’s main strengths is its strong brand reputation. Over the years, Amazon has developed a reputation as an innovative and reliable brand that offers excellent customer service and convenient delivery options. Another strength is its diverse product portfolio, which includes electronics, clothing, books, and household goods. Moreover, Amazon is a customer-oriented brand that provides fast delivery, easy returns, customer reviews, and personalized recommendations.

Amazon employs logistics and delivery methods that are incredibly effective, such as set pricing for various delivery periods. The company also uses AI and sophisticated algorithms to gather insights into user behavior and adjust pricing in response to demand. The global presence in numerous countries and a large number of third-party vendors allow the company to reach a wider audience, increase client trust, and compete with local retailers.

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Amazon weaknesses

The main weaknesses include a business model that is simple to copy and inauthentic products. What’s more, the company's dependence on outside vendors creates substantial risks. The possibility of fraud or the sale of poor-quality products on the platform is the key concern, as these factors might negatively affect Amazon's brand image.

Even though Amazon makes significant investments in its delivery infrastructure, there are still occasions when it falls short of consumer expectations, particularly during busy periods of the year and bad weather. Furthermore, Amazon's extensive consumer data collection raises questions about privacy and possible security vulnerabilities. In addition, Amazon's monopoly on the market has sparked worries about potential antitrust violations and anti-competitive behavior.

Amazon opportunities

A significant way to grow Amazon’s client base is to enter new markets . For instance, Amazon can focus on markets with little to no presence, like some countries in South America or Asia. Moreover, the company can engage more third-party sellers to showcase their products on the website and grow the advertising business within the platform.

Besides this, the company can increase the number of its physical stores. Despite having fewer physical locations than other retailers, the firm has been experimenting with other models, including its Amazon Go shops.

Amazon Prime has more than 200 million active subscribers. By spending more on creative content, such as original TV episodes, films, animated series, and documentaries, the company will be able to compete with other large streaming services and draw in more customers. 

Amazon threats

The primary Amazon threats are severe competition and regulatory issues. Since the company operates in various markets, it must make sure that all national and international regulations are followed. This covers laws governing taxes, cross-border trade, labor, and employment practices. Moreover, like other technological companies, Amazon is exposed to cybersecurity threats that can cause the breach of private consumer data, including financial and personal information.

Amazon's extensive supply chain involves interactions with thousands of manufacturers. Thus, any disruption might impact delivery schedules, product availability, and customer satisfaction. It includes challenges like natural catastrophes, delays in manufacturing, traffic congestion, changes in fuel prices, as well as incorrect demand predictions. The other threat is an economic recession, which may affect consumer spending and cause a decline in the company's sales and profitability.

Amazon is an organization that dominates the online retail industry. A large consumer base, a variety of products, and a solid brand identity are some of its strengths. However, the business must also deal with several challenges, such as fierce rivalry, legal problems, and cybersecurity risks. The recommendations for Amazon might include increasing its market presence by opening physical stores, entering developing markets in different countries, and improving technological security measures to address cyber threats and fraud. 

SWOT analysis is one of the most widely used strategic planning methods, but it has several drawbacks. It demonstrates an organization's vulnerabilities and threats as a problem that may do significant harm, as opposed to other analytical techniques that portray them as issues that must be solved. For this reason, let us review the other tools for strategic planning that can help you achieve better results.

SOAR analysis. This framework is similar to SWOT analysis, but it replaces weaknesses and threats with aspirations and results. Aspirations focus on the organization’s objectives, target audience, and geographic scope. The results allow monitoring of the company’s performance and ensuring its objectives are met. SOAR analysis is more suitable for younger companies that are establishing their identity or brand and have yet to understand their weaknesses. 

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NOISE analysis. This method enables analysts to estimate the company's situation and develop a strategic improvement plan. The analysis includes needs, opportunities, improvements, strengths, and exceptions. NOISE is more solution-focused than SWOT analysis. Instead of focusing on challenges, such as weaknesses and threats, the framework highlights the resources you need to achieve the goal. The exception emphasizes what a business currently accomplishes in the other four groups.

SCORE analysis. This method comprises strengths, challenges, options, responses, and effectiveness. Similar to SWOT, the SCORE model is adaptable enough to be used for both small projects and comprehensive corporate strategies. The overlap of threats and vulnerabilities in a SWOT analysis may be discouraging. In contrast, SCORE's challenges combine the two elements to help in more constructive problem-solving.

The secret to having a profitable company is establishing and accomplishing goals. SWOT analysis is crucial for assessing objectives and potential paths to success. Work with your team to improve your strategic business planning by identifying your internal strengths and external opportunities.

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How to Create a SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a well-rounded and inexpensive method to digest the good, the bad, and the killing-you-softly aspects in your business.

In four steps the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can be identified to limit negative backlash while capitalizing on what’s working in your business.

SWOT analysis can be as simplistic or as detailed as you like. It would be best to add in data from existing or past projects, numbers from sales and profits met, and any other reliable information you can provide while doing a SWOT analysis.

It’s not required, but it makes for a more thorough analysis.

1. Start by addressing what you want to analyze

Since SWOT analysis can be applied in every aspect of business. You can apply SWOT analysis to…

  • New business ideas
  • Development of departments
  • Sales and profits of a product
  • The success of new or old products
  • Your entire business model

And anything else related to your business. Decide which you want to dive into, and go to the next step.

2. Identify the strengths

Strengths are the positives. Essentially, they’re what is working well for your company. While sales and profits are included here it can also be less tangible strengths. Such as brand identity or strong outreach.

You can find strengths in many areas, including…

  • Shares, likes, comments, views, and downloads on content
  • Reviews and testimonials from happy customers
  • Raw numbers from sales and profits

Again, this section is where your business excels. Also, note why it’s excelling for a stronger answer.

3. Note the weaknesses

Weaknesses are exactly what they sound like. They’re what’s holding you back from meeting your goals. They may appear to be sinking ships, but given enough thought and understanding, you may find a way to turn them into a strength.

Weaknesses are found within the company. They can be poorly planned marketing campaigns or lackluster shipping designs. They can also be a product that isn’t selling as expected. Raw numbers help the most here to identify exactly what is weakening your business.

Weaknesses can either be eliminated or worked on. But you need to decide which is the better move for your brand.

4. Think about the opportunities

Opportunities are often outside influences. They may pop up without warning. But if they’re not capitalized, they’ll slip away.

For example, digital marketing companies who focus on graphic designs of websites, logos, and apps may team up with copywriters. Why? Because copywriters often work with clients who need help with their designs. And designers work with companies who need strong writers.

This is a beneficial opportunity for both companies to get more clients with half the work.

Because opportunities can just happen. In this stage you need to look at which outside influences could benefit your business. It could be collaborations. It could be a shift in trends which your new product will capitalize on.

I’ll admit, this is the hardest part of the analysis. But if you can think of future opportunities to either jump onto or create yourself, you’ll find yourself ahead of your competition.

5. Limit the threats

Threats are also outside forces, but many can be found if you do a little bit of digging. Outside threats include taxes, market changes, and government laws. Additional threats can be incoming products based on trends, your existing competition, and your own weaknesses.

For example, if you only target the high class, they’re a small percentage of the buyers market. By not offering a cheaper alternative to lower and middle-class workers, you may be threatening the success of your own company.

Address threats from a global, economical, and local scale. Write them all down and rank them from top priority to least priority, in terms of immediate threat.

When each of these steps is put together, you’ve completed your SWOT analysis!

In an upcoming article, I examine a SWOT analysis case study of a big name company. You can use this or other examples when doing your own SWOT analysis.

Image: wellphoto/Shutterstock.com

Related posts:

  • How to Do SWOT Analysis
  • What is the Use of SWOT Analysis?
  • How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis of a Business
  • How SWOT Analysis is Used in Business
  • Swot Analysis and Advantage Threats
  • How to Create a Pestle Analysis Template
  • Lvmh Swot Analysis & Swot for Fcuk

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Business communication: writing a SWOT analysis

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

Congratulations! You have now reached the end of this free course, Business communication: writing a SWOT analysis . You should now feel that you can:

  • understand the SWOT framework
  • use the SWOT framework for analysing a business case study or a workplace situation
  • make concise, formal notes from a case study text
  • use appropriate language and structuring to organise and write a SWOT analysis for a business context

Reflective activity

Reflect on the activities in this course by answering the following questions.

Why is it useful to use a framework such as SWOT to analyse a business?

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What Is SWOT Analysis?

Understanding swot analysis, how to do a swot analysis, the bottom line.

  • Fundamental Analysis

SWOT Analysis: How To With Table and Example

These frameworks are essential to fundamentally analyzing companies

how to write swot analysis in case study

Ariel Courage is an experienced editor, researcher, and former fact-checker. She has performed editing and fact-checking work for several leading finance publications, including The Motley Fool and Passport to Wall Street.

how to write swot analysis in case study

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a framework used to evaluate a company's competitive position and to develop strategic planning. SWOT analysis assesses internal and external factors, as well as current and future potential.

A SWOT analysis is designed to facilitate a realistic, fact-based, data-driven look at the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, initiatives, or within its industry. The organization needs to keep the analysis accurate by avoiding pre-conceived beliefs or gray areas and instead focusing on real-life contexts. Companies should use it as a guide and not necessarily as a prescription.

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Key Takeaways

  • SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique that provides assessment tools.
  • Identifying core strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats leads to fact-based analysis, fresh perspectives, and new ideas.
  • A SWOT analysis pulls information internal sources (strengths of weaknesses of the specific company) as well as external forces that may have uncontrollable impacts to decisions (opportunities and threats).
  • SWOT analysis works best when diverse groups or voices within an organization are free to provide realistic data points rather than prescribed messaging.
  • Findings of a SWOT analysis are often synthesized to support a single objective or decision that a company is facing.

Investopedia / Xiaojie Liu

SWOT analysis is a technique for assessing the performance, competition, risk, and potential of a business, as well as part of a business such as a product line or division, an industry, or other entity.

Using internal and external data , the technique can guide businesses toward strategies more likely to be successful, and away from those in which they have been, or are likely to be, less successful. Independent SWOT analysts, investors, or competitors can also guide them on whether a company, product line, or industry might be strong or weak and why.

SWOT analysis was first used to analyze businesses. Now, it's often used by governments, nonprofits, and individuals, including investors and entrepreneurs. There is seemingly limitless applications to the SWOT analysis.

Components of SWOT Analysis

Every SWOT analysis will include the following four categories. Though the elements and discoveries within these categories will vary from company to company, a SWOT analysis is not complete without each of these elements:

Strengths describe what an organization excels at and what separates it from the competition : a strong brand, loyal customer base, a strong balance sheet, unique technology, and so on. For example, a hedge fund may have developed a proprietary trading strategy that returns market-beating results. It must then decide how to use those results to attract new investors.

Weaknesses stop an organization from performing at its optimum level. They are areas where the business needs to improve to remain competitive: a weak brand, higher-than-average turnover, high levels of debt, an inadequate supply chain, or lack of capital.

Opportunities

Opportunities refer to favorable external factors that could give an organization a competitive advantage. For example, if a country cuts tariffs, a car manufacturer can export its cars into a new market, increasing sales and market share .

Threats refer to factors that have the potential to harm an organization. For example, a drought is a threat to a wheat-producing company, as it may destroy or reduce the crop yield. Other common threats include things like rising costs for materials, increasing competition, tight labor supply. and so on.

Analysts present a SWOT analysis as a square segmented into four quadrants, each dedicated to an element of SWOT. This visual arrangement provides a quick overview of the company’s position. Although all the points under a particular heading may not be of equal importance, they all should represent key insights into the balance of opportunities and threats, advantages and disadvantages, and so forth.

The SWOT table is often laid out with the internal factors on the top row and the external factors on the bottom row. In addition, the items on the left side of the table are more positive/favorable aspects, while the items on the right are more concerning/negative elements.

A SWOT analysis can be broken into several steps with actionable items before and after analyzing the four components. In general, a SWOT analysis will involve the following steps.

Step 1: Determine Your Objective

A SWOT analysis can be broad, though more value will likely be generated if the analysis is pointed directly at an objective. For example, the objective of a SWOT analysis may focused only on whether or not to perform a new product rollout . With an objective in mind, a company will have guidance on what they hope to achieve at the end of the process. In this example, the SWOT analysis should help determine whether or not the product should be introduced.

Step 2: Gather Resources

Every SWOT analysis will vary, and a company may need different data sets to support pulling together different SWOT analysis tables. A company should begin by understanding what information it has access to, what data limitations it faces, and how reliable its external data sources are.

In addition to data, a company should understand the right combination of personnel to have involved in the analysis. Some staff may be more connected with external forces, while various staff within the manufacturing or sales departments may have a better grasp of what is going on internally. Having a broad set of perspectives is also more likely to yield diverse, value-adding contributions.

Step 3: Compile Ideas

For each of the four components of the SWOT analysis, the group of people assigned to performing the analysis should begin listing ideas within each category. Examples of questions to ask or consider for each group are in the table below.

Internal Factors

What occurs within the company serves as a great source of information for the strengths and weaknesses categories of the SWOT analysis. Examples of internal factors include financial and human resources , tangible and intangible (brand name) assets, and operational efficiencies.

Potential questions to list internal factors are:

  • (Strength) What are we doing well?
  • (Strength) What is our strongest asset?
  • (Weakness) What are our detractors?
  • (Weakness) What are our lowest-performing product lines?

External Factors

What happens outside of the company is equally as important to the success of a company as internal factors. External influences, such as monetary policies , market changes, and access to suppliers, are categories to pull from to create a list of opportunities and weaknesses.

Potential questions to list external factors are:

  • (Opportunity) What trends are evident in the marketplace?
  • (Opportunity) What demographics are we not targeting?
  • (Threat) How many competitors exist, and what is their market share?
  • (Threat) Are there new regulations that potentially could harm our operations or products?

Companies may consider performing this step as a "white-boarding" or "sticky note" session. The idea is there is no right or wrong answer; all participants should be encouraged to share whatever thoughts they have. These ideas can later be discarded; in the meantime, the goal should be to come up with as many items as possible to invoke creativity and inspiration in others.

Step 4: Refine Findings

With the list of ideas within each category, it is now time to clean-up the ideas. By refining the thoughts that everyone had, a company can focus on only the best ideas or largest risks to the company. This stage may require substantial debate among analysis participants, including bringing in upper management to help rank priorities.

Step 5: Develop the Strategy

Armed with the ranked list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, it is time to convert the SWOT analysis into a strategic plan. Members of the analysis team take the bulleted list of items within each category and create a synthesized plan that provides guidance on the original objective.

For example, the company debating whether to release a new product may have identified that it is the market leader for its existing product and there is the opportunity to expand to new markets. However, increased material costs, strained distribution lines, the need for additional staff, and unpredictable product demand may outweigh the strengths and opportunities. The analysis team develops the strategy to revisit the decision in six months in hopes of costs declining and market demand becoming more transparent.

Use a SWOT analysis to identify challenges affecting your business and opportunities that can enhance it. However, note that it is one of many techniques, not a prescription.

Benefits of SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis won't solve every major question a company has. However, there's a number of benefits to a SWOT analysis that make strategic decision-making easier.

  • A SWOT analysis makes complex problems more manageable. There may be an overwhelming amount of data to analyze and relevant points to consider when making a complex decision. In general, a SWOT analysis that has been prepared by paring down all ideas and ranking bullets by importance will aggregate a large, potentially overwhelming problem into a more digestible report.
  • A SWOT analysis requires external consider. Too often, a company may be tempted to only consider internal factors when making decisions. However, there are often items out of the company's control that may influence the outcome of a business decision. A SWOT analysis covers both the internal factors a company can manage and the external factors that may be more difficult to control.
  • A SWOT analysis can be applied to almost every business question. The analysis can relate to an organization, team, or individual. It can also analyze a full product line , changes to brand, geographical expansion, or an acquisition. The SWOT analysis is a versatile tool that has many applications.
  • A SWOT analysis leverages different data sources. A company will likely use internal information for strengths and weaknesses. The company will also need to gather external information relating to broad markets, competitors, or macroeconomic forces for opportunities and threats. Instead of relying on a single, potentially biased source, a good SWOT analysis compiles various angles.
  • A SWOT analysis may not be overly costly to prepare. Some SWOT reports do not need to be overly technical; therefore, many different staff members can contribute to its preparation without training or external consulting.

SWOT Analysis Example

In 2015, a Value Line SWOT analysis of The Coca-Cola Company noted strengths such as its globally famous brand name, vast distribution network, and opportunities in emerging markets. However, it also noted weaknesses and threats such as foreign currency fluctuations, growing public interest in "healthy" beverages, and competition from healthy beverage providers.

Its SWOT analysis prompted Value Line to pose some tough questions about Coca-Cola's strategy, but also to note that the company "will probably remain a top-tier beverage provider" that offered conservative investors "a reliable source of income and a bit of capital gains exposure."

Five years later, the Value Line SWOT analysis proved effective as Coca-Cola remains the 6th strongest brand in the world (as it was then). Coca-Cola's shares (traded under ticker symbol KO) have increased in value by over 60% during the five years after the analysis was completed.

To get a better picture of a SWOT analysis, consider the example of a fictitious organic smoothie company. To better understand how it competes within the smoothie market and what it can do better, it conducted a SWOT analysis. Through this analysis, it identified that its strengths were good sourcing of ingredients, personalized customer service, and a strong relationship with suppliers. Peering within its operations, it identified a few areas of weakness: little product diversification, high turnover rates, and outdated equipment.

Examining how the external environment affects its business, it identified opportunities in emerging technology, untapped demographics, and a culture shift towards healthy living. It also found threats, such as a winter freeze damaging crops, a global pandemic, and kinks in the supply chain. In conjunction with other planning techniques, the company used the SWOT analysis to leverage its strengths and external opportunities to eliminate threats and strengthen areas where it is weak.

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a method for identifying and analyzing internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats that shape current and future operations and help develop strategic goals. SWOT analyses are not limited to companies. Individuals can also use SWOT analysis to engage in constructive introspection and form personal improvement goals.

What Is an Example of SWOT Analysis?

Home Depot conducted a SWOT analysis, creating a balanced list of its internal advantages and disadvantages and external factors threatening its market position and growth strategy. High-quality customer service, strong brand recognition, and positive relationships with suppliers were some of its notable strengths; whereas, a constricted supply chain, interdependence on the U.S. market, and a replicable business model were listed as its weaknesses.

Closely related to its weaknesses, Home Depot's threats were the presence of close rivals, available substitutes, and the condition of the U.S. market. It found from this study and other analysis that expanding its supply chain and global footprint would be key to its growth.

What Are the 4 Steps of SWOT Analysis?

The four steps of SWOT analysis comprise the acronym SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These four aspects can be broken into two analytical steps. First, a company assesses its internal capabilities and determines its strengths and weaknesses. Then, a company looks outward and evaluates external factors that impact its business. These external factors may create opportunities or threaten existing operations.

How Do You Write a Good SWOT Analysis?

Creating a SWOT analysis involves identifying and analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company. It is recommended to first create a list of questions to answer for each element. The questions serve as a guide for completing the SWOT analysis and creating a balanced list. The SWOT framework can be constructed in list format, as free text, or, most commonly, as a 4-cell table, with quadrants dedicated to each element. Strengths and weaknesses are listed first, followed by opportunities and threats.

Why Is SWOT Analysis Used?

A SWOT analysis is used to strategically identify areas of improvement or competitive advantages for a company. In addition to analyzing thing that a company does well, SWOT analysis takes a look at more detrimental, negative elements of a business. Using this information, a company can make smarter decisions to preserve what it does well, capitalize on its strengths, mitigate risk regarding weaknesses, and plan for events that may adversely affect the company in the future.

A SWOT analysis is a great way to guide business-strategy meetings. It's powerful to have everyone in the room discuss the company's core strengths and weaknesses, define the opportunities and threats, and brainstorm ideas. Oftentimes, the SWOT analysis you envision before the session changes throughout to reflect factors you were unaware of and would never have captured if not for the group’s input.

A company can use a SWOT for overall business strategy sessions or for a specific segment such as marketing, production, or sales. This way, you can see how the overall strategy developed from the SWOT analysis will filter down to the segments below before committing to it. You can also work in reverse with a segment-specific SWOT analysis that feeds into an overall SWOT analysis.

Although a useful planning tool, SWOT has limitations. It is one of several business planning techniques to consider and should not be used alone. Also, each point listed within the categories is not prioritized the same. SWOT does not account for the differences in weight. Therefore, a deeper analysis is needed, using another planning technique.

Business News Daily. " SWOT Analysis: What It Is and When to Use It ."

Seeking Alpha. " The Coca-Cola Company: A Short SWOT Analysis ."

Panmore. " Home Depot SWOT Analysis & Recommendations ."

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Blog Marketing

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis in Marketing [+Examples]

By Jessie Strongitharm , Jul 12, 2022

swot analysis

As marketers, we know how important it is to do your research — especially when it comes to your own strategies, campaigns and all decision-making therein. Yet in my experience, being balanced in your assessments ain’t easy when you’re on the inside looking in. 

Luckily, that’s exactly where a marketing SWOT analysis comes into play. 

A SWOT analysis helps you identify the strengths, weaknesses, potentials and pitfalls of your company so you can refine your strategies for the future.

So in today’s blog, you’ll learn how to use a SWOT analysis to identify problems and strategize solutions in marketing. I’ve also included plenty of customizable templates to give you a leg up.

Let’s get started!

Click to jump ahead

What is a marketing swot analysis , why should marketers conduct a swot analysis, how to create a marketing swot analysis .

  • What are common SWOT analysis mistakes?
  • SWOT analysis in marketing FAQs 

SWOT analysis template

Hint: It’s no fly-shooing action, nor an internet prank gone wrong. 

A SWOT analysis is a simple and practical evaluation model that helps you understand the internal and external conditions that can make or break your marketing plans . Here’s a quick video on the topic for more context: 

Shorthand for Strengths , Weaknesses , Opportunities , and Threats , SWOT analyses are strategic tools that allow you to visually showcase these insights by organizing them within columns or a matrix. 

SWOT analysis template

Typically, each section explores aspects of a company’s performance, resources and competitive position in the marketplace. Here’s a brief overview of each category: 

Strengths (internal) – Your strengths are the advantages you have in relation to the market and your competitors –  AKA your core competencies, Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) and the areas your brand should focus on to differentiate from others. A strong online presence, diverse service offerings and in-house talent are some examples of strengths. 

Weaknesses (internal) – Your weaknesses are the characteristics of your company that place you at a disadvantage compared to others. Limited resources, poor differentiation from competitors and negative customer perceptions are all examples of weaknesses that affect marketing.

Opportunities (external) – Opportunities are elements in your business’s environment that have the potential to improve your position if used to your advantage. Some examples include: the emergence of new technology and new consumer behaviors or buying preferences.

Threats (external) – Threats are elements in your business’s environment that hurt your company’s potential to compete in the market. Economic downturns, tighter regulations and increasing competition are all examples of threats that can impact your marketing efforts. (Psst – check out the FAQ below for more information!) 

Spoiler alert: the easiest way to build a SWOT analysis is to use a free SWOT analysis template , like the one shown below. Keep scrolling for more templates that you can customize for your own marketing needs. 

SWOT analysis template

Return to Table of Contents

Similar to how a financial balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company’s assets and liabilities at a point in time, a SWOT analysis offers this same level of insight to marketers. (Hint: your sales organizations should do a SWOT analysis too.)

From launching new campaigns and exploring new channels, to considering new technologies and responding to industry trends, SWOT is designed to provide actionable information that  helps marketers — and their organizations — achieve their goals.

This process primes their strategic approaches, allowing them to use their strengths and potential opportunities to balance out, reduce or limit any weaknesses and external threats. 

SWOT analysis template

What’s more, a well-executed SWOT matrix is a crucial ingredient for conducting a competitive analysis — AKA gaining insight on competitors’ marketing tactics, products and performance.

This is key for understanding your relative positioning and resulting competitive advantages, helping you get ahead in the marketing game. 

Check out the competitor SWOT examples below for inspo… 

SWOT analysis template

So in sum, by providing a clear understanding of the market, industry competition and company’s strengths, a marketing SWOT analysis can help you answer questions like: 

  • How successful is a given marketing strategy? 
  • How are market changes impacting our business operations?
  • How is our company performing financially?
  • What marketing tactics should we be using?
  • What advantage do we have over our competitors?
  • What are we doing that our competitors are also doing?
  • What products or services are performing/not performing well?
  • What current marketplace trends can we take advantage of?
  • What new target markets are available?
  • What tools and resources do we have to reach at our disposal?
  • What factors are pulling time away from our employees?
  • Where are we failing to connect with our target market?

You know, just to name a few.

It’s worth noting, these types of analyses are extremely useful in industries where things change quickly. For instance, a  SWOT analysis in healthcare  would’ve helped organizations during the pandemic stay on top of these unprecedented events.

Creating a professional and polished SWOT framework is easy with Venngage’s SWOT analysis templates and drag-and-drop visual editor. Here’s how to get started: 

Define your focus 

The first step to creating an effective marketing SWOT analysis is to identify what your intention is. 

For example: are you looking to create a marketing plan? Or alter your current trajectory? Are you thinking about entering a new market with your existing product/service? Or trying out a new channel/technology? 

No matter the specific use case, know that the more specific your intention, the more useful the outcomes of your analysis will be. 

Compile your data 

It’s time to get all your ducks in a row – and by that, I mean your data! 

Gather your team members and brainstorm points for each section of your matrix, then do your best to condense each into a few succinct point notes. It’s best to keep things as concise as possible to avoid derailing your strategic efforts (more on this below). 

SWOT analysis template

Sign up for a Venngage account and choose from hundreds of templates 

With Venngage, it’s easy to serve up information in a sleek, versatile and professional way.

All you need to do is fill in your user information and your desired use cases to access hundreds of customizable SWOT templates. Once set up, you’ll be able to create beautiful charts without any graphic design knowledge or technical expertise. 

Note: there are hundreds of templates available that you can design and share for free. If you want to access other designs, take advantage of in-editor features like My Brand Kit/Team collaboration and download your files, you’ll need to upgrade your account to a paid plan. 

SWOT analysis template

Customize your SWOT analysis template 

The beauty of Venngage’s drag-and-drop editor is its a simple and powerful design solution for business communications. Once you’ve logged into your account and selected a template, you have the freedom to customize your templates and swap out or add any assets (i.e. text, icon and colors etc) into your design. 

But wait, there’s more! 

Looking to keep your branding consistent? Venngage’s My Brand Kit lets you apply your brand colors and logos to any template with one click.

Want to get more eyeballs on your SWOT analysis before you present it? Team collaboration feature lets you invite members to your team, edit designs together in real time, leave comments, create folders, save your creations and more. 

Easy-peasy, template-squeezy. 

Download your SWOT analysis diagram

Last but certainly not least, you can share or download a high-resolution version of your framework for immediate use in presentations and business communications. 

Sharing is available free-of-charge, while a Premium or Business plan allows you to export your creations to PNG, PDF, HTML and Powerpoint. (And gives you access to the other nifty features I mentioned above!)

What are some common SWOT analysis mistakes?

Congrats – you’re well on your way to becoming a SWOT-ting savant! 

That being said, there are some mistakes even seasoned marketers still make that you’ll want to avoid. Let’s take a look…

1. Listing too many items

Look, I get it: there’s nothing quite like a good brainstorming session to make you come up with 101 ideas and then some.

But the key to an actionable SWOT analysis is being able to present those ideas in a clear, concise and compelling way. That means having a defined focus, and avoiding overloading readers with information.

Try to condense and categorize your individual insights into a few overarching points. Use point-form to convey your ideas in a short space, then organize the information so your most important ideas come first. This will help you decide what to tackle foremost when creating your strategy.

SWOT analysis tempalte

2. Making generalizations

While being concise is important, make sure not to fall into the trap of oversimplifying. This only leads to incorrect, misleading assumptions that hurt your decision-making in the end. 

A good rule of thumb in strategic planning is to avoid black-and-white scenarios. Your data should reflect real-world preferences and campaign performance – not brash assumptions. 

3. Overestimating strengths

Often, people over exaggerate their business’ strengths. While it might feel good in the moment, this idealism only harms your ability to make well-informed strategic choices moving forward. So repeat after me: objectivity is key! Being honest about the facts will help you uncover your true opportunities and risks. 

SWOT analysis template

4. Minimizing weaknesses

The flipside of overestimated strengths? Underestimated weaknesses. So for good measure, I’ll say it again: objectivity is key . 

Even the most successful businesses have areas that need improvement.  If your organization is aware of  its weaknesses, it becomes that much easier to mitigate future roadblocks, meet your targets and achieve long-term growth overall. 

SWOT analyses in marketing FAQs

What do you do with swot analysis data.

Data gained from a SWOT analysis is your key to making smart marketing decisions. 

By evaluating your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can determine how to allocate your resources efficiently — helping you achieve maximum revenue growth and profitability.

And when you’re aware of what your company can achieve, it’s that much easier to adapt to market trends and changing dynamics. 

How important is the SWOT analysis for marketing managers?

In a word? Very. 

Similar to how market research is vital, without SWOT, it’s nearly impossible to gain a balanced view of your company’s positioning and potential.

Marketing managers who know their external circumstances, strengths and limitations can base their campaigns around informed decisions rather than idealistic assumptions. This helps them adapt to the rapidly changing world of marketing more successfully, and be proactive in their approaches. 

What are examples of threats in a marketing SWOT?

Remember: threats in a marketing SWOT analysis are external factors affecting your businesses’ ability to carry out your marketing objectives successfully. This involves assessing the actions of competitors, the emerging trends in the market and the overall landscape your business finds itself in.

Some good questions to ask are:

  • What strategies are our competitors using?
  • What advantages do our competitors have over us?
  • What overlap exists between our services and our competitors?
  • What technological challenges are impacting our business? 
  • What adverse market changes are we facing now or in the future?

Like other external challenges, these factors might not be in your control. But the understanding you gain from this process puts you in a prime position to adapt to competitor action and economic changes. 

TLDR: fewer surprises = less last-minute course corrections needed.

Ready to create a SWOT analysis for your marketing team? 

To create a well-executed SWOT analysis that communicates your marketing prospects and pitfalls, you’ll need a way to showcase these insights in a visually appealing way.

While you could draw a matrix out by hand or Word doc the day away, it pays dividends to have a data visualization tool that can do this for you in a flash. 

Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor helps you create beautiful, professional graphics quickly and easily. Choose from tons of ready-made SWOT analysis templates and swap out the text with your own insights and icons, then export your content in a few clicks. 

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Aldi SWOT Analysis & Recommendations

Aldi SWOT analysis, recommendations, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, supermarket, internal external factors, retail business case study

Aldi is assessed in this SWOT analysis to determine the strategic factors affecting the business. This SWOT analysis links business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to the retailer’s multinational strategies for growth and competitiveness. Aldi’s multinational growth and expansion reflect a strong strategic fit for retail operations, based on the company’s internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). This means that the company has potential for further growth in the international retail industry. However, as this SWOT analysis shows, Aldi needs to strengthen its competencies while growing internationally to address competition, which is a major external challenge.

This SWOT analysis of Aldi points to internal factors that represent a competitive approach based on cost and price. The company’s strengths and weaknesses define strategic decisions for improving and growing the discount supermarket business. This SWOT analysis of Aldi also includes external factors that highlight global market opportunities despite competition and other threats.

Aldi’s Strengths

Retail business capabilities, competencies, and competitive advantages are strengths considered in this SWOT analysis of Aldi. These strengths are internal strategic factors that ensure the growth of the discount grocery store chain. Aldi has the following strengths:

  • Strong brands for a discount grocer
  • Attractive prices for private-label items
  • Strong control over product selection

Aldi’s name and private-label brands are a strength that attracts customers, especially those looking for affordable alternatives. In this SWOT analysis case, strong brands are an internal factor that enables the company to stabilize its market share despite aggressive competition with other retailers. Low prices for private-label products are possible because of low costs, which are a consequence of Aldi’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies. These low prices draw target customers into the company’s grocery stores. Furthermore, the discount supermarket chain has strong control over product selection, which contributes to a competitive product mix and strong branding. The strengths in this SWOT analysis are necessary to satisfy the goals of Aldi’s mission and vision , which emphasize the affordability of groceries that match consumer preferences.

Aldi’s Weaknesses

Limitations and obstacles in the business organization are weaknesses assessed in this SWOT analysis of Aldi. These weaknesses are internal strategic factors that can prevent the retailer’s growth or reduce its business performance. Aldi has the following weaknesses:

  • Thin profit margins
  • Limited market presence
  • Limited e-commerce operations
  • Imitable business model

Thin profit margins are a weakness that limits pricing flexibility in the retail business. This weakness is an internal factor linked to the competitive pricing strategy used in Aldi’s marketing mix (4Ps). This SWOT analysis case also involves the company’s limited market presence and e-commerce operations, which are considered weak relative to many big-box retailers. Moreover, Aldi has an imitable business model that competitors or new entrants can copy. In this SWOT analysis case, the business model involving low prices and private labels is easy to apply in other companies looking to target price-sensitive shoppers.

Opportunities for Aldi

External strategic factors for potential growth and improvement in retail business are opportunities in this SWOT analysis of Aldi. The company can align its competitive and growth strategies to these opportunities in the retail industry. Aldi has the following opportunities:

  • Global market penetration
  • E-commerce enhancement
  • Vertical integration

Aldi’s opportunities for global market penetration and e-commerce enhancement relate to the weaknesses noted in this SWOT analysis. Given these opportunities, the company can grow and increase its sales revenues based on a bigger share of the global retail market. On the other hand, the opportunity for vertical integration can strengthen Aldi’s control over its supply chain and inventory. For example, based on this external factor, the company can establish additional operations for producing food products for its stores. This SWOT analysis points to opportunities for boosting competitive advantages and business capabilities to address the tough competitive rivalry described in the Five Forces analysis of Aldi.

Threats to Aldi

External strategic factors that limit, reduce, or prevent business development are threats in this SWOT analysis of Aldi. These threats present difficulties and challenges in growing the supermarket chain. Aldi faces the following threats:

  • Competition with local and multinational retailers
  • Food supply instability due to geopolitical conflicts

Aldi competes with retailers of various sizes and strategies, such as Lidl, Costco Wholesale , Walmart , Whole Foods , and Amazon ’s e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores. Even Home Depot , which is not a direct competitor, has the potential to diversify and affect Aldi’s target market. In this SWOT analysis case, such a competitive environment threatens the discount retailer’s growth. Moreover, inflation can lead to higher production costs, which can lead to less competitive prices at Aldi stores. Also, geopolitical conflicts can lead to food supply instability, which is an external factor that threatens the stability of the company’s supply chain. The threats in this SWOT analysis are linked to the economic, political, and ecological trends enumerated in the PESTLE/PESTEL analysis of Aldi.

Recommendations – SWOT Analysis of Aldi

The internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) assessed in this SWOT analysis of Aldi represent capabilities and challenges in the retail business. The company needs to continually enhance its competitive advantages and position to ensure growth despite aggressive competition. Based on the strategic factors considered in this SWOT analysis, the following are the recommendations for Aldi:

  • Diversify the business to reduce risk exposure in the retail market and create more revenue sources.
  • Vertically integrate to stabilize the supply chain and strengthen corporate control on merchandise production operations.
  • Penetrate more retail markets to increase the company’s global market share.
  • Increase online operations to generate more online sales revenues.
  • About Aldi .
  • Aldi – Our Story .
  • Aldi History .
  • Aldi’s Vision 2030 .
  • He, K., Lei, H., & Liu, J. (2024). Comparative Analysis of Business Strategy and Compensation System in the US Retail Industry. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management, 24 , 516-520.
  • Palazzo, M., & Micozzi, A. (2024). The SWOT Analysis: An Evolving Decision-Making Model. In Rethinking Decision-Making Strategies and Tools: Emerging Research and Opportunities (pp. 53-70). Emerald Publishing Limited.
  • Park, J., Hong, E., & Park, Y. N. (2023). Toward a new business model of retail industry: The role of brand experience and brand authenticity. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 74 , 103426.
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COMMENTS

  1. SWOT Analysis Case Studies

    SWOT Analysis Case Studies SWOT Analysis Case Studies The SWOT analysis method is the situation analysis method. It was proposed by Weirik, a professor of management at the University of San Francisco in the early 1980s.

  2. 3 Great SWOT Analysis Examples with Real Companies

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

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  4. SWOT Analysis

    Step 1: Selecting a company If your assignment requires conducting a SWOT analysis, you are either given a case study company by your educational institution or you are free to analyze a company of your own choice. In the first scenario, you have no option but to conduct a SWOT analysis of the company named in your assignment instructions.

  5. SWOT Analysis: Components, How to Create + Case Examples

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

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  7. SWOT Analysis: Examples and Templates [2023] • Asana

    Summary 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.

  8. 5.1 SWOT analysis: a case study

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  9. SWOT Analysis: What It Is & How to Do It [Examples + Template]

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  10. How to Research And Write A SWOT Analysis

    A SWOT analysis is a type of study. It focuses on four main components of a topic: strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Most SWOT analyses are written about companies, products, and industries (your topic). People use it to identify the benefits and disadvantages of their topic. And once the analysis is complete, they can ...

  11. 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 ...

  12. How to Write a Case Study Analysis for Business School

    Step 1: Investigate the Company's History and Growth A company's past can greatly affect the present and future state of the organization. To begin, investigate the company's founding, critical incidents, structure, and growth. Create a timeline of events, issues, and achievements. This timeline will come in handy for the next step.

  13. How to Do a SWOT Analysis (Examples & Free Template!)

    First, you should attempt to match your strengths with your opportunities. Next, you should try to convert weaknesses into strengths. Let's take a look how this works. 1. Harness your strengths. One of the best things about the strengths you identified in your SWOT analysis is that you're already doing them.

  14. Understanding SWOT Analysis with a Case Study

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  15. How to Write a SWOT Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide

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  16. SWOT Analysis Explained

    A SWOT analysis is a framework used in a business's strategic planning to evaluate its competitive positioning in the marketplace. The analysis looks at four key characteristics that are ...

  17. How to Write a SWOT Research Analysis

    Start building your SWOT. Your next step will be to start your actual SWOT analysis so on your paper. You are going to put down a box with four equal boxes inside. In the first one you can write 'strengths', next to that, 'weaknesses'. Write 'opportunities' below the strengths and next to that write 'threats'. Strengths.

  18. SWOT analysis: how-to, example and alternatives

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  19. Applying SWOT Analysis: Case Study

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  20. SWOT Analysis: How to Do It + 4 Examples

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  21. How to Create a SWOT Analysis

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  22. Business communication: writing a SWOT analysis

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  23. SWOT Analysis: How To With Table and Example

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  25. Aldi SWOT Analysis & Recommendations

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