SWOT analysis: get an overview of the company's situation
SWOT analysis - another of the marketing experts' beloved models. SWOT is one of the most widely used tools for analysing a company's situation, which can be beneficial for future development of your marketing strategy or as insight into the market situation of a start-up. It is a versatile model that can be relevant in many different contexts. If you are new to SWOT analysis, or could do with a refresher, here is an introduction to the model and its usefulness.
Internal and external situation analysis
As mentioned above, the SWOT analysis is useful for future assessment and development of your business strategy. The model is based on four points, from which it seeks to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the company. In time, it can help you determine what opportunities you should exploit, what threats you need to address, and what activities and competencies may be needed to take such actions.
The model is what we colloquially call a situation analysis - it creates an insight into the situation and market in which your company operates. Overall, the SWOT analysis identifies the key external and internal factors that affect your company's trading space.
Foto: <a href="https://webamp.dk/academy/swot-analyse/">Webamp: SWOT analyse</a>Internal
The internal factors are the strengths and weaknesses of the company, which are areas under its control. It is a good idea to define these, as it makes it possible to determine whether, for example, a company is able to cope with a possible crisis or whether it should seek to create new assets and competences that will enable it to continue to grow.
S - strengths
Strengths define the areas where your company performs well - especially compared to your competitors. Strengths belong to the internal factors, which means you have the opportunity to act on them. Once strengths have been identified, it is therefore a good idea to find new actions that you can implement.
W - weakness
The company's weaknesses are areas where the company lacks competences or fails to perform compared to competitors in the industry. Identifying your weaknesses allows you to determine what actions you can include to reduce and eliminate the weaknesses.
External
The external factors are the threats and opportunities to the company, which are areas beyond its control.
O - opportunities
Opportunities are a factor that is often confused with strengths. It is therefore important to know that you are looking at the company's opportunities at a macro level - that is, at a societal structural level. An opportunity will typically be evaluated according to whether its impact is immediate and large or relevant for the company to seek out or act upon. Once you have defined the company's opportunities at the macro level, it is important to develop concrete actions that focus on exploiting them in a competitive way.
T - threats
Threats define strategic problems, events or trends that could adversely affect the company's strategy or threaten its ability to act or exist. For example, it is a good idea to define threats if you are planning to enter a new market or if you are undergoing a major strategic transformation.
Threats are essentially about trying and identifying challenges in advance. That way, you have the opportunity to come up with actions to mitigate or manage potential risks.
Overview SWOT models
| + Promoting the company's goals | % Obstacles to the company's goals | |
|---|---|---|
| Internal (existing factors) | Strengths
| Weaknesses
|
| External (future factors) | Opportunities
| Threats
|
Why do a SWOT analysis?
There are several reasons why it is a good idea to conduct a SWOT analysis - it basically depends on the company's objectives. However, the objective will typically be to identify your company's ability(strengths/weaknesses) to defend against current and emerging threats or to exploit market opportunities to your advantage(threats/opportunities).
A SWOT analysis is relevant as it helps to uncover blind spots in the company's strategy. This will give you a deeper insight into your company's current situation, which can help you to develop the right strategy for you.
It is relevant to note that not all areas of the analysis will be of equal value to your company. It is therefore a good idea to define the objective of the analysis before it is carried out. For example, this could be to prepare you for crisis communication or to explore opportunities to strengthen your skills in the sector.
The analysis does not result in an automatic solution to possible threats, but provides an insight into which areas are relevant to prioritise and how you can best focus your SoMe marketing.
Do you need help to develop your business?
This introduction to - or refresher on - the SWOT analysis and its content should have given you an insight into how to further develop and work with your current marketing strategy in an effective and incisive way. An essential part of running an effective and growing business is knowing the internal and external factors that affect the business.
If you need sparring and advice in your quest for growth and digital visibility, don't hesitate to send us a message.
At Webamp , we are an SEO agency that not only knows how to work with internal and external factors - we are experts in targeting both through Google Ads advertising and SoMe marketing. Contact me or one of my colleagues at Webamp on tel. 70 60 50 28 or by email at info@webamp.dk.
Get even smarter and increase your online presence
Whether you're a generalist or a marketing specialist, our specialists have put together some great advice for you on our blog.
Learn more at Webamp Academy.
-
Strengthen your brand narrative with storytelling
Did you know that through storytelling you can create a stronger connection with your target audience while building a strong brand? Read more here. -
How to build an effective outreach strategy
Do you feel lost when you hear the word outreach? Get help to create an outreach strategy that adds value to your business. -
Avoid the biggest branding mistakes - and build a strong brand
Want to build a strong brand? Read on to learn about the biggest branding mistakes and what you should do instead! -
How to make a podcast? 5 steps to podcasting in your branding strategy
Why is podcasting a brilliant media platform? And how do you implement it into your branding strategy? Get 5 tips here. -
Get control of on-page SEO
What is on-page SEO? Read this post to get to grips with on-page SEO, so you get read, understood and rewarded by Google. -
Succeed with off-page SEO
There are several different disciplines you need to master if you want to succeed with off-page SEO. Find more information about off-page SEO here. -
Technical SEO
Having trouble understanding what's keeping you from achieving top rankings on Google? It might be a technical shortcoming. Read more about technical SEO here. -
Does your company need SEO?
Does your company need SEO? The answer is yes, as SEO is the alpha omega for making your business visible in search engines. Read more right here. -
Customer retention - successful retention of customers
Businesses can often be blinded by the idea of constantly attracting new customers - but what about existing ones? Read more about customer retention here.
We are a team of specialists who love to challenge what we already know.
