What is a SWOT analysis and how do you use it?

This simple strategic planning technique can help you identify what your business is doing well, what it needs to improve, where it needs to grow, and what could be its undoing.What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Taking a deep look into your business by  [removed]  will provide you with an overview of the health of your company. Your strengths and opportunities offer avenues for your company to flourish, while your weaknesses and threats can inspire improvement and help you recognize emerging competition.

It’s likely that you completed a SWOT analysis in the beginning stages of your  [removed]  to help determine where you stood in the market and identify target customers. Now that your business is established, it’s imperative to conduct regular SWOT analyses to help improve your operations and  [removed]  and stave off problems.

How to Get Started with a SWOT Analysis

The most vital step in conducting your SWOT analysis is determining what your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are, but sometimes they can be hard to narrow down.

Here are some examples to help you get started:

Strengths

• Superior customer service
• Excellent communication to clients
• Highly educated team

Weaknesses

• Employees lack necessary skills
• Limited staff resources
• Unfriendly employees

Opportunities

• Start a new product line
• Develop a team atmosphere
• Target a new demographic

Threats

• Employee pushback on new policies
• New competitors with lower prices
• Expenses from transitioning to a new location

Narrowing in on what your company truly succeeds in and needs to improve upon will help it flourish if you work towards  [removed] .

How a SWOT Analysis Can Help Your Business Grow

There are many resources out there to help you with your SWOT analysis, such as SCORE’s  [removed] . Your responses to each of the 48 questions on the checklist can help you define short- and long-term goals for your business and determine the action steps necessary to reach those goals.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself during your SWOT analysis:

• “Do I have a well-known brand?”
• “What complaints do I often hear from customers?”
• “How does local, state and national government affect my business?”

These are all questions you may not have asked when conducting your initial standard SWOT analysis, but they’re beneficial to help you look deeper into how your company can grow and improve.

[removed] , such as the lending environment, the housing market or inflation. Taking these factors into consideration will help you conduct a thorough SWOT analysis.

Growth opportunities may not always be obvious. Sometimes the answer isn’t to expand locations or launch a new product. Sometimes, growth comes from expanding on smaller initiatives like  [removed]  or investing in tools or subscriptions to help your team’s  [removed] . Focusing on SWOT areas will allow you to get to the bottom of trouble spots and give your business the best opportunity for growth.

Don’t think of your SWOT analysis like a re-brand or a remodel for your business. Think of it as checking the route on a map. Conduct a SWOT analysis once every six months to determine whether to correct or stay the course. The answers may cause you to want to implement a growth plan immediately, but in some cases waiting a few months or years can offer greater stability.