How To Do One [With Template & Examples]

“Our business is absolutely flawless and we have nothing to improve upon” — said no business owner ever. Instead, we business owners often think of all the ways we could potentially grow our businesses and guard against threats.

I often hear things like:

“Why are my customers not increasing?”

“If only there was a way to find out how to establish my business.”

“My competitors are doing so well, what am I doing wrong?”

The solution lies in one word: SWOT analysis. Well that’s two words, but you get my drift.

I recently conducted a SWOT analysis for my law firm marketing business and it changed everything. In this post, I’ll share my findings.

In this article:

I have discovered that by identifying and capitalizing on your strengths, you can build a solid foundation for growth. You can also use those strengths in other areas that might need additional support, for instance, increasing customer satisfaction.

When asked how conducting a SWOT analysis on his business helped him, Rahul Vij, managing director of WebSpero Solutions replied that the analysis identified “a key strength in our customer service, which we then promoted more heavily in our marketing campaigns, resulting in a 20% increase in customer satisfaction scores.”

When I was looking into the strengths of my own business, here are some questions that I asked myself:

• How satisfied are our current clients with our services?
• What is our reputation within the industry?
• What unique skills or expertise does the team possess?
• Do we have any advantages over our competitors?

Weaknesses

SWOT 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 It could be outdated processes, skill gaps within the team, or inadequate resources.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.

When asked if he had any mistakes to avoid when compiling a list of weaknesses in a SWOT analysis, Rob Cheng, Founder of Big Hat Marketing said:

“You really need to resist the temptation to use an ‘inside-out’ approach to SWOT analysis … Instead, think ‘outside-in’ and approach it as if you were working for your top competitors — how would they try to position your weaknesses? That’s how you find useful insights that can help turn a SWOT into a strong strategic market position.”

Some of the questions I used to identify my company’s weaknesses include:

• How do we address customer feedback?
• Are there any gaps in skills or expertise within the team?
• In what areas are we underperforming or experiencing challenges?
• What limitations do we face compared to our competitors?

Opportunities

While I was compiling the list of my business’s strengths and weaknesses, it occurred to me that there are some opportunities for my business to grow.

This is one of the many advantages of making a SWOT analysis for your organization. It helps you identify external and internal 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.

Here are some questions that helped me identify the opportunities for my business’s growth; it might be helpful to ask your research team these questions before getting started:

• Are there any underserved or untapped customer segments that we could target?
• What new products or services could we introduce to meet evolving customer needs?
• Are there any changes in industry standards that could open up new avenues for growth?
• What do our competitors offer that we don’t?

Threats

In a SWOT analysis, threats are external factors that are beyond your control and pose challenges to your business. Factors like 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.

When I was preparing the SWOT analysis of my business, I was forced to confront these threats. This can be a scary process, so here are some questions you should consider to help streamline the process:

• Are there any emerging competitors or disruptive technologies that could threaten our market position?
• Are there any regulatory or legal risks we need to address?
• Are there any economic factors (such as inflation, recession, or currency fluctuations) that could impact our operations?
• How do we handle reputation management and potential PR problems?

During the creation process of my business’s SWOT analysis, we had to take both internal and external factors into account. I’ll cover those next.

In my experience, there are several steps you’ll want to take when evaluating your business and conducting a strategic SWOT analysis. They include the following.

1. Download a good SWOT analysis template.

There’s no need to start from scratch for your analysis. Instead, you can start by downloading a free template from the internet. Feel free to use the model yourself, or create your own as it suits your needs.

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Pro tip: HubSpot has a free and editable SWOT analysis template that can be downloaded as a pdf or a doc. For an easier process, you can use this.

2. Arrange each section into a table with four quadrants.

Whether you use the template above or create your own, a table format can help you visualize your SWOT analysis. In my experience, this can be done by arranging each of the four sections into separate quadrants.

3. Identify your objective.

Before you start writing things down, you’ll need to figure out what you’re evaluating with your SWOT analysis.

Sometimes this requires a bit of analysis itself. Rene Ymzon, a marketing manager at Advanced Motor Controls, discussed this, saying:

“Given our diverse range of products, industries served, and the dynamic nature of the markets we operate in … we needed a clear picture of where we excel and where we need improvement.”

For instance, 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.

Pro tip: One of the ways that I used to identify my objective and to tailor my evaluation to get more actionable insights was to be ultra specific. Being too broad in your SWOT analysis may result in analysis paralysis as you are making your evaluations.

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.

Pro tip: Assemble a team of key members across management, operations, and marketing to ensure you have a 360-degree view of your company in order to avoid any blind spots.

5. Identify your weaknesses.

When I was thinking about the weaknesses of my company, I first thought about the negative aspects of my business. However, upon further research, I discovered that weaknesses in a SWOT analysis are not necessarily about dwelling on the bad, but about foreseeing any potential obstacles that could obstruct growth.

What are the roadblocks hindering you from reaching your goals? What do your competitors offer that continues to be a thorn in your side?

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?

Pro tip: You can learn a lot about your organization’s weaknesses from customer feedback. Your customer service team can put together a comprehensive customer feedback report to help you identify some of the weaknesses of your product/services.

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, while I was conducting my SWOT analysis, I discovered that there are some opportunities for growth by introducing complimentary services like social media content creation and PR services. 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.

Pro tip: Scott Gabdullin, the founder of Authority Factors, says that “Sometimes traditional SWOT research can be time-consuming. To speed things up, I found it more efficient to create a set of targeted questions.”

7. Contemplate your threats.

As someone who is prone to worry, I always have a good list of threats in my head primed and ready to go. For the non-worriers, gather your employees and brainstorm. You can 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?

In my experience, 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 a strong Instagram marketing strategy.

Pro tip: Complement your SWOT analysis with other strategic frameworks like PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental) to get a clearer view of your external environment.

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This chart was the perfect visual aid that I needed to help me make sense of the wealth of information I gathered during my 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.

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, as an Apple user, I can easily sync my iPhone and iPad together and access all of my photos, contacts, and apps no matter which device I am 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.

Weaknesses

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.

Opportunities

Now, let’s take a look at opportunities for Apple. It was easy to recognize opportunities for improvement, once I considered Apple’s weaknesses. Here’s a list of three that I 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.

Threats

Finally, I looked at threats to Apple because believe it or not, they do exist. Here are three of Apple’s biggest threats according to their customers (me):

• Tough competition.
• Lawsuits.
• 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. 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 I would fill out a SWOT template if I were a part of Starbucks’s marketing team.

Restaurant Small Business SWOT Analysis

If you are a small business owner like me, you may have trouble relating to the SWOTs of big brands like Apple and Starbucks (I know I did).

Here’s an example of how a dine-in Thai restaurant might visualize each SWOT element.

If I owned a small restaurant, I would lean into my 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, or well, allergies.

Local Boutique SWOT Analysis

In another small business example, let’s take a look at a SWOT analysis 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.

I might even tap into the expertise of a social-savvy employee. An example of a business owner that uses social media so well is Dr. Miami. If you check out his TikTok account, you might let out a chuckle or two.

3. 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.

4. Do a SWOT analysis regularly.

In most industries, the market and industry trends change rapidly. For instance, in the SEO industry, there have been some confusing changes lately. One way to get ahead of these changes is by conducting a regular SWOT analysis.

Alari Aho, CEO and founder of Toggl, says that, “A mistake we learned from was not revisiting and updating our SWOT analysis regularly. The market and internal conditions change rapidly, and failing to update our analysis meant that we were sometimes working with outdated information. Now, we conduct SWOT analyses annually, and more frequently if significant market or internal changes occur.”

–Sam Kadel, founder of KBA Web

“SWOT analysis shouldn’t be done theoretically. It should be crafted on real-time variables. Sometimes, one may not recognize what’s the S or W in a process and that is a sign that the objectives and design of the process need more thought.”

–Zeeshan Akhtar, head of marketing at Mailmodo

“It’s easy to fall into a groupthink because usually, SWOT analysis is conducted by management. What we did differently in this case, given the issue we wanted to tackle, was involve an external consultant as well as internal employees to get more diverse perspectives and creative solutions.”

–Zach Dannett, cofounder at Tumble

“During a SWOT analysis, delving deep into competitors’ operations to uncover their vulnerabilities can be invaluable. For instance, discovering a key competitor struggling with customer service inefficiencies through reviews and market feedback can highlight an opportunity for differentiation.”

–Harrison Tang, CEO of Spokeo

“Set priorities and focus on the most impactful areas first. Allocate resources strategically, prioritizing initiatives that promise the greatest returns.”

Arham Khan, CEO of Pixated

“In terms of leveraging the results, businesses need to be proactive. Don’t just see it as a one-time report – use it as a roadmap. Whether reinforcing strengths, addressing weaknesses or pursuing opportunities, SWOT should influence strategic planning and product roadmaps. Revisit it annually too, as situations evolve.”

–Kelly Indah, editor-in-chief at Increditools