Conducting a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a useful tool to consider using for your small business. There are a variety of uses for a SWOT analysis. If you are considering joining a network marketing company, you can perform a SWOT analysis on the company or companies you are considering to help you make your decision. You can also use it to help you determine your bbusiness or marketing plans. In a few minutes you can brainstorm and visualize your organization’s situation, in order to see what kinds of programs should be made and what kind of action should be taken.

So what is a SWOT analysis?

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. These four areas can serve to breakdown various elements of your organization, both internally and externally.

Strengths are what your business (or the mlm company you are considering) does best, and what it can use to its advantage. Maybe it has a strong recognition or brand value, great employees, a popular product, and so on.

Weaknesses are what your business needs to work on or avoid entirely, whether it is a shabby internet presence or slow service.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal forces within your organization.

Opportunities are environmental factors that your business can seize. This could be an advancement in technology that favors what you do, or a changing trend towards your products and services.

Threats are conditions of which you must be wary. Threats can include emerging and powerful competitors, rising costs of materials that will raise your own prices or laws and regulations that hinder your product or costs.

These four elements combined add up to the SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis can be a great jumping off point for businesses unsure of how to expand, how to evolve or how to keep up with the competition and the market. It can be geared towards marketing and awareness or towards production, value chains or resources.

As a brief example of a SWOT analysis we can look at the Best Buy organization. Their strengths would be their high brand recognition, affordable prices and offers, and convenient locations along with a strong online presence. Weaknesses may be impersonal customer service and costs of maintaining their mega warehouses. Opportunities can be the trend towards new gadgets and electronics, with digital cameras, cell phones, video games and new TV models all becoming more and more popular. Threats can be an environment with many competitors, sometimes undercutting their prices and a down turning economy limiting the money potential customers have available for electronic purchases.

From this example, the Best Buy organization may realize that they need to continue offering new gadgets and products, while keeping prices as low as possible and running specials to encourage spending in a tough economy. They may want to add customer service specialists while increasing their online store offerings and eliminating underperforming locations. While this example is more rough and general than a SWOT analysis for your business may be, it can give you a good idea of what a SWOT analysis entails and how it can be advantageous to your business strategy.

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