Strategic Marketing 101: The SWOT Analysis

My next post discussing the basics of marketing is the SWOT analysis.  A SWOT analysis is an essential part of any Marketing Plan.  It's best to include it early on in your situational analysis.  It may seem like a simple summation, but it's a great 30,000 foot view of the state of your business and the outside environment.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths
Strengths are any characteristic of the business that may give it an advantage over it's competition.  Strengths can include internal capabilities, resources, and other positive factors that can help the business serve its customers and achieve it's goals.

Weaknesses
Weaknesses are characteristics that may place the team at a disadvantage relative to it's competition.  Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative factors that may interfere with the performance of the business.

Opportunities
Opportunities are external chances to improve profits in the environment.  They can be favorable factors or trends that the business may be able to exploit.

Threats
Threats are external elements in the environment that might cause problems for the business or project.  They are unfavorable factors that can challenge the performance and profitability of the business.

The goal of a SWOT analysis is to match a company's strengths to attractive profitable opportunities in the market, while eliminating or overcoming any weaknesses and minimizing any threats.  The identification of SWOT's is extremely important, because subsequent steps in the process of the trategic marketing of a selected objective may be derived from the SWOT.  Users of a SWOT analysis need to ask and answer objective questions that will manufacture data for each category (strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats) and maximize the benefits to find a competitive advantage.

If you are a smaller business, and you have never done a SWOT analysis, I would really suggest that you go through this exercise.  Have multiple members of your team contribute to the lists in each part of the table.  Then example the list with your core management team or executive team and talk about each item as objectively as possible.

A SWOT analysis is an essential exercise when constructing a marketing plan for your business.  Doing it will probably open your eyes to factors internal and external that are influencing the long-term performance of your business.

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Organic Thinking

As we begin the new year, we often reflect on the past.  We think about our good and bad habits.  We think about what we loved, what we regretted, and what we want to change.  We sometimes spend a lot of time thinking, and very little time doing.  Maybe it's time to change the way we think, which in turn, may help us to "do" more effectively.

Have you ever thought about thinking organically?

Organic thinking is less organized and less structured.  Similar to brainstorming, organic thinking allows your thoughts and ideas to appear freely, without immediate evaluation or consideration.  Simply put, when you are organically thinking, you are allowing one thought to lead to another, and another, and another. Why would you want to do this?  Why would you effectively allow your brain to think without "thinking"?

The first reason is it makes it easier for you to be creative.  When you think organically, you don't constrain yourself with constant self-evaluation.  You don't hold back.  You suggest ideas as they come.  As with brainstorming, you must make sure you document everything that pours out of your brain.  Once you do that, then it is the appropriate time to evaluate and critique.

By holding back your critique until after an organic thinking session, you make it safer for you and your team to put any and all ideas out there, no matter how outlandish or "stupid" one might be.  What you will often find is a couple of golden nuggets of suggestions, solutions or paths that no one person on their own may have come up with if they are scared to be judged by someone else.  Often a combination of ideas will lead to a better solution.

The next time you have a problem to solve or a product to pitch, allowing yourself to think organically will give you and your team more freedom to explore any and all possible ideas.  You will also find that as a whole, you will be more creative as well.

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