What is SWOT Analysis and How to Use It

BizGuru.me – When you are about to create a business, you must plan in advance. In addition to determining the product, the brand name and the budget, it is a good idea to estimate where you stand in relation to your competitors.

For those of you who are currently studying the world of marketing, you may already know this analysis technique: SWOT analysis.

Defining a SWOT analysis

This SWOT analysis technique represents: strength, weakness, possibility and threat. This analysis aims to determine the main aspects of a business that includes advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and threats.

Using this SWOT method, you can design the right strategy to make your business superior to competitors.

Here is a brief overview of what can be included in a SWOT analysis.

SWOT analysis function

In general, the utility of SWOT analysis is to identify forces (resistance), weakness (weakness), opportunity (opportunity) and threats (threats) in a company or business.

The following is the use of the analysis of the SWOT method in more detail:

Optimize the benefits of your business.

With a SWOT analysis, you can develop a business strategy that focuses on the strengths of your business. Without just about “what” is your strengths, you must also know the “why” producing positive results to your business. Once you know why they are the strength of your business, you will see other forces that were previously unknown.

Identify business opportunities

After identifying the benefits of your business, you can resolve business opportunities that can facilitate it. A commercial opportunity is one thing that is influenced by external factors and often requires businessmen for actively research.

Reduce the impact of business weaknesses.

Weak points in a company often result in a loss or even a business failure in terms of benefits, clients or communications. Once you know the weak points of your business, you can take preventive measures that will reduce their impact.

Be aware of commercial threats in advance

Commercial threats can certainly cause failure, even if they come from external factors. If you can identify threats that may have a negative impact on your business, you can prepare measures to mitigate their impact.

For example: unexpected taxes and renovation costs due to natural disasters. If you have prepared funds for these two things, the financial impact you will receive will decrease.

Factors affecting SWOT analysis

If in more detail, this SWOT analysis is divided into two parts: internal factors and external factors.

In the SWOT method, internal factors are factors belonging to your business and are not influenced by external elements.

Internal factors consist of strength and weakness, while external factors consist of opportunities and threats.

Strength

The force is the strength of your business, such as quality, location or other items that make you superior to competitors. List as many forms as possible in order to discover what differentiates your business from similar businesses similar to yours. The goal is that you have authenticity or features that allow you to differ from competitors with similar business ideas.

Weakness

Weakness is the weakness of your business compared to competitors. Estimate all the gaps you have for that when you are about to make a promotion, you can know what points have a “safe” location so as not to mention the weaknesses of your business.

It would be even better if you could take your weaknesses in your forces of your advertising strategy. For example, Gojek explicitly recognizes that information about training or partner insurance is a smaller subject. However, they always create special ads on the subject in order to promote the campaign #uninstallkh works.

Also Read: Tips to Increase Web Traffic and Blog

Opportunity

The opportunity is an opportunity that you can enter after analyzing your position through the two internal factors above. You can also determine the opportunities by calculating the budget you are going to spend on some promotions or ads.

Make a program plan at the beginning of creating a business that you can update every 3-6 months so you can analyze which program is effective so you can use in the future.

Threat

Threats in the SWOT method lead in the future of your business based on the decisions you make today. You must also take into account a number of things you need to take into account and enter the threat field such as:

• Availability of resources
• Consumer interest period
• Pause – same point or a point of turnover

Although it looks like measures that can only be applied to businessmen who want to start their business, you can actually use this analysis technique for companies under development.

You should be able to use your business analysis data to determine the strengths of your company greater than other competitors, you can also find weaknesses in your business by requesting directly to customers or consumers through testimonials. or polls.

In addition, opportunities and threats are also two important things you can analyze so you can find your own business opportunity and prepare for all threats that might come your way.

SWOT analysis questions

Once you understand what each letter means for the word “swot”, it is time that you start designing an analysis of your own business. Not only do you need to understand its use, you must also understand what you need to write later in your analysis. Below you will find a list of questions you should be able to respond to the analysis of your business.

Strength

• What makes your business different from other companies?
• What benefits does your company have on others?
• What would be the consumer as an advantage?

Weakness

• What factors make your competitors superior to your business?
• What are the benefits of competitors who do not comply with the principles of your business?
• Can your unique business meet the needs of your ideal customer?

Opportunity

• What opportunities can you enter at that time?
• Do current trends meet your business? If yes, great. But otherwise, you may need to increase the brand’s consciousness or improvising it so that your brand becomes the pioneer of a trend (becomes a trendset).

Threat

• What do competitors think?
• What obstacles are likely to hinder your business?
• Is there a government regulation that will slow business development?

SWOT analysis example

If you still do not understand SWOT analysis through the two factors that have been explained with examples of issues based on the basic components to be analyzed, here is an example that you can use as a guide to perform your own analysis.

Conclusion

How, using a SWOT analysis is not difficult, right? Now you can put this analysis in your business.

Apart from the SWOT method analysis, do not forget to create an image and an enterprise profile with integrity and credibility to facilitate customer search.