SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. SWOT analysis is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal SWOT factors. Opportunities and threats are external SWOT factors. A strength is a positive internal factor. A weakness is a negative internal factor. An opportunity is a positive external factor. A threat is a negative external factor. We should aim to turn our weaknesses into strengths, and our threats into opportunities. Then finally, SWOT will give managers options to match internal strengths with external opportunities. SWOT is that simple. The outcome should be an increase in 'value' for customers - which hopefully will improve our competitive advantage. In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. A SWOT strength could be: A SWOT weakness could be: Your specialist marketing expertise. A new, innovative product or service. Location of your business. Quality processes and procedures. Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service. Lack of marketing expertise. Undifferentiated products or services (i.e. in relation to your competitors). Location of your business. Poor quality goods or services. Damaged reputation. In SWOT, opportunities and threats are external factors. A SWOT opportunity could be: A developing market such as the Internet. Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances. Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits. A new international market. A market vacated by an ineffective competitor. A SWOT threat could be: A new competitor in your home market. Price wars with competitors. A competitor has a new, innovative product or service. Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution. Taxation is introduced on your product or service. Simple rules for successful SWOT analysis. Be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of your organization when conducting SWOTanalysis. SWOT analysis should distinguish between where your organization is today, and where it could be in the future. SWOT should always be specific. Avoid grey areas. Always apply SWOT in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your competition. Keep your SWOT short and simple. Avoid complexity and over analysis SWOT analysis is subjective. Visit two of these SWOTS & write a Nike SWOT minimum two paragraph compare and Nintendo SWOT contrast essay about the two companies PepsiCo SWOT you read about. Sandals SWOT Smith and Wesson SWOT Amazon SWOT Sony SWOT Apple SWOT Starbucks SWOT Audi SWOT Tata Motors SWOT Ben and Jerry's SWOT Time Warner SWOT Bharti Airtel SWOT Toyota SWOT Burger King SWOT Toys 'R' Us SWOT Carnival Crusies SWOT Trojan SWOT China Mobile SWOT Wal-Mart SWOT Crayola SWOT Whole Foods SWOT Dell SWOT Williams-Sonoma SWOT DreamWorks SWOT Yahoo! SWOT EA Games SWOT eBay SWOT Fox Entertainment SWOT Facebook SWOT General Electric SWOT General Motors SWOT Hewlett Packard SWOT Home Depot SWOT IBM SWOT Indian Premier League (IPL)SWOT SWOT Analysis Ikea SWOT Infosys SWOT ITC SWOT Johnson and Johnson SWOT Kroger SWOT McDonald's SWOT Molson Coors SWOT Nestlé SWOT