A marketing plan is critical to the success of any business whether large or small. Marketing plans serve as a blueprint for how your company will publicize its products and services in the marketplace. There are many elements of a successful marketing plan that contribute to the overall effectiveness. Large companies have marketing plans that are hundreds of pages and small companies may have plans that resemble a 10 page term paper. The effectiveness of a marketing plan is not about the quantity of pages but the quality of the material contained in the plan. One of the most critical components of your marketing plan is the S.W.O.T. analysis.
An effective marketing plan will help you grow your business and increase revenue. Of course you need marketing strategies and tactics in an effective plan, but a key component is the S.W.O.T. Analysis. The SWOT analysis is a planning tool that helps you come up with business strategy. S.W.O.T. is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis is a planning tool that helps you survey the marketplace and determine how you fit in. Let’s discuss what each component is and why it’s important.
STRENGTHS
Strengths are internal components of your organization and represent anything that gives you an advantage over your competitors. This could be a groundbreaking methodology or system that you have created that is leading the market in a specific manner.
You must maximize your strengths and take every opportunity you can to get as much mileage out of your strengths as is available to you. When analyzing your strengths, consider the thing that you do very well and perhaps better than anyone else. Do you have any tangible or intangible assets? Your strengths will always give you a leg up in a competitive situation.
WEAKNESSES
Weaknesses are internal components of your company or organization and represent any missing link that you may have that is a disadvantage or point of concern. This could be anything that your competitors have that you don’t have or something that has become an industry standard but you are not up to date with.
You must be aware of your weaknesses because if your competitors have the advantage over you in a particular area, they could take money off of the table and grab business away from you. It’s always a good idea to minimize your weaknesses and downplay any area where you are not sufficient as well as showcase how you make up for any deficiencies. When reviewing your weaknesses, determine the areas where you are limited and need growth.
OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities are external to your company and represent things you stand to gain from. This could be a great advantage for you but not someone else. Perhaps your neighborhood was flooded and there are several homes that now are candidates for basement waterproofing. If you’re a waterproofing com
It pays to analyze your opportunities so that you can maximize them and determine ways that you can monetize them. Opportunities will be a big area where you can focus your marketing plan that will enable you to position your company in way that attracts your ideal customers at the right time. Consider the marketplace when reviewing your opportunities. Is there a surge of interest or buzz in your industry? What recent or on-going factors exist in the marketplace or in your industry that you can take advantage of? Make sure to consider a time line when analyzing if you must make a fast decision or take advantage of an opportunity quickly.
THREATS
Threats are external factors that hinder your company’s overall progress. The threats are normally outside of your scope of control and influence and come along when you least expect which keeps you from being able to plan or predict. Many times threats can be detrimental to your entire company or and sometimes will only affect a portion of your company. Either way, threats are definitely the things you want to try to minimize by troubleshooting all possible scenarios of what could potentially harm you in business.
It is always a good idea to plan and forecast as much as possible in an effort to minimize the chances that you will experience a threat that completely wipes out your business. If you are forecasting, projecting and saving a portion of your profits, then you will be a lot better off if you ever experience an unexpected threatening situation.
As you can see, overall a SWOT analysis is a very effective planning method that can prove to be very beneficial in helping you to lay out a growth strategy for your business. As a rule of thumb it’s a good idea to complete a SWOT Analysis on a yearly basis to make certain that you are properly assessing your organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
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