In a competitive environment, unstable markets and a rapidly changing marketing environment, an entrepreneur needs to make the right decisions. He must clearly understand what stage of development his business is at, what competitive advantages he has, what he needs to be wary of, what disadvantages negatively affect the development of his business, and so on. Marketing uses many methods and technologies, one of which is SWOT analysis, a simple and effective tool for making basic management decisions.

Why is SWOT analysis necessary?

This technology helps to analyze a problem, product, business situation, everything that can be analyzed as an object. It becomes clear where the company should move in its policy, what actions the manager needs to plan, and answers are received about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the company’s actions. The final result of a SWOT analysis is the development of a strategy for the further development of the organization (project), or correction of its course, taking into account the existing market reality. The recommended interval for conducting analytics is once a quarter.

Pros and cons of analysis

The main advantage of this tool is its simplicity. There is no need to have special knowledge or make complex marketing calculations. To carry out a SWOT analysis, draw the right conclusions, and plan relevant activities, analysts only need to have minimal awareness of the company’s internal and external business space.

The undeniable benefit of the method is its wide application, the prospect of its use not only in the economic or marketing sphere. Where it is necessary to assess the situation with conclusions and decisions, this tool will help. This applies to all aspects of human life and activity.

The third undoubted advantage is that this analysis allows you to collect an impressive information base regarding the issue under consideration.

Accordingly, the more information, the more versatile it is possible to look at the problem, consider it from different angles, find more solutions, ways of implementation. In the process of collecting information, a variety of factors are revealed that influence the enterprise; therefore, it is possible to collect completely different analytical material and generalize it according to certain criteria, expanding the variability of decision-making methods.

The disadvantages of the analysis include the relevance of the results for a specific date or period of time. As a result of the analysis, the balance of power on the problem at the time of the study is shown, and the situation on the market often changes at lightning speed. Decisions based on the results of the analysis require prompt implementation, since tomorrow they may become irrelevant.

From the point of view of quantitative indicators and evaluation criteria, the method is not informative enough. It only sets a vector, showing a fairly general picture of the problem (probability), without allowing a quantitative assessment and not allowing any qualitative comparisons to be made.

And the final disadvantage of this analysis: analysts filling out the SWOT matrix can also look at the source data from different angles, as a result of which the objectivity of the final analysis data may disappear. It is recommended to involve more than one analyst, but to work as a team to comprehensively cover the source data for analysis. A team of 4-8 analysts and a SWOT moderator practice. There are also decision makers and persons representing all divisions involved in the general economic activities of the company. Complex analytics usually takes from 8 to 32 working hours, not counting the preparation for the event itself.

Structure and explanation of the abbreviation

The name is an abbreviation of capital letters from the names of four English words:

S - strength(from English. Strength, power) - significant qualities of the Company, internal analyzed environment),
W - weakness(from English Weakness) - insufficient qualities of the Company, internal analyzed environment. Both of these factors are carried out in relation to the Consumer.

O - opportunities(from English Perspective) - prospects for the Company, external analyzed environment,
T - threats(from English Threat) - dangers for the Company, external analyzed environment. These factors are considered in relation to representatives of the competitive market environment.

Types of analytical matrices

Brief SWOT (four-field)

A four-field SWOT analysis records the state of affairs, the situation in the external and internal environment of the company. The analytical group must classify into four sectors all the factors that reflect the current situation of the company and reflect its capabilities.

If analysts are not ready to classify them into four cells, all factors (even minor ones) are classified into two:

Next, the data is redistributed into four fields and, in each group, about 5-8 key factors are identified. To determine priorities by factors, each participant is provided with virtual 20-32 points, which must be awarded 1 point for each field. Thus, the data array is compressed to the required number of factors in four fields.

The classic (nine-field) matrix helps develop a strategy based on the data of a four-field matrix. Data from the four-field matrix is ​​transferred to the fields STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, PROSPECTS and DANGERS. In this way, cross connections of the type “STRENGTH and PROSPECTS”, “STRENGTH and DANGERS”, “WEAKNESS AND PERSPECTIVE”, “WEAKNESS and DANGERS” are formed. These are the vectors for developing strategies:

1. “STRENGTH and PROSPECTS” - development of a company’s GROWTH strategy;
2. “POWER and DANGERS” - development of a company’s PROTECTION strategy;
3. “WEAKNESS and PROSPECTS” - development of a company IMPROVEMENT strategy;
4. “WEAKNESSES AND DANGERS” - developing a strategy to MINIMIZE the company’s PROBLEMS.

Examples of SWOT analysis

Business (using the example of a car service)

1. Four-field matrix

1. Nine-field matrix

Product (using the example of brick)

1. Four-field matrix

1. Nine-field matrix

Entrepreneur

1. Four-field matrix

1. Nine-field matrix

Situational or SWOT analysis(the first letters of the English words strengths - strengths, weaknesses - weaknesses, opportunities - opportunities and threats - dangers, threats), can be carried out both for the organization as a whole and for individual types of business. Its results are subsequently used in the development of and.

Analysis of strengths and weaknesses characterizes the study of the internal environment of an organization. The internal environment has several components, each of which includes a set of key processes and elements of the organization (types of business), the state of which together determines the potential and capabilities that the organization has. The internal environment includes financial, production and personnel and organizational components.

Since it does not have a clear manifestation, its analysis on a formal basis is very difficult. Although, of course, you can try to expertly assess such factors as the presence of a mission that unites the activities of employees using the form provided; the presence of certain common values; pride in your organization; a motivation system clearly linked to employee performance; psychological climate in the team, etc.

• S— strenghts — strengths;
• W- weaknesses - weaknesses;
• O- opportunities - opportunities;
• T- threats - dangers, threats;

SWOT analysis is an analysis of the company’s strengths and weaknesses, and an assessment of the opportunities and threats on the path of its development.

SWOT analysis methodology involves first identifying strengths and weaknesses, as well as threats and opportunities, and then establishing chains of connections between them, which can later be used to formulate organizational strategies.

First, taking into account the specific situation in which the organization is located, a list of its weaknesses and strengths, as well as a list of threats (dangers) and opportunities, are compiled.

Next, a connection is established between them. For this purpose, a SWOT matrix is ​​compiled. On the left there are two sections (strengths and weaknesses), into which all the strengths and weaknesses of the organization identified at the first stage of the analysis are respectively entered. At the top of the matrix there are also two sections (opportunities and threats), into which all identified opportunities and threats are entered.

SWOT Matrix

SIV- strength and opportunity. A strategy should be developed to leverage the organization's strengths to capitalize on opportunities. For those couples who find themselves on the field SLV, the strategy should be structured in such a way that, due to the emerging opportunities, an attempt is made to overcome the existing weaknesses in the organization. SIOUX(Power and Threats) - develop a strategy that should use the organization's strength to overcome threats. SLU(Weaknesses and threats) - develop a strategy that would allow the organization to get rid of weaknesses and prevent the impending threat.

To successfully apply the SWOT methodology, it is important to be able not only to identify threats and opportunities, but also to try to evaluate them from the point of view of how important it is for orientation to take into account each of the identified threats and opportunities in the strategy of its behavior.

To assess the opportunity, the method of positioning each specific opportunity on the opportunity matrix is ​​used (Table 2.1).

This matrix is ​​constructed as follows: at the top is the degree of influence of the opportunity on the organization’s activities (strong, moderate, small); on the side - the likelihood that the organization will take advantage of this opportunity (high, medium, low). The resulting ten opportunity fields within the matrix have different meanings for the organization. Opportunities falling into the “BC”, “VU” and “SS” fields are of great importance for the organization, and they must be used. Opportunities that fall into the “SM”, “NU” and “NM” fields practically do not deserve attention. For the opportunities that fall into the remaining fields, management must make a positive decision to pursue them if the organization has sufficient resources.

A similar matrix is ​​compiled to assess threats (Table 2.2). Those threats that fall into the “VR”, “VC” and “SR” fields pose a very great danger to the organization and require immediate and mandatory elimination. Threats that fall into the “VT”, “SC” and “NR” fields should also be in the field of view of senior management and be eliminated as a matter of priority. As for the threats located on the fields of “NK”, “ST” and “VL”, a careful and responsible approach to eliminating them is required.

It is advisable to carry out this analysis by answering the following questions in relation to opportunities and threats in three areas:

1. Determine the nature of the opportunity (threat) and the reason for its occurrence?
2. How long will it last?
3. What power does she have?
4. How valuable (dangerous) is it?
5. What is the extent of its influence?

The environmental profiling method can also be used to analyze the environment. This method is convenient to use for compiling a profile of the macroenvironment, the immediate environment and the internal environment. Using the environmental profiling method, it is possible to assess the relative importance of individual factors for the organization.

The method for compiling an environmental profile is as follows. Individual environmental factors are listed in the environmental profile table (Table 2.3). Each factor is given by expert means:

• assessment of its importance for the industry on a scale: 3 - strong importance, 2 - moderate importance, 1 - weak importance;
• assessment of its impact on the organization on a scale: 3 - strong, 2 - moderate, 1 - weak, 0 - no effect;
• assessment of the direction of influence on a scale: +1 - positive influence, -1 - negative influence.

Next, all three expert assessments are multiplied, and an integral assessment is obtained, showing the degree of importance of this factor for the organization. From this assessment, management can conclude which environmental factors are relatively more important to their organization and therefore deserve the most serious attention, and which factors deserve less influence.

See and download an example of a SWOT analysis, as well as detailed instructions for conducting it.

SWOT analysis is a convenient tool for identifying the most important areas of strategic development of a company. Literally translated, this abbreviation stands for:

• Strengths, the company's advantages relative to its competitors, what will allow it to achieve established strategic goals;
• Weaknesses, shortcomings of the company, things in which it loses to its competitors, which prevents it from achieving strategic goals;
• opportunities (Opportunities), favorable external factors for the company’s work;
• threats (Treats), negative external factors that pose a potential danger to the enterprise.

To conduct a SWOT analysis, you need the following.

1. Identify, classify and rank factors that represent the company's strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats in the external environment. From each group, select the most significant ones (10 each, no more).

2. Consistently study combinations of these factors:

• "Possibilities/Strengths." Reflects the company’s potential and allows you to answer the question of whether it has competitive advantages and external favorable factors on which the strategy could be based;
• “Threats/Weaknesses.” Reveals a combination of potential external negative factors and the weakest internal factors of the company that need to be dealt with first;
• “Opportunities/Weaknesses.” Allows you to identify internal factors of the company that should be strengthened so that in the future you can take advantage of favorable opportunities in the external environment.

For greater clarity, it is more convenient to present the intermediate and final results of the SWOT analysis in tabular form. It is also better to compare factors using tables.

Let's look at the swot analysis technique using the example of the APLEONA HSG company where I work.

Example of a SWOT analysis of an enterprise

Selecting the object of analysis

For swot analysis, you can select any object: manufactured product, business sector, business, competitor, and so on. The main thing is to clearly fix it and not to distract attention to adjacent objects. APLEONA HSG provides comprehensive commercial property management, technical control and audit services, as well as infrastructure management. The company is present in six large regions of Russia: Central, Northwestern, Southern, Far Eastern districts, Siberia and the Volga-Ural region, as well as in Kazakhstan. As an example, let’s conduct a swot analysis of the “comprehensive commercial real estate management” service in the Central region.

We appoint experts

Experts can be top managers of the company or middle managers, but they must have a good knowledge of information in their field. They must operate not only with personal opinion, but also with dry numbers.

Table 1. Experts to conduct a SWOT analysis of the organization

We identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats

At this step, you need to systematically and as realistically determine with each expert the strengths and weaknesses of the company, threats and opportunities in the external environment. All indicators must be recorded in groups. You can write down as many factors as you like, but here the rule of greatest efficiency comes into force, the meaning of which is to select from significant indicators, ignoring insignificant ones. That is, use the allocated time effectively.

The internal strengths (S) of the business include:

1. Extensive accumulated work experience.
2. Highly qualified personnel.
3. Customized production and business processes.
4. Good marketing policy.
5. High quality of manufactured products.
6. Corporate culture ( what a financial director needs to know about corporate standards ).
7. Innovative component of business.
8. Other.

Internal weaknesses (W) include:

1. High level of business debt.
2. Lack of development strategy.
3. Inefficient use of production assets.
4. Narrow product range.
5. And so on.

The possibilities of the external environment (O) include:

1. Government support for the business sector or region.
2. Low competition in the business niche.
3. Growing demand for products.
4. Increased resource availability.
5. And so on.

External environmental threats (T) include:

1. Unfavorable economic situation in the region of presence.
2. Constant competitive advantages over competitors.
3. Unfavorable shift in exchange rates.
4. Tightening tax laws.
5. And so on.

In our example SWOT analysis of the company Deputy General Director for Property Management noted the following factors:

• S – the presence of a central dispatch service increases the quality of service provision by 15%, and the quality of emergency response by 50%;
• W – belonging to a large international corporation imposes additional non-production tasks on production in terms of reporting and compliance with policies. This reduces productivity by 12.2%;
• O – the development of property management technologies makes it possible to produce a higher quality product with less labor costs;
• T – the technical base of most commercial buildings and structures is becoming outdated, new equipment is rarely put into operation. In this regard, the risks of insured events increase.

The CFO noted the following indicators:

• S – the organization does not use loans in its work, as a result of which net profit is 2–4% more per year;
• W – the additional burden of complying with policies and regulations increases overhead costs by 10% per year;
• O – purchase volumes and high competition in supplier markets allow us to obtain favorable conditions for the purchase of raw materials and services. For example, increase payment terms to 90 calendar days;
• T – tightening tax policy carries an additional burden on reporting for each OP. The threat can be estimated at 2 million rubles. annually.

The commercial director noted the factors:

• S – the company’s image as a conscientious and professional service provider helps to win tenders for large contracts for integrated property management;
• W – at the same time, the price for the company’s services is higher than the market, which scares off some clients. The share of such clients is 35%;
• O – APLEONA HSG has a good chance of receiving an international contract to service the offices and factories of transcontinental customers operating in the Central region of Russia;
• T – due to the difficult state of the economy, the commercial real estate market in the Central region is stagnating. Contract prices fall, often below cost.

The HR Director noted the following indicators:

• S – high qualifications and low turnover of blue collar workers increases labor productivity by 10%;
• W – staff wages are on average higher than the market, which gives additional payroll costs of 50 million rubles. in year;
• O – thanks to the “white” contract terms, the company has a wide selection of specialists in the labor markets;
• T – a general decrease in the qualifications of specialists in labor markets affects the company.

The technical director noted the factors:

• S - the presence of a CAFM system - an innovative tool for commercial real estate management - allows you to increase work efficiency by 20%;
• W – the material engineering base does not allow for a full range of maintenance services;
• O – customers have increased their need for the constant presence of highly qualified engineers on site;
• T – competition in the market of engineering companies has increased, part of the market has been occupied by highly specialized companies with direct contracts with customers.

How to use SWOT analysis as a CFO

SWOT analysis can be useful for making almost any management decisions. Look at specific examples of how to correctly use this technique in your current work and when developing a strategy. In the article you will find examples of a SWOT analysis of a project using factoring services, building a SWOT matrix for a machine tool plant, as well as a SWOT analysis of a jewelry company.

We compile a table and matrix of SWOT analysis

After you have written down the indicators into four lists by category, assign significance to each indicator. Use expert opinions when doing this.

table 2. Example of a project SWOT analysis table

Sort the indicators within categories from largest to smallest and fill out the swot matrix

Based on the collected and ranked factors, the following SWOT analysis matrix was obtained (see Figure 2).

Drawing. Example of a SWOT analysis matrix

Analyzing the results

At the last stage, we identify connections between indicators, in other words, we conduct scenario analysis. To do this, all factors of the internal environment are compared with factors of the external environment. The intersection of indicators represents a set of scenarios for possible developments for the company.

The following swot analysis matrix is ​​compiled (example):

Scenarios are written:

• “Weaknesses and Opportunities” - pay attention to how to correct the weaknesses of the business using the opportunities of the external environment;
• “Weaknesses and Threats” – what needs to be done first so that external threats do not damage the business;
• “Strength and Opportunities” – how to make the most of competitive advantages in a favorable external environment;
• “Power and Threats” - how to maintain competitive advantages in the event of unfavorable developments.

The results of the analysis can be safely included in the organization’s behavior strategy and used in daily work.

In our example of swot analysis for APLEONA HSG, the following scenarios are considered and behavioral strategies are adopted:

I. Weakness: additional non-production tasks in production

Opportunity: wide choice of specialists in labor markets

The impact on business is average.

Strategy – improving the work of personnel services in order to find only highly qualified young personnel capable of working quickly and solving various problems

II. Weakness: the price of the company's services is higher than the market.

Threat: stagnation of the commercial real estate market.

The impact on business is severe, close to critical.

The strategy of behavior is to search for new markets, including entering the markets of the CIS countries.

III. Strength: High blue collar skills and low turnover.

Opportunity: the need for engineers to be present on site.

The degree of impact on business is average.

Strategy – when concluding an agreement with the customer, highlight the customer’s additional savings from the presence of qualified personnel on site.

IV. Strength: the company's image as a conscientious and professional performer

Threat: increased competition in the engineering companies market.

The impact on business is average.

The development strategy is to constantly train engineering staff, modernize the technical base in order to provide a full range of technical services to clients.

A monumental theory in marketing and planning, SWOT analysis, remains quite obscure to those who study the subject, and for many people not associated with advertising, finance and analytics, this thing is generally unknown. And in vain.

Today on the Econ Dude blog I will continue to cover basic economic terms, theories, objects and phenomena, let's talk about SWOT analysis. My article will, as always, be somewhat subjective; I write in my own words and give examples. In a more general and scientific form, you can read about SWOT analysis.

What is written there is all competent and correct, but boring. They’ll tell you something like this in marketing at a university, but you most likely won’t understand anything, just as many teachers themselves don’t understand what they teach. And I will try to help you understand this theory and give examples to make the learning process interesting.

If you don't need it for study, so much the better.

It will be useful in life in any case, for general brain development.

SWOT analysis is a very monumental thing, it can not only be applied to the analysis of commercial, private or public companies, it can be applied to almost any organization and even entire industries.

It works in politics, economics and social life.

Another theory in economics?

But the education sector is also an industry, which means jobs are needed, and coaches and teachers need to teach something, which means you need to come up with all sorts of theories and concepts. SWOT is such a thing partly and is, like, for example, the theory about the life cycle of a product. But in general, these are beautiful theories that are useful to study to warm up your brain. Moreover, even if some thing is unscientific, but if, for example, this SWOT analysis is used by the directors of Google, Gazprom or, for example, Tinkoff Bank, then in fact the theory becomes practical; the practice of application makes it practical.

They study this thing in marketing, analytics and business planning.

It is from these four corners that an existing project, or a new and theoretical one, for example a new one, is considered.

Read my article at this link if you have time, where I tell you exactly how one small business company operates, and much of this is precisely the logic of SWOT analysis, I just don’t mention it directly there.

What's unclear here? Picture (matrix) I've already told you everything.

Everything is beautifully divided into segments, while there is two global segments different colors, external factors (Wednesday Thursday) and internal.

I understand that it is useless to show beautiful or ugly pictures with graphs in an attempt to explain something; this is a big mistake of many teachers in schools and universities. You need to teach only with the help of cases and real examples.

They will be later in the article, but you need to understand that in the countries of the former CIS capitalism is young, so there are few cases in Russian, and in general SWOT analysis is partly a corporate secret, however, below I translate some things from English.

How is SWOT analysis done? Example

• Great location with lots of traffic (force);
• Good reputation among local residents ( force);
• Higher price than competitors and large companies ( weakness);
• Low marketing budget ( weakness);
• Opportunity introducing food delivery through the application;
• Threat supplier price increases.

• Location and rent?
• Staffing and salary costs?
• Pricing policy in relation to competitors?
• Marketing budget?
• Tax regulation?
• General economy of a region, city or country (changes)?
• Reputation, brand awareness and customer base?
• Staffing, salary costs and labor costs?

And further down the list. You answer questions like these and choose whether it is a strength, a weakness, an opportunity or a threat. Here it’s very possible to turn everything around in your head and present one thing as both strength and opportunity. Sometimes it happens that a feature can be described as a weakness or a strength, depending on what angle you look at. There is room for creativity and some imagination.

You will not be able to open a successful low-price restaurant selling burgers next to MacDonald's; the presence of McFuck across the street from you is an external factor, you have practically no influence on it.

Therefore, you need to incorporate other things into your strategy, for example, opening a premium segment restaurant nearby, or, say, offering something that is not offered there: tranquility, absence of crowds, hookah, etc. Or .

The ability to identify external and internal factors in your head is the most important skill in life; it greatly helps you change even your personal life for the better and, for example, not blame yourself for what you are not responsible for. Moreover, if this is an internal factor and already your essence, then you need to change yourself.

So, maybe such personal examples are more clear to you.

Another example, SWOT analysis Coca-Cola

Here is a simple example of analyzing a large company:

Any grandmotherevenin any African country knows.

What does this give? People always choose a more recognizable brand at the same price. That is, if in any market in the world there is Cola on the store shelf, it will be very difficult to enter this market with your new drink in the same price category.

How to get out? Put pressure on health, as an example.

What are Coca-Cola's weaknesses?

This is a difficult question, you won’t guess it right away, you need to think about it.

The weak point is margin. It's low and it's built into their business.

Beverages are part of the food market and even part of agriculture, as competitors include water, milk, and juices. In the niche there are low margins, well, relatively low, for example.

Although they can be understood due to the processing cycle and brand, about that here:

So, Kolya, in order to receive large gross revenues, needs to sell literally millions of cans and bottles of this poison. This means we need a huge logistics network, which means the purchases of aluminum and plastic are huge. Dependence on purchasing prices for raw materials is always a potential weakness in almost any business.

Why is this analysis needed and how to apply it?

You see what SWOT analysis does, he just forces you think, analyze and put the company in pieces. Some conclusions naturally follow from this, many of which are very practical and applicable.

Another weakness of Cola?

Competitor - Pepsi. What to do about it? Nothing really. The situation of a practically oligopoly is almost the best, because the monopoly will be crushed by the state, and with free competition one cannot expect normal revenue.

The goal in business terms is to increase profits; this is generally the goal of any commercial enterprise. There may also be smaller tactical targets.

Let’s take some other example, from a different area.

SWOT analysis in politics

Let’s say the “Donald Trump” project, this is also a project of its own kind, already political, to which this analysis can also be applied.

Strength? Independence in the eyes of many from the US political elite and institutions. But as you know, our strengths are a continuation of our weaknesses. From any strength comes weakness, and vice versa.

He has no support from the US elite, no support from the media, all the Colberts and other John Olivers from the Democrats are hounding him every day.

Therefore, having promised something, pushing through the project is a difficult matter. People supported, ok. But power is not with these people, but with institutions.

His position now is such that he is a hostage to his strengths and weaknesses. Does he communicate with people directly using Twitter? This is a plus, but there is also a minus, a weakness. The media who are against him will suck up any Tweet and dig to the bottom. And if you write everything yourself without a press secretary, then of course you will blurt out something like that...

What are the opportunities and threats in his position? The threats are obvious. Impeachment, loss of trust of his nuclear electorate.

A lot here depends on the goals, and Trump’s long-term goals are not entirely clear; he plays more like Russia, somehow depending on the situation.

But if we assume that his goal, for example, is a second term, then based on this we can already think about how to take advantage of opportunities and avoid threats.

Any mistake by the Democrats is an opportunity to score points. Any puncture is a threat of attack from enemies. Each specific situation is analyzed very quickly and conclusions are drawn. At all, SWOT analysis is a method of thinking in general, many people do it automatically without even realizing it. It is logical, it’s just that not all people know how to distinguish between internal and external factors, and confusing them is a big mistake.

The acronym SWOT was first coined in 1963 at Harvard Business Policy Conference by Professor Kenneth Andrews.

In 1965, four Harvard University professors - Leraned, Christensen, Andrews and Guth - proposed a technology for using the SWOT model to develop a firm's behavioral strategy. The LCAG scheme has been proposed (according to the initial letters of the authors' surnames), which is based on a sequence of steps leading to the choice of strategy.

As you can see, the term is no longer new, this concept is quite old, so during its existence and application it has already gained some practice.

Turn a feature into that? (Feature)

You can do this analysis for almost anything, even for example this blog of mine, Econ Dude. What is the feature of the blog? I write on many topics at once (topics in the header): economics, psychology, reviews, games, design, etc.

This is exactly peculiarity, not weakness or strength. Feature. Such blogs are called author's blogs. And from this feature, pros and cons already follow.

That is, if we found a feature (market diversification, for example), then you shouldn’t immediately and headlong try to write it down as a strength or weakness, you need to draw conclusions from this and now put the conclusions into a category. Example?

Let’s say if I write on different topics, if the market changes and, for example, if traffic on one topic is lost, I can calmly close it, continuing to write further on other topics. That is, we are writing this by virtue of formulated something like this:

"Reducing the risks of market fluctuations as a result of diversification"

A into weakness we write like this:

"Reduced project growth rate due to diversification"

This is how one thesis and one feature turns into both strength and weakness.

Gaining a deeper understanding of the project

Here you can ask, what’s the point? Ok, you've sorted it all out and classified it, what are the practical conclusions from this? Are you going to blog about one topic after this, or what are you going to do? Why disassemble everything using this analysis?

Friends, it’s just a matter of deep understanding of the essence of the project and that’s all.

If there is understanding, then you can avoid many mistakes.

These are the practical conclusions and this is just one small example.

Often in life we ​​start some business and some project, and we just do it, maybe we have the desire and motivation, or maybe we don’t and we just want to earn money, everything is commendable. But you will be amazed at how many people waste their energy doing things that they would never do if they understood their weaknesses, their strengths, and saw the opportunities and threats in their situation.

Damn, such an analysis can even save a relationship if you are simply evaluating the project “and family with Masha”, at least in your head you note her strange quirks and write it down in your head as a threat.

If there is a threat, maybe you can ask Masha’s friend, Dasha, is Masha generally okay? And your friend will tell you that you are crazy if you decide to marry her. That's how it works, simple things that can have a big impact on the future.

These principles, that if there is something good, then there must be something bad, are almost philosophical principles, and they are also principles for assessing objectivity, for example in Wikipedia. These are also the principles of quality journalism and science.

SWOT analysis makes you look at the world more adequately and realistically.

Along with SWOT analysis, the works of Porter, For example five forces analysis. Several similar methods together give much more interesting results and you should not limit yourself to SWOT alone.

Porter's techniques are applied to the analysis of competition and external factors, as a result they provide a good understanding of the market and industry.

That's all, my other articles on economic topics can be found here.

• What is SWOT analysis?
• What problems can be solved with its help?
• What are the rules for conducting a SWOT analysis?
• What is a SWOT table?
• What method is used to carry out SWOT analysis?

Making a decision to launch a new one or choose the direction of development of an existing business is a difficult task. The correct application of SWOT analysis, which allows for an objective and comprehensive assessment of the enterprise, helps to correctly assess its prospects and increase the likelihood of achieving success.

The success of a business largely depends on making the right decisions in a timely manner. A prerequisite for this is to obtain comprehensive information both about your own enterprise and about the state of the market, as well as other external factors.

Definition of SWOT Analysis

To put it briefly, SWOT analysis is a method that allows you to assess the current situation by considering it taking into account several aspects, including: the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, as well as external opportunities and threats.

The first letters of the English words denoting each of the listed terms give the name to the method:

• strengths – S trengths;
• weak sides - W eaknesses;
• possibilities - O pportunities;
• threats – T heats.

An important feature of the method is the consideration of both internal factors, which include the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise itself, and external ones, which are understood as opportunities and threats. It is an integrated approach to studying the current state of a company in the market and its development prospects that is the main reason for the popularity of SWOT analysis.

The term “SWOT analysis” was first used more than half a century ago – in 1963. It was used at one of the conferences held at Harvard by Professor Kenneth Andrews.

Just two years after its appearance, SWOT analysis began to be used in practice when developing strategies for various companies. Today it is actively used in all countries whose economies are developing according to market principles.

Objectives of SWOT analysis

The main purpose of applying the method is to develop a business strategy based on maximizing the use of the company’s strengths and minimizing potential risks.

It is important to note that SWOT analysis is deservedly considered a universal tool that, when used correctly, is effective not only in relation to the enterprise as a whole, but also in relation to individual divisions or products. Moreover, the most important principles of analysis are often used when assessing a particular person and determining directions for his further professional or personal growth.

Despite this, the main area of ​​application of SWOT analysis is still business. In addition to the task indicated above, it allows you to solve other important tasks, such as:

• Analysis and assessment of competitors and their activities. In this case, the method in question is usually used in combination with others, for example, the Porter model, various marketing tools or PEST.
• Development of a step-by-step action plan aimed at implementing the chosen company development strategy.
• Formation of the concept, objectives and main goals of the advertising campaign.
• Conducting competitive intelligence in order to compare a product planned for release with similar products already on the market, etc.

A characteristic feature of SWOT analysis is the absence of categories strictly tied to a specific type of activity. This allows the method to be successfully applied in a wide variety of fields and areas of business.

The popularity and widespread use of analysis based on the assessment of four key factors is explained not only by its universality, but also by the possibility of adaptation to the specific conditions of a business entity. As a result, an individual model is created based on general principles, which increases the efficiency of the analysis and the accuracy of the resulting estimates and forecasts.

How to conduct a competitive analysis: step-by-step algorithm

It’s not enough to follow competitors’ accounts on social networks and subscribe to newsletters. You need a strategy that will allow you to monitor your competitors on an ongoing basis and receive prompt information about changes in the market. Therefore, the electronic magazine “Commercial Director” has compiled a detailed algorithm for competent analysis of competitors and assessment of their activities.

Rules for conducting SWOT analysis

Before describing the essence of the method, which consists of the so-called SWOT table, it is necessary to consider the basic rules for its application. Following a few fairly simple and obvious recommendations for experienced specialists will make the application of the analysis more objective and competent.

The most important rules for the practical application of the method in question are as follows:

• Selecting a specific area of ​​research. It is much more correct to consider a product, division or a separate direction of development than to analyze the work of the enterprise as a whole. As a result, the conclusions and estimates obtained will be more accurate and more suitable for practical use.
• Clear delineation of the constituent elements of the SWOT table. Their detailed description is given below. It must be remembered that the essence of the method is to separately consider each of the factors and combine the resulting estimates and forecasts.
• Minimizing the factor of subjectivity. Despite the absence of a large number of quantitative parameters, the influence of personal opinion on the objects being assessed and analyzed should be reduced as much as possible.
• Gathering information from as many sources as possible. Continuation and development of the previous rule. The purpose of its implementation in practice is to increase the objectivity of the analysis.
• Specific and clear formulations of conclusions. There is no point in writing phrases like this based on the results of the analysis: “We need to work more.” It is much more correct and effective to set clear goals expressed in quantitative form.

SWOT Analysis Table

The basis of the method is the matrix, or SWOT table. It is conventionally divided into two parts - the internal environment and external factors. Each of them is positively influenced by the company’s strengths and existing market opportunities, and negatively influenced by the company’s weaknesses and potential threats. It is logical to consider each of the elements of the analysis and the parameters that influence it in more detail.

Internal environment and factors influencing it

The advantages of the SWOT method include the ability to adapt to the specific conditions of a company or an individual product. However, there are some general principles for studying the object of analysis, which are summarized in the table.

An important feature of the analysis and assessment of the internal environment is the possibility of direct influence on it by the company's management. Therefore, one of the goals of the SWOT method is to develop measures to further develop strengths and minimize the impact of weaknesses in the operation of the enterprise.

External environment, including SWOT opportunities and potential threats

It is almost impossible for a business entity to influence the parameters of the external environment. However, a well-conducted analysis allows you to make the most of the company’s existing opportunities while minimizing the impact of existing threats and risks.