“How do I write the SWOT for a Business Plan”?
This is a common query when it comes to business planning time
If you are puzzled about how to do this section of your Plan when writing it yourself, then this blog is for you
So, how do we write a SWOT?
The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that make up the SWOT analysis are (and not a lot of people know this) actually a summary of the market research section of your Business Plan.
So it typically will be in a Business Plan at the end of your market research section, and some of my clients will also put it in their Executive Summary. This is because it’s such a useful way of summarising all of the market research and your own views of your strengths and weaknesses.
So which one do you do first – S, W, O or T?
It’s not that important where you start. The most important step is to do the market research that provides you with all of the raw material and information and data you are about to summarise. So, let’s start with Strengths.
Which strengths to out in your Business Plan
Strengths are those features, characters, attributes of your Business that are stronger than those of your competitors. In your market research section, you will have looked at your competitors, you may have looked at their web pages, their company profiles, or you may even know your competitors first hand. It’s not a bad idea to write down all the things they say they’re good at (in other words, their strengths they claim to have), and then figure out which ones you have which are as strong or, ideally, even stronger than theirs. Here’s a little prompt list for all of the strengths to look for to really try and sell yourself in your SWOT:
Your product or services’ physical quality; for example, is it easier to buy, better packed, looks better in and out of the pack. If it’s a service, does it arrive on time, and is it as expected and as shown in any communications material you have online or in the physical world.
You and your team, are you more experienced, more qualified, or just more friendly than the competitors? What is it that you have that is stronger than those of your competitors?
Your facilities, infrastructure, equipment, and systems – what do you have that the competitors don’t. Or if you have the same as them, what is it about yours that’s better?
Weaknesses in a Business Plan – where they fit
Now that’s done, let’s have a look at some of the weaknesses that you have compared to your competitors. But firstly, I want to say, there’s nothing wrong with having a weakness. In the operational and marketing strategy of your Business Plan, you’re going to be talking about how you’re addressing those weaknesses. It’s refreshingly honest when people put some weaknesses in their plan, but please make sure you always have some strategies on how you’re going to address these in your operations and marketing sections.
For a list of weaknesses, just use the prompts that I mentioned a few seconds ago for your strengths above and ask the same question of yourself but this time, ask where you are weaker than the competitor.
Opportunities – always based on your market research
These will come from your market research. Just a note of caution here, they are not just things you want to do, or sudden impulses or ideas you’ve had. Let me give you an example, you may have a business in New South Wales, and you want to expand to Victoria, if your market research tells you there’s a lot of demand in Victoria, VIC much more attractive than New South Wales, and if your operational section in your Business Plan tells you that you’ve already reached capacity and have very high levels of customer satisfaction in New South Wales, then clearly, you’re ready to expand into Victoria.
If the market research doesn’t tell you that VIC is attractive, and your operational strengths aren’t yet quite there, or you have operational weaknesses, then no, expanding into Victoria is not an opportunity for your Business at this time. It may be an Opportunity in the future though
There are often some good acronym prompts for this section and a popular one is PESTLE which stands for Political opportunities, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal.
Threats, also based on your market research
Finally, let’s look at the Threats section of your SWOT.
Threats are the flip side of opportunities, and a big source of threats is competitors – which you look at when you do your market research
For example, have a look at your competitors to see if they could or have started a price war. Have a look at economic trends such as rising inflation or lowering business confidence and then ask yourself which of these will really impact my Business in the next two or three years. Write them down and make sure that in the operational and marketing strategies of your Business Plan, address all your threats.
So, I hope that helps you write a great SWOT
Need a hand?
If you’d like a second opinion, don’t hesitate to book an hour’s coaching with us to review your SWOT, or if you’d like us to do your SWOT, we’d be more than happy to.
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