The SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) can help analyse the effectiveness of, or capacity to achieve your strategies and objectives.

•  Strengths
  • Identify and list the internal attributes or areas your company is highly competent in.
•  Weaknesses
  • Identify and list all the internal attributes and areas your company falls short of the standards required to make it achieve its objectives.
•  Opportunities
  • List any external avenues where there will be potential benefit for your company.
•  Threats
  • List the external things that are jeopardising or likely to jeopardise the prosperity and future development of your company.

Objectives

•  Start to focus on your main activities or things you want to achieve.
•  Objectives are specific measurable outcomes that the business wants to achieve in a given period.
•  Think of objectives as your measuring stick for success.
•  Objectives should be:
  • Measurable and include a time frame
  • Clear and understandable
  • Realistic
  • Achievable but not set too low that they won’t
    challenge
  • Not frivolous or unrelated
  • Flexible
  • Emphasis placed on the end result, not the method.

Strategies and Tactics

•  What you believe are the vital strategies and tactics to be carried out to meet the objectives of the business.
•  Strategies are your business goals and the tactics are the specific efforts needed to achieve the those goals.
•  Tactics always tie back to support the business goals.

For Example

Corporate GOAL            

Generate $2 million in revenue next year.

Strategy ONE                 

Develop price conscious market

Tactic ONE                     

Reduce the price and build new product with modified features thereby lowering the price for frugal customers.