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7 Keys to Marketing Genius: SWOT Analyzing Inside the Outdoors

The following is an excerpt from The 7 Keys to Marketing Genius by Michael Daehn

When I was contacted by Inside the Outdoors to do some marketing consulting, the first thing we did was perform a SWOT analysis. Inside the Outdoors is a wonderful program affiliated with the Orange County Department of Education that provides school- age children with hands-on environmental education experiences. The organization is comprised of three programs. The Outdoor Science School program places students in a camp setting for a week to get them immersed in an environmental learning experience. The Field Program provides field trips to local harbors, beaches, and parks so that students are able to participate in an outdoor classroom for the day. The Traveling Naturalists program takes the outdoors to the students by bringing a van full of animals to local schools for assemblies.

I met with the leaders of the individual programs to create a SWOT for the whole organization. They were given the SWOT form to fill out before the meeting. There was some difficulty and confusion during the process of whether their answers should concern Inside the Outdoors as a whole, or should they answer for their individual programs. We decided to create a SWOT for the whole of Inside the Outdoors since the marketing plan that was being created was for the organization as a whole. I recommended that it would be beneficial for the various programs within Inside the Outdoors (and I recommend the same for any organization with subprograms or departments) to create a SWOT and a marketing plan for each of the programs at a later date. One of the side benefits of the process was that the leaders felt as if they were all a part of the same team for the first time. They realized that their resources, goals, and identity were interdependent on the other programs. Inside the Outdoors had so many strengths that choosing a particular one to promote was difficult. In the end we decided the hands-on approach to education was their distinct competitive advantage.


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