7 Keys to Marketing Genius: SWOT
The following is an excerpt from The 7 Keys to Marketing Genius by Michael Daehn
When I suggest organizations perform a SWOT analysis, they usually confuse me with the exterminator. However, the SWOT analysis process is not about swatting insects, but about finding the advantage of an organization or a particular product. SWOT is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
A SWOT analysis is best performed before going to market with a product or developing a new business enterprise. If there is no competitive advantage then it is not likely the company will be sustainable. Many of today’s most successful companies had every piece of strategy written on paper before laying a single brick. It is better to see on paper whether a business is viable before investing valuable time, money, and other resources.
Generally companies start off in a haphazard fashion and get to a point where they decide to get more organized. They hire a consultant who recommends going through the process of a SWOT analysis. There is much more at risk for these existing organizations. What if they discover they have no real competitive advantage in the market? For these organizations, a SWOT analysis can be a nerve- racking experience because so much is at stake. Should they close up shop and go home if they don’t find a competitive advantage? Maybe, or they might decide to shift their strategy to one better suited to their skills. The good news is that many discover, or rediscover, why they have been able to compete to date. The SWOT analysis helps them to regain their focus and concentrate on their core competencies.
For those new to the SWOT analysis, a good exercise is to do a personal analysis to determine your individual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. If you are starting a new company, it is useful to analyze an organization with which you are extremely familiar. This helps you to become comfortable with the process.
As you can see, a SWOT analysis can be done on many levels. A SWOT analysis may be performed for an individual, organization, or corporation. Certainly when considering a new product launch, you should use this process for the product itself. In this section I am referring to creating a SWOT analysis for an organization.