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Business Intelligence Advancements Transform Corporate Decision-Making
Companies have long considered data collection and analysis to
be fundamental activities for long term strategic planning.
Before the rise of the Information Age, most decision making was
based on guess-work or trial-and-error practices....
How Joint Ventures Can Catapult You to Success
Substantial opportunities for increased sales and profits are missed by not seeking out and implementing joint ventures.
Strategic alliances also create value for the customer and save money and build future relationships for the partners. ...
OE Consultants: Is There a Future for Them?
Since my "Death of the OD Practitioner" article was published about a month ago, I have been asked whether Organizational Effectiveness (OE) consultants will experience the same fate. My answer is "no." Of course, that assumes that OE consultants do...
Public Relations – Defining Your Organization from the Inside Out
What do your customers say about your company?
Would you let your major competitor control your sales strategy?
Public relations is an inevitable consequence of being in business. Whether you like it or not, your corporate image evolves...
The Role of the Business Model and Strategy for Business
People will always stress that having a well researched business plan is key before you start your business. Although creating a business plan is often an important step in the evolution of a business, particularly if you need financing or you...
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SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
When conducting strategic planning for any company - online and/or offline - it is useful to complete an analysis that takes into account not only your own business, but your competitor's businesses and the current business environment as well. A SWOT is one such analysis.
Completing a SWOT analysis helps you identify ways to minimize the affect of weaknesses in your business while maximizing your strengths. Ideally, you will match your strengths against market opportunities that result from your competitors’ weaknesses or voids.
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Basic SWOT
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You can develop a basic SWOT analysis in a brainstorming session with members of your company, or by yourself if you are a one-person shop. To begin a basic SWOT analysis create a four-cell grid or four lists, one for each SWOT component:
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
Then, begin filling in the lists.
* Strengths - Think about what your company does well. What makes you stand out from your competitors? What advantages do you have over other businesses?
* Weaknesses - List the areas that are a struggle. What do your customers complain about? What are the unmet needs of your sales force?
* Opportunities - Try to uncover areas where your strengths are not being fully utilized. Are there emerging trends that fit with your company's strengths? Is there a product/service area that you could do well in but are not yet competing?
* Threats - Look both inside and outside of your company for things that could damage your business. Internally, do you have financial, development, or other problems? Externally, are your competitors becoming stronger, are there emerging trends that amplify one of your weaknesses, or do you see other threats to your company's success?
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Advanced SWOT
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A more in-depth SWOT analysis can help you better understand your company's competitive situation. One way to improve upon the basic SWOT is to include more detailed competitor information in the analysis. Note Internet-related activities such as trade organization participation, search engine inclusion, and outside links to the sites. This
Associated Websites
will better help you spot opportunities for and threats to your company.
You can also take a closer look at the business environment. Often, opportunities arise as a result of a changing business environment. Some examples are:
* A new trend develops for which demand outstrips the supply of quality options. Early on, the trend toward healthy eating coupled with an insistence on good-tasting food produced a shortage of acceptable natural food alternatives, for example.
* A customer segment is becoming more predominant, but their specific needs are not being fully met by your competitors. The U.S. Hispanic population experienced this phenomenon in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
* A customer, competitor, or supplier goes out of business or merges with another company. With the demise of many pure-play "dot coms", examples of this abound. As each went out of business, opportunities arise to gain the defunct business’ customers.
You can also enhance a SWOT analysis through surveys. You can learn more about your own as well as competitor’s sites and businesses. Areas you can research include 1) customer awareness, interest, trial, and usage levels, 2) brand, site, and/or company image, 3) importance of different site or product attributes to your customers, and 4) product and/or site performance.
Whether using a basic or more advanced approach to SWOT analysis, you are sure to come away with newfound insights. Use these to increase your company's effectiveness and as input into your business or marketing plan.
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Related Resources
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* Book: Strategic Marketing Planning
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/sr.htm
* Resources: Market Research and Analysis
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/SR12.htm
* Article: Affordable Market Research
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/Arts/MktRsrch.htm
About the Author
Bobette Kyle is author of "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Web Site Marketing." She used techniques detailed in the book to bring her own site, WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, from a ranking of 17 million to 54 thousand+ in less than four months. http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/sr.htm
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