A SWOT analysis can help to give your business a new direction in the new year. Completing one can help you to create a new strategy and plan of action for any aspect of your business, be it marketing or other.
The acronym SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is not a marketing plan in and of itself, but rather, a way to identify a direction for you to go in your market that will be effective and lead your business to success.
Components of a SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis takes a realistic look at both internal and external factors impacting your business. The internal factors, that you and your business can control, are listed in the strengths and weaknesses categories. It also takes into consideration external factors — things are not within the company’s control. These are listed in the opportunities and threats categories.
Here are some questions to ask yourself in each of the categories.
Strengths
What does your business have going for it?
What is your top selling product or service?
What are you known for?
What positive feedback do you get from patients, clients?
What is your advantage in the market?
What is working well?
Weaknesses
Where is there room for improvement inside the organization?
What resources do you lack?
What is not working well?
Opportunities
Where is there a gap in the market that you may be able to fill?
Is there anything new up and coming that you can plan to take hold of?
Threats
Who are your competitors and what are they doing?
What external factors could threaten your business or success?
How is your industry, field or market trending and is that a threat to your business?
Are any laws, rules or regulations changing that can threaten your business?
A SWOT analysis can be performed on a specific situation and/or for the company in general. It is subjective; different staff members may come up with different answers and ideas for each of the categories. Therefore, including many team members in during a brainstorming session with your team can help to contribute to a well-rounded analysis.
Completing the SWOT analysis will help you develop a plan of action based on your findings. How will you respond to what you have discovered? What will your new strategy be based on these findings?
If your business needs guidance in developing a strategy or plan of action in the new year, Connections Healthcare Strategies can help. To get a fresh start on your marketing efforts in the new year, schedule your strategy session today.