Last Updated on 5 months by Enise Ürek
There are different methods that will allow you to see possible results in advance when starting a new strategy or preparing to enter a completely different market. One of them is SWOT analysis, which makes it easy to see the pros and cons of your brand together. It is quite logical to take advantage of the features of this business tool in order to achieve your goals and develop a successful strategy. Assessing strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your brand both gives you competitiveness and allows you to objectively see the current state of your brand. Although using SWOT in marketing seems easy, it actually has many tricks. For this reason, it is easy to take advantage of the experience of a digital marketing agency and include a SWOT analysis in the strategy.
What is SWOT in Marketing?
Many methods are used to run an effective marketing strategy. One of them is SWOT analysis. SWOT in marketing is a framework where you can discover the strengths and weaknesses of the brand when creating a marketing strategy. This analysis is one of the most ideal ways to compare your brand and competitors and see resources and possible opportunities. It consists of internal and external sources that have the power to influence the strategy you have prepared. S is used for Strengths, W is used for Weaknesses, O is used for Opportunities, and T is used for Threats in SWOT analysis.
What Does a SWOT Analysis Include?
SWOT analysis is used to explore four key areas related to your brand. These areas include the strengths of the brand, its weaknesses, opportunities, and possible threats. It is important to evaluate each area correctly because it will determine how to create your strategy. SWOT in marketing is subdivided into internal and external factors. Internal factors consist of strengths and weaknesses, and external factors consist of opportunities and threats.
1. Internal factors
Internal factors are the strengths and weaknesses of your brand. The strengths you have as a brand are the aspects that put you ahead of your competitors and should be emphasized. For example, you can have many different strengths, such as a professional team, a strong online presence, an effective strategy and product planning, a location, and a target audience. When creating a strategy, all you have to do is use and emphasize these forces. Weaknesses in SWOT in marketing are features that disadvantage you compared to your competitors. Disadvantages such as limited resources, poor brand reputation, and being new in the market are obstacles to the success of your marketing strategy.
2. External factors
Opportunities and threats fall under the category of external factors. Opportunities are any event that can contribute to your growth. For example, changing purchasing behaviors or trends can support you in growing and developing your brand. Threats include any negativity that may occur and bring you back. For example, factors such as the economic crisis, changing trends, and increased competition can negatively affect your brand.
Why Should Marketers Conduct a SWOT Analysis?
There are many reasons for marketers to perform SWOT analysis because SWOT in marketing benefits many points. For example, it offers meaningful insights for the brand and contributes to the shaping of strategies. This analysis, which gives valuable information to marketers, is applicable in many areas, such as when starting a new project or trying a different technology, and makes it easier to evaluate the pros and cons at the point of action. A balanced strategy is created with the information obtained using SWOT in marketing. In addition, it can be used to obtain detailed and meaningful information about competitors. SWOT in marketing is a highly effective business tool to prevent competitors and achieve your goals. For this reason, it must be used by marketers and included in strategies.
How to Create a SWOT Analysis in Marketing?
The basic steps you can follow when doing a SWOT analysis are as follows.
1. Define your focus
The first step consists of determining the subject on which you will focus your SWOT analysis. You need to decide what you want to use this analysis for. You need to set a specific focus, such as changing the marketing plan, entering a new market, or running marketing through a different channel. At this stage, setting a specific goal instead of a very general title will help you more in achieving your goals.
2. Compile your data
If your goal is clear, you need to compile the data in the second step. The data constitutes four areas of SWOT analysis. Meeting with your teammates, brainstorming, and browsing reports before filling these areas are factors that increase the accuracy of your data.
3. Clarify strength
It is very important to express your strengths clearly because this area shows you the features that you should emphasize. Listing your strengths and then eliminating irrelevant ones by combining similar ones can help clarify your strengths.
4. Define these strengths as a group
It is very important to define them as groups after the strengths are chosen in SWOT in marketing. By assigning your strengths to the relevant groups, it is possible to diversify the strengths in that title. In this way, you will be able to develop a more detailed and comprehensive strategy.
5. Repeat previous steps for weaknesses
You have to repeat the same steps for your weaknesses. The point you should be aware of here is to discuss weak points as a team and evaluate them correctly. It is important to choose a few factors that you can change and improve from your weaknesses that will put you in a disadvantaged position. For example, if efficiency is your weak point and you want to prioritize it, your strategy should also include improving efficiency.
6. Repeat previous steps for opportunities
The same steps are followed for opportunities when doing SWOT in marketing. At this point, it is very important to work with the team. Opportunities are situations that can contribute to your success throughout the process. Creating an in-team discussion environment helps you identify how to take advantage of these possible opportunities and how to include them in your strategy.
Common SWOT Analysis Mistakes
There are some mistakes that even marketers sometimes make when doing SWOT in marketing. Avoiding these mistakes can lead you to success faster. One of the most frequent mistakes is listing too many items. You may have a lot of things in mind when filling in the fields, but you need to include the most relevant ones in the SWOT analysis. It is much easier to make sense of the information you provide in a short, clear, and relevant way. In addition, it is very important to be realistic rather than generalizing and making assumptions. One of the most common mistakes when doing SWOT in marketing is to exaggerate strengths. For this reason, care should be taken to make a good evaluation of these aspects and to be objective. Similarly, minimizing and ignoring the weaknesses of the brand is a big mistake. For this reason, being objective is a sine qua non for SWOT analysis. Every business has its weaknesses, and expressing them clearly gives an opportunity to compensate for them.
Examples of SWOT in Marketing
An example can help to better understand SWOT in marketing. Let’s say the main thing you want to focus on is changing your marketing strategy. SWOT analysis can be done as follows for this topic:
Strengths:
- Professional team members
- Strong presence online
- Professional marketers
Weaknesses:
- Limited budget
- Not being able to follow trends
- Working inefficiently
Opportunities:
- Related target audience against trends
- Number of followers owned by the brand on social media platforms
- Exploring different channels
Threats:
- Competitors’ high brand loyalty
- Competitors attract more audiences through advertising
Your analysis should be short and clear in this way. You can use the information here to develop and change your strategy by interpreting it together.
