Question

Topic: Student Questions

How Can I Perform A Swot On Competitors?

Posted by Anonymous on 7/21/2008 at 8:44 PM ET 25 Points
Hi,

I am not a Marketing major but reading about marketing as a hobby. Recently I had a doubt and hoping that someone could clear it for me.

As I have heard, a SWOT is generally performed on my company. But if I want to analyze a competitor company, is there another tool or does the meaning of S,W,O and T change for a competitor? What I mean is, I understand if I'm performing a SWOT on a competitor, I can list down its Strengths and Weaknesses but what are Opportunities and Threats?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 7/22/2008 at 12:43 PM Author
    Thank you for your responses. I thought I understood your point but am facing a small confusion again. Suppose that I want to enter two domains, say Domain 1 and Domain 2.

    I have A,B,C as my competitors in Domain 1 and X,Y,Z as my competitors in Domain 2. I understand that I need separate SWOTs for Domain 1 and Domain 2.

    Now, take Domain 1. From whose perspective should I perform the SWOT? Will it be a single SWOT in Domain 1 or is it multiple SWOT taking X, Y, Z into consideration separately?
  • Posted on 7/22/2008 at 12:52 PM Author
    They can be considered independent though I will always have a chance to extend Domain 1 to Domain 2.

    For instance, one can consider a Paper manufacturer as Domain 1 and a Book Manufacturer as Domain 2. They always have an option to extend their domain to the other but for the time being they can still be considered independent.

    PS: Please don't literally take the example. I wrote it because it came to my mind and if it isn't proper, I apologize.
  • Posted on 7/24/2008 at 12:50 PM Accepted
    Perform the SWOT analysis separately for domains 1 and 2, and base it on your company rather than the competitors. Competitors are normally covered in a competitive analysis though SWOT may include thoughts about competition. For example, a weakness may be a poorly defined position in the market relative to competitors.

    The more crucial concept far too often neglected in SWOT analysis is the analysis part. It's a relatively easy exercise to offer up a list of SWOT. Completely another to present insightful thinking about what it all means. For that you might think in terms of scenarios.
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