Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Its the analysis of something, usually a business.

It stands for:

Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportnities
Threats

Strengths and Weaknesses focus on internal apsects of the business (Finance, marketing, production, management team etc)
Opportnities and Threats focus on External factors (government, competition etc)

Hope that helps

Now that you know what the letters SWOT stand for, here's what you try to do with the analysis:

Utilize the STRENGTHS to shore up the WEAKNESSES, prepare for and seize the OPPORTUNITIES, and develop contingency plans in case the THREATS materialize.

Very often, just thinking about the opportunities or threats leads you to outside-the-box thinking about things you can or should be doing anyway ... whether the opportunities present themselves or not, and whether the THREATS materialize or not. And sometime you can set priorities if some of the threats can be countered by your strengths, etc.

In all, the SWOT analysis is a great way to begin the business and marketing planning process. It's a little like a good therapy session with a professional analyst. It helps you think about your business from a more objective viewpoint.

https://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm