Did you just get assigned your first SWOT analysis paper? You are not alone in what you are going through right now. Writing a target SWOT analysis paper can be pretty intricate, even for the most intelligent students. The competency required to write a SWOT analysis paper is relatively higher than other typical essays or term papers.
In this blog, you will learn the nuts and bolts of writing a SWOT analysis paper. Read on.
What is a SWOT Analysis?
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). These four crucial parts are essential to informing how the SWOT analysis process should be performed and how the discoveries can help your business. A SWOT analysis method is executed at multiple levels. It could be in a single department of your business, a single branch, etc.
Strengths
Just like the term “strengths’, the strengths are the strong points of your business. For example, you can run a target SWOT analysis of a digital marketing strategy and discover the vast benefits to your business. For instance, we can say that Google Ads pose a massive help to your business, and it is also a much bigger strength if you have experts in digital marketing on your team.
By understanding the strengths of your business, you will then be able to effectively delve into other parts of crucial matters, such as the funds, expertise, and amount of human labor and tools required. If you have a particular strength, it is always ideal to input maximum effort to ensure that you reap full benefits. Your strengths should work with the other three components to ensure you reap the most benefits from your strengths,
Weaknesses
The weakness is contrary to the strengths. This is simply the shortcomings or the negative side of your business. For instance, you refer to the example of venturing into digital marketing given above. The weakness of going food the digital marketing choice is too high competition in the online space.
The online campaign space is highly competitive, and thus a business has to up its game and pose as the best solution and proof to offer relevant help to the people in need. In this case, high competitiveness could be one of your weaknesses.
Most businesses have rejected these weak parts and suffered huge losses. By understanding the weaknesses in your business, you will get to know that the weakness will help you know what you should improve on. You can also spot potential problems beforehand and work towards averting them. For example, when a particular ad set is not performing well, you can understand that it is due to a highly competitive keyword, and you can switch to a less competitive one.
In most cases, you don’t have to work on improving your weaknesses necessarily. The better way is to strive to boost and maximize your strengths and compensate for your weakness. In our example, given that we understand that some keywords are highly competitive, we have an option of less competitive keywords. You can then double the funds invest in less competitive keywords, and dominate your competitors.
Opportunities
Most people confuse strengths and opportunities, but they are not similar but closely related. Opportunities are the external factors that could help you excel in your industry and work with several organizations with the same goal and mutually benefit. Launching a new product or a new branch or team member can count as an opportunity.
But when sorting out an opportunity, you need to be extra careful. What might count as an opportunity today might later be a weakness. For instance, working with another organization that might be dedicated as you might be an opportunity as first abut end up counting as a weakness in the future.
Threats
The final piece of the SWOT analysis paper is the threats. Threats are like negative opportunities. You need to be careful when sorting them out. For example, your competitor will dominate the market unless they work with you.
You must understand the threats to your business. Just like opportunities, threats can be subliminal.
You should be wary of potential threats, and you never know where a threat could arise from and the magnitude of the threats. As the rule of thumb, always be prepared for threats. But threats are slightly different from the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
That is because the S, W, and O’s are classified as internal factors, which means that the business has more control over them and can work on improving them. As for threats, you don’t have much control over them, but they significantly affect your business, so you have no option but to pay attention to them.
The Importance of SWOT Analysis
The importance of SWOT analysis can not be understated, and it is crucial that before you get down to writing a SWOT analysis paper, you should understand why a SWOT analysis template is essential. Have you ever heard of abuses dominating a particular field but moneywise, they hardly make any sales?
A business can be ranked on the first page on google, but the low-ranking websites are making massive kills. Business in such situations needs a SWOT analysis paper to:
It is superior as compared to the advantages and disadvantages list. A SWOT analysis paper is comprehensive, and it considers the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and external and internal factors. This will give you a clear picture of the state of your business.
Target SWOT Analysis
With a target SWOT analysis, you are already working with whatever you know. You will get a clear picture of various aspects of your business work and interact with each other and how external and internal factors influence them. By understanding these factors, you will be able to build an effective strategy that covers all the aspects of your business without necessarily looking for external help.
New Opportunities
A SWOT analysis paper can open new opportunities for you. With SWOT analysis, you will build your business and expand it. You can expand your business in enforcement, sponsorships, hiring more employees, or even opening new branches.
You think that SWOT analysis is crucial, and it is more dance than it may look. A SWOT analysis paper could be the key to expanding your business, formulating a working strategy, setting better goals, and building better strategies when done effectively. For years the SWOT analysis method has helped several companies excel and prosper.
Drawbacks of SWOT analysis
When conducting a SWOT analysis, bear in mind that it is just one step in the planning stage. You’ll likely need to perform a more in-depth review and analysis to make conclusions about difficult situations.
Various supervisors, department heads, corporate officers, and even frontline personnel are likely to be involved in the SWOT process. While all of their points of view may be valid, it is impossible to respond to their suggestions. As a result, some viewpoints will be excluded.
Using a SWOT analysis to handle unclear or two-sided issues, such as factors that can also be a strength, weakness, or both. For instance, you might have a potential decent location, but the rent may be over the roof.
A SWOT Analysis Paper Lacks Clarity
If organizations aren’t sure what they want to prioritize, a SWOT Analysis might be intimidating. Because the technology does not do this automatically, deciding what to address first. Leaders may feel compelled to manage everything at once because SWOT is designed to address significant concerns.
SWOT analysis does not inform you where to concentrate your efforts. It also doesn’t have a data limit. You’ll never know whether you have too much or too little until it’s too late. Although this is a potential issue, the real issue is elsewhere. For example, you can have too much information for an area that isn’t as important as another.
How to do SWOT Analysis Paper
Most established businesses alike use the SWOT analysis method to identify the external and internal factors of the business. These factors are subject to change, but they need some work, so a business needs a SWOT analysis paper. A SWOT analysis paper is crucial to saving the business more time in the long run. But how do you write a SWOT analysis paper? That is why you are here, right? Here is a step-by-step process for writing a successful SWOT analysis paper.
Trim it down
Before you begin, break down the SWOT analysis papers into several parts as described below;
- The business
- The analysis
- The formula to convert weakness to strengths
- The procedure to neutralize threats
- Other growth strategies
The list above is basically what your SWOT analysis paper should contain.
Write about the business
In your SWOT analysis paper, begin by explaining and giving necessary detail about the company. Your introduction should inform the reader of pertinent information about the business and the products or services. You can also include more information such as all the founders, the place of origin and the date of the motto, etc. remember that this is just a short section of your introduction.
Explore the elements
Let’s get down to the fundamental of writing a SWOT analysis paper that you should focus on. Usually, these are the outcomes of your SWOT analysis. You need to write about each element one by one.
Typical, you should begin with strengths. Reflect on what the business is doing. What makes the business stand out from the rest. Analyze the external and internal resources and the business’s assets.
These are just some factors that give the business an edge over its competitors. Explore what makes customers choose the company and overlook others. Things that might seem minute at first might be the most crucial factors, for example, the logo, the customer reception procedure, etc.
Weaknesses
Up next are the weaknesses. These are the aspects id not perform well or perform poorly. These are the core vitals that stand in the business’s way to achieving its potential and goals. You should begin by looking at the budget and the marketing plan.
Then go to the opportunities. Opportunities are the external factors that, if the business takes advantage of, it can benefit handsomely. Some of the external factors that you can find opportunities for are the environment, customer reputation, or a particular product or service that is doing quite well and the business should take advantage of.
Analyze the potential of a business benefitting from the opportunities against the challenges it might face if it decides to explore the opportunities.
Threats
Lastly, there are threats. These are the external elements that could hurt the company. These could be competitors using the latest methods such as paid ads, technology, and sponsorships to stay ahead of the game.
The seasonal change in supply and demand. New government policies pose a risk to the business, a pandemic like Covid 19, among other factors. List all these factors and analyze them to explain what is going on.
Convert the Weaknesses
The next step is to change the weakness to strengths. This is relatively easier because you have listed the weaknesses and aim to convert them to strengths. For example, you can increase the company’s presence on relevant social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Social media can help bring in more conversion and, at the same time, increase the brand’s exposure. Such approaches, if well analyzed, can become the business’s strengths. If your competitor is hugely converting using Google ads, you should explore Google Ads and develop an effective plan to turn the weakness into a strength.
You can also look at other programs that may be lacking in your business. For instance, if you don’t have a customer loyalty program, you could introduce it. If the logo needs some redesigning or maybe move to a better location. These are all weaknesses, and you should develop a cost-effective method to convert the weaknesses into strengths.
Analyze Growth Strategies and Opportunities That Might Arise
Lastly, coming up with a roadmap to convert the weakness into strengths has been laid. It is time to develop a growth strategy. A growth strategy plan is a plan to expand the business with the help of the available opportunities available. If the is an opportunity on social media, then the business should increase the budget on social media. Or move into a more desirable location, increase staff, among others.
When developing a growth strategy, also look at that threat. Analyze the threats and develop a plan for minimizing the strengths or eliminating them, for example, instead of going full-on social media marketing.
You can use the profits from the first campaign and reinvest them back into the campaign. The business can grow without putting itself at potential colossal risk.
If you have the points listed above, you have all you need to write an outstanding SWOT analysis paper that will exhibit a clear and accurate picture of the state of the business. Always consider the four elements and analyze them carefully and with deep insight.
You will have an excellent paper that will display all you need to know about your business and take the necessary steps. With a swot analysis paper, you have a high chance of making better choices.
Critical parts of an outstanding SWOT analysis paper
The best way to write an exceptional SWOT analysis paper is to find the best template to help you out. However, if you decide to write a SWOT analysis paper yourself, you need to consider the critical parts that make a SWOT analysis paper outstanding. Your paper must have the following features.
Overview
An outstanding SWOT analysis paper must have the relevant information on the business, which depends entirely on your effort while analyzing the company. For example, when analyzing a partnership strategy. You have to provide an exhaustive overview of the prospective partner, the industry, the competitors, and your business.
You should ideally do a SWOT analysis on your future partner too. And when you are analyzing the sales department, you ought to provide an overview of the business and the various sales departments.
Framework
Frameworks are the methods or sales that will govern the SWOT analysis procedure. This SWOT analysis framework includes the objective and the goals you have for the SWOT analysis. When you have a well-laid framework, it becomes easier to define the structure of your SWOT analysis paper and how it is presented in your papers.
A framework will dictate how you organize the next steps after the SWOT analysis paper findings.
SWOT factors
You don’t have to list all the four factors of SWOT necessarily. You also don’t need to go into deep details about everything. When recording, ensure you document all the findings. You are doing a SWOT analysis for several departments. Then you will only have to listen to the SWOT factors’ results and cut all the unnecessary details.
Conclusions/Solutions
The conclusion is the last part of your SWOT analysis paper. The conclusions include all the details you might deem necessary. For instance, you can suggest a new road map to send the business to the next level.
The new road map for the business should be based on the findings of the SWOT analysis paper. You can outline new methods that will change weaknesses into strengths or devise ways of eliminating the threats. Your conclusions should ideally serve as recommendations sections based on the findings of the SWOT analysis paper.
SWOT Analysis Example Paper
Personal SWOT Analysis
The application of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis in a personal setting is a viable method for enhancing one’s talents and resolving issues, particularly when it comes to professional growth and advancement. Additionally, it enables the development of a strategic plan for reaching a given objective (Simoneaux & Stroud, 2011).
I aim to develop into a highly qualified professional capable of applying my skills and knowledge in various disciplines. Because a SWOT analysis paper is advantageous for job advancement, I believe it will benefit me (Wislow, 2017). To utilize this instrument successfully, I must analyze my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and construct a development strategy around these features to acquire a competitive edge.
Strengths
Personal strengths are listed first in the SWOT analysis paper. It’s an excellent way to see how one stacks up against the competition. In light of this, I believe that my greatest assets lie in my capacity to pick up new skills quickly and adapt to changing situations (see Appendix).
They are bolstered by my ability to adjust and focus on the needs of others while at work. As a result, I have successfully resolved issues at work and maintained high customer service standards. People who know me believe this, and I am better at communicating than my colleagues. As a result, I can build relationships in a new environment.
Weaknesses
The second consideration is the deficiencies of individuals, which prohibit them from progressing in their careers and force them to concentrate on unimportant activities. My most significant shortcomings are my reluctance to say “no” to individuals who seek my aid and my tendency to take on too many tasks at once (see Appendix).
These ideas are linked since they lead to a situation where I have to accomplish all of my responsibilities within a limited amount of time because I do not avoid them.
Additionally, I need to work on my lack of computer abilities. The demands of today’s corporate world and the rapid advancement of technology define this requirement. My career could be ruined even if I have no other bad work habits and do my best to meet the standards (Coman & Ronen, 2009). There is nothing I can do about my fearful or hesitant personality.
Opportunities
Thirdly, external factors might either aid or hinder a person’s ability to achieve their goals. The support of my loved ones is a crucial chance for me personally (see Appendix). It gives me a sense of security in the face of adversity because I know that they will not abandon me. Another advantage is that I have an extensive network of people I can turn to for advice or necessary support. My own firm’s establishment may be an option for me in the future.
In addition, the corporate world is changing in ways that necessitate a customized strategy for every client. Seeing that I’ve always been successful in this kind of situation, they create a chance for me. My coworkers may have the same abilities, but my experience has shown that the company owner prefers to delegate these tasks to me. ” In this way, I can help the company’s communication issues while taking advantage of current trends. I am confident in my abilities to deal with such problems because of my training and prior experience.
Threats
The fourth criterion is potential dangers to my development, which can outweigh the positives and opportunities indicated. They include intense competition in the market, particularly from individuals with similar talents and education to mine, and rising demand for specialists with technology knowledge (see Appendix).
As evidenced by my daily work, these threats can function as a deterrent to becoming a highly qualified professional. Hence, I struggle with all duties that need technology, for instance.
In this way, my colleagues’ situation is more advantageous than mine. As a result, one of my limitations, inadequate technical skills, jeopardizes my job advancement. Thankfully, the nature of my employment remains constant, allowing me to adapt to the business’s changing needs.
Discussion
Using a SWOT analysis paper tool, I can see a clear image of my potential career growth approach. Unsurprisingly, my friends and family members’ response corroborated the analysis results, and their encouragement fueled my drive to work on the challenges necessary to accomplish my objectives.
This entails resolving the recognized difficulties with my technological abilities and propensity to take on more duties than I can perform to mitigate the threat. Additionally, the strategy will contain measures to maximize the effectiveness of recognized opportunities and strengths.
Conclusion
The SWOT analysis that was carried out proved to be a beneficial tool for outlining the plan for my personal and professional growth. Its validity was determined not only by my perspective but also by the comments provided by my friends and relatives. Thus, applying the information in the form of a strategic plan will assist me in achieving my goal and developing into a valued specialist. Even my perceived lack of responsibility can present a new opportunity in my desire to establish a business.
Bottom line
Conducting a SWOT analysis of your organization is the most effective technique to assess your company’s strengths and weaknesses. This will enable you to describe your future approach more precisely. Begin exploiting your advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and risks.
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