A SWOT analysis provides a straightforward analytical framework that allows you to evaluate a business from all angles. A SWOT analysis looks at a company’s internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats.
- A company’s strengths and weaknesses could relate to its cash flow, location, technology, brand, trademarks, company culture, or distribution networks.
- Its opportunities and threats could involve factors such as market trends, technological changes, regulations, or demographics.
By assessing these areas, you can find out where a company might have a competitive edge and where it needs to improve.
What information does a SWOT analysis report include?
You can conduct your own SWOT analysis using internal company data or publicly available information. To save time and benefit from an objective third-party assessment, you can also purchase a SWOT report written by a market research firm. (Thousands of these reports are available on MarketResearch.com and cover companies in a wide array of industries.) Many SWOT reports are 60 pages or less and are relatively inexpensive, making them a quick and affordable resource for busy consultants, executives, and analysts.
As the name implies, these reports include a SWOT analysis, but they often include other information as well such as a company’s history, contact information, products and services, revenues by division, major competitors, key employees, and locations and subsidiaries.
What are the benefits of a SWOT analysis report?
By scanning through a SWOT report, you can quickly understand the most important aspects of a company and identify factors that are affecting the industry as a whole.
Moreover, a SWOT report can help you:
- Better understand your competitors, partners, or customers
- Evaluate new partnership possibilities
- Assess a company as a prospective vendor or supplier
- Stay up to date on a company’s business strategy, prospects, and new developments
- Learn about your competitor’s weaknesses
- Formulate business strategies that align with a company’s core competencies and address areas for improvement
- Aid quick decision-making during crisis management scenarios by distilling complex problems into a digestible framework
When should you use a SWOT report?
Because a SWOT report gives you a succinct summary of information, it’s especially useful for understanding a new client or preparing for a consulting or sales engagement. By assessing a company’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the overall market environment, you will have a deeper understanding of a client’s needs and how you can help them achieve strategic goals.
A SWOT report can also help you focus a company's marketing activities and clarify its brand messaging. With this type of analysis, you can design a marketing strategy that will address a company’s weaknesses and reinforce its strengths.
As mentioned above, a SWOT report can also be helpful in analyzing the competition and developing a plan to improve your strategic advantage. In particular, a SWOT report can help you overcome subconscious blind spots and biases you may have. You may not recognize all the weaknesses of a company you are affiliated with, and you may underestimate the strengths of the competition. A SWOT report will give you an objective assessment that can help you develop a more comprehensive, realistic action plan.
A SWOT analysis serves as a compass for informed decision-making. Its structured approach to evaluating internal and external factors can equip you with a holistic perspective, empowering you to make well-calibrated choices.
Curious to learn more? Check out SWOT reports available on our website.
About the Author: Sarah Schmidt is a Managing Editor at MarketResearch.com, a leading provider of global market intelligence products and services.
