As it is known, SWOT analysis is a tool used to determine the opportunities and threats they may encounter and their strengths and weaknesses by examining the environmental conditions in which they are located. In fact, although it is a very useful and concise method in terms of determining the situation of the business and the action plans to be taken according to this situation, unfortunately, full benefit cannot be achieved as a result of the mistakes made in practice. The findings obtained as a result of the SWOT analysis, which is not done with a correct method, are either not used at all, or if used, they lead the business to a point other than the targeted one. In this article, “What is SWOT Analysis? What is not?” We will focus on the issue.
What Is Not A SWOT Analysis?
First of all, let us say that the SWOT analysis is not an analysis in itself. A true SWOT analysis is much more than a picture of your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in an area divided into four zones that you can ponder but memorize.
What is SWOT Analysis?
SWOT analysis is a due diligence matrix containing the results of many different analyses. In order to obtain a correct SWOT analysis output, it is necessary to combine the results of many analyses such as PEST analysis, competitive analysis, value chain analysis, financial analysis, and portfolio analysis.
How is SWOT Analysis Done?
In order to determine the opportunities and threats that may come from the external environment affecting your business, in addition to the PEST analysis, in which political, economic, sociological, and technological changes can be predicted, competitor analysis and market analysis are required to determine the opportunities and threats that may come from the close circle environment. In order to determine the strengths of the business, it is necessary to perform the activity analysis, financial analysis, and even portfolio analysis of the business.
In many SWOT analysis reports, it is possible to see that strengths and opportunities, weaknesses and threats are mixed. Simply, opportunities and threats are caused by the environmental conditions that businesses cannot interfere with, and the strengths and weaknesses of the business, which is expressed as the internal environment of the business.
Apart from this, another problem encountered is that it is observed in the SWOT analysis reports that the enterprises have too many strengths and very few weaknesses compared to this. The biggest reason for this is that the analysis is not done by comparison but by subjective evaluations like looking in a mirror. Human psychology tends to attribute what is good to oneself and what is bad to others. As a result, activity analyses that are not made comparatively with standard criteria cause businesses not to notice their weaknesses sufficiently. Strong or weak concepts are concepts that require comparison in terms of meaning. Therefore, comparisons must be made. For this, it is necessary to identify a main competitor and perform the activity analysis in comparison with this main competitor. Therefore, knowing in which areas they are strong or weak compared to our competitors or competitors will allow businesses to determine more accurate, in other words, more realistic, strategic alternatives.
Is It Possible to Predict Competitors’ Moves with SWOT Analysis?
As a result of an analysis made with a correct systematic, it may be possible to predict the moves that the competitors may implement in the future. Businesses need to know their competitors at least as well as they can know themselves. Gathering competitor information about the activities from the market environment and comparing them with the business activities will enable us to determine the strengths and weaknesses more clearly, as well as to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the competitor. The effects of general environmental and close circle environmental conditions on the business may differ from business to business. However, the conditions will not change. In this case, it will be possible to obtain the SWOT analysis outputs of your competitors as well as your business and to predict what they can do with their strengths and weaknesses in the opportunity and threat environment in which your business is located.
SWOT Analysis at STRATEJİ360
STRATEJİ360 is an analysis platform where businesses can easily prepare the basic analyses they may need while preparing their strategic plans, regardless of time and place. In addition to their importance in vital processes of businesses such as strategic planning and decision-making, fundamental analyses are indispensable for many support and incentive program applications, especially today.
The biggest problem encountered when conducting fundamental analyses is the lack of criteria that determine the questions to be answered or the elements to be compared. The most important advantage that STRATEJİ360 offers to businesses is that, in addition to basic analysis, it offers the questions to be answered while performing these analyses to the service of analysts with scientific methods. As we mentioned before, it provides a simple preparation of analyses such as PEST analysis, competition analysis, and value chain analysis needed to perform a SWOT analysis and transforms their outputs into a SWOT analysis matrix. In addition, it is possible to find the results of the financial situation of the enterprise or the competitive positions of the product portfolio, such as financial ratio analysis and portfolio analysis, in the SWOT analysis matrix.
