Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 One of the most common strategic planning tools used in business is a good SWOT; it will help you understand your niche in the market and uncover things which could impact on your future business success. The elements of a SWOT analysis Strengths Strengths describe the positive attributes of your business, both tangible and intangible. Your strengths are internal to your company and completely under your control. Ask yourself: What do you do well? What advantages do you have over your competitors? What unique resources can you offer? Consider your strengths from both an internal perspective, and from the point of view of your customer. Anything likely to give you an edge is deemed a strength. Weaknesses Review what detracts from the service you offer and gives you a competitive disadvantage. Like your strengths, your weaknesses are internal factors within your control. Consider: What you could improve? Are your competitors doing anything better than you? What factors lose you sales? Be rational and realistic. The more truthfully you identify your weaknesses, the more valuable the SWOT will be for your business. Opportunities Opportunities are positive external factors to your business. They reflect potential possibilities that if taken advantage of can boost your position in the market. Things to consider: What can you do that your competitors aren’t? What market trends can you capitalize on? Opportunities fall under factors out of your control. If you identify an opportunity internal to your company, this will be listed as a strength. Threats Threats are factors that place your business at risk and are external to your company. Things to consider: What hurdles do you face? What situations threaten your efforts? Are changing factors threatening your position? Class your threats according to their “seriousness” and “likelihood”. The better you identifying potential threats, the more likely you can prepare yourself to combat such risks. Review and implement Listing your strengths and weaknesses, while determining your opportunities and threats is pointless if you aren’t going to utilize the data to implement a strategy. Map out a plan that will utilize your businesses strengths by taking advantage of opportunities and plan to avoid potential weaknesses caused by specific threats. Need help conducting your SWOT analysis? Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article originally appeared on The K.I.S.S Marketing Agency and has been republished with permission.Find out how to syndicate your content with B2C Author: Kane Pepi Kane Pepi is an experienced financial and cryptocurrency writer with over 2,000+ published articles, guides, and market insights in the public domain. Expert niche subjects include asset valuation and analysis, portfolio management, and the prevention of financial crime. Kane is particularly skilled in explaining complex financial topics in a user-friendly … View full profile ›More by this author:VoIP Basics: Everything Beginners Should Know!Bitcoin Investment, Trading & Mining: The Ultimate Guide for BeginnersIs This a Better Way to Set Your 2020 Goals and Resolutions?