SWOT Filter

  • Category: SWOT, SWOT filter, using a swot analysis
SWOT Filter
An essential element of a marketing plan is the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats [SWOT] analysis (Humprey, c 1960s). This article takes that one stage further into the SWOT Filter (Hanlon, 2006).
The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats [SWOT] filter shows how strengths will be defended on, action to be taken with weaknesses and how to prioritise opportunities and threats.
You can use a SWOT filter to review your
  • Marketing literature (offline and online)
  • Website
  • Product offer
  • Sales team
  • Client base
  • Market sector
  • Entire business
Strengths
Strengths are inside your business and are areas where it is performing well.  The important factor is how these strengths will be defended. Do more than just listing your strengths and note how these will be defended.
Weaknesses

Weaknesses are inside your business and you can change these issues if you want. The table below shows the weaknesses along with the magnitude of these items and the action that can be taken to remove or reduce them.

Opportunities

Opportunities are outside the direct control of the business.  They may be generated as a result of new legislation, political, environmental, social, technological, economic or demographics changes.

The opportunities are filtered following these steps:

  1. Column 1: Lists all the opportunities open to your business for the next 12 months.
  2. Column 2: Scores the success probability within the next 12 months out of a maximum of 10 points. 
  3. Column 3: Rates the attractiveness of the opportunity out of a maximum of 10 points. Attractiveness may be measured by profitability, prestige work or other ways relevant to your business.
  4. Column 4: Adds up the scores in column 2 and 3, giving you the highest and lowest scores. The highest scores indicate the priority area on which to focus your time and effort.
Threats

Threats are also outside the control of the business.  They are future dangers that may negatively affect the company.  Like the opportunities, threats may occur as a result of new legislation, political, environmental, social, technological, economic or demographics changes. Think about where businesses have invested time an dmoney and the law changes over a period of time and the business is no longer viable.

The threats are filtered following these steps:

  1. Column 1: Lists all the threats that would have an impact on your business.
  2. Column 2: Scores the probability of occurrence within the next 12 months, out of a maximum of 10 points. 
  3. Column 3: Rates the seriousness of the threat, again out of a maximum of 10 points.  Seriousness may be measured by the market declining, disappearing, or business units having to close or completely re-model.
  4. Column 4: Adds up the scores in column 2 and 3, giving you the highest and lowest scores. The highest scores indicate the priority area on which to focus your time and effort.
The priority area is where the highest scores are indicated. This may mean your business needs to find new markets, launch new products, re-launch existing products. It gives you a clear direction for the future.
If you need marketing advice, do contact Annmarie Hanlon. Annmarie is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland. Over the past 20 years she has worked with 200+ companies providing one to one training, advice and consultancy on online and offline Marketing for businesses.  She is the author of Quick Win Marketing and Quick Win Digital Marketing which are iPhone Apps and traditional books. 

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