subject: How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis - The First Step in Advertising Planning : Swat the competition! [print this page] How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis - The First Step in Advertising Planning : Swat the competition!
The first step in planning just about any business activity is toconduct a SWOT (Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat) analysis on yourbusiness. Surprisingly, many businesses have never done a SWOT analysis... but advertising planning time of year is as good an excuse as anyto get this vital business function done. Today we investigate the whysand also the hows of SWOT analyses in an advertising planning context.
Why Do I Need a SWOT Analysis for Ad Planning?
To begin creating your advertising planning strategy, you'll need twokey pieces of information. These are:
An assessment of the marketplace.
An assessment of how your company and product/service fits intothe marketplace.
It is useful to think about your business' positioning in themarketplace in terms of what your current assets are (Strengths), whatopportunities exist to leverage those assets (Opportunities), theliabilities or weaknesses of your company (Weaknesses), and the waysthat others might exploit those weaknesses (knowingly or unknowingly),to take clients or profit or reputation away from your business(Threats). You could answer the two questions above any way you liked... but the advantage in doing a SWOT analysis is that the path is
well-trodden.
How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis
You'll need to consider the features of your company itself and theproducts or services you sell as a unit when conducting your SWOTanalysis for ad planning purposes. However, in most industries theproduct or service will guide the end advertising planning strategy farmore.
Start by analysing your company's and products' strengths andweaknesses. These are internal factors. Some examples of strengthswhich may apply to your company, or may help you identify your uniquestrengths, include:
Your physical location
The quality of your products
The innovativeness of your products
Your quality control procedures
Specialist expertise
Some examples of weaknesses that may be relevant to your ad planningstrategy:
Lack of differentiation (or USPs) with regard to your productsor services
Poor reputation
Relative newness in the market
Products or services with quality issues
If your Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors affecting yourbusiness, Opportunities and Threats are external factors. Your list ofOpportunities may include things like:
A competitor vacating the market
New markets - either new platforms, such as the internet, ornew export markets, for example
Changing social perceptions (note that these can beopportunities or threats ... sometimes the same shift can be boththings to the same company!)
Changing government regulations (again, they can be threats oropportunities)
Some examples of Threats facing your organisation, product or servicemay be:
Changing technologies that outdate your product
New competitors
A heavily price-driven market that encourages price war.
Most Threats and Opportunities fit into one of the six PESTLE factors -Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmentalfactors.
Having a sound understanding of your products (and company's)Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats is the first key stepin formulating an advertising planning strategy.
