3. SWOT analysis

 > marketing planning overview > swot analysis
1. overview 2. planning 3. swot 4. marketing plan 5. marketing mix 6. product
7. price 8. promotion 9. place 10. literature 11. public relations 12. promos
13. advertising 14. sponsorship 15. sales

swot

SWOT stands for

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats.

The SWOT analysis is a very simple but effective means of carrying out an analysis of a company/product.

The SWOT analysis is probably the first step in putting together a marketing plan or business plan for your product/business. If you would like help with your SWOT analysis, please contact us.

Strengths: what are the strengths of your product? What makes it better than other products? Are these strengths being sufficiently exploited? Are they being sufficiently defended?

Weaknesses: what are the weaknesses of your product? What makes it inferior to other products? Are there strategies you should be adopting to offset these weaknesses? Should you be removing these weaknesses completely?

Opportunities: what external factors are there that could be embraced if appropriate resources were allocated?

(One of the biggest opportunities, especially for a small business, must be the setting up of a web site.
Click here to see the small business package.)

Threats: what external factors are there that threaten to reduce your market share?

Strengths
  • No 2 brand in this market sector
  • Very strong customer loyalty to the brand
  • Further product improvements due for launch within next 6 months will offer real competitive advantages
Weaknesses
  • Brand not so appealing to youth market
  • Product specification means it is difficult to supply variants at short notice
Opportunities
  • Government legislation about to be introduced will enable us to make additional product claims
  • New technology being developed will mean a re-allignment of the market sector
Threats
  • Usage figures suggest that customers in this sector are using these products less frequently because of health concerns.

The above table gives an idea of what some of the major issues might be under the four main headings. This is a very simple exercise that all businesses should do, not least because of its simplicity. It also forces you to take a much more global view of your business - something which many owner/managers find very difficult when their working day is completely dominated by day-to-day firefighting activities

Once you have completed this task, you should proceed to the marketing plan.

Why not recruit the hourly consultancy services of a marketing professional?
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Testimonials


The following are a number of testimonials from satisfied clients. We are really pleased to receive these testimonials, and proudly list them here.

Thanks for the website Ian.
As you stated, I have had a steady stream of enquiries since setting me up on the internet.
Simon
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Morning Ian, just a short note to say 'thankyou' for the work on my website. Not only am I pleased with the way it looks, but I could not believe it when I got my first enquiry from it only a few days after its completion. All you said would happen has indeed happened.
Regards
Glenda
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Thank you very much for your kind help. It is really a good advice for my marketing plan.

Thanks and best regards,
Thi
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Hi Ian Just a short note to tell you we have had a very good season, an excellent sales increase so we should be ok now the autumn is here and going very soon into Winter.. . . . . . . . .
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Thanks Ian. The website has certainly increased our Bookings and we look forward to next year.
Best Wishes
Sue
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I am not really interested in getting back in to PPC as it cost a lot of money last time for not a lot of return. We have been without it for over a year and what you are doing is still increasing visits and turnover on the site.
Regards
AJ
Director
Sports Outlets
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Just a quick note to say I’m very interested in maintaining the website you have completed a marvellous job of so far. We are already noticing a complete change and receiving a lot higher internet inquires.
Thanks Ian
Marie
Director
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Hello Ian, came across your website via a Google search and wanted to say how impressed I am! The marketing plan template arrived within seconds of my request - it is clear, tremendously helpful and has provided me with the structure I desperately lacked as I prepare to kick off my new business on 1st September! A really super service, am sure I will be in touch again over the coming weeks to discuss other elements of your offer.

Thanks and regards
Sarah
Director
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....... I have also noticed the success of extra clicks! Business is also up by at least 15 percent from last year. Regards
Simon
Owner (Dry Cleaners)

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I would just like to bring a ray of sunshine to your day (well it did for me).
Since we started to work with Ian Smith, our Adwords guru, our results have improved impressively. These figures are the average across the board, ..
Our Click through rate has gone from 1% to a very credible 4.5%
Our average cost per click has dropped from 87p to 63p (just remember some clicks are still £2+).
Our average position has gone from 5.4 to 4.6
So all in all a very good result and with further input we hope to do even better.
Chris
Interior Design Retailer
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