SWOT One Minute Marketing Tip

User AvatarGenius MarketingPosted on Posted in Marketing Strategy, Marketing Tips

Today’s one minute marketing topic is SWOT for your marketing 

SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. It’s an old school way to quickly inform a planning process. 

When considering your company’s recovery and go-forward plan, now is a great time to tap into this analysis. SWOT can help you quickly assess your marketing. There are many questions that can be asked, but these are a quick start to a marketing SWOT analysis.

Focusing on Internal Issues

Strengths and weaknesses usually focus on internal or organizational matters.

Marketing Strengths

  • What advantage(s) does our company have over competitors?
  • What unique attributes – or unique selling proposition – do we have?
  • What is our marketing and sales team’s strengths?

Marketing strengths should focus on what your organization does well and what is unique about your organization, brand, product or offer.

Marketing Weaknesses

  • What complaints do we hear from customers? Objections from prospects?
  • How much voice do we have in the market? Do people hear and see our message?
  • Are our marketing resources aligned properly? Or do we just do the same things we always have done?

Often, one of the biggest weaknesses organizations face is lack of process in marketing. Consider where your process needs improvement.

Focusing on External Issues

Opportunities and Threats usually focus on external matters such as market and competition. 

Marketing Opportunities

  • How is the competition doing? What are they missing?
  • Has the market changed? Are prospects looking for something new or different?
  • What new means of communicating with prospects is available?

Now is an excellent time to assess how the market is changing. While not wanting to “steer the ship” based on competitor direction only, it can help guide a competitive or a niche marketing plan.

Marketing Threats

  • Is our target market growing? Or shrinking? Or just moving and changing?
  • Could predicted cultural changes and resulting buyer behavior affect our sales?
  • What new competitors or new offers are entering the market?

Businesses are often caught off guard by unforeseen market shifts. Now it is clear the market, buyer behavior… everything is shifting. Take the time to consider what is occurring and where it might lead.

SWOT: a Good Starting Point

Discussion around these starting points (there are many more SWOT questions that could be asked) will help direct the development of an updated marketing plan. Now is the time to address your organization’s offering, market and sales plan to be ready to move forward. SWOT as part of that process can help you uncover issues and be flexible and responsive as an organization.

If you would like to discuss your crisis communications plan or your recovery marketing plan, we would love to help. In fact, you can send us a question and we’ll provide our best advice – no cost, no obligation.

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