SWOT analysis is a must-do in the business world. Most people use it to see how they stack up against the competition and to make plans for the future. What most business owners don’t do is to capitalize on the the marketing aspect of SWOT to its full potential.
When you’ve already identified a rival’s weakness, why not go for the throat? The ability to conduct SWOT analysis effectively and efficiently can be your best competitive advantage.
There are four main ways that doing a SWOT analysis before you launch your marketing campaign will make the whole process easier:
Encourages Fact Finding on Competitors
Knowing your customer base, conversion rate, online shopping cart abandonment rate, etc., is only half the battle. You not only need to appeal to customers who have heard of your business and those who have not tried any business in your industry at all, but you also want to appeal to customers who have already bought products from your rivals. Doing a SWOT analysis encourages fact finding on the competition.
You’re a busy business owner; you don’t spend all your time trying to find out how well your competition is doing. A SWOT analysis is the time when you lift your nose up from the grindstone and get a good look around.
Once you’re done with the analysis, those same facts can be turned into a marketing campaign designed to appeal to customers who like your rival’s approach. When you already have extensive research available, there’s no reason not to turn it into an aggressive marketing campaign against your biggest competitor.
Can Be Applied to Your Own Business
Any SWOT analysis that involves your rivals should also involve some brainstorming on your end. It’s not enough to know what your rivals are doing. You also have to know how you compare to them. This kind of information gathering makes marketing a snap when paired with the fact finding described above. All you need to do is focus your marketing on your strengths while pointing out the others’ weaknesses.
Makes Holes in Marketing Visible
You can take action by, for instance, running a special offer that your competitors don’t. When a competitor of yours say, “We only do ABC; we don’t serve XYZ market” you should focus your effort on grabbing your pie in the XYZ market.
Loopholes can be your best friends: You may discover during your analysis that your main business rival has an absurdly tight returns policy. This might seem like information you can’t use at first, but then you think about your better policy. Why not put that little fact into your marketing campaign? Customers who have been burned by your rival’s ridiculously tight policy will be glad to get good products with a fairer guarantee.
The more you consider your opponents’ weaknesses, the more you can see ways that your business already bests or could best theirs.
Can Be Referred Back to at Every Stage
One of the greatest advantages of a SWOT analysis is that it can be referred back to at every stage of your marketing campaign. These facts are going to stay relevant for a long time. You can do a SWOT analysis every year or every 2 years, and in the meantime the compilation of facts will be useful to you.
You can use your SWOT analysis even for things like team building and hiring campaigns, according to Mindtools.com.
Takeaway
Remember: The next time you want to revitalize your marketing, don’t head straight to the drawing board. You’ll have a better, more efficient campaign if you take the time to perform a SWOT analysis thoroughly.