How to use SWOT analysis effectively to grow

This article is about how to use SWOT analysis effectively to grow a business.

So what is “analysis”, actually?

Numbers are not analysis

Text is not analysis

So is interpretation analysis?

A proper definition of analysis

Analysis is usually performed using specific methods and procedures that ensure consistency, reliability, and objectivity of the results. During analysis, you may use different tools, statistical methods, modelling, etc.

Analysis can include data collection, processing and interpretation, statistical evaluation, visualisation of results, and formulating conclusions. The goal of scientific analysis is to expand knowledge, confirm or refute hypotheses, justify theories, and establish connections between phenomena or variables.

Okay, so what is SWOT analysis?

Strengths — strong sides.

• Advantages and unique capabilities.
• Internal aspects where the company is competitive.
• Examples of strengths can include high product quality, unique skills and competencies of the team, a strong brand, efficient distribution, etc.

Weaknesses — weak sides.

• Identifying shortcomings and weak spots of the company.
• Analysing internal factors that can limit success or competitiveness.
• Examples of weaknesses can include limited resources, weak technological base, inefficient business processes, etc.

Opportunities — opportunities.

• External factors and trends that can create new opportunities for the company.
• Changes in the industry, consumer behaviour, market conditions, and other external factors.
• Examples can include entering a new market, adopting new technology, regulatory changes, etc.

Threats — threats.

• External factors and obstacles that can negatively affect the company.
• Changes in industry dynamics, competition, macroeconomic conditions, and other external factors.
• Examples can include new competitors entering the market, shifts in consumer preferences, an economic downturn, etc.

How do you apply SWOT analysis effectively?

Pick around five competitors and do SWOT on them first.

S — write down every strong point and “cool feature” you can observe in that competitor from the outside.

W — write down the weaknesses you can see from the outside.

O — write down the opportunities for this specific competitor brand that you can come up with.

T — write down the threats for this specific competitor brand that you can see from the outside.

This will give you strong ideas. And when you move on to SWOT for your own brand, business, or product, the analysis will happen on a completely different level.

Example for product business: competitor SWOT

Project name	Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
Anime shop “Kitsune”, Irkutsk (Russia)	Has a brand mascot Products are structured into “Products” Video and Clips + Regular posts with new arrivals Has a newsletter for new arrivals Has a “desired product” form (VK feature, similar to a lightweight wishlist/requests form)	Their positioning focuses heavily on anime and manga, which narrows the potential audience.	If they add video reviews of incoming products and create “trailers”, they can run ads to relevant audiences and collect higher-quality engagement (at least within their existing ad account).	They rely on delivery via SDEK (a major Russian courier service; think “national parcel carrier”). If SDEK starts failing badly, they’ll feel it. It’s worth having alternatives: marketplaces like Wildberries (WB), Ozon, Yandex Market (Russian equivalents of large e-commerce marketplaces).
Anime.To4ka — geek & cosplay merchandise shop	They run promotions, post fan content about games, etc., share in-store videos. Very active with engagement mechanics.	Didn’t notice obvious weaknesses. Bogdan: their user experience can be developed further. Make it even easier to pick a product. For example, the description should include a direct DM link so users can immediately start a подбор (assisted selection) in messages, where a lightweight welcome bot can guide them through products.	If they develop the brand “lore”, the engagement strategy becomes priceless. Gamification, promos, and fan posts will live inside a single setting. That will upgrade engagement and take it to a serious level.	I didn’t spot delivery risks in their content, but to avoid repeating myself: production is worth attention too. This applies to all brands. Handling negativity should happen not only on review platforms, but also inside posts: stories about how delivery, fulfilment, and address accuracy are strengthened — or how this work is being done.

Example for product business: brand SWOT

Author	Date of analysis	Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
Bogdan	20.03.2023	1. A huge product matrix and the ability to set up production for almost any format. 2. Delivery to all regions via WB (Wildberries marketplace), Russian Post (national postal service), and SDEK (courier service). 3. Value positioning: kindness at the centre of the world, a non-toxic space for geeks, from fans to fans. 4. A designer with a strong product vision.	1. Low engagement of the VK subscriber base (VK is a major Russian social network, similar to a Facebook-style community model). 2. Order instructions and user experience inside the community need improvement.	1. Add location mentions, possibly connect with an offline salon/store — this can help both local and online sales and create material for community management. 2. Add another marketplace beyond WB — for example Yandex Market — to later open the path into Yandex Direct ads (Russia’s major search ads platform). 3. Develop brand “lore” and then gamify the audience around it.	1. WB strikes (marketplace-side disruptions). 2. Delivery address accuracy and package integrity issues. 3. Slow updates of the product matrix across all platforms.

For services, the mapping of these abstractions will be slightly different, but the core idea is the same.

So what is SWOT analysis, really?

Because there are no strict rules for what exactly should be written into Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats — which arguments, numbers, and non-numbers — SWOT is closer to strategic business reflection.

More precisely, it’s business self-reflection by the founder or the marketer — ideally both. Whether that’s one person wearing two hats or two different people.

But because there is still a “frame”, and we “work” inside that frame, the clean name for it is a marketing framework.

Lifehack: you can do SWOT analysis on literally anything — a competitor’s website, their social community, or any account on any social platform. You can also add, remove, or rename competitor analysis columns — the key is to keep the SWOT structure inside all those extensions.