5 Free SWOT Analysis Templates To Showcase Your SWOT Analysis
by Mashum Mollah Business Intelligence Published on: 20 June 2022 Last Updated on: 08 November 2024
Are you searching for Free SWOT Analysis Templates? And showcase your business SWOT Analysis? If yes, you are just in the right place! Running a business in today’s world is not easy. Markets are volatile, and the future is uncertain. To combat the uncertainties, it is essential to have a complete understanding of your business as well as the environment it operates. A SWOT analysis will help you do just that.
A SWOT analysis is a straightforward and effective framework for determining a particular business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. With the help of internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats), SWOT analysis allows you to think about your company’s performance and how it stands against the competition.
A business should always watch the factors, both internal and external. SWOT analysis attempts to define these factors to discover growth opportunities, frame plans to avoid failure, and mitigate risks that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
A SWOT analysis is not just limited to your business. You can also use it to analyze your products, decisions/strategies, campaigns, and even people.
What Is SWOT Analysis?
Before jumping on to SWOT analysis templates, let’s take a look at what is “ SWOT analysis.” Many of you have heard SWOT analysis or its full form, but what’s its actual use or its importance is unknown to many. Yes, you all know that SWOT analysis refers to Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats but with respect, these are used? Here is a detailed explanation of that.
SWOT is a key analytical tool widely popular in the field of strategic marketing. The main funda here is to assess the internal weaknesses and strengths along with external opportunities and threats. Furthermore, the most crucial part is to determine how these elements define the future and current operations or strategies. Since it is based on the internal business environment situations, it is a situational analysis model as well.
The results of SWOT analysis may vary from one entity to another. For the SWOT analysis templates of a restaurant, each element will relate to the hospitality industry. On the contrary, if it’s a FedEx SWOT analysis, you need to view the whole thing in the light of the E-commerce sector.
SWOT analysis is not only limited to an organization. You can conduct it in relation to a whole industry, a policy, a strategy, a department, or even a product. For instance, if it’s a company, you must include competitors, purchasing behavior, employee strength, internal skills, raw materials prices, etc. In addition, while doing a SWOT analysis for a product, take innovation, features, competitors, price, efficiency, etc into account. SWOT analysis templates therefore should contain all these factors and points relevant to the targeted subject.
4 Key Components Of SWOT Are:
The full form of the SWOT is strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats. This is a framework that is used to identify the organizations’ opportunities and future possibilities. The goal of SWOT analysis is to identify and analyze the goals and the weakness of the individual companies and the business. This way the new business can flourish and also minimize the chances of the fall.
1. Strengths
Simply put, your strengths are the things you do better than anyone, i.e., things that distinguish you from your competitors. It can be the product that your business offers, your effective sales or marketing tactics, or amazing customer service.
2. Weaknesses
Weaknesses are areas where your business can improve. Look for weaknesses, try to step in an outsider’s shoes, and see your business from a different angle. Sometimes, new perspectives can unravel weaknesses that you didn’t know existed. Analyze your people, processes, systems, and procedures to find out internal weaknesses.
3. Opportunities
Opportunities are prospects that you can utilize to grow and move forward. Since this is an external factor, you need to look for changes in the market or business industry. Being aware and having an eye for opportunities can go a long way in helping your business grow and prosper.
For example, let’s say you run an electric car company and you find out the government is planning to lower the tax rate in your industry to promote a greener environment. This is a great opportunity for your company to lower your spending and thus, increase your profits.
4. Threats
Threats are the things that can negatively impact your business. To build on the above ‘tax rate’ example – an automotive company manufacturing non-electric cars will mark the tax cut as a threat simply because it empowers electric car companies.
To learn more about SWOT analysis, and how you can use it as a great analytic tool, check out this blog post on SWOT analysis templates.
Internal And External Factor SWOT Analysis
Internal and External factors are two key components of SWOT analysis templates. The internal factors usher significant impacts on the external factors if you view them closely. While the internal factors elucidate a clear picture of the situation of the organization, external factors narrate the future improvement areas and risk factors.
the internal factors, also known as micro factors are crucial to an organization as it is possible to control them. On the contrary, you cannot control external factors like competitors, customers, weather, economy, politics, etc. As a result, another aim of SWOT analysis templates is to have a strong grasp on internal factors so that managing external factors becomes easier.
A Few Free SWOT Analysis Templates To Get You Started
Source: SlideUpLift
This free SWOT template uses a minimal, aesthetic, and visually appealing design for showcasing your SWOT analysis. This SWOT analysis template hosts a unique yet simplistic design using two triangles on either side that are divided equally to accommodate strengths and weaknesses on one side and opportunities and threats on the other.
Source: SlideUpLift
This is one of the best free SWOT analysis templates that use a colorful and attractive design that will help you attract your audience’s attention. With a vibrant circle in the middle, this template utilizes the optimum combination of vision principles to achieve a professional and minimal look.
Source: SlideUpLift
This Free SWOT analysis PowerPoint template is the prime example of vision science principles being put to use to achieve depth and emphasis. The use of shadows and rounded shapes gives the template a modern and clean look. The template gives you enough room to explain your SWOTs in detail. The color of the boxes and icons can be easily changed to your preference as these templates are fully editable.
Source: SlideUpLift
This Free SWOT Matrix template hosts the classic SWOT box with a modern twist on it. The box on the left includes four small boxes denoting the four factors. The template uses a color gradient that is soothing to the eyes and comfortable to look at. With ample text space on the right, you can give a detailed account of your identified SWOTs.
Source: SlideUpLift
This Free editable SWOT analysis template uses a simple yet attractive color scheme of white on blue that accentuates the template’s minimalistic and clean look. The template uses different icons to denote the four factors, with ample writing space to give a detailed account of your SWOT analysis.
What’s The Easiest Way To Start A SWOT Analysis?
By now, I hope it’s clear to you that SWOT analysis is a critical marketing tool. Especially, when it comes to creating a business plan or launching a new product, there is no other tool like SWOT analysis. I bet, the main question that you are facing now is how to do SWOT analysis or what’s the easiest way to start SWOT analysis templates. Yes, if you are learning it for the first time, you may find it difficult. But trust me, once you get to know it, creating SWOT analysis templates is as simple as that,
Below we have narrated how to do SWOT analysis templates in detail:
1. Pick Out The Objective Of Building Your SWOT Analysis Templates
Kickstart your SWOT analysis by identifying an objective. This is the initial step that you should never ignore. For example, if you are having a healthcare organization, then you can use SWOT analysis healthcare templates to start your target SWOT analysis.
2. Conduct A Deep Research Of Your Business, Market, And Industry
As you know SWOT analysis involves deep industry, business, and market research, running such type of in-depth research is a must. So before you begin, understand what your business is focusing upon. Under which industry, does it belong.
If possible, explore the annual reports or speak to industry leaders. Also, find out who your nearest .competitors are. In this way, not only you will do market research but also a competitive analysis.
3. Pinpoint The Strengths
SWOT analysis templates begin with identifying the strengths. For example, if it’s a business, list the merits related to the business location, competitiveness, internal resources, financial capabilities, and employee skills. SWOT analysis strength examples are easier to find and place in the SWOT analysis templates.
4. List Down The Weaknesses
This is the area where you will have to input the demerits of your business. Some examples of weaknesses in a SWOT analysis are cost issues, competition, lack of innovation, low market share, and skill gap.
Remember that pointing out Weaknesses is not exactly highlighting the negative aspects. Rather you can note down the business gaps in a potentially opportunistic way.
5. Highlight The Potential Opportunities
The opportunities for a business are not fully the strengths but it’s a roadway towards the strengths. However, as you have to achieve them till now, the tone while writing these should not be definite. The SWOT analysis opportunities examples may include the following:
- New customer behaviors
- Launching new services or products
- Growing market share
- New technology,
- Government regulations
6. Jot Down The Potential Threats
The last thing you have to take care of in SWOT analysis templates is the Threats. Threats are basically those factors that could act as hindrances to your business. They are not really the disadvantages but may affect the business health in the long term. Some SWOT analysis threats examples are supply, weather, socio-political factors, market entrants, competition, approvals, prices, etc.
7. Establish Your Business Priorities From The SWOT Analysis
When you complete the above steps, you will get complete ideas about how your business is going and what are the potential threats of your business. In addition, when you use the SWOT Analysis Templates, your search and analysis work becomes streamlined.
SWOT Analysis templates give you the exact ideas about fault chances. And your overall business running process will go to be better. You are getting a more clear idea about the business’s future potential.
8. Develop The SWOT Strategy To Address Future Issues
When you are pretty well aware of future threats, you can more easily point out the issues. When you are starting to use the SWOT Analysis Templates, you can more easily understand the future threats of your business process. And everyone knows the situation of the organizations and the market.
If you are well aware of the upcoming challenges, you can more easily address the future threats and the probability. You can minimize future weaknesses by simply identifying the threats and the problems. All these are possible when you are starting to use the SWOT Analysis Templates.
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
1. Is There A SWOT Template In Word?
Ans: Yes, a SWOT template can be created in Microsoft word. SWOT Analysis is a business tool aimed at long-term planning. Creating a SWOT Analysis Template is easy and there are both pros and cons for the same.
2. How Do You Do A SWOT Analysis Template?
Ans: To create a SWOT Analysis Template, follow the below instructions:
- Plan a powerful strategy and analyze.
- Create a grid and divide it into 4 equal squares.
- Label each box. Write Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
- Finally, draw conclusions and analyze the diagram.
3. Is There A SWOT Analysis Template In Excel?
Ans: Yes, there is a SWOT analysis template in Excel. You get the simplicity of a SWOT matrix with the functionality of Excel.
4. What Is A SWOT Template?
Ans: SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
5. What Is A SWOT Analysis Worksheet?
Ans: A SWOT analysis could help you distinguish unique strategies to implement to enhance your business.
6. Why Is SWOT Important In Marketing?
In marketing, the necessity of doing a SWOT analysis is to create a well-planned business strategy for refining its strengths. Furthermore, it facilitates a business in developing a positive image by rooting out the weaknesses and threats.
The Final Thoughts
You can see how the SWOT analysis tools can help your business. And flourish your business from every angle. This is not all if you like to save your business from future threats then using these templates is going to be your ultimate solution.
Free Swot Analysis templates are worth considering at present. The above listed is the best information to your question about the Swot Analysis template and if you come across any issues regarding the same, please don’t hesitate to mention them in the comment section below!
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