<p>SWOT analysis Thinking about the purpose of your business, ask any questions you see fit and list your answers in the template below. Identify matters of importance, appropriate to your situation. Generally, internal factors are strengths and weaknesses, and external factors are opportunities and threats. Thought starters: Strengths Weaknesses Cash flow difficulties. Company culture. Insufficient or weak financial informa- People - experience, know-how. tion. Leadership and management. Missing skills and/or systems. Philosophy and values. Under or over resourcing. Internal abilities and capacity. Poor team or key individual perfor- Information and communication tech- mance. nologies, operating systems. Key people left or leaving. Advantages over competitors. Risks, distractions, disruptions. IP, novelty, innovation. Stock levels. Physical location and area covered. Lack competitors’ resources. Pricing strategies, value for money. Poor brand awareness or reputation. Standard of work. Time/cost/quality pressures. Marketing – point of difference, well- Stakeholder pressures. known, widely known, distributor rela- Lack of reliable supply, supply chain. tionships. Lack of focus on core activities. Loyalty of customer community. Compliance, barriers to entry. Capital, future income, plant, materials. A lack of contracts and partners. Insufficient expert advice.</p><p>Opportunities Threats Technology and innovation. Customer changes e.g.: attitudinal or New products, new pricing models. generational. New business. Competitor innovation. New point of difference. Disruptive technologies. Changes in the market. Shrinking demand. Trends - customer, industry. Fashion trends. Untapped markets. Environmental challenges. Target market segments. Change to supplier base. Offshore markets. Economy – domestic, international. International impacts. Seasonal lows or climatic effects. Competitors’ weak points. Political changes. Joint partnerships, licensing, franchis- Law changes. ing, distribution. Exchange rate. Operational efficiencies. Funding drying up. Market shift, e.g., margins.</p>