SWOT Profile - Threats

The fourth area to consider in producing a SWOT profile for your business is the threats to your survival as a company. Strengths and weaknesses are focused on the internal aspects of your endeavor, while opportunities and threats look at the external influences.

As you consider potential threats, think about how difficult it has been for you to acquire customers. Losing them is a major threat to your survival. Are you providing the services your clients expect, or exceeding them? Are uncontrollable costs pricing you out of the market, and costing you customers? Has your product line become obsolete?

Threats can come from many directions - new products brought to market by competitors, consumers reacting to new technology for receiving advertising messages (texting, for example), employees trying to undermine your business without your knowledge, or something as simple (and complex at the same time) as major road construction limiting the ability of clients to reach your location.

The key to identifying potential threats to your business is that, in doing so, you can also identify the solutions to the problems each of these threats pose to your survival. It's better to know what can prevent the fire rather than try to fight it when it breaks out. This is also an opportunity to bring in professional help to counsel you and your team on what threats there may be, and how you can respond to them effectively.

SWOT Profile - Opportunities

Once you have evaluated your company from an internal perspective, you need to assess what kind of an impact the external environment might have on your business venture. The opportunities and threats sides of the SWOT profile are meant to do that.

Considering opportunities is your chance to think outside of the box. Take the time to stop and think for a few minutes about your business, products, and services.

Is there a niche your product could fill that you haven't thought of yet? We might think that our Fluidity feasibility studies are meant for industrial or commercial business endeavors, but when we take a few minutes to think of the possibilities, new avenues open. We could also assist businesses in the hospitality industry contemplating opening new tourist attractions. With the right approach, it could be a beneficial program for every business we're able to help.

Do you have opportunities in new markets? Have you reached saturation in your target market, or are there variations in that demographic you've over-looked? Have you considered ways to reduce overhead while increasing your profit margins? Weighed the pros and cons of raising prices? Is there an advertising media that could work better for you in terms of generating results?

There's a saying that you, at times, can't see the forest because of the trees. Our interpretation of what that means is that you are often so close to the action, and so embroiled in working "in" your business that you don't have time to think or work "on" your business.

There are times when having a 3rd party look at your systems that you can come up with simple solutions that save time and money. We helped one client that was preparing a new proposal from scratch every time create a master proposal that only required changing numbers and deleting items that weren't needed. It was easy to update pricing and virtually any member of the staff could crank out a proposal within minutes.

If you wait for opportunity to knock, it may ring the doorbell. Don't leave your business success to chance, plan for it!

SWOT Profile - Weaknesses

When you draw up a SWOT profile for your business, the strengths and weaknesses are focused more on the internal workings of your business, while the opportunities and threats are directed toward the external influences.

Since we've covered your business strengths in an earlier blog, this one is more about the weaknesses in your business. Identifying weaknesses is often the most difficult aspect of compiling a SWOT profile because it requires that you be open and honest with yourself about your business venture.

If you are having cash flow problems, for instance, you need to take a hard and sometimes painful look at what might be causing the problem. Are you having a hard time collecting from your customres? Are those receivables beyond the 60 day range? Perhaps expenses are running higher than you've budgeted, too. These could be bare spots in your business landscaping that need to be re-worked, seeded again, and nurtured back to health.

Other potential weaknesses could be in your sales force, management, or other personnel areas. Again, while you may want to avoid dealing with an issue if it involves your employees, it's important to do an honest assessment. Banks want to know your management team is capable of making tough decisions, and sticking with them. Consider how consistent your sales force is in reaching its monthly objectives. Does someone need to be let go? Do you need more representatives or larger territories? Evaluate your management team in terms of whether every member is pulling his or her weight, or needs a re-orientation or additional training. Include yourself in the evaluation.

Remember, your people are the front line with your customers. Does your business have curb appeal? Could your overall customer satisfaction ratings be improved? How well do you know your customers? You may have marketing myopia and be missing a fabulous opportunity to grow your business. Don't leave it to chance, plan for it!

Other areas to consider: How is your location? Is it easy for consumers to find you, either in person or online? Are your products obsolete? Do your services need to be updated?

It's healthy to step back occasionally, assess your weaknesses, and take steps to make those weaknesses strengths. Napoleon Hill wrote that you should concentrate on your strengths and hire your weaknesses. We're able to help with both.

SWOT Profile - Strengths

One of the steps in developing or updating your business plan is analyzing the business through a SWOT profile. SWOT stands for Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats.

When Fluidity looks at the strengths of your business, it's important to consider what makes it stand out from the competition. How is your business different?

Evaluating strengths weighs such elements of your business landscape as location, product or service, reputation, management passion, market position, uniqueness, and consumer acceptance. Let's dig deeper.

Why does one franchise restaurant do better than two others in the same community? If it has gained the position as a neighborhood gathering place, that could be the deciding factor. Ease of access to your location can be critical to your customers, including ease of access to your website. A site that is optimized for search engines can also be a strength.

Obviously, the product or service you offer to consumers should be a strength. If there is a demand from consumers and your company supplies the product or service most apt to meet that demand, you should reap the benefits and remain strong.

In a similar vein, if you fall short of meeting the expectations of consumers, your reputation can be tarnished. You lose credibility and watch your profits slowly ebb. Reputation is key, for without customers, you will find it difficult to survive.

Addressing both the unique nature of your business and the position you have in the marketplace comes back to the number one immutable law of marketing. Own the niche! When you have to sneeze, do you ask for a facial tissue - or for a Kleenex? There are competitors, but it's clear who owns the niche for facial tissue.

Last point, among many, in evaluating the strength of your business is the passion of management, especially you - the owner and entrepreneur. Your desire to make the company succeed is paramount to achieving your dreams. That passion drives everything you do and is conveyed to employees, consumers, and the public at large. It must be a strength!

Next installment - Weaknesses.

Landscaping Your Business For Success

As we consider what we can deliver to business owners and entrepreneurs as business development experts, the concept of business landscaping comes up.

What we're talking about is creating the proper scenario for your business to be successful, profitable, and rewarding for you. Think of your home. Your yard should be a destination for you to enjoy the outside of your property as much as the inside. Landscaping that fits your lifestyle should be part of the plan for where you live.

When it comes to your business, the same concept applies. Where your business is located can be a key factor in whether it thrives or barely survives. How it is positioned in the marketplace determines profitability and longevity. Effective marketing drives customer satisfaction, sales, and enhances the bottom line. If landscaped correctly, your business can be a source of great enjoyment, much like your home.

We thrive on helping entrepreneurs and business owners create the right landscape to be successful in business, whatever stage their business happens to be in.