Tilda Publishing
Management
How to Turn SWOT Analysis into Your Secret Weapon Against Competitors
What if I told you the SWOT analysis could be your secret weapon against competitors, even if you think you already know their every move? That’s exactly what I discovered—after years of underestimating this powerful tool.
I first became familiar with SWOT analysis about 15 years ago during various certification programs. At the time, I didn't see much value in using it for our business. We thought we had a clear understanding of our competitors and market position, so if the SWOT analysis didn’t reveal anything new, why bother?
However, an acquaintance inspired me to question this thinking. They said something that shifted my entire perspective: “You don’t need all your competitors for an analysis. Take just one—the most basic one—and compare every aspect of your business.”
That one suggestion led me to rethink my entire approach. Instead of trying to cover too much ground, I realized that deep-diving into one competitor through SWOT could surface insights we’d overlooked. Now, I consider SWOT analysis a fundamental tool for strategic planning. Here’s why—and how you can use it to get an edge over your competitors.
I first became familiar with SWOT analysis about 15 years ago during various certification programs. At the time, I didn't see much value in using it for our business. We thought we had a clear understanding of our competitors and market position, so if the SWOT analysis didn’t reveal anything new, why bother?
However, an acquaintance inspired me to question this thinking. They said something that shifted my entire perspective: “You don’t need all your competitors for an analysis. Take just one—the most basic one—and compare every aspect of your business.”
That one suggestion led me to rethink my entire approach. Instead of trying to cover too much ground, I realized that deep-diving into one competitor through SWOT could surface insights we’d overlooked. Now, I consider SWOT analysis a fundamental tool for strategic planning. Here’s why—and how you can use it to get an edge over your competitors.
Tool Overview: What Is a SWOT Analysis?
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps businesses assess four key categories in a 2x2 matrix: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Conducting a SWOT session forces you to take a closer look at both internal and external factors that can affect your business.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
Many experts, including the Harvard Business Review, recommend starting the SWOT analysis from the external side first (Opportunities and Threats), to ensure you’re fully aware of the competitive landscape before turning inward. This prevents internal biases from skewing your strategic direction.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Strengths: What does your company excel at compared to your competitors? For example, “Our products are of the highest quality as confirmed by several independent experts.”
- Weaknesses: Where is your company lagging behind? For instance, “Our products are only available in one retail chain, while our competitor is in three.”
- Opportunities: What external opportunities can you capitalize on? Perhaps you have access to untapped markets or unique partnerships, like agreements with universities to hire top talent.
- Threats: What external risks could harm your business? These can be regulatory challenges or industry trends that your competitors might be better positioned to handle.
Many experts, including the Harvard Business Review, recommend starting the SWOT analysis from the external side first (Opportunities and Threats), to ensure you’re fully aware of the competitive landscape before turning inward. This prevents internal biases from skewing your strategic direction.
NOTE: By rethinking the way you use SWOT, you can transform it into a powerful tool that sharpens your strategy and helps your business stay one step ahead of the competition.
The Shift: How Focusing on One Competitor Changes the Game
One of the biggest mistakes I made early on was trying to include too many competitors in our SWOT analysis, leading to vague, surface-level insights. Focusing on a single competitor allows you to go deeper and conduct a more meaningful analysis.
When you choose just one key competitor, you can:
By honing in on one competitor, you can begin to identify nuances in your strengths and weaknesses that might otherwise go unnoticed. Now, here’s how we prepare for and conduct a SWOT session to maximize these insights.
When you choose just one key competitor, you can:
- Analyze every detail: You can examine specific elements like their customer base, pricing strategies, or supply chain efficiencies.
- Avoid distractions: With a narrow focus, you’re not spreading yourself too thin across multiple competitors, which improves the quality of your findings.
By honing in on one competitor, you can begin to identify nuances in your strengths and weaknesses that might otherwise go unnoticed. Now, here’s how we prepare for and conduct a SWOT session to maximize these insights.
Preparing for the SWOT Analysis Session
Conducting a SWOT analysis doesn’t begin when you sit down in a meeting—it begins with thorough preparation. Here’s a process we’ve found highly effective:
- Select One Competitor: Choose a single competitor to focus on. The goal here is depth, not breadth. Concentrating on one competitor allows you to thoroughly evaluate your own position in comparison.
- Assign Focus Areas: Each participant in the analysis should specialize in a different aspect of the business (e.g., marketing, operations, HR). This ensures that each SWOT category is filled with insights from those with hands-on expertise.
- Prepare Insights in Advance: The SWOT session itself should not be the time for analysis—it should be a time for sharing and discussing prepared insights. Ensure that participants come to the table with data, observations, and recommendations.
- Plan for Breaks: SWOT sessions can be mentally taxing, so plan to take breaks about every 45 minutes. This helps to maintain focus and energy throughout the discussion.
Conducting the SWOT Session
Once everyone is prepared, it’s time to gather and share insights. We use Post-Its (physical or digital) to organize our thoughts and facilitate discussion.
Here’s the flow we follow:
Finally, prioritize the next steps using a 2x2 matrix. One axis represents “Assumed Value” and the other “Effort.” This helps you to determine which strategic moves should come first:
Here’s the flow we follow:
- Share Findings: Each participant places their prepared Post-Its on a board (or a virtual tool), explaining their findings as they go.
- Facilitate Discussions: After all findings are shared, facilitate a discussion about strategic alternatives. Look at these key combinations:
- Strengths + Opportunities: How can you leverage your strengths to seize opportunities?
- Weaknesses + Opportunities: What internal improvements are necessary to take advantage of external opportunities?
- Strengths + Threats: Which strengths can you lean on to counter threats?
- Weaknesses + Threats: How can you mitigate weaknesses to avoid future risks?
Finally, prioritize the next steps using a 2x2 matrix. One axis represents “Assumed Value” and the other “Effort.” This helps you to determine which strategic moves should come first:
- High value, low effort: Quick wins—take action here first.
- High value, high effort: Long-term initiatives worth investing in.
- Low value, high effort: Possible resource drains—be cautious.
- Low value, low effort: Potential distractions or pseudo-enhancements.
Applying SWOT Insights to HR (An Example)
Let’s say you’re focused on your HR department. Here’s how a SWOT analysis might play out:
Now, based on these insights, you can decide where to focus your efforts. Do you invest in improving your onboarding process, or should you quickly adjust your remote work policies to stay competitive?
- Strengths: You have a strong talent pipeline due to partnerships with universities.
- Weaknesses: Your onboarding process is slow, leading to higher turnover.
- Opportunities: There's a government incentive for companies offering specialized job training programs.
- Threats: Competitors offer better work-from-home policies, attracting top talent.
Now, based on these insights, you can decide where to focus your efforts. Do you invest in improving your onboarding process, or should you quickly adjust your remote work policies to stay competitive?
Conclusion
SWOT analysis is not just a box-ticking exercise. When used properly, it can reveal hidden opportunities and highlight threats you didn’t realize were on the horizon. The key is preparation, focus, and thoughtful prioritization.
Remember, strategic planning is like chess: even the best players can’t predict every move, but they stay ahead by anticipating and adapting. SWOT analysis won’t give you a perfect roadmap, but it will provide valuable hypotheses and insights that can shape your business strategy.
So here’s my challenge to you: The next time you’re preparing your strategy, don’t skip the SWOT analysis. Pick your top competitor, dive deep, and see what hidden opportunities or threats you might find. You might just uncover the edge you need to outmaneuver the competition.
Remember, strategic planning is like chess: even the best players can’t predict every move, but they stay ahead by anticipating and adapting. SWOT analysis won’t give you a perfect roadmap, but it will provide valuable hypotheses and insights that can shape your business strategy.
So here’s my challenge to you: The next time you’re preparing your strategy, don’t skip the SWOT analysis. Pick your top competitor, dive deep, and see what hidden opportunities or threats you might find. You might just uncover the edge you need to outmaneuver the competition.