SWOT Summary

Once you’ve completed your SWOT analysis, you can use it to help you choose a strategic direction for your business by comparing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats you’ve identified. There are four SWOT strategies:

S–O: Exploit your internal strengths to maximise your external opportunities.

W–O: Minimise your internal weaknesses by exploiting your external opportunities.

S–T: Exploit your internal strengths to minimise your external threats.

W–T: Minimise your internal weaknesses and evade external threats.

If your SWOT analysis has suggested a course of action, write down the strategy in the chosen strategy box and detail how you can put it into action. You can then make a list of the critical factors for the strategy’s success in the next box. If you’re planning on showing your business plan to others, this section will show them you’re using long-term strategic thinking in your business rather than just focusing on the day-to-day operational issues. However, you can also keep returning to this section as a living document to update it and help you take stock of where your business should be going.