Thanks for joining us on today’s episode where we discuss the advantages of using a good, old-fashioned SWOT analysis when developing a business or marketing strategy.

We are Christina and Peter Pilarski, founders and leaders of CIPR Communications.

Many people regard the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) as an old school business planning tool that doesn’t have much relevance today. This could not be further from the truth. In the digital world, with so much data at our fingertips, we have the ability to take a SWOT analysis so much further than ever before, which helps us to create and refine a more powerful digital marketing strategy.

SWOT and your UVP

In doing your SWOT analysis, with a particular focus on your strengths and opportunities, you get a chance to define your unique value proposition (UVP) more clearly. Your UVP, in turn, will inform your marketing strategy, from the specifics of your target market to your language and web design.

SWOT and competitive analysis

One of the services we offer is a complete competitive analysis. Competitive analysis relates specifically to the opportunities and threats part of the SWOT analysis. It enables us to take a look at where you stand in terms of your online presence compared to your main competitors. With all the data at our disposal, we can get an extremely accurate picture of what opportunities and threats you currently face in your online competitiveness, which helps us work out what tactics we should focus on as we develop a plan to build your digital marketing strategy.

As outdated as it may seem, a SWOT analysis is a tried-and-tested planning tool that can still be applied to many areas of your business, and one that is always beneficial when starting on a digital marketing plan.