SWOT Analysis is a very simple yet effective business analysis tool. When we look at the SWOT, actually we define Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a company or a project. The basic aim of doing SWOT Analyses of a company is to closely analyze how its operations are aligned with the overall objectives. The main question you should answer is the key factors that are called under the SWO Analysis Opportunities.
Before starting the SWOT Opportunities, I would like you to check out the topics I have previously discussed in detail i.e. SWOT Strengths, and Weaknesses. In this article, we will understand what are the Opportunities in SWOT Analysis, its importance with examples.
Table of Contents
What is SWOT Analysis Opportunities
Opportunities mean different situations and chances for positive things to happen, but if you are able to take advantage of it.
The chances, a company is looking forward to grab, are external or outside of the organization. One should have a bird-eye view to what might happen in the coming time. Please keep in mind that you cannot create the opportunities but you can find it obviously. They might be in the technology you are currently using or in the market you are serving.
Look for all those opportunities which you can spot and grab immediately. It is not mandatory that these opportunities are turned to be a game-changer for you but it can give an edge over your competitors.
Why Opportunities are Important
Opportunities can impact your business from not noticeable to a game-changer. Businesses can grow to the extent they grab and capitalize on the opportunities in the external environment. Any opportunity is equally important for leaders and entrepreneurs because such people are important to those people they lead.
Examples of Opportunities in SWOT Analysis
In this section of the article, we will discuss some great examples of opportunities that you might face when conducting swot analysis.
Low Competition
For the Companies that have low competition in the area is considered a great opportunity to capitalize. For example, if you are running a restaurant in a certain area where you have no or low competition, you can easily capitalize on the situation by increasing the price to a certain level. To take advantage of low competition, you can add new recipes and increase the items on the menu.
If there a strong competition in the area customers will have more options in terms of price, quality and choice which might affect your business growth and performance.
Expansion
Business expansion is a strategy in which business owners grow their businesses by increasing number of stores and sell more products or services. By any means, expansion is considered a great opportunity for owners and entrepreneurs.
According to Ansoff Matrix, there are different growth strategies for business growth and expansion. You must be familiar with the big names of Google, Apple, and Coca-Cola. When started, no one was familiar with these companies, over the time they expanded their product and services in the different categories worldwide.
Online Shopping
If you are not a part of online business then you are missing you chunk from the trillions dollar industry. For any business, being available online is need of the time. Everyone around us wants to buy online due lack of time, availability of internet and gadgets in hand have made it easier. Amazon.com is a good example of an online business store since 1995.
suppose, you are a local business owner or entrepreneur, you can still grab the opportunity of online shopping by using social media platforms to reach out to the locality.
Strategic Alliance
A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more companies to grab an opportunity while remain independent organizations. The strategic deal between Starbucks and Barnes&Noble is a great example of strategic alliance of a coffee shop and a bookseller. This alliance helped the books store to survive as a Brick and Mortar bookstore in this digital age.
This type of alliance is also good on a smaller scale. If a local coffee shop alliance with an old book store can expand their growth in the market.
Sports Events
Sport has the capability of captivating due to its unscripted and unpredictable ending. Because of this, sports events are always attracting energy drink and sports companies to advertise and sponsor athletes. Companies like Nike, Adidas, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, ESPN participate in leading sports events globally.
If you are running a local beverage company, bakery, Real Estate or Rent-A-Car Company, you can also participate in a local sports evet. Being a sports lover, a company can organize the whole sports event and advertise its brand to the masses.
Emerging Markets
Emerging markets also (emerging economies) are those markets having some of the characteristics of developed markets. When any company wants to expand its operations in the emerging markets, it should ry to understand customers’ culture, psychology, and expectations in the emerging markets.
Conclusion
When working on SWOT Analysis Opportunities, the above factors are not the only factors in swot analysis and these can vary from industry to industry. Being positive in nature, opportunities are external factors and available to everyone. It is important to carefully identify these factors in your own and others organizations and capitalize them if you want to have a competitive edge.
Image by Gerd Altmann