SWOT Analysis and Strategic Objectives

You will conduct a SWOT analysis on your project SBU. The most important part of this process is to provide quality - managerially useful information. The Strengths and Weakness parts of a SWOT are inward looking. A SWOT should include an analysis of external considerations of Opportunities and Threats which you will need to justify by relevant sources.

Your SWOT needs to help identify and protect competitive advantages. A SWOT analysis should also lead to strategic recommendations such as: how to turn weaknesses into strengths, how to react to threats, and how to pursue opportunities.

Your first task is to identify the SWOT factors (refer to Exhibit 4.4 for a potential list of SWOT issues). Provide a brief statement with citations to relevant sources for each of the times below.

Evaluate the TWO most important factors for the SWOT areas below.

1. Strengths

Strength 1:

Strength 2:

1. Justify how these strengths enable the firm to meet customers' needs.

1. Justify how these strengths differentiate the firm from its competitors.

2. Weaknesses

Weakness 1:

Weakness 2:

1. Justify how these weaknesses prevent the firm from meeting customers' needs.

1. Justify how these weaknesses negatively differentiate the firm from its competitors.

3. Opportunities (external situations independent of the firm-not strategic options)

Opportunity 1:

Opportunity 2:

1. Justify how these opportunities are related to serving customers' needs.

1. Determine the time horizon of each opportunity.

4. Threats (external situations independent of the firm)

Threat 1:

Threat 2:

1. Justify how these threats are related to serving customers' needs.

1. Determine the time horizon of each threat.

1. The SWOT Matrix (refer to Exhibit 4.5 and Exhibit 4.6)

Place the SWOT items above and any others you have identified into the matrix below.

Strengths:	Opportunities:
Weaknesses:	Threats:

1. Developing Competitive Advantages (refer to Exhibit 4.7)

1. Describe ways that the firm can match its strengths to its opportunities to create capabilities in serving customers' needs.

1. Determine if the firm can convert its weaknesses into strengths or its threats into opportunities. If not, identify how the firm can minimize or avoid its weaknesses and threats.

1. Developing a Strategic Focus

1. Identify theoverall strategic focus of the marketing plan.
   1. Does the strategic focus follow any particular direction, such as aggressiveness, diversification, turnaround, defensiveness, or niche marketing?

V. Marketing Goals and Objectives

Given your analysis above, identify two of marketing goals and the objectives that need to be reached to achieve the goal. Justify each marketing goal to your analysis.

Complete both Goals A and B below.

Marketing Goal A:

(Should be broad, motivational, and somewhat vague)

Objective A1:(Must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame for completion, and identify the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)

Objective A2:(Must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame for completion, and identify the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)

Marketing Goal B:

(Should be broad, motivational, and somewhat vague)

Objective B1: (Must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame for completion, and identify the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)

Objective B2: (Must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame for completion, and identify the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)

(In a strategic plan, this can be repeated as needed to develop a complete list of goals and objectives. However, having a few goals and two or three objectives is advisable to greatly reduce the complexity of the marketing strategy.)