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SWOT Analysis Strategy Template on Microsoft Excel
The first time I heard about the SWOT Analysis Strategy template, I found it really interesting and cool, which it clearly is. It gives us this information about a certain person, company, or business without having to invade their privacy.
This particular method is not only used in personal life, but it’s very well established in the official and business scene due to its amazing comprehensive analysis of a required attribute aspect, a trait, a branch, or maybe even a whole company.
To make a sound strategy, SWOT Analysis Strategy Template is the perfect tool you can use. And this is exactly why we made this simple yet practical strategic template for you.
What SWOT Analysis stands for and Why it is so Beneficial?
The four components of SWOT are:
Internal Factors:
Strengths- The aspects in which an organization excel at are its strength. These aspects, or talents, are what make this certain organization stand out from its competitors. These talents are unique and are only associated with that organization.
Weaknesses- The areas in which that particular organization’s performance falls short, which have a direct impact on it are the weaknesses.
External Factors
Opportunities- The favorable environment an organization gets. Opportunities are completely external; an organization has no control over them. These favorable factors give that organization an advantage over its competition.
Threats-These are the external factors that have a potentially detrimental impact on an organization if not dealt with properly. They could potentially harm that organization to an extent.
If done properly, SWOT analysis can lay down an organization’s core strengths and weaknesses, even mentally prepare that organization’s employees to face the possible threats and readily accept the opportunities presented to them which otherwise would not be highlighted. It captures the characteristics one is unaware of.
What This Spreadsheet Template offers
Now coming to this particular template, we created it specifically for organizations that are focusing on fool proofing their strategies. This template focuses on the internal factors, but it gives more elaborate space to the external factors and the effects these internal factors have on the organization.
This template may be used for personal evaluation, but it is much more suited in an official space, as it focuses on strategy as retaliation to the external factors more than it focuses on strengths and weaknesses.
Despite being very close in design to the traditional spreadsheet, this spreadsheet does not have the original square shape with 4 boxes. Instead, it has a section devoted to “Internal Factors” which include “Strengths” and “Weaknesses”, and a section devoted to the “External Factors”, which does not only have “Opportunities” and “Threats” but a large space for elaborate strategic planning. So if you want to emphasize a certain action, and evaluate a certain process on the basis of the external factors you have. This template is the perfect one for you. In addition to that, its minimalistic design allows its customization in accordance with your likes and dislikes. And the best part is,
it is completely free. So download the SWOT Analysis Strategy Template for yourself right now!
Basic SWOT Analysis Matrix Template on Microsoft Excel
Imagine you are starting a business, you don’t know where to initiate or what your goals are but you are looking forward to it, you just need a kick start. To get that kick start we have presented you with a particular planning template that you would need to get this show on the road; a SWOT analysis template!
Planning templates are great, they are simple, easy to understand, and easy to use. They make your life, business, and/or work so much more organized. And all these templates available here are completely free, who doesn’t enjoy free stuff?
Before we get into the template, let us know a bit more about SWOT analysis, what it is, what it stands for, and what it’s used for.
What is SWOT Analysis?
The SWOT analysis is an extremely smart, yet important technique used in either personal or work-related decision making and understanding. It is a powerful tool that helps you devise a strategy for either your own self or your life, a new business you are starting, or as a guide for a company you work in.
To put it in a few words, SWOT analysis is the perfect tool for you to “Identify your Strengths and Weaknesses, and to prepare for the Threats and Opportunities that come your way”, both in professional and personal environments.
What SWOT Stands For?
As stated above, SWOT analysis stands for
S- Strengths
W-Weaknesses
O-Opportunities
T-Threats
Even though this technique is suitable for any circumstance, it is mostly officially used in business scenarios. I will go through each of these ones by one.
Strengths and Weaknesses- these two are the internal factors that you or your company depends on. These are the factors that you can personally control. For example, the people that work for you, your equipment, your property, etc.
On the other hand, Opportunities and Threats- are the external conditions you get, these factors are completely out of your control. They are going outside of your company and the least you can do is adapt to them. Adaptation could be in the form of you taking advantage of the external factors and working in accordance with the type of opportunities or threats you get, but you cannot change them whatsoever.
SWOT analysis templates are very essential in a business environment hence are very much in demand. A simple SWOT analysis template would consist of four squares with the labels “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities”, and “Threats”.
This particular template provides you with exactly that, in addition to a few very useful design qualities.
This Basic SWOT analysis matrix template is very simple and minimalistic, there are no complex spaces and features that make it hard to use. It is a four-quadrant table that is labeled with the SWOT components. Each quadrant has about 20 rows you can use to list down the particular SWOT component. Since the template is so simple, it can easily be customized according to the users’ needs and tastes.
SWOT Analysis (also known as SWOT Matrix) is a technique used in strategic planning. It is used to analyze a certain person, or organization’s performance, strategy, planning, and potential. In other words, it is a self-evaluation tool. It helps you develop a foolproof start-up technique for either a new business or a new project.
And to make this easier, we have provided you with multiple strategy templates. But this one is, without any doubt, more eye-catching. And the best part is, it is completely free! So keep on reading to know more details, and information about this handy template.
Introduction to SWOT Analysis Template
As stated above, a SWOT analysis, in simple words, is a self-evaluation plan. This self-evaluation plan consists of four components. The reason SWOT analysis is called SWOT Matrix is that its traditional pattern is a four-box diagram that includes all four of its components. The four components being the following:
Strengths- This specifies an organization’s skills and talents that depend on its quality of employment. These are the “Trump cards” of an organization and they give that certain organization advantage over its competitors.
Weaknesses- The potential deficiency in an organization is its weakness, an organization can have more than one weakness. These weaknesses are, in most cases, unfavorable, and cause that certain organization a set of disadvantages.
Opportunities- These specify the chances an organization gets from its environment that it can exploit to its own advantage. These include the current viral trends or any new product according to the mass demand.
Threats- These are the more unfavorable for an organization. Threats are the obstacles an organization faces, in other words, threats are the external factors that weaken the internal structure of an organization. It is up to the organization to deal with them in the most efficient way possible, if it fails to do that, it may cause complications.
These four components of SWOT Analysis are divided into 2 categories.
Internal Factors- The internal factors include “Strengths” and “Weaknesses”. These are the two components that a company has complete control over. They depend on an organization’s objectives and the way an organization works internally. It can be held responsible for the internal factors.
External Factors-The external factors include “Opportunities” and “Threats”. These are the two components of SWOT analysis that a company has no control over, they depend completely on their external environment. The only way a company can deal with them is to plan strategically. And this template we have linked here makes that strategic planning easier for you.
The bright, colorful, eye-catching layout of this template is not your conventional SWOT Analysis template. It can be used for an official presentation or a school presentation. This layout is bold as is not in the traditional square matrix shape. It helps you focus on one component at a time, and gives you more areas for customization. The colors can be adjusted to your taste. The best part is, it is absolutely free!
There are so many successful companies in this world that have attained their success partially by the use of SWOT Analysis. However, this is not the sole reason these companies are so successful, they not only keep track of their own particular internal and external factors that influence them, and they also keep a close eye on their competitor companies and the factors that cause deviation in their strengths and weaknesses.
There is a saying that goes something like “Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. At first glance, this may not exactly be appropriate for this particular case, but if you look at it closely, it makes perfect sense. The better you know your competitors, the better strategy you can formulate for you own success by keeping them, their products, and their plans in regard.
To do that, you need a perfectly balanced method, and that is where the SWOT competitor analysis comes in. Instead of keeping an unorganized track of your competitor, you need an established technique, and SWOT competitor analysis is perfect for that.
And to get you started, we have a perfect template for you. But before I get to the template, we are going to go into detail about SWOT analysis in general, and in particular, its relationship with your competitor.
As stated before, the better you know your competitors, the better you can work against them. And it’s so much more accurate if you use SWOT analysis to evaluate them. A SWOT analysis consists of all the components you require for a solid evaluation. You can assess your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, and compare their external factors to your own.
This template lets you do a comparison of your own company with its competitors by staying in the framework/ technique used by a simple SWOT Analysis. This makes the analysis much more reliable and understandable.
This Microsoft Excel spreadsheet template offers a minimalistic design and a competitor index, with the option to list down more than one competitor. It also has two separate boxes for external and internal factors that take in the consideration of you competitor companies as well. It is perfect for your official use, and it is completely free!
