Opportunities is one of four SWOT factors which focused on the external factor. It is a factor that look into position influences to the business, market and customer base. The challenge is for you to able to identify them and take advantage of it for the growth of you Internet Business.

In the Internet environment, you could have realized that big announcement of some Internet or even IT players about their big plan in the internet business. Those infrastructure related news about upgrading of Internet access, Mobile Internet like 3G, Palm top computing gadgets like iPad etc. If you take all these merely as a business news, then you have missed the golden opportunities to your internet business. On the other hand, if you take the time to evaluate them, you may be able to discover a venue for your business expansion. Below are some examples of an opportunities in Internet Business:-

The above examples seems to be a product related launches in the market place, how do you take it as an opportunities for your Internet Business? Well, it really take a while for you to able to identify what is happening around you and make a judgment how you can make use of them to growth your Internet Business. If you are able to formulate this possibilities, then it become an opportunities in the SWOT.

You can read the Threats of SWOT here

SWOT Threats in Internet Business

If you operate your internet business for a living and rely heavily on Search Engine Optimization to get traffic from it, then one of the most detrimental event in an Internet Business is the Threat that result in lost of website ranking from Page #1 to nowhere.

If you website listing move within page #1, you may still can relax and work on it to maintain its position. You may enhance your content, do more link building etc. In many cases, your website or blog may move out from page #1 and landed in say page 2, you still have chance to move it back.

SWOT Threats

The worst SWOT Threats is that your website or blog just went missing, When this happen, it is likely that your website or blog being penalized by the search engine. Then you have lesser chance to bring it back to page #1 provided you are willing to put up alot of work. However, it is not as easy when you could not find your website of blog within the 10 pages.

But the worst detrimental SWOT Threat in Internet Business is some technical error to your website or blog. Example, something wrong with your hosting company where the server operate your website or blog caught fire or harddisk crashed until all data in the server is not recoverable. Though hosting company supposed to have back up but nobody can guarantee that.

There is nothing more than damaging than your internet business income drop to zero due to your website is our of action due to various known and unknown threats. In the SWOT Analysis template, it is a four quadrant matrix in which the four factor of SWOT occupied each quadrant separately. For the purpose of illustrating the SWOT Threats, I have listed the threats in internet business in the 4th quadrant as shown below:-

In conclusion, SWOT Threats has the most negative impact to your Internet Business and therefore it should be taken seriously whenever you discover it. to help you to identify SWOT Threats, check out from SWOT Example here

The ideal is if you can total prevent it, otherwise, try to mitigate SWOT threats to the least impact to your Internet Business.

SWOT Strengths

SWOT Strengths is one of the key Internal SWOT factors. It is one of the four quadrant in the SWOT Analysis template. It is quite easy to identify strengths within your organization, business or even operation. As this is the internal factors, you should focus on those you really in control. Below are some examples:-

1. Financial independent with no borrowing
2. Widely spread distribution network all over the world
3. Many product model range from high end to low cost product
4. Knowledgeable and experienced senior workforce
5. Almost zero employee turnover
6. Readily available stork for immediate delivery
7. Benchmark Starbucks Practices

All the above a good example of strengths within your organization or operations. Without them, you are likely run into product backlog, late delivery to customer etc.

In a SWOT Strength; A Strength itself is not a Strength

You may not agree with me but think deep enough with some of the SWOT strengths listed above. It is indeed a strength by itself, h

owever, it is not really a strength when you relate that with your competitor. Take for an example of a typical SWOT Strengths:

“Financially independent ( No borrowing )”

This statement indicate that the organization is strong in financial and perhaps uses it own funding to run the business ended with no borrowing. Let examine this “strength” with an another perspective for the sake of discussion.

Assume that you have lots of fund generated from your profit. As such, you use the extra fund to pay off your creditor fast, and at the same time use case to make purchase maybe to an extend your do not have creditors. There are two points of view with this approach:-

1)   It is likely you do not invest further for the future because you do not borrow money. therefore, your growth in business is somewhat restricted.

2)  Since you used up your cash to make purchases, your do not have enough reserve (assume) for emergencies, crisis, or opportunity to buy cheap investment .

What is this SWOT Strengths got to do with the competitor?

Sure it does, you assume it is a strength as opposed to your competitor who do have borrowings,  but your competitor’s cash management is well ahead of you in terms of using the cash for reinvestment into business expansion, buying modern machinery. If your competitor

really use the borrowing for these purpose, they are well prepared than you to capture extra business when economy turn around.

Therefore, to examine the SWOT Strengths further, I your can turn around as reclassified the statement as ” not using extra cash for reinvestment” or “poor cash management” .  Once you have reclassified it, then it becomes a “Weakness”  .  See more example of SWOT Weaknesses to recognize some of the SWOT Strengths

SWOT Weaknesses

When you deal with the SWOT Factors in the SWOT Analysis Template, be sure to list as many of the SWOT weaknesses as possible. do not attempt to filter any of them at this stage. The key benefits to list them all is for you to have a second to evaluate your own weaknesses and its relevant impact to your business or operation. Below are normal listing of SWOT weaknesses:-

1. poor quality
2. high inventory
3. low productivity
4. slow worker
5. long waiting time for truck
6. Take long time or cannot find goods in the warehouse
7. Broken packaging
8. obsolete stock piled up
9. customer complaints
10. overdue collection
11. cannot fulfill customer order lead time
12. Poor performance of distributors
13. Management Styles

How to find SWOT Weaknesses?

Normally, you involve other department staffs to brainstorm ideas of SWOT Weaknesses. And by looking at the list of weaknesses above, it is not difficult to guess which department raised the weaknesses. Then you ended up a long list of weaknesses by which you are not able to deal with them effectively.

Keep in mind that in SWOT Analysis Template, it is used to help you to identify those important and urgent list of SWOT weaknesses such that you handle them soon enough to make your business or operation more effectively. With this in mind, the template provided should be well understood by all those involved in the brainstorming.

You may have notice that the list are those obvious SWOT weaknesses. How about those non obvious types? How are you to identify them? to do that, you need someone who are not directly involved in the operation to help you to trigger your thoughts. This person should be knowledge int he SWOT Analysis Template and good in facilitating brainstorming in a Strategic Planning session.

Example of SWOT Weaknesses:-

1) Next working day delivery of goods is identified as a strength

Indeed it is a strength, however, if you develop interrelationship with other factors, you should be able to draw out the reason for able to deliver the goods next working day. Assuming is done with the help of inventory in the warehouse, then you should ask why there is inventory waiting for delivery?  What happen when there is no order from the customer? Then the inventory will sit there and cost higher in stock holding.

Keeping full inventory is one good marketing strategy to shorten the delivery lead time. Therefore, it is always taken as a strength. However, if you competitor is able to do the same delivery but without inventory, then this item become a Weaknesses in SWOT. Because, the rule is to compare your capability with your competitor.

So, beware that a Strength internally, may be a SWOT Weaknesses when made comparison with competitor.

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My name is Dr. Frederick -PhD.

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