Gabbi Gise
Marketing and Business Development Intern
For the past few months, I’ve gone back and forth most days between the theories of the classroom and the demands of professional life. As a senior at Bentley University who is also working as a marketing and business development intern, I’ve seen how the academic and professional worlds complement each other and, more importantly, how the ideas in textbooks play out in the real world.
One technique I first learned about as a freshman—the SWOT analysis—has proven to be immediately relevant to my work as an intern. Established in the 1960s, this tool is designed to help professionals conduct long-term planning by determining and analyzing organizational Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
If it’s been a while since you’ve used SWOT, or especially if it is new to you, it is well worth your time to consider how this simple tool can significantly improve your ability to identify an effective long-term plan of action.
Application
The easiest way to understand SWOT may be to follow the steps of an example analysis. Imagine we want to use SWOT to analyze “Company ABC,” a trendy new business that creates upcycled bags from fabric scraps. Specifically, we want to leverage SWOT to create a long-term plan for how the company can better use social media marketing to drive growth and increase market share. How would we begin?
Start by creating a 4-part grid, as seen here. Label it as shown. Note that the Strengths and Weaknesses sections will focus primarily on internal analysis, while the Opportunities and Threats sections look externally. As you research external trends, be sure to gather information from trustworthy sources to ensure a credible SWOT. Use your findings and critical thinking to then fill in each SWOT section (detailed below). If you don’t feel you have enough information, go back and keep digging!
Strengths
This section asks you to highlight areas where your company thrives. I find this is the best section to start with, because it’s usually the easiest. Though you can complete the grid in a variety of ways, I like to use bullet points to keep my notes organized and easy to read.
Questions to consider:
- What are we most known for doing well?
- Have we been acknowledged for anything specific by an external organization?
- What do we pride ourselves in the most?
- What makes our organization stand out from our competitors?
What this might look like for Company ABC’s SWOT focused on social media marketing:
Weaknesses
This section provides an opportunity to explore areas where there is room for improvement. Although its focus may seem harsh, understanding internal weaknesses is crucial if you are to gain a complete picture for your analysis.
Questions to consider:
- What areas consistently face challenges?
- Is there an area where we could improve our performance?
- Is something holding us back from growing our business?
- What do our competitors do better?
What this might look like for Company ABC’s SWOT focused on social media marketing:
Opportunities
This section asks you to highlight areas for growth. Completing the Weaknesses section first may come in handy when working to create strategies on how to improve. Personally, this is my favorite section, because it’s where you can start creating actionable solutions.
Questions to consider:
- Can we transform a weakness into an opportunity?
- How can we capitalize on new trends and innovations?
- Are there simple steps we can take to improve ourselves?
- What resources do we already have that we can better use?
What this might look like for Company ABC’s SWOT focused on social media marketing:
Threats
Often the most difficult to complete, this section examines external factors that are out of your control and pose a potential threat.
Questions to consider:
- Who are our competitors collaborating with?
- What new and emerging trends within the industry could hurt the company?
- Are there new technologies that could disrupt our current ways of working?
- Are there laws and regulations being created that could affect the business?
What this might look like for Company ABC’s SWOT focused on social media marketing:
Drawing Conclusions
After completing your SWOT grid, it is time to analyze the information you’ve gathered. In our example, it is clear that Company ABC has strong messaging and brand association. However, they are not leveraging these strengths to their full capacity. Any social media plan moving forward should explore other channels (such as TikTok and LinkedIn) and mediums (such as video). This plan would give the company an opportunity to improve their social media presence in ways that would drive growth and increase market share.
As the example makes clear, SWOT offers a highly impactful way to think through a challenge or capitalize on a strength/opportunity and develop a clear plan grounded in research and facts. With only a minimal time commitment, a SWOT analysis can have a significant impact on a company’s ability to assess how they compare against their competitors—and how they can make improvements. In my internship, I’ve already seen this to be true. And, long after I’ve graduated, I fully expect to be using SWOT, no matter the professional role I take on.
————–
Gabbi Gise will be graduating from Bentley University in May 2025 with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Law. While she has held a number of previous internships, she currently works as a marketing and business development intern at Encompass. In this role, she assists the Encompass team internally and externally on a wide range of marketing-related projects, with a focus on social media and content planning.
