Strategic Planning Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

What Areas or Categories Should We Look At When Identifying Our Strengths in a SWOT Analysis?

It's easier to identify your strengths if you have some categories to look at. Whether you are identifying business strengths as part of a SWOT analysis, or not (you may do it as part of your environmental scan), here's a few areas to look at:

• Knowledge/Expertise
• Processes
• Products or Services
• Relationships
• Intellectual Property
• Personnel
• Assets

Remember you are looking for strengths within these areas that you can leverage into a competitive advantage that can be sustained over time.

You can use these same areas in a "weaknesses" analysis, too.