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One of the major benefits of a SWOT analysis is that it is scaleable. It can be a small as a couple of people talking about a situation to a multi-month project in a large multinational company. Dr. Ralph Wilson comments in Web Marketing Today, "Restaurants ought to make bigger napkins, since some of the most productive business ideas seem to come to mind over a meal. The SWOT analysis technique lends itself to napkin planning and snapshot insights." Don't stop there though. Use the team and an expert facilitator to get the most benefit from institutional knowledge.
Other benefits include:
Simplicity: It's simple to the participants. They can grasp the concepts and process easily. And, they almost always enjoy the process. However, the apparent simplicity can belie the underlying complexity utilized by an expert facilitator. A good facilitator manages the complexity necessary for an effective SWOT analysis and makes it appear simple to the participants.
Low cost: A SWOT analysis can be done internally, but usually internal facilitators lack the experience to manage the complexity and the SWOT analysis becomes simple with less insights as a result.
Flexibility/ Customizable: The basic SWOT technique can be fashioned to meet individual needs.
Collaborative: It allows the participation (and hence more likely buy in) of the team. In addition, since it utilizes the whole team, the results are more likely to more accurately represent the real environments.
Quickness: It can be quick from the napkin example quoted above to a few days or weeks. However, it is also possible to use the framework over more extended periods of time if the situation warrants it.
Integrateable: A SWOT analysis is easily integrated with other strategy and planning techniques. It is a great way to start an even more elaborate strategy and planning project.
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