Tired of underperforming in the eCommerce space? Do you want to know what will happen tomorrow? Have you been looking for the best solution to increase your company’s profits?
From this moment on, you don’t need to knock on the door in despair because you just need to do a SWOT analysis of your e-commerce project, but first you should know what is the definition of this analysis, what is its importance and potential benefits, and how Application in e-commerce projects and companies; Want to push your business to the top? That’s what we’ll all learn about in this article; so follow us.
Definition of SWOT Analysis
It is an acronym for each: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, meaning: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis, as the title suggests; SWOT analysis aims to identify strengths and weaknesses inside and outside the company; this helps in the future Successful strategic planning.
Also, this type of analysis is the most common situational analysis method in people development, executives, management and marketing, used by both small and large companies; if you want to improve your company’s position to compete with international companies, the purpose is to determine the company’s position , and develop a proper strategy; you need to use a powerful tool such as: SWOT analysis for e-commerce projects, usually the person responsible for doing this analysis is the business analyst, because he makes a proper plan and validates it in reality its successful.
The Importance of SWOT Analysis
The importance of SWOT analysis for eCommerce projects lies in prioritizing the most important operations within the company and optimizing operations for growth. Although it is similar to competitive analysis, SWOT analysis differs from other analyzes in that the assessment has both external and internal factors, among many others of importance. , which can be summarized as:
1. Identify areas for improvement
Conducting a SWOT analysis of an eCommerce project is the best way to discover better strategies for the company and improve existing projects by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses within the company. It’s worth noting that if you want your company to reach the top; you should learn from past mistakes, identify areas you want to work on, and work with team members to develop a plan and work hard to implement it, it all applies here analyze.
2. Identify opportunities for improvement and growth
This kind of analysis helps to understand how to start improving the company’s position, this is a great opportunity for companies who don’t know where to start, and it is likely that opportunities will come to you one after another in many ways, such as: internal factors Such as improving the workflow within the team, or external factors such as product diversification; this way you gain a competitive advantage, which is very beneficial for the development of your company.
3. Identify the danger zone
Identifying risk is one of the most forgotten things, but the importance only emerges when it becomes a problem. Therefore, risk areas should be identified first, and SWOT analysis will be of great help to you in this regard, and it is worth noting that it will be beneficial to you to combine PEST analysis with SWOT analysis; to predict potential risks.
Benefits of SWOT Analysis for Ecommerce Projects
When your company uses SWOT analysis, you will reap many benefits, the most important of which may be as follows:
- Very clear and easy to use tool.
- Contributes to the comprehensive analysis of external and internal factors.
- Set goals that are achievable and successful.
- Discover what your company lacks compared to other companies.
- Committed to strategic direction and positioning.
- Helps improve workflow.
- Assess your company’s current performance.
- Gain a better understanding of your company’s market position.
- Fully understand your company’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Eliminate vulnerabilities and reduce threats.
- Discover areas for improvement in your online store.
- Assess the company’s performance and current situation.
- Anticipate your company’s weaknesses before they arise and work to improve them.
- Respond proactively to changing environments.
How can SWOT analysis be applied to e-commerce projects and companies?
You should apply this analysis to your own eCommerce company, but if you are wondering how to apply SWOT analysis to eCommerce projects; you are in the right place, just follow these steps:
1. Start a brainstorming session
When conducting a SWOT analysis on an eCommerce project, it is very important to start a brainstorming session with teams from different areas such as: IT, Marketing, Customer Support as well as Finance; in order to get as many ideas as possible, everyone is encouraged to participate because You may come up with ideas that have a big impact on your company’s production.
2. Four-component division
After collecting the opinions of the employees, set the goal of creating a company SWOT analysis table; enter the second stage, namely: research strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which are the four elements of the company’s SWAT model, because opportunities and threats represent External factors come from the surrounding environment of the business, such as: market size, economy, advanced technology, competitors, while strengths and weaknesses are internal factors such as: geography, company culture, and employees.
First – identify strengths
Start by identifying your company’s strengths, then ask yourself: What sets you apart from your competitors? Do you offer products that are only available at your company? However, all your eCommerce factors are advantages if they provide the greatest benefit to the customer, for example: if all your competitors charge extra for shipping and your company offers free shipping; this is exactly what is called The advantage of strategic analysis, but it has to be distinguished from necessity, because necessity is to offer the same thing as your competitors offer, for example: if you provide customer support and all other companies offer the same; this is called inevitability , rather than force.
2. Discovery of Vulnerabilities
The second step in the world of e-commerce is: discovering the weaknesses that are holding you back and your company from being successful. So ask yourself: what difficulties have you had so far? What is missing in your e-commerce business? What things should you change? Here, you have to be honest with yourself and admit the shortcomings you experience. This way you can compete with other companies.
Third – seize the opportunity
Look for e-commerce opportunities when you understand the internal factors that are unique to your company (i.e. factors that your company may benefit from being on the Internet); this can significantly change the ability of electronics companies to compete, eg: Apple Pay eliminates the need for customers to enter Personal details and a credit card are all it takes to buy products, while progressive web apps are being introduced to make mobile easy to use… and more opportunities not to be missed.
Fourth – Check for Threats
Threat checking application is one of the indispensable things in your online store. These are all external areas where your company will be negatively impacted in the future, such as emerging competitors and supply chain disruption. It is worth noting that this requires careful attention. Check out what is being asked by online store owners and consider the following questions: What are the barriers to the success of your business? A competitor has launched a new product; will this jeopardize yours? What is the most important new technology that will affect your financial situation?
Think of all the disadvantages you face and consider new technologies in the market that can bring your business to the brink as it renders your product obsolete; so, work hard against these threats and always have a backup plan in place.
Finally… dear reader, Learn what is a SWOT analysis for eCommerce projects, and the importance and benefits of such an analysis, and how it can be applied to eCommerce projects and companies; you should start applying it to your online store, just like small and large companies Same; so you can compete with other companies and reach the top.
It is worth noting that SWOT analysis is a powerful tool that is often used as part of strategic planning or at the beginning, and moreover, this tool is the most common method for analyzing employee, executive, management developments. and marketing, as it enables companies to identify threats before they occur, and identify opportunities for success. The market position will most likely be determined through this analysis, but it is better to apply this analysis from a business analyst because he has a better understanding of the problems you may be facing.