SWOT Strategy

In a previous blog entry about SWOT Strategy, I had described how to go about SWOT analysis. Now that you have completed the analysis and created a matrix of your Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats, let us discuss how you can construct a strategy to address your findings.

You will have to match each component with one another. For example, match the internal strengths with external opportunities and list the resulting Strengths / Opportunities strategies in the matrix chart.

Type of SWOT Strategy

This will result in four strategy types, which are:

1. S-O strategies pursue opportunities that match the company’s strengths. These are the best strategies to employ, but many firms are not in a position to do so. Companies will generally pursue one or several of the other three strategies first to be able to apply Strengths-Opportunities strategies.


2. W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities. Your job is to match internal weaknesses with external opportunities and list the resulting Weaknesses-Opportunities strategies


3. S-T strategies identify ways that the firm can use its strengths to reduce its vulnerability to external threats. Your job is to match internal strengths with external threats and list the resulting Strengths-Threats Strategies


4. W-T strategies establish a defensive plan to prevent the firm’s weaknesses from making it susceptible to external threats. Your job is to match the internal weaknesses with external threats and record the resulting Weaknesses-Threats Strategies

Here are some examples on the type of strategies based on SWOT analysis:

Strength-Opportunity Strategies

• Expand


• Increase advertising


• Develop new products


• Diversify

Strength-Threat Strategies

• Diversify


• Acquire competitor


• Expand


• Re-engineer

Weakness-Opportunity Strategies

• Joint venture


• Acquire competitor


• Expand

Weakness-Threat Strategies

• Divest


• Retrench
  Restructure