SWOT Therapy: Every brand needs a little Tough Love
“If you want your SWOT to make a difference, don’t settle for a half-hearted, check-the-box version. Invest in a comprehensive, driven process.”
-Scot Safon
“Engage diverse perspectives at all levels throughout your organization. Be honest with each other. Be rigorous and most importantly, be ready to act on what you learn to build a high-performing culture.”
-Robin McLoughlin
Stay tuned…
Next, we'll delve into leveraging Strengths effectively, as part of our SWOT series.
We want to hear from you!
How did you make the case for doing a meaningful SWOT at your company?
Scot Safon and Robin McLoughlin met back in 2020, introduced by Scot’s brother, who noticed they both had a lot—an awful lot— of opinions about marketing stuff.
Since they’re both marketing consultants (Robin focuses on brand identity and positioning; Scot on strategic communications), they can’t help themselves: they'll go deep on any marketing topic. Like their recent conversation about SWOT Analysis—yes, that’s the kind of conversation they actually like.
Before we start: What is a SWOT and why should you care?
A SWOT Analysis summarizes a company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Lots of companies do them regularly and quickly, usually at the start of a planning cycle. In many cases, “Doing a SWOT” is a group exercise done around a conference room table as a precursor to the planning work; the meeting agenda allocates 30 minutes to generating an in-the-room “SWOT Analysis.”
But this isn’t the way to do it. A meaningful, powerful SWOT can be a genuine decision-making tool that informs your company’s growth, inspires action, builds resilience and opens the door to long-term thinking. It should give your stakeholders dedicated time for reflection, assessment and planning.
Robin: Scot, let me ask you—why do you think SWOT analysis are so undervalued these days?
Scot: It’s because SWOTs are treated as surface-level exercises—a quick brainstorming activity before “real” strategy work begins. They’re happening at offsites and departmental meetings, and they’re often group exercises with people calling out observations until every box in the SWOT Matrix is filled with numerous bullets, listed in the order they were shouted out. All the bullet points have equal weight, where a Weakness like “Frequently low on Office Supplies” sits right above “Our product is outlawed in 15 states”.
Robin: This is funny and I get your point. A lot of companies don’t look at a SWOT as a crucial business planning tool.
Scot: A proper SWOT is a strategic deep dive that engages the full range of stakeholders, often over the course of several weeks of meetings, interviews, drafting, revising, pressure-testing. It takes an honest look at the good, the bad, the ugly and the possibilities. And, most importantly, it reveals the truths companies need to face… and the opportunities they need to chase. Each section of a SWOT is not just a list—it’s a lens.
So, Robin, why do you think so many companies completely skip a SWOT, or treat it like an introductory “exercise” before the real work begins?
Robin: Perhaps they don’t see the value in investing the time. Companies that skip a SWOT are essentially making strategic decisions with a blindfold on. It’s faster, but it’s riskier—and it often costs them more in the long run.
When they skip a SWOT, or don't take it seriously, it's usually because they don't think they have the capacity, they don't have inhouse expertise to manage it, and they don't have the patience to do it thoroughly. On the other hand, it could also be they are not ready to see the truths of the brand and company and take action.
Scot: I agree, and the people participating in the SWOT are basically whoever shows up to the meeting. A lot of stakeholders aren’t at the table, and the SWOT gets skewed by that. Who do you believe should be involved in a SWOT?
Robin: More voices than most companies include. It’s not just for senior executives. A meaningful SWOT needs input from those on the front lines—sales teams, customer support, and even trusted external partners and clients. They’re the ones closest to the challenges and opportunities. Bringing in diverse voices creates a 360-degree view, making the SWOT far richer and more actionable.
Of course, getting the right people engaged can make the whole process take longer, but it definitely makes the SWOT better. Even if a lot of the stakeholders contribute via pre-SWOT interviews, their contributions and insights will make the SWOT more valuable.
But once you’ve included the right people, what should the real impact of a SWOT be, Scot?
Scot: It has to be approached as something that is meant to drive clarity and action, and can inform strategy, investment, marketing, action and vision. So the SWOT has to be very candid and reality-based about each category in the analysis. A strong SWOT helps companies recognize where they can win– and where they should avoid wasting energy. It can be a tool for answering significant, tough questions:
Should we enter a new market?
What do we need to stop doing?
When and where should we launch a new product extension?
Who are our emerging competitors, partners and customers?
Do we need to invest in new technologies?
Is our message relevant and resonating with the target market?
How much do we need to rethink staffing and operations?
But you only get answers to these questions if the SWOT inputs are sharp and honest. That’s why a number of companies will engage an outside professional to lead the analysis— it’s easier for a “fair witness” to get them to “go there.”
Robin: Unfortunately, we’re seeing SWOTs that are too general; they’re not going deep. If one Strength is “Great Culture,” what does that really mean? A culture that supports action? A culture that builds employee commitment and invention? Most SWOT elements should be tied to a business behavior or result.
Scot: Robin, let’s talk about one of the newest trends in SWOT-making: relying on a ChatGPT-generated SWOT. What’s the difference between the AI version and one led by professionals?
Robin: Good question, the difference is night and day. ChatGPT's "assessment" is really just a scanning of the internet's coverage of your business, compared to its coverage of your category and market. It’s unable to capture the nuances of your business and your clients or customer dynamics. In a nutshell, it’s only a SWOT of “your company on the internet” right now– so, not at all the complete picture.
A professionally led SWOT, on the other hand, goes beyond the obvious—it uncovers blind spots, challenges, assumptions, and brings real-world insights into the mix. That’s the difference between surface-level and strategy.
Scot, do you think the real value of a SWOT lies in the process of doing it, rather than just the final output?
Scot: Absolutely! The process itself is where the real work happens: it’s in the conversations, the debates, and the honest assessment of strengths and vulnerabilities. If you only see the final SWOT matrix, you miss the insights that come from the journey—the tough questions, the conflicting viewpoints, and the collective a-ha moments. Ultimately, you’re looking for human engagement about the company and its true potential.
Robin, What do you tell clients considering a SWOT– where should they start?
Robin: They should begin by asking themselves four key questions:
Do we truly understand our current position? If you can’t clearly define your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you’re already flying blind.
Are we involving the right people? If your SWOT is only shaped by the executive team, you’re missing valuable insights from the people on the ground and your clients.
Are you prepared to invest the time? Is your team willing to make the SWOT a meaningful process, and not just a chart?
Are we ready to act on the insights? A SWOT is only useful if it leads to meaningful change. You have to be prepared to turn insights into action.
Scot: Agree with those questions. When a business needs clarity on where it stands and where it’s going, it’s worth investing the time to do a rigorous SWOT analysis. Some businesses should consider bringing in outside professionals to lead it– they’re not tied to existing agendas and can bring more provocative observations and insights to every part of a SWOT. If you do this right, it will unlock a future path.
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Conclusion: A SWOT is a lens for growth
A properly conducted SWOT analysis is so much more than a document—it’s a strategic, analytic, investigative process that reveals the true shape of your business. It engages a lot of stakeholders in honest discussions about the business, its challenges and its potential. It can be tough, but it can also be very empowering and, again, very clarifying. It forces you to confront internal realities, recognize external risks, and capitalize on emerging opportunities. You then have solid information to feed back to your organization to empower change.
SWOT’s are often tied to a bigger initiative such as a rebrand— but it’s also surprising that companies don’t make this a stand-alone project because it’s so informative. It’s a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Because when done right, a SWOT doesn’t just tell you where you are—it shows you where you should be heading.
Credits:
Scot Safon, Marketing Consultant, Robin McLoughlin, Principal at McL
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