What is a SWOT analysis paper

The abbreviation of SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Even though it may sound like a simple list of pros and cons, it is not. The main purpose of writing a SWOT analysis paper is to identify various factors that lift your business or tear it down.

Define the objectives

Start writing a SWOT analysis paper by identifying your objectives. You will need to write a table to make analyses easy-going and clear. The table must contain four main points. It would be better if you start with Strengths.

Strengths

To write a compelling list of Strengths, you must answer the following questions: 

• What does your business do best
• What attracts customers to your company
• What do customers like about your business
• What can your business offer that competitors cannot do well

Weaknesses

Recall the reviews left by customers and pay attention to what made them not satisfied. Consider the feedback of employees who worked with your business or currently working on you. 

In order to improve the weaknesses try to answer these questions:

• What are the resources of your business that need to be more 
• What are the areas of your business that must be improved 
• What are the reasons your potential customers decide to work with your competitors instead of you

As an owner, you must be genuine and realistic when you define your business’s weaknesses. Forget about optimistic expectations and look with a fresh eye on your business processes, products, and services. Remember that defining weaknesses will help you to reduce them and approve your business.

Note that it is crucial to divide weaknesses from threats. The main distinction between them is that weaknesses are internal factors you can improve inside your business. In other words, you can control weaknesses. Threats, instead, are external factors that you can hardly control.

Opportunities

It is crucial to start defining opportunities only after you are clear about your business weaknesses and strengths. 

Answer the following questions regarding opportunities:

• Look at the market you’re working at and define the current trends, also trying to predict future trends in the business 
• What are the trends you can use to grow your business
• Can you grow your business by partnering with a reliable company or an entrepreneur
• Consider whether there are any opportunities to get investments or sponsorship for your business 
• Think over the opportunities to grow your business by developing new products or types of services

Threats

Now you’re ready to think over the threats to your business. Here are the most crucial factors to consider:

• Is your business seasonal 
• Is your business completely legal 
• Doesn’t it have an unreliable cash flow process that could become a threat
• Are all your partners and suppliers reliable enough to trust them
• Are there any situations that make it impossible to grow your business, and what are these obstacles
• How do laws in your field affect your business
• Is there any opportunity for changes in this area

Structure your paper

Now you’re ready to start writing your paper. Draft your SWOT analysis paper and add it with the following sections:

Start with an introduction that will provide your main goal and set the main questions you want to answer with the help of a SWOT analysis 

Proceed with writing the body. Briefly describe the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats you included in the table while preparing for writing. If there are too many items to consider and you cannot reduce any of them, use bullet points to make the section readable

The next part of the body of a SWOT analysis paper will be the analysis itself. It is the most crucial part of the paper. The goals of the analyses part are developing an effective strategy for your business and creating an action plan to achieve the set goals, and finalizing a conclusion.

Write an analysis part

When analyzing, consider all four factors together and find connections between them. Here are the most important questions to make the SWOT analysis section practical and useful:

• Think about the threats from the point of your strengths and define whether it is possible to use one of the strengths to beat a thread
• Think over the possibility of minimizing the weaknesses of your business by using its strengths
• Is there a way to eliminate the weaknesses of your business by using one of its opportunities

Generate a plan

Now that you have found connections between the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your business, proceed with developing an action plan. It would help if you generated working ideas that can be clear and measurable to start acting immediately. After you create a list of ideas for your business, prioritize them and decide what you can do now and what is the easiest way to start improving your business. Arrange the plan of action to make it readable by using bullet points.

Application of SWOT analysis in other areas

Let’s look at the three examples of how a SWOT analysis can be used both for personal development and for the development of a company.

SWOT analysis for non-profit organizations

Non-profit organizations can use SWOT analysis to help inform about their strategic planning.

The SWOT process is a great way to understand how your organization fits into the market and to make an impact by running campaigns and fundraising initiatives. Incorporating a SWOT analysis early into the development strategy can help you make better decisions.

SWOT for business development

Business development is a crucial part of every company and being aware of the company’s strengths and weaknesses is an invaluable asset.  Doing a SWOT analysis helps you identify any weaknesses that may become a problem for the company’s growth. 

Personal SWOT analyses

SWOT analyses can be applied even in evaluating your personal growth. For example, if you are looking to level up in your career, creating a personal SWOT analysis can help you compare your strengths and weaknesses. That’s how you will be able to make better decisions about what areas you can improve.

Conclusion

The last section of the SWOT analysis paper will be a conclusion. Recall the initial purpose of writing an essay and remember the information you included in an introduction. The conclusion must provide your vision of how a business can grow. Also, it is crucial to add a conclusion with some points from an action plan. When finalizing the paper, set a deadline to complete all planned improvements.

Starting a wholesale business – what do you need to know?

Before you let your mind weave an entire wholesale business plan it’s important to understand its essence i.e. what is wholesale business? Moreover it is also important to learn how to buy wholesale for resale purposes.

Wholesalers are business entities that buy goods in bulk directly from manufacturers or distributors, and then sell them in smaller quantities to retailers.

Although in modern times there are examples of B2C wholesaling, wholesalers per definition sell their goods to other business entities. This means their buyers are not the end consumers, but instead the retailers and similar business organizations the consumers buy from.

Because wholesale businesses buy in bulk, they usually get special discounts and overall cheaper prices.

In conclusion, wholesalers are sort of mediators between manufacturers and retailers. This puts them somewhere in the middle of the supply chain

18 tips for starting a wholesale business from experts

We asked fifteen exeprts to share with us the 

1. Get an ERP system set in place that integrates with your inventory management tool such as scanners.

2. Have an accessible website that allows for wholesale pricing that integrates with your inventory system and accounting system

3. Set incremental sales goals every 6 months to build steady growth

5. Choose a suitable and reliable supplier. Understand and analyze suppliers through multiple channels and multiple dimensions, and reach cooperation. Suppliers cannot be selected based solely on the price of the Product.

6. Know the necessary legal documents. Before starting a business, you need to obtain the necessary wholesale license

7. Find a direct supplier of the goods or products you want to sell because if it will come directly from them, the products will be priced lower compared to if you will be buying it from other resellers too.

8. Find an in-demand product that is not easily perishable so you won’t have any problems even if you won’t be able to sell everything all at once.

9. Find resellers whom you would pass your products to. These resellers will be the ones to sell the product for you and you would serve as their supplier.

10. Don’t forget to focus on service. It’s a core function which will create the most customer loyalty for your business – whether that means answering customer questions, pushing out upgrades on your products, or repair and maintenance.

11. Your relationship with the manufacturers of the products you distribute determines your strategy. Whether you primarily focus on margin or volume depends on how much exclusivity the manufacturers will grant.

12. Build an A-team to help you manage all the complexity of a wholesale business: managing supplier relationships, developing new customers, tracking inventory and warehousing, purchasing, estimating, billing, and financial reporting

13. Most important is to ensure you’ve got the basics right:

• Have you worked out a sales forecast?
• Have you got enough stock to fulfil the forecast, not just the initial pipeline fill, but also onward sales.
• Have you calculated enough margin for everyone in the chain, including building in a promotional allowance.
• Hitting launch date is all important. Make sure you’re confident of production timelines.
  
• Marketing campaign is next and whilst it runs in tandem with stock, logistics and warehousing, it really is no good if you have nothing to sell.
• Focus on selling online, use popular ecommerce tips to see how to take advantage of online opportunities for wholesale. 

14. Build trust not only with your customers but also your suppliers:

• Make sure to build a rapport of trust. There will be times when cashflow is tight and someone will let down the other.
• Trust is nurtured at the outset by being clear from Day 1 particularly around trading terms, payments, deliveries etc

15. Have a clear vision:

• As I have often been told by those around me whose words I listen to, ‘nothing good ever comes easy’.
• Have a plan for the best of times ahead but be absolutely prepared for the worst of times. Plan ahead and try to foresee scenarios of things going wrong with the business and its supply consistency. These times will come, so best to be prepared.
• At the end of the day though, try to have fun. This is business, its trading, not healthcare. So take a deep breath and get stuck in!

16. Consider what IP (intellectual property) you may be able to build into your business. You don’t just want to sell other brands, you ideally want to build up a brand that you also own.

17. Cash flow.  As a wholesaler yo u will be dealing with a large number of customers, each with different payment terms.  Think carefully about what terms you are getting offered from your suppliers, and try to extend those as much as possible to offset the terms you will need to give to your customers.

18. Marketing and product training.  Products don’t just sell themselves, so think about how you can support your customers with marketing, promotional initiatives and product training to make sure that your customers are doing everything they can to sell your product to their end customer.

19. Invest in streamlined logistics. A successful wholesale business depends heavily on efficient storage, packaging, and delivery systems. Consider partnering with reliable shipping companies that offer wholesale rates, optimize your warehouse layout for quick order fulfillment, and implement inventory tracking software that updates in real time. The ability to consistently deliver products on schedule without damage will significantly increase your reputation among retailers and help you stand out from competitors who struggle with logistics.

9 wholesale business ideas to help you started

Here are some ideas that could help you decide your niche before you start your wholesale business.

1. Home improvement products

We’re all at home. Even after the lockdown eased up, we’re still gravitating towards our home. So it’s no surprise that people have turned to renovations, DYI projects and home improvements. Considering that, the demand of home improvement products is rising and will continue to do so. Especially in the Northern Hemisphere where summer is at full speed.

2. Food

Food is something that has always been and always will be in demand. That’s for sure. However, food sales have hit record highs during the lockdown, so it is no wonder that refrigerated distribution services are on the rise ass well . And since people are still scared of a second wave, they won’t stop stockpiling. Especially not when autumn arrives and colder temperatures are on the horizon.

3. Electronics

Food is something that has always been and always will be in demand. That’s for sure. However, food sales have hit record highs during the lockdown. And since people are still scared of a second wave, they won’t stop stockpiling. Especially not when autumn arrives and colder temperatures are on the horizon.

5. Beauty products

I don’t know who the first woman was, but I guess it all started from her. Women love beauty products. And as appears, in recent years men seem to like them too. There isn’t a single celebrity left without their own beauty line: Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Jenner, Gwyneth Paltrow… The list goes on and on.

According to Forbes “The cosmetic industry is growing faster today than ever before with an estimated market value of almost $805 billion by 2023. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.14% from 2018 to 2023.”

6. Backyard entertainment

I may have come up with that term on my own but trust me on this one. Borders are closed, travel is restricted. In other words, a lot of people won’t go on their traditional summer vacation this year. So they’re naturally looking for alternatives. A friend of mine recently wanted to buy an inflatable pool. And guess what: 6 stores he went to were out of stock! 

Market potential! Heck yeah!

Add grilling, outdoor furniture, pool floats, sunbeds, umbrellas, lighting, sound equipment… to the equation and you have a ready-to-go wholesale business idea.

7. Fitness

As contradictory as it sounds, the most obese generation in history is also the most athletic one. Everyone’s (at least trying to) eating healthy, exercising daily, jogging, meditating… Many during lockdown started exercising because they were afraid to get fat with all that food and staying at home. 

I mentioned the celebrities owning beauty brands, but activewear and athleisure are not far behind.

8. Kids toys and educational materials

With the closing of many kinterdens, nursery schools, playgroups and maternal schools around the world, parents are practically held hostage. They are expected to work and take care of their children at the same time. 

The logical direction of this situation is that children need to entertain themselves and parents will buy all sorts of toys to have just one uninterrupted video call with their boss.

9. Organic goods

Organic this, organic that. Suddenly, the food, cosmetics, and consumer goods we used until yesterday are no good and causing all sorts of health problems. Several years ago it was hard to find a shelf in the deli with organic products, and now we have entire stores selling organic-only products.

This isn’t going away anytime soon and the demand is growing by the day.

Conclusion

Starting a wholesale business from zero can be a dauting task for anyone new in the field. We hope that with the extensive list of resources that we have gather in this article, you will feel more bold when it comes to work on your dream and start your own wholesale business. 

The biggest mistakes small businesses make with Google Ads 

Budget

It is important to have a clear outcome in mind and build the account to achieve that outcome, with campaigns that match the size of the budget, which is a realistic amount to achieve the outcome. The Google Keyword Planner is a great place to start as it will give you an understanding of the cost & results you can expect to achieve.

Jaye Cowle, Founder of Launch Online

Small businesses seem oblivious to the fact they are spending more on ads than those ads are bringing in. They just kind of assume advertising is a cost of doing business, but don’t actually dive into the analytics to figure out that they are paying $20 to get a sale that makes them $10. Now initially sometimes ads aren’t profitable when experimenting and dialling things in. However, ads should quickly become profitable or you should stop that ad and try something else. 

John Frigo, Digital Marketing Lead at Best Price Nutrition

Keywords

Negative keywords are a simple way to ensure your search terms don’t appear for irrelevant terms, and to exclude common terms which you may not want to appear for.

For example, a retailer selling luxury handmade engagement rings might be bidding on “engagement rings ” as a broad match phrase. 

Left unattended, this keyword bid may appear on:

cheap engagement rings 

vintage engagement rings 

antique engagement rings

unusual engagement rings

luxury engagement rings

platinum engagement rings

Of course, some of these will be relevant and happy to appear on, but ideally, they would be excluding terms like “cheap” or “vintage” if they are not appropriate. 

Negative keyword lists need constant attention with the regular and consistent trimming to ensure the budget is not being wasted on irrelevant search terms. Log in and check the Search Terms at least twice a week, ideally more depending on budget, to make sure your spend isn’t wasted. 

Adam Bastock, eCommerce SEO at abastock

A lack of understanding around potential customers’ search intent and not sourcing the right keywords to target are two interrelated mistakes made by small businesses using Google Ads. 

For example, I have seen local businesses miss out on locally-focused keywords that may result in their ads appearing in front of relevant searchers in their area and better

outcomes. Instead, they have tried to target broader, national words in their industries.

Andrew Clark, Marketing Strategist at Duckpin 

Another big mistake that small business owners make with Google Ads is cluttering their campaigns with too many keywords that don’t convert very well. The best way to solve this is to limit each ad group to around ten keywords that are extremely relevant to the content of the ads within that ad group. This way the user’s search query and the content of the ad that receives an impression are a very close match.

Michael Anderson, Marketing Specialist at GeoJango Maps 

A lack of keyword research can certainly prove costly for a business running Google ads. The keyword should resemble the product or service your business is currently offering, the wrong keyword can significantly increase the bounce rate (number of visitors backtracking after clicking initially) and this results in the budget being taken for unnecessary and ineffective traffic. This can be solved with an easy solution with SEO tools such as Ahrefs and Google Keywords.

Rizwan Girach, Chessgammon 

Match types

The biggest mistake I’ve seen several times with small business owners is not knowing about the correct usage of match types. They’ll put in a keyword like “Accountant” as a broad match, and get tons of clicks that are never going to convert. Match types aren’t an especially complicated concept, so a small business owner either needs to spend a bit of time learning more about Google Ads or hire someone to give them a basic set up that at least avoids the obvious pitfalls.

Abir Syed, Digital Marketing Consultant at Upcounting.com

Most business owners assign Broad Match keyword to their ad campaign(s), and since Broad Match is meant to capture as many variations of the keyword as possible (BM keywords also captures traffic to topic related searches that don’t have to include your target keyword) on the web, the small business owner starts losing advertising spend quickly because the ad is being shown as much as possible throughout the internet.

To avoid this issue, small business owners should learn about how keyword match types work or speak with a PPC specialist.

John Pinedo, Co-Founder of Instinct Marketing

Audience

Trying to be all things for everybody is yet another mistake small business owners make with their Google ads. You must focus on your target audiences. Know what they want and need. Learn what their interests are. You must know what makes them tick. That’s the only way your Google Ads can get views. If you know what your target audiences are looking for, you’ll know how to sell to them.

Julia Brookes, Finance Consultant at Now Loans 

Landing pages

A simple way to solve this is to identify the top keyword(s) that drive the most volume and create a landing page and ad that matches the search query. I would break these top keywords out into their own ad group and focus on creating the most consistent and relevant experience possible. Then move onto other keywords as time permits.

John Porrini, Founder of LeadBoost

Too often, SMBs lack customized landing pages designed for advertising (with stripped-down navigation and a design based on best practices for optimal conversion optimization). Even more often, companies fail to create or direct ads to relevant landing pages on their website, whether custom or existing pages. This dramatically impacts conversions and indirectly, Quality Score. 

The fix: creating dedicated landing pages for Google Ads, ideally for each ad group.

Kent Lewis, President and Founder of Anvil

Data

I was getting my butt kicked in our Google AdWords account, I had tried almost everything I could think of until one simple change that I made proved to be the thing that would give me a leg up I guess my competition.

Big data is a buzzword to get stone around a lot but I was able to use it to make AdWords work for us.

I began to leverage our data, combined with publicly available census data, for marketing insights.

For example, in a recent campaign we ran in Nashville, TN , we ran pay-per-click (PPC) Adwords campaign with one ad targeting the entire metro Nashville area. The headline read ‘Local Lawn Pros in Nashville are a click away.’ and I thought the performance of the ad was good with a click-through rate of over 1% and conversion rate of over 10% on the Nashville landing page but we needed to improve on it.

We thought, how can we make this more contextual and relevant to the viewer? Se we researched census data, looking at the average income and home values throughout the Nashville area.

We found that East Nashville, an up-and-coming neighbourhood, was populated with more working class, and a creative class demographic and we hypothesized this customer segment would be price sensitive but still not want to cut their own lawns. So we segmented those zip codes and only ran a specific ad for them, with a headline ‘The Cheapest Lawn Mowing in Nashville. Lawn mowing from $20.’”

We then created a matching landing page. After running the ad for one month, on-page analytics proved our hypothesis to be true. We saw over 200% lift in click-through rate and 30% lift in on-page conversion.

Studying the data your own business generates can tell you which of your online marketing campaigns works best. Do the ads appeal to your target market or another market altogether? The data may also point to completely new areas of customer interest.

Bryan Clayton, CEO at GreenPal YourGreenPal.com

Tracking conversions

The biggest mistake we see over 90% of small business owners make when it comes to Google advertising, is not directly tracking conversions. Google has the most advanced machine-learning on the market and to make it work for you, it needs to know what to optimize around. When you tell Google what your conversions are and track them within Google Ads, you open up Data-driven attribution and bidding strategies that other small businesses miss out on.

Grant Higginson, President of Welby Consulting

Display advertising

We are a small business and one of the biggest mistakes we made was keeping the Display Advertising selection checked when setting up our account. We wasted so much money there and didn’t know until months later Display Advertising should have its own campaign. 

We unchecked that option and immediately saw far better results and were actually profitable!

Jeff Moriarty, Marketing Manager at Moriarty’s Gem Art 

Advertising an entire catalogue

Cole South, Co-Founder of Gold BJJ

Conclusion

It takes more than one try to make a successful Google Ads campaign. Or better yet, it takes constant effort to find the perfect formula for your business. And even when you find it, it will most likely change sooner rather than later. So keep on experimenting, testing, learning, but never give up. Moreover, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Paying an agency to run the ads for you can sometimes be more cost-efficient than doing it by yourself.