A threat to your company is an external factor, something that you can’t control, that could negatively impact your business.
By knowing your threats, you might be able to find a strategy to minimize them, or at least, come up with a plan to handle them in a way that won’t shut down your business. Identifying threats is all about being prepared and taking proactive steps to minimize the hurt.
You can use these categories to brainstorm possible threats to your business:
A) Economic trends - Examine the economic conditions that impact your business.
B) Market trends - Think about changing or shrinking market trends.
C) Funding changes - Think of donations, grants, or other shifting revenue streams that aren’t within your control.
D) Political support - If political support is shifting, you’ll want to analyze its impact.
E) Government regulations - Think of regulations that are changing that might hurt your business.
F) Changing relationships - Consider shifting relationships with vendors, partners, or suppliers.
G) Target audience shift - Your target market might be shrinking, aging, or shifting.
Questions to Ask to Find Threats
Economic Trends
- Is the economy in your area in a recession?
- Will the economy negatively impact your customers’ ability to make purchases?
- Are economic shifts happening that impact your target audience?
Market Trends
- How is your market changing?
- What new trends could hurt your company?
- Is there more competition in your market that’s pushing you out?
Funding Changes
- Do you expect a decrease in grant funding or donations this year?
- Will funding changes hurt your business? If so, how?
Political Support
- Do you anticipate a shift in political support this year?
- Is there reason to be concerned over political shifts?
- What does your business stand to lose because of political changes?
Government Regulations
- Are any regulations shifting that could cost more money or hurt production?
- What kind of damage could new regulations have?
Changing Relationships
- Are any outside business relationships changing?
- Is there any turmoil with partners or vendors?
Target Audience Shift
- How is your demographic shifting?
- What threats accompany these changing demographics?
- Is your audience changing in a way that you can’t accommodate?
1. Do Market Research
As you’re looking into possible threats, you’ll want to conduct market research to see how your target audience is shifting.
2. List Every Threat You Can Think Of
If you think of a threat, list it. Even if that threat has consequences that won’t be felt immediately, it’s still better to have it on your radar.
3. Threats Exists, Don’t Panic
Listing threats may cause some anxiety, but remember that all businesses have threats. It’s better to know about threats than it is to turn a blind eye to them.
Read more:
1. What's SWOT Analysis?
2. SWOT Analysis: How to Identify Strengths
3. SWOT Analysis: How to Identify Weaknesses
4. SWOT Analysis: How to Identify Opportunities
5. Turning Your SWOT Analysis Into Actionable Strategies
6. What's TOWS Analysis ?
Edited by: 浪子
Bibliography
Lisa Furgison. (n.d.). SWOT Analysis Challenge Day 4: How to Identify Threats. Retrieved from
https://articles.bplans.com/swot-analysis-challenge-day-4-identify-threats/
SWOT Analysis: How To Identify Threats
Reviewed by 浪子
on
November 08, 2018
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Reviewed by 浪子
on
November 08, 2018
Rating:
