Makreting Research: SWOT Analysis

One of the most intriguing subject that I learned from my Introduction to marketing course was marketing strategy and research, in which students have to conduct a SWOT analysis on the assigned company.


SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats

Every company should have at least performed this analysis technique at some point because it is very crucial for their development, since it asseses internal factors which they already possess as well as external factors which are outside of their control. This combination of internal and external factors is going to benefit anyone who is starting out a new company/business, launching new products or services, as well as organizing events.

Here we are going to discuss each points of this SWOT analysis one by one:

Internal factors:

Strengths refers to anything which you or your company already have and is beneficial to you, a positive attribute that you can count on such as; unique selling point, service quality, variety of products, and certifications. By knowing your own strengths you also get to know your weaknesses.

Weaknesses are negative or unsatisfactory aspects of your business that you may need to be improved on. Perhaps you are unable to reach the entire segment of the market because of the specific nature of your product/service, or maybe you've had some bad experience in the past such as crisis which makes your company less credible in the eyes of your consumers. Whatever it is, it's internal and negative.

External Factors:

Opportunity is defined as something outside of your company which is beneficial to you. Potential market segment, upcoming contracts, co-branding, referrals, and technological advancement such as the use of social media can also be listed as an opportunity to your company.

Threats refer to negative aspects that are not within your reach or controls. That new competitor who just launched a product similar to yours, or it may be the changing buying habits in your consumer. Whatever it is, you need to find a way to get around them.

So by being able to assess these four aspects, you will have more knowledge and control over your company, fix your problems, take advantage of new opportunities, as well as becoming aware of the things out there that are holding you back. Therefore, you will be more successful in marketing your business.

So, what's your SWOT?

Business Letters? Well that's interesting..

The introductory English course in my first semester is called General English 1, and this subject teaches the basics of English usage in business contexts. One of the materials taught in this class has just got my attention:


Business Letter

A lot of people say that business letter is universal, there are many ways of writing it and there are also many different layouts according to company policies. However, according to City & Guilds (UK's international accreditation system for my school's subjects) stated that a proper business letter should have nine essential points:

Sender 
Obviously, it is to show where the letter is coming from. It is necessary to put the person who is writing the letter as well as their company's name, along with their address. If an assistant is asked to write a letter for his/her boss, then the letter would be written with the boss's name.

Reference
It's commonly used in many companies, to allow the receivers to refer to who is writing the letter and under which department of the company.

Date
Self-explanatory

Receiver
To show who the letter is intended to; name, position, company, and address.

Salutation
City & Guilds has a specific rule on this one, it may also be universal. Common sense really.
Dear Mr. Lastname : When we know the name of the recipient and it's a male.
Dear  Mrs. Lastname : When we know the name of the recipient and it's a married female.
Dear Ms. Lastname :When we know the name of the recipient and it's an unmarried / status unknown female.
Dear Sirs : When we don't know the name of the recipient.

Heading
Title of the letter, the main issue/concern

Body of Letter
Your letter, usually written in a formal language. No contractions (don't can't). Clear, concise, direct.

Closure
City & Guilds also has a specific rule on this one:
Yours Sincerely: When you know the name of the recipient
Yours Faithfully: When you don't know the name of the recipient

Name and position of signatory
Same rule used as the sender and reference.

First Year College: Business Studies

Approximately a month ago, I just got accepted into The London School of Public Relations Jakarta, a graduate school of communication. However, I prefer to call it college since it just sounds better. I didn't know a lot about it since it's pretty much the only choice of post-secondary education I had since I moved to Jakarta on July 2009.

After several weeks of studying, I learned a lot about business studies and communications in general, as I get more used to it as well. My interest in this field gradually developed up to the point that I have decided to choose my major for my second year. That's right, First year students don't get to pick their major just yet. They have to take introductory courses which provide them brief information and previews of what's up ahead. There are five choice of majors in this school, which are Public Relations, Marketing, Mass Communications, Advertising, and Performing Arts Communication. In summary, students of semester one and two are learning a little bit of those field of studies.

I'm starting to like this place. Classes are only held on Monday to Thursday and the rest are day offs. The lecturers and professors are great and professional in delivering the materials, which doesn't bore the students and are able to make the learning process here enjoyable.