Healthcare organizations must continually make adjustments to maintain optimal function. A number of different techniques can be used to determine where adjustments need to be made. One essential technique involves a discussion of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, commonly called SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis has been used extensively in other industries but has not been widely used in healthcare 
SWOT analysis is an examination of an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, its opportunities for growth and improvement, and the threats the external environment presents to its survival. Originally designed for use in other industries, it is gaining increased use in healthcare.
How to bring maximum benefit to your twice-yearly marketing update?
Strategic planning demands realistic and objective assessment. At least twice each year, use the SWOT analysis to discover key internal and external issues and refresh the strategies and tactics of your marketing plan. Understanding where you are today is fundamental to achieving your future goals.
The well-known SWOT analysis appears disarmingly simple, but avoid the temptation do it quickly or casually. Taking this valuable analysis for granted would be downright unfortunate.
Steps in SWOT Analysis
The primary aim of strategic planning is to bring an organization into balance with the external environment and to maintain that balance over time. Organizations accomplish this balance by evaluating new programs and services with the intent of maximizing organizational performance. SWOT analysis is a preliminary decision-making tool that sets the stage for this work
STRENGTHS:
List of your capabilities and resources that can be the basis of a distinct competitive advantage. Ask: What are the most important strengths? How can we best use them and capitalize on each strength? Strengths could include:
- A new and or innovative service
- Capabilities or cost advantages
- Extraordinary reputation
- Other aspects that add value
- Special expertise and/or experience
- Superior location or geographic advantage
WEAKNESSES:
What areas need improvement (or should be avoided)? Ask: What would remove or overcome this weakness? Weaknesses can sometimes be the absence of certain strengths, and in some cases, a weakness may be the reverse side of one of your strengths. Weaknesses might include:
- Absence of a marketing plan
- Damaged reputation
- Gaps in capabilities or service areas
- Lagging in technology
- Management or staff problems
- Own known vulnerability
- Poor location or geographic barriers
- Undifferentiated service lines
OPPORTUNITIES:
In addition to new or significant trends, what other external opportunities exist and how can we best exploit or benefit from each? Examples might include:
- A market vacated by a competitor
- Availability of new technology
- Changes in population profile or need
- Competitor vulnerabilities
- Lack of dominant competition
- The new market segment that offers improve profit
- New vertical, horizontal, or niche markets
THREATS:
Can include anything that stands in the way of your success. No practice is immune to threats, but too many people miss, ignore or minimize these threats, often at great cost. Ask: What can be done to mitigate each threat? Can a threat become an opportunity? Threats could include:
- A competitor has an innovative product or service
- A new competitor(s) in your home market
- Adverse changes in reimbursement or regulations
- Changing insurance plans and/or contracts for major area employers
- Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution
- Economic shifts
- Loss of key staff or associates
- New or increased competition
- Shifts in market demand or referral sources
Seven simple rules for successful SWOT analysis
1. Be Specific: Avoid gray areas, vague descriptions or fuzzy definitions.
2. Be Objective: Ask for input from a well-informed but objective third party; compare it with your own notes.
3. Be Realistic: Use a down-to-earth perspective, especially as you evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Be practical in judging both sections.
4. Apply Context: Distinguish between where the organization actually is today, and where it could be in the future.
5. Contrast and Compare: Analyze in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your competition.
6. Short and Simple: Avoid needless complexity and over-analysis.
7. Update your marketing plan and goals: Once the key issues have been identified, define the action steps to achieve change.
SWOT analysis is a precursor to the strategic planning process. Ideally, SWOT analysis includes a comprehensive review of the healthcare literature, in-depth data analysis, and input from a panel of SWOT analysis experts. Findings from the analysis are sorted into four categories: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Force field analysis supplements SWOT analysis by identifying the forces driving the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
If you’d like to know more about putting this high-value assessment tool to work in your plan, we would be pleased to provide a well-informed and objective sounding board for you. Reach me at +1(302) 613-1356, or connect with me here