SWOT Analysis Template
Classic 2×2 SWOT worksheet — Strengths and Weaknesses (internal) plus Opportunities and Threats (external), with a TOWS strategy section to turn the analysis into actions.
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SWOT ANALYSIS Subject: Acme Coffee Roasters — 2026 retail expansion Date: May 23, 2026 A SWOT looks at four quadrants: internal factors you control (Strengths, Weaknesses) and external factors you do not (Opportunities, Threats). ================== INTERNAL FACTORS ================== [ STRENGTHS ] (internal · helpful) - Loyal local customer base and strong word-of-mouth - Distinctive house roast with consistent quality - Debt-free, healthy cash position - Experienced head roaster on a long-term contract [ WEAKNESSES ] (internal · harmful) - Single location — revenue concentration risk - No e-commerce or subscription channel - Thin marketing/social presence - Manual inventory tracking; frequent stockouts ================== EXTERNAL FACTORS ================== [ OPPORTUNITIES ] (external · helpful) - Growing demand for specialty coffee in nearby neighborhoods - Wholesale accounts with local restaurants and offices - Subscription / direct-to-consumer shipping - Pop-up and farmers-market presence [ THREATS ] (external · harmful) - New national chain opening two blocks away - Green-coffee price volatility - Rising commercial rent at lease renewal - Labor shortage for skilled baristas ======================================================== STRATEGY (TOWS) — turning the four quadrants into action ======================================================== S->O: Use the house roast and loyal base to launch a subscription before the chain opens. W->T: Fix inventory and add a second revenue channel (wholesale) to reduce single-location risk. S->T: Lean on community loyalty and quality to differentiate from the chain. W->O: Build social/e-commerce presence to capture neighborhood demand. Tip: pair Strengths with Opportunities (where to press), and shore up Weaknesses against Threats (where you are exposed).
About this template
SWOT is the most widely used strategy framework because it is fast, structured, and forces an honest two-axis look at a decision: **internal vs. external**, and **helpful vs. harmful**. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal — things you control, like your team, product, brand, and cash. Opportunities and Threats are external — things in the market you can respond to but not control, like demand trends, competitors, regulation, and costs. The single most common mistake is mixing the axes: writing an external trend ("growing demand") in the Strengths box, or an internal gap ("no e-commerce") in the Threats box. Keep internal factors about you and external factors about the world. The second mistake is stopping at the four lists. A SWOT only creates value when you convert it into action, which is what the **TOWS** step does: match Strengths to Opportunities (where to invest and press your advantage), defend Weaknesses against Threats (where you are most exposed), use Strengths to neutralize Threats, and fix Weaknesses to capture Opportunities. Good SWOT entries are specific and evidence-based ("single location = 100% revenue concentration") rather than vague ("good team"); a useful test is whether someone could disagree with the entry — if not, it is probably too generic to act on. Keep each quadrant to the three to five items that actually matter; a SWOT with twenty bullets per box is a brain-dump, not a strategy. Use it to brief a team, frame a planning offsite, support a go/no-go decision, or anchor the situation section of a business plan.
When to use it
- Kicking off strategic or annual planning for a company, product, or team.
- Evaluating a major decision (new market, launch, expansion, pivot).
- Framing the "situation analysis" section of a business or marketing plan.
- Personal or career planning (analyze yourself as the subject).
What to include
- A clear subject — what exactly is being analyzed.
- Strengths and Weaknesses kept to INTERNAL factors you control.
- Opportunities and Threats kept to EXTERNAL market factors.
- Specific, evidence-based entries (not vague generalities).
- A TOWS strategy step that turns the quadrants into actions.