There are a range of tools and methods available to help businesses in their marketing planning.
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis is a tool that helps identify your business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths and weaknesses are about evaluating your own business, while opportunities and threats are about considering the wider context, including economic, political and social factors. This will enable you to understand what is special about your business, and help you to identify and manage possible external impacts.
Download and complete your own SWOT analysis: PDF / Word
Once complete, think about:
- How can you tackle your weaknesses to improve your business?
- What opportunities could help your business?
- How can you manage any threats? Could you turn them into a positive for your business?
To help you, here is an example of a SWOT Analysis for Thanet as a tourism destination:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|
- Natural landscape – beaches and bays, big skies
- Access – High-speed rail service, good road links
- Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate – recognised brand
- Variety of attractions
- Impact of new ones, as seen with Turner Contemporary and Dreamland
- Full events programme
- Positive partnership working history
- Visitor Information Service – award-winning and excellent first impression
- Thanet District Council’s support for tourism – visitor economy being at the heart of the corporate plan
|
- Past under-investment in visitor economy infrastructure, including beaches and bays
- Attracting more day visitor market than short-break
- Being coastal, Thanet is not perceived as a ‘year-round’ destination
- General perception of seaside towns being ‘run-down’
- Past lack of resources for tourism service delivery
- Limited support and infrastructure for travel trade visits – coach parking, driver facilities, etc.
|
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|
- New attractions – Dreamland, Ramsgate Tunnels, Crab Museum
- New quality accommodation
- Digital opportunities through website, e-newsletters and social media – cost effective
- ‘Staycation’ effect – people choosing to stay in UK
- Funding programme opportunities – Regional Growth Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Coastal Communities
- New potential growth market
|
- Competition from other seaside destinations
- London and bordering destinations
- Water quality
- Budgetary restrictions for delivery
- Economic climate – difficult for inward investment, impact also on visitor spend
|
