Tuesday, September 28, 2010

SWOT Analysis of Shoppers

SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Firms regularly use SWOT analysis in figuring out how to strengthen their place in the market and to find new opportunities for growth and reputation management. Retail chains normally do SWOT analysis on customers to see what gaps can be filled and how to respond to specific threats and opportunities.

      Significance
   1. The significance of this sort of analysis is that it helps a retailer understand its retail market through an analysis of its customer base. Primarily, it seeks to fill market gaps and anticipate different types of threats. Market gaps are those holes in a local market where demand is stronger than supply.
      Function
   2. These types of analyses seek to scientifically figure out how to serve a client base more effectively. It tries to identify certain strengths (such as a good reputation) and build upon them. It also seeks to identify certain weaknesses (such as a high rate of turnover among employees and staff) and implement policies that would eliminate these problems. For SWOT to work properly, it must be objective, base itself around customer surveys and act as an honest barometer of a firm's ability to reach out to its customers.
      Considerations
   3. The chance to conceptually map out a firm's ability to respond to its client base is of immense importance, especially for smaller retailers competing with huge chains such as WalMart, Kmart or Home Depot. SWOT analysis, from the point of view of a small retail store worried about competition from the major chains, should center around how smaller firms provide, for example, better customer service than larger retail organizations. The purpose of SWOT in this case is for the survival of small firms competing with larger chain stores with superior resources.
      Benefits
   4. The main benefit of SWOT analysis on retail customers is the ability to serve them better. If a firm has a good reputation and a strong local presence, these can be considered important strengths, while its small size is its weakness. Its opportunity would be to play up its strong local connections, and the threat is the investment of a large chain in the same locality.
      Potential
   5. A SWOT analysis for a small retailer would more than likely suggest that customer service be featured above all things, and investments should be made in reinforcing its local history through advertising, sponsoring sports teams or even improving its décor to reflect its tradition in the community. A SWOT analysis concerns itself, thematically, with all these things and, thus, centers around customer service and the ability to retain retail customers. Therefore, the potential here is to preserve the small retail chain against the larger one.



Read more: SWOT Analysis of Shoppers | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5965449_swot-analysis-shoppers.html#ixzz10nzjs9fJ

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