SWOT Analysis in Business Model Innovation

SWOT assessment involves identifying the relative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the business model. This includes the regulatory, economic, political, social, and internal environments.

Delineating fact from fiction, preference from reality, and present outcomes from future desired outcomes becomes crucial.

An inability to distinguish these can undermine the SWOT analysis and lead the business down counterproductive, if not destructive, paths.


Case Example: Data Analytics Inc


Glassdoor is also a useful platform for discovering data driven information that may not be mirrored in explicit internal feedback mechanisms. This is because internal innovation information vectors often apply a filter that limits objectivity, systems thinking, and critical analysis.

The SWOT analysis is greatly strengthened with the customer journey map, survey instruments, and audit tools to discover what prevents the business model from crossing the chasm from startup to growth stage, or present conditions to realizing the leadership team’s future vision for the company.

The business industry for Data Analytics Inc. was reviewed in previous articles. Several of the strengths of the DaaS model were reviewed. A Glassdoor review provides one viewer’s experience and helps the leadership team identify public perception, areas for growth, and areas for improvement.

Generic Insights

Evaluated from a business model perspective, particular topics that pop-out include the following:

  • Role definitions
  • Supply chain efficiency
  • Recruitment values
  • Facilities layout
  • Company culture, &
  • Transparency

Insights gained earlier, in addition to the questions identified for confirming and evaluating KPI performance across the business model, can be additionally informed by drafting out the company’s business model. Weaknesses & threats can be identified as areas of deteriorating performance, lost value, conflicting alignment, and deteriorating financial returns are confirmed.

The solution to the deterioration of performance will depend on the source:

  • Key Resources
  • Channels
  • Cost structure, or
  • Revenue streams?

Evaluation Across the Business Model


Strengths & opportunities can similarly be identified as KPI performance improves.

Understanding the sensitive relationship between all quadrants in the SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats) often differentiates between effective planning, high impact levels, and consistent return on investment from strategies that often miss their mark and give diminishing returns.

Opportunities can often minimize existing weaknesses, and existing strengths can help the business to mitigate ongoing threats to the business model.

Key Performance Indicators

Additional questions can be identified to support the evaluation of the company’s business model. These questions also help to find key performance indicators that drive value for both the business and customers. Answers to these questions can help the leadership team to find product/ service to market fit, the competitive advantages that exist (if any), and the competitive risks that exist in this business’ particular industry.

DaaS business model

A SWOT analysis is also supported by taking a closer look at the business supply chain. Each industry’s supply chain is different so the business model, competencies, and vision are aligned with the inputs and outputs of the system. The supply chain represents part of the business model and has the responsibility for insuring inputs and turned into the desired outputs, received and purchased by the customer.

The supply chain (as well as the company’s business model) find the areas emphasized by the company. These need to be aligned with the customer’s needs and be able to solve the assigned problems if the business is to stay viable.

Threatened supply chain and business model competencies can impact performance, increase customer satisfaction, and give up market share to the competition. As you can see in the supply chain model below core value propositions of the business model are compromised and requires intervention.

Risks of Business Model Insulation

Companies that remain private, and attempt to hide their head in the sand (remain invisible to competitors), are missing valuable information.

This information could potentially shift ongoing efforts away from customer needs, industry opportunities, and the insight that comes from interacting with one’s competition.

Evaluating Alignment

Misalignment between any components of the business model, customer needs, market demands, and industry changes can irrevocably undermine the business model.

This is why each business needs to conduct an ongoing environment scan. Risks (and opportunities) are always surfacing.

Without an ongoing environmental scanning effort, and effective leadership to honestly and courageously engage mechanisms that may often give depressing feedback, the business model will remain exposed to other instabilities in the environment.


Strengthening the Business Model


The SWOT analysis is strengthened by conducting a customer journey mapping exercise. This helps understand the process, tools, strategies, resources, and schedules through which services & product lines are activated, engaged, and implemented. In addition to these tools focus groups, surveys, and audit reports can provide additional insight into the business model’s performance within the current environments.

Travis Barker, MPA GCPM

Consulting@innovatevancouver.org

Innovate Vancouver is a Technology and Business Information Consulting Service (TBICS) located in Vancouver, BC. Contact Innovate Vancouver to help with your new project. 

Note: The name of the company in this case study has been changed



Previous Article
Next Article