SWOT Analysis
Opportunities
Opportunities are favorable external factors that could provide a competitive advantage for a company. Examples include:
- Tax/tariff cuts
- Demographics
- Underserved customer needs/preferences
- Promotion techniques
- Diversification
- Sustainability
See this article, 23 Examples of SWOT Opportunities for more specific examples.
Market Research
The databases below provide market research and statistics such as growth rates and consumer trends to help determine a company's opportunities. When searching them, ask yourself the following questions:
- What can be used to improve operations?
- How can core operations be expanded?
- What new market segments can be explored?
- IBISWorldContains market share data, top competitors, industry growth rates, outlook projections and SWOT analyses for major industry sectors, organized by NAICS code.
- MarketLineContains company, industry market analysis, and country reports and data based on published research and primary and secondary data sources.
- MarketScope AdvisorAn investment analysis database with market commentary, independent investment analysis, and current news and data on a broad range of asset classes, including stocks, exchange-traded funds, and mutual funds. It also includes industry surveys from 60+ industries (updated twice a year), sector-specific information from 11 sectors, and thematic research reports.
- Mergent OnlineUse Mergent Online to search by sector, NAICS or SIC code. You can also search by industry via the Industry Analysis tab to get competitive comparisons and historical data by date or region.
- Mintel ReportsProduct and industry market research reports covering US and International marketplaces. Use the search box at the top to search for consumer market information. Reports are geared toward specific market niches.
- StatistaStatista integrates statistical data on a wide variety of topics and industries from over 18,000 sources, including market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases.
Using Government Data
Done every five years by the Census Bureau, the Economic Census provides comprehensive and detailed statistics on employer businesses and serves as the benchmark for nearly every business survey conducted by the Census Bureau. It was last done in 2017 and statistics continued to roll out throughout 2020.
- Webinar on tips and tricks on how best to access data by state and sector.
- Economic Census Data Tables - To learn how to review 2017 business data, click here, and for glossary information, go here.
- Interactive graphic of what has been released by state.
- Fun Facts about the Economic Census
- The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) - the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
Compare manufacturing data over time via the Industrial Statistics Database: INDSTAT 4. Located on the UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization) platform, it contains manufacturing sector data from 1990 to the present.
In addition, try:
- Census Reporter
- A free, open-source platform focused on making American Community Survey (ACS) data more accessible, including the recent upload of the 2022 1-Year ACS data
- Esri
- GIS vendor publishes several U.S. Census Bureau data sets, including the ACS, through its ArcGIS Online Platform
- FRED
- Federal Reserve Economic Data
- They have some demographic data as well; free and open source