The components of an industry analysis are discussed, as are five main macro-level environmental forces impacting marketing planning: the PEST (political, economic, social, technological) and natural environment analysis. The elements of the internal audit - an analysis of the organization itself through its marketing goals and objectives, organizational resources, and internal structure and culture - are then explored. The chapter concludes with the most important stage of the situational analysis: the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, where the findings of the situational analysis are summarized. (Ho Yin Wong, Kylie Radel, Roshnee Ramsaran-Fowdar, 2011) 

 

 

 

PEST analysis is a scan of the external macro-environment in which an organization exists. It is a useful tool for understanding the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environment that an organization operates in. It can be used for evaluating market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business.

 

• Political factors. These include government regulations such as employment laws, environmental regulations and tax policy. Other political factors are trade restrictions and political stability.

• Economic factors. These affect the cost of capital and purchasing power of an organization. Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, inflation and currency exchange rates.

• Social factors. These impact on the consumer’s need and the potential market size for an organization’s goods and services. Social factors include population growth, age demographics and attitudes towards health.

• Technological factors. These influence barriers to entry, make or buy decisions and investment in innovation, such as automation, investment incentives and the rate of technological change.

• Legislation factors, Are there any current legislations that regulate the industry or can there be any change in the legislations for the industry?

• Environmental factors, what are the environmental concerns for the industry?

 

 

 

PEST factors can be classified as opportunities or threats in a SWOT analysis. It is often useful to complete a PEST analysis before completing a SWOT analysis. Series

It is also worth noting that the four paradigms of PEST vary in significance depending on the type of business. For example, social factors are more obviously relevant to consumer businesses or a B2B business near the consumer end of the supply chain. Conversely, political factors are more obviously relevant to a defense contractor or aerospace manufacturer. 

A SWOT analysis is a simple but widely used tool that helps in understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in a project or business activity.

It starts by defining the objective of the project or business activity and identifies the internal and external factors that are important to achieving that objective. strengths and weaknesses are usually internal to the organization, while opportunities and threats are usually external.
Often these are plotted on a simple 2x2 matrix.
When using SWOT analysis, it should be ensured that:

• Internal and external factors are prioritized so that time is spent concentrating on the most significant factors. This should include a risk assessment to ensure that high risk or high impact threats and opportunities are clearly identified and are dealt with in priority order.

• Issues identified are retained for later in the strategy formation process.

• The analysis is pitched at the project or business activity level rather than at a total company level, which may be less actionable.

• It is not used in exclusivity. No one tool is likely to be completely comprehensive, so a mixture of option-

  generating tools should be used. 

We have done two survey. The first it was a qualitative survey and the second is a quantitative survey.The survey is a detailed study of a market or geographical area to gather data on attitudes, impressions, opinions, satisfaction level, etc., of a specific population a company wants to target. (Marketing, 2015)The qualitative and quantitative surveys can help BWB solve marketing problems the company can encounter.