Tuesday 26 April 2011

PEST and SWOT

Information taken from this website:
'A PEST analysis most commonly measures a market; a SWOT analysis measures a business unit, a proposition or idea.'

PEST analysis can be used for marketing and business development assessment and decision-making, and the PEST template encourages proactive thinking, rather than relying on habitual or instinctive reactions.

Here the PEST analysis template is presented as a grid, comprising four sections, one for each of the PEST headings: Political, Economic, Social and Technological.


A market is defined by what is addressing it, be it a product, company, brand, business unit, proposition, idea, etc, so be clear about how you define the market being analysed, particularly if you use PEST analysis in workshops, team exercises or as a delegated task. The PEST subject should be a clear definition of the market being addressed, which might be from any of the following standpoints:

  • a company looking at its market
  • a product looking at its market
  • a brand in relation to its market
  • a local business unit
  • a strategic option, such as entering a new market or launching a new product
  • a potential acquisition
  • a potential partnership
  • an investment opportunity

No comments:

Post a Comment