For consultants framing a strategy decision
SWOT Analysis Template and Example
Every point with its evidence and source, a so-what under each quadrant, TOWS strategies that pair the quadrants, and a full worked example.
Strengths
- S1 · 92% of wholesale cafés reorder“283 of 307 accounts reordered in 2025.” Wholesale customer list
- S2 · The roaster runs at 55% of one shift“About 11 tonnes a week. It'll do 20.” Roastery manager, 9 Sep
Weaknesses
- W1 · Bags filled by hand, about 600 a day“Two of us, 600 bags on a good day.” Roastery manager, 9 Sep
- W2 · Gross margin down from 41% to 34%Management accounts FY2025, p. 2
Opportunities
- O1 · A 64-store grocer wants spring lines“12 to 18 lines, proposals by 15 November.” Buyer's email
- O2 · 27 cafés asked to resell retail bagsWholesale order notes, March to August
Threats
- T1 · Green coffee contract up 18% in January“+18% on the 2027 contract price.” Supplier letter, Aug
- T2 · $1,500 listing fee per line, paid at 60 daysGrocer's range brief, p. 3
What you'll get
Sourced points, a so-what per quadrant, TOWS strategies and a full example
- Three to five points per quadrant, each with its evidence and source
- A so-what under each quadrant, then TOWS strategies with a test each
- A full worked example, or a first pass from your notes or a name
Before and after
Your notes in. A SWOT with sources out.
Brackenford Coffee, deciding whether to pitch Pell's Markets for spring. Roaster does about 11 tonnes a week, can do 20 on one shift. Bags hand-filled, about 600 a day. Margin down from 41% to 34%. Pell's wants 12 to 18 lines by 15 Nov, $1,500 listing fee per line, 60-day terms.
Strengths: S1. The roaster has spare capacity: about 11 tonnes a week, against 20 on one shift. Source: your notes. So what: roasting is not what limits a grocery bid. Weaknesses: W1. Bags are filled by hand, about 600 a day. Source: your notes. So what: packing caps how many lines Brackenford could supply. TOWS: WO. Test retail bags at a smaller scale before committing to Pell's volumes (W1 × O1). To confirm with the client: How many bags a week would Pell's expect per line?
Every point keeps its source. Anything your notes don't support becomes a question, not a guess.
Why it works
What is a SWOT analysis, and how do you make one worth using?
A SWOT analysis template sets out a company's strengths and weaknesses, which it controls, and the opportunities and threats outside it, so a team can make one decision. This one asks for what most templates skip: evidence. Every point needs a quote or figure and the document, interview or public source behind it. That answers SWOT's oldest problem. Hill and Westbrook reviewed 20 companies' SWOTs and found long lists of brief, general phrases, few backed by data. No one used them in the later stages of strategy work.
Rules keep the points specific. Each one names this company, carries a number where one exists, and passes one test: could a rival paste it into their own SWOT unchanged? A table rewrites vague points like "strong brand" into checkable ones. Each quadrant ends with a so-what for the decision. Then a TOWS section pairs the quadrants into strategies, following Heinz Weihrich's TOWS matrix. It names four kinds: use strengths to take opportunities, fix weaknesses to take them, use strengths against threats, and limit weaknesses where threats hit.
The second document is a full SWOT analysis example: an invented coffee roaster deciding whether to supply a grocery chain, from evidence to TOWS. Paste your notes, or just the company name. With notes, River sorts each fact into a quadrant with its source. With a name, it researches public sources, such as a US-listed company's annual report on Form 10-K, and links each one. For a stack of client files, the SWOT analysis generator reads them all. A gap analysis then measures one area against a target.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the SWOT analysis template
- The decision it informs
One question at the top, so every point is judged by whether it changes the answer. - Four sourced quadrants
Three to five points each, written as specific claims, with the quote or figure and where it came from. - A so-what per quadrant
One or two sentences under each quadrant on what it means for the decision. - TOWS strategies
The four pairings, each strategy naming the points it rests on and how to test it with the client. - Rules against generic points
Seven rules, a rewrite table for vague points, where to find evidence, and a checklist before you send. - A full worked example
An invented coffee roaster weighing a grocery deal, from sourced points to TOWS and a grid for a slide.
How it works
From notes to a SWOT you can defend
Open the template
Click Edit with AI. The template opens in River with the worked coffee roaster example beside it.
Paste notes or a name
Optional. Paste your notes and River sorts them into the quadrants, or give a name and it researches public sources.
Test every point
Run the rules: cut anything a rival could claim, and turn thin evidence into a question for the client.
Pair the quadrants
Choose the TOWS strategies that matter for the decision, then test them with the client before anyone commits.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is a SWOT analysis?
A SWOT analysis is a short assessment of an organization's strengths and weaknesses, which are internal, and the opportunities and threats around it, which are external. It should inform one decision, such as entering a market or setting next year's plan. Without evidence under each point, it is a list of opinions.
What makes a good SWOT analysis example?
Every point is specific to one company and could be checked. "Strong brand" fits anyone. "38% of our café customers would buy our beans in a supermarket (customer survey, question 7)" (example) fits one business, and anyone can check it. The worked example in this template is built that way, through to the TOWS strategies.
How many points should each quadrant have?
Three to five, strongest evidence first. Long lists bury what matters: Hill and Westbrook found four of the SWOTs they reviewed listed over 70 factors each. If a quadrant has fewer than three points with real evidence, leave it short and add a question for the client rather than padding it.
How do you turn a SWOT into a strategy?
Pair the quadrants. A TOWS matrix crosses internal points with external ones to give four kinds of strategy: strength with opportunity, weakness with opportunity, strength with threat, and weakness with threat. Write a strategy only for the pairings that matter, name the points it rests on, and say how you would test it.
What if I only have the company's name?
Paste the name, plus the website if the name is common. River searches public sources such as the company's site, its filings, regulators and recent news, and links the page behind every point. Public sources rarely show what goes wrong inside a company, so most weaknesses will arrive as questions for the client.
Who should be involved in a SWOT analysis?
Draft it from evidence first: documents, data and interviews with people at several levels, not only leaders. Then test it with the client team and challenge every point without a source. Hill and Westbrook found consultants rarely challenged the points raised. Interview synthesis turns interviews into sourced themes.
Your next step
More for your project
Put a source under every point
Open the template with the worked example beside it, or paste your notes or the company's name for a first pass.