Strategic Analysis (Porter + PESTEL + SWOT)

When to Use

• During annual strategic planning cycles
• When evaluating entry into a new market or segment
• When competitive dynamics shift significantly
• When preparing strategic recommendations for the board

Procedure

Step 1 — Porter's Five Forces

Rate each force (1 = Low, 5 = High):

Force	Guiding Questions
Threat of New Entrants	Barriers to entry? Capital requirements? Regulatory hurdles?
Bargaining Power of Suppliers	Supplier concentration? Switching costs? Unique inputs?
Bargaining Power of Buyers	Buyer concentration? Price sensitivity? Switching costs?
Threat of Substitutes	Alternative solutions? Performance ratio? Switching ease?
Competitive Rivalry	Number of competitors? Industry growth? Exit barriers?

Overall industry attractiveness: Average of 5 forces (inverted — lower score = more attractive).

Step 2 — PESTEL Scan

Factor	Key Trends	Impact (H/M/L)	Timeframe
Political	Regulation, trade policy, political stability
Economic	GDP growth, inflation, exchange rates, interest rates
Social	Demographics, consumer behavior, workforce trends
Technological	Innovation pace, automation, digital disruption
Environmental	Sustainability pressure, resource scarcity, climate
Legal	Compliance requirements, IP law, labor law

Step 3 — SWOT Synthesis

Combine Five Forces (external) + PESTEL (macro) + internal assessment:

	Helpful	Harmful
Internal	Strengths	Weaknesses
External	Opportunities	Threats

Step 4 — Strategic Options

Generate strategic options by crossing:

• Strengths × Opportunities → Offensive strategies
• Strengths × Threats → Defensive strategies
• Weaknesses × Opportunities → Reorientation strategies
• Weaknesses × Threats → Survival strategies

Rank options by: Feasibility × Impact × Alignment with vision.

Inputs

Input	Required	Format
Industry/market context	Yes	Description or brief
Company position	Yes	Products, market share, capabilities
Competitor list	Recommended	Key competitors with known strengths

Output

## Strategic Analysis — [Company/Market]

### Five Forces Assessment

| Force | Rating | Rationale |
|-------|--------|-----------|
| New Entrants | 2/5 | High capital requirements, regulatory barriers |
| Supplier Power | 3/5 | Moderate concentration, some switching costs |
| Buyer Power | 4/5 | Price-sensitive market, low switching costs |
| Substitutes | 3/5 | Digital alternatives emerging |
| Rivalry | 4/5 | 5 major competitors, slow growth |
| **Industry Attractiveness** | **Moderate** (avg 3.2/5) | |

### PESTEL Summary
[Top 3–5 macro trends with impact assessment]

### SWOT Matrix
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|-----------|------------|
| Strong brand | Limited digital capability |
| | |
| **Opportunities** | **Threats** |
| Emerging market expansion | New digital entrant |

### Strategic Options (Ranked)

| # | Strategy | Type | Feasibility | Impact | Rank |
|---|----------|------|-------------|--------|------|
| 1 | Digital transformation | Reorientation | High | High | ⭐ 1 |
| 2 | Market expansion APAC | Offensive | Medium | High | 2 |
| 3 | Cost leadership program | Defensive | High | Medium | 3 |

### Recommendation
[2–3 sentence strategic recommendation with rationale]

Definition of Done

• Five Forces rated with rationale
• PESTEL scan with top trends identified
• SWOT matrix completed
• Strategic options generated from SWOT cross-analysis
• Options ranked by feasibility × impact
• Clear recommendation provided

Examples

Prompt

Analyze the competitive landscape for our B2B SaaS company in the HR tech market.
We have 5% market share, strong product but weak sales team.
Key competitors: Workday, BambooHR, Deel.
Use Porter's Five Forces + PESTEL + SWOT and recommend strategic options.

Quality Criteria

• All claims reference specific frameworks, standards, or quantifiable data
• Content matches the stated audience's expertise level
• Recommendations are actionable — each includes a concrete next step
• No unsupported assertions or generic filler language

Verification (4C)

Check	Question
Correctness	Do referenced frameworks and standards match their official definitions?
Completeness	Are all key concepts covered without significant gaps for the stated audience?
Context-fit	Would this be useful for someone new to this domain, or is it too advanced/too basic?
Consequence	If a stakeholder acted on this immediately, what could they misinterpret?

Edge Cases

• Conflicting frameworks — State which framework takes precedence and why. Document the trade-off explicitly.
• Rapidly changing domain — Note information currency date. Flag sections likely to need updates.
• Audience has mixed expertise levels — Provide a glossary and mark advanced sections as optional.

Changelog

• v1.0.0 — Initial release