How to Create a SWOT Analysis in Excel

Conducting a SWOT analysis is a foundational step for any business strategy, helping you map out your path to success. This article will show you exactly how to build a clean, effective, and shareable SWOT analysis right inside Microsoft Excel - a tool you already have and know how to use.

Graphed

Build AI Agents for Marketing

Build virtual employees that run your go to market. Connect your data sources, deploy autonomous agents, and grow your company.

Build Your First Agent

What is a SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning framework used to evaluate a company's competitive position. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

• Strengths: Internal attributes and resources that help your business achieve its objectives. What does your company do exceptionally well?
• Weaknesses: Internal attributes that place your business at a disadvantage relative to others. Where could you stand to improve?
• Opportunities: External factors that your business could use to its advantage. What market trends could you jump on?
• Threats: External factors that could potentially harm your business. What obstacles do you face from competitors or market conditions?

The goal is to leverage your strengths to seize opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and guarding against threats. It’s a simple but powerful way to get a 360-degree view of your business landscape.

Why Use Excel for Your SWOT Analysis?

While dedicated apps and templates exist, Excel is often the best tool for the job. It’s universally accessible, incredibly flexible, and most team members already know their way around a spreadsheet. You're not forced into a rigid template and can easily customize the layout, add notes, or even introduce scoring systems without learning a new piece of software.

Step-by-Step: Creating Your SWOT Analysis in Excel

Let's walk through building a classic 2x2 SWOT matrix from scratch. This method gives you a clean, professional-looking grid to work with.

AI Agents for Marketing

Crash Course

Graphed

Free PDF · the crash course

AI Agents for Marketing Crash Course

Learn how to deploy AI marketing agents across your go-to-market — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to turn your data into autonomous execution without writing code.

Download the PDF

Step 1: Set Up the Grid

First, open a new Excel workbook. The traditional SWOT analysis is a two-by-two grid. We’ll use Excel cells to create this layout. We’ll need a 3x3 grid of cells to get started, as we will use the center cell as our main focus.

A good starting point is to select a block of cells, say B2:D4. We are using B2:D4, not A1, to give us some breathing room around our matrix. This block gives us a nice center cell (C3) that we can build around.

Step 2: Create the Quadrants with Borders

With your 3x3 block selected (B2:D4), navigate to the Home tab. In the Font group, click the dropdown arrow on the Borders icon. Select All Borders to create the grid lines. This will make your nine cells clearly visible.

Step 3: Label The Quadrant Titles

Now, let's create our four main sections and label the positive/negative and internal/external factors.

Tip: Merging cells makes for cleaner titles, but it can sometimes make sorting and filtering more complicated. For a simple SWOT, it’s not an issue.

1. Select cells C2 and D2. Right-click and choose Format Cells > Alignment and check the box for Merge Cells. Or, use the Merge & Center button on the Home tab. Type "Internal Factors" into this merged cell.
2. Merge cells B3 and B4 similarly. Use the Alignment options in the Format Cells menu to rotate the text vertically or at an angle for a more professional look. Type "Positive Factors" here.

Now, let’s add the main titles for each quadrant:

• In cell C3, type STRENGTHS.
• In cell E3, type WEAKNESSES.
• In cell C5, type OPPORTUNITIES.
• In cell E5, type THREATS.

You can then start filling in the bullet points in the cells below each title. For example, your strengths will go in C4, C5, etc., with one point per cell.

Step 4: Style Your Matrix for Readability

Visual appeal isn't just about looks, it helps with clarity. Make your SWOT analysis easy to read at a glance:

• Colors: Use subtle background colors to differentiate the quadrants. The classic approach is green for Strengths and Opportunities (the good stuff) and a light red or orange for Weaknesses and Threats (the challenges). Highlight the title cells using the Fill Color bucket icon on the Home tab.
• Fonts: Make your headings (STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, etc.) bold and a slightly larger font size.
• Sizing: Adjust your column widths and row heights to fit your content. Hover your mouse between the column letters (e.g., between C and D) or row numbers and drag to resize. Double-clicking will automatically resize it to fit the content.

Graphed

Build AI Agents for Marketing

Build virtual employees that run your go to market. Connect your data sources, deploy autonomous agents, and grow your company.

Build Your First Agent

Step 5: Fill In Your Analysis (The Brainstorming)

Your beautiful grid is ready. Now comes the most important part: the analysis itself. Gather your team and start brainstorming points for each category. Go beyond one-word answers and ask probing questions to get meaningful insights.

Questions to Identify Strengths (Internal, Positive)

Think about what you have complete control over and what sets you apart.

• What are we best at? ("Our engineering team ships new features faster than competitors.")
• What unique resources do we have? ("Proprietary algorithm," "exclusive supplier partnerships.")
• What do our customers love about us? ("Personalized customer service," "brand reputation for quality.")
• What tangible assets do we have? ("Strong cash position," "valuable intellectual property.")

Questions to Identify Weaknesses (Internal, Negative)

Be honest and critical here. Acknowledging weaknesses is the first step toward fixing them.

• Where are we less efficient? ("Outdated internal reporting processes.")
• What do our competitors do better than us? ("Competitor X has a larger social media presence.")
• What resources do we lack? ("Limited marketing budget," "lack of specialized sales talent.")
• What do customers complain about? ("High shipping costs," "complicated checkout process.")

Questions to Identify Opportunities (External, Positive)

Look at the bigger picture outside your company walls.

• What market trends could benefit us? ("Growing demand for sustainable products.")
• Are there any changes in regulations that could help us? ("New government grants for our industry.")
• Can we serve any underserved markets? ("No major competitors targeting the freelance market.")
• Are there upcoming technologies we can adopt? ("AI-powered tools for customer support.")

Questions to Identify Threats (External, Negative)

These are the dangers lurking that you need a plan for.

• What are our primary competitors doing? ("Competitor Z just launched a new pricing model.")
• Are there changing customer behaviors that could hurt us? ("Shift in consumer spending towards experiences over physical goods.")
• What economic trends could impact us? ("Rising supply chain costs," "potential economic recession.")
• Do we have any exposure to cash flow or supply chain problems? ("Over-reliance on a single supplier in a volatile region.")

Taking Your SWOT Analysis to the Next Level in Excel

A simple 2x2 grid is a great starting point, but Excel's power lets you go deeper.

Alternative #1: Using a SmartArt Graphic

If you prefer a more presentation-ready visual, Excel’s SmartArt is an excellent option.

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. In the Illustrations group, click on SmartArt.
3. In the menu that appears, click on Matrix from the left-hand list.
4. Select the "Basic Matrix" layout (the first option) and click OK.
5. A customizable 2x2 grid will appear on your sheet. You can type your titles and bullet points directly into the [Text] areas or use the text pane that appears to the side.
6. Use the SmartArt Design tab that appears when the object is selected to easily change colors, styles, and layouts.

This method is faster for creating a visually polished analysis and is great for including in PowerPoint presentations or reports.

AI Agents for Marketing

Crash Course

Graphed

Free PDF · the crash course

AI Agents for Marketing Crash Course

Learn how to deploy AI marketing agents across your go-to-market — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to turn your data into autonomous execution without writing code.

Download the PDF

Advanced Strategy: Add Scoring for Prioritization (Weighted SWOT)

Not all SWOT points are created equal. A "lack of office snacks" is a much smaller weakness than having "no mobile app." Scoring helps you prioritize what to act on.

1. Next to your list of points in each quadrant, add two new columns: Score (1-10) and Weighted Score.
2. Assign a score: For Threats and Opportunities, score based on their potential Impact. For Strengths and Weaknesses, score them based on their current Magnitude. A 10 means a massive impact or magnitude.
3. Assign a weight: Add another column for "Weight" where you assign a percentage of importance to each factor, with the total weight for each quadrant summing to 100%.
4. Calculate The Weighted Score: In the final column, use a simple formula to multiply Score by Weight.

=(Score Cell * Weight Cell)

By summing the weighted scores for each quadrant, you get a much clearer picture of what truly requires your attention.

From Analysis to Action: Try a TOWS Matrix

A SWOT analysis is diagnostic, but a TOWS analysis is about action. It remixes your SWOT items to create strategic initiatives.

• Strengths-Opportunities (S-O): How can you use your internal strengths to capitalize on external opportunities? ("Use our strong brand reputation to launch a new product into the growing sustainable market.")
• Weaknesses-Opportunities (W-O): How can you take advantage of opportunities to overcome your weaknesses? ("Secure government grant to fund the development of our much-needed mobile app.")
• Strengths-Threats (S-T): How can you leverage your strengths to mitigate external threats? ("Use our loyal customer base and superior service to defend against new low-cost competitors.")
• Weaknesses-Threats (W-T): How can you minimize your weaknesses to avoid threats? ("Modernize outdated technology stack to prevent security vulnerabilities and reduce risk.")

You can easily build a second 2x2 grid in Excel right below your SWOT to map out these TOWS strategies.

Final Thoughts

Creating a SWOT analysis in Excel gives you a flexible and accessible way to map out your strategic landscape. By clearly identifying what you're good at, where you can improve, where you can grow, and what you need to watch out for, you're building an actionable roadmap for your business.

Remember, the quality of your SWOT analysis depends on the quality of your data. To get beyond guesswork, we built Graphed to connect you directly to the source. Instead of wondering about your marketing strengths, you can connect your advertising platforms and ask, "which campaigns have the best ROI this quarter?" That's a real strength. You can connect your sales CRM and Shopify to identify your true customer acquisition costs. That's a potential weakness you need to address. It helps provide the real-time, accurate data that turns a good-looking grid into a powerful decision-making engine.