Situation or SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is “an overall evaluation of the company’s strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)” and is used to analyze a company’s situation prior to marketing. The Q-Tip brand is full of strengths; the brand name itself is commonly used interchangeably with the term cotton swab. The perceived value of Q-Tips is high, people believe that the Q-Tip brand cotton swab is a higher quality product than what its competitors offer. Some of the weaknesses of the product include that since it is perceived to be of a higher quality than what the competitors offer, the price is somewhat higher. The price being higher is necessary to keep its perceived value; however, the higher price means that there is a certain demographic that is unlikely to purchase the product. People with very low income are more likely to just purchase the competitor’s brand if it is significantly lower because they cannot afford the luxury of the higher quality brand. The brand name being used synonymously with the term cotton swab could actually become a weakness as well. “Their very success may threaten the company’s rights to the name. Many originally protected brand names are now generic name that any seller can use” (Armstrong and Kotler 231). An example of a brand name that was originally protected but became so widely used that the protection was lost is aspirin. One opportunity for the Q-Tip brand to take advantage of is the entire male market. The goal of my advertisement is going to be to sell to this entire market segment by creating an ad which targets and gains the attention of men. Threats to the Q-Tip brand are any and all of its competitors. If another brand is able to create the perceived value that Q-Tips have and still sell their product at a lower price, the entire Q-Tip brand could be in jeopardy.