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What is a PEST analysis?

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Creating a great product isn’t enough to succeed in the business world — you need to have a plan for the future. It’s essential to use data and research to identify trends and determine how they relate to or impact your business. Armed with that knowledge, you can lay out a plan to protect your business against potential threats and remain flexible.

A PEST analysis is one of the best ways to get a complete overview of the external factors that impact your business. Whether you run a local business or a massive corporation, changes in politics, the economy, social climate, and technology significantly impact your business. These factors play a key role in decision-making by helping you identify threats and weaknesses.

Whether you’re just starting a business or trying to master strategic planning, a PEST analysis is a great way to get ahead. Learn more about the definition of PEST analysis, why it’s essential, and how you can conduct a PEST analysis to drive your business decisions.

Understanding PEST analysis

A PEST analysis is a type of analysis that looks at political, economic, social, and technological factors that impact your business. When a significant change in the economy or new technology emerges, it can lead to new opportunities and threats for your business. A PEST analysis helps you identify those potential opportunities and threats so you can take advantage of them during the project planning stage.

PEST analysis vs SWOT analysis

PEST and SWOT analyses may seem similar, but there are a few key differences. A PEST analysis focuses on external factors, while SWOT considers both internal and external factors. PEST analyzes political, economic, social, and technological influences, while SWOT examines a business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Why is PEST analysis important?

Understanding how to conduct a PEST analysis is vital in an ever-changing world. Think about how businesses operated 20 years ago and everything that has changed, from consumer habits to technology.

Without a PEST analysis, you simply hope the world changes in a way that favors your business. However, with a PEST analysis, you can better understand how the world might change and how that could impact your business so you can create an action plan to prepare for the future.

For example, your PEST analysis might show the importance of adopting new technology early on. Conversely, you might learn that the threats presented by new technology mean it’s better to be a late adopter.

Key components of PEST analysis

To conduct a PEST analysis, you must first understand its key components. Understanding these factors is essential to stay ahead of potential challenges and opportunities.

Fatores políticos

A shift in the political climate can have significant implications for all types of businesses, and the political climate is constantly changing. For example, new government leadership can change regulations and consumer habits. Leadership changes can also lead to changes in consumer protection laws and foreign trade and policy, which has a massive impact on international businesses.

Even something as simple as a period of political unrest can seriously affect your business. A strategic planning framework helps you prepare for potential shifts in politics and laws.

Fatores econômicos

Whether you’re a consumer or a business owner, every economic change significantly impacts your life. The economy's overall health can determine your business's potential success, with factors like inflation and rising unemployment making it harder for business owners to protect their bottom line.

Many businesses scale down operations when the economy is in poor health or inflation is high. As demand for products falls, so does production.

Fatores sociais

With the internet and social media, social movements are stronger than ever. Shifts in consumer behavior and cultural attitudes can affect your business in several ways, and in the information age, those shifts happen quickly.

Changes in populations and demographics are also essential to consider. The population's average age naturally shifts, changing the demand for various products and services. If your demographic grows, you must increase production to meet higher demand.

Fatores tecnológicos

It seems like we’re constantly discovering groundbreaking technology, and that technology can benefit your business in several ways. However, technological changes can also introduce new threats and potential business risks. For example, cloud services are efficient and affordable, but cloud security can be challenging.

Understanding technological factors and how they impact your business is a key part of project collaboration. When your IT, sales, and executive teams focus on correctly implementing technology, cyber threats are less of a concern.

Benefits of PEST analysis

Just because you understand your brand doesn’t mean you know it in the context of your industry or the market as a whole. A PEST analysis gives you deeper insights into your brand and everything that impacts it, which can help with everything from project management to risk mitigation.

An effective PEST analysis provides the information necessary to mitigate risks proactively, make better decisions, and create a strategy that accounts for future changes.

When to use PEST analysis

Conducting a PEST analysis allows you to learn more about your business and use that information to make decisions about your brand, its products, and the future. A PEST analysis can help you identify and mitigate risks in the early stages if you're starting a new business.

A PEST analysis can also be helpful if you’re developing a new product or moving into an untapped market. By understanding what affects your industry and setting goals you can work toward, you can create a simple roadmap for success.

How to conduct a PEST analysis

While you don’t need special tools to conduct a PEST analysis, brainstorming and collaboration tools like Confluence whiteboards can help. Here is how to conduct a PEST analysis in a few simple steps:

Identify the external factors

Once you’ve set goals you can define and measure, it’s time to start gathering data. You can research market trends, recent changes in government policies, trends in consumer behavior, and recent technological advancements. Use as many sources as possible to discover new information, including government stats, industry reports, expert interviews, and market research. The more data you collect, the better.

Analise os dados coletados

Essa é uma etapa difícil em que a colaboração em projetos pode ajudar. Agora que você pesquisou e identificou os fatores externos, precisa descobrir como esses fatores afetam sua empresa. A empresa vai ficar menos competitiva se você não adotar novas tecnologias? Se você adotar uma nova tecnologia, ela vai ser uma ameaça à empresa? Responder a perguntas simples como essas pode ajudar você a entender como a empresa pode ser afetada.

Priorize as principais descobertas

Quando terminar de analisar seus dados, priorize as principais descobertas que podem impactar muito os negócios. Por exemplo, você pode descobrir que a inflação vai ter um impacto negativo nos negócios se o planejamento não for adequado. Outras empresas podem descobrir que certos fatores tecnológicos têm efeito mais significativo. Descubra o que é essencial para sua empresa e faça anotações.

Desenvolva estratégias acionáveis

A etapa final é usar o conhecimento que você adquiriu com a análise PEST para desenvolver o plano de ação. O objetivo da estratégia acionável é minimizar os impactos negativos de fatores políticos, econômicos, sociais e tecnológicos. Fazer a análise PEST todos os anos ajuda você a se manter preparado para o futuro.

Exemplo de análise PEST

Com um exemplo de análise PEST, você pode compreender melhor como a análise PEST é usada para orientar decisões de negócios. O exemplo é a análise PEST de uma empresa de tecnologia:

  • Política: a empresa se beneficia das políticas de livre comércio, mas as disputas comerciais representam uma possível ameaça.
  • Econômico: a falta de renda disponível é uma ameaça, mas o rápido crescimento econômico de países em desenvolvimento apresenta oportunidades.
  • Social: sentimentos negativos dos consumidores alteraram a percepção da marca.
  • Tecnológico: as inovações e os desenvolvimentos de novas tecnologias feitos por concorrentes representam um desafio.

A empresa mantém uma vantagem ao continuar inovando e apoiando programas sociais para melhorar a percepção do público. À medida que os países em desenvolvimento crescem, a empresa expande o alcance, gerando um aumento das vendas.

Simplifique a análise PEST com o Confluence

Quer saber mais sobre a empresa e o setor para se preparar melhor para o futuro? Fazer a análise PEST é um ótimo começo. Fazer a análise PEST ajuda as empresas a identificar e organizar fatores externos que afetam seus negócios; seguir as práticas recomendadas de colaboração em projetos garante que o processo seja eficiente e eficaz.

Com o Confluence, é fácil colocar todos na mesma página. Você pode usar os quadros brancos do Confluence para fazer um brainstorming de fatores externos e trabalhar com colegas de equipe em tempo real para determinar como esses fatores afetam seus negócios. Você também pode incorporar páginas nos quadros brancos do Confluence para proporcionar mais contexto e melhorar a colaboração no projeto. Ao aproveitar as funções colaborativas do Confluence, você pode otimizar a análise e tomar decisões melhores que impulsionam os negócios.

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