LEZIONI 11 E 12 Industry Analysis, SWOT and Market Segmentation for Strategic Planning

he presentation focuses on industry analysis as a key tool for business planning and strategic decision-making. It explains how companies can identify sector trends, estimate market growth and profitability, and assess structural variables such as entry barriers, market concentration, industry maturity, economies of scale, and customer loyalty. Particular attention is given to the industry life cycle, with practical examples from the beverage sector across the introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages.

The presentation then introduces SWOT analysis as a diagnostic and decision-making framework within strategic planning. By connecting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through the TOWS matrix, it shows how firms can translate internal and external analysis into coherent competitive strategies, using Apple and the iPhone SE as examples.

Finally, the intervention explores market segmentation, defined as the process of dividing a heterogeneous market into homogeneous customer groups. It examines the main segmentation criteria—geographic, socio-demographic, psychographic, and behavioral—and highlights their strategic relevance through examples such as McDonald’s, Zara, Nike, Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Netflix. Overall, the presentation shows how industry analysis, SWOT, and segmentation can be integrated to identify competitive opportunities and support effective strategic planning.