Description
Gain a clear and concise representation of the business environment with the PESTEL Analysis Template. It not only expands strategic thinking but also aids in anticipating future threats and minimizing risks.
Exploring External Dynamics with PESTEL
PESTEL Analysis is a framework that examines key factors—political, economic, sociological, technological, legal, and environmental—impacting an organization from external sources. It provides professionals with a perspective on external factors influencing their organization.
It serves as an audit of six external influences on an organization:
- Political: Examines political stability, fiscal policies, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and reforms, tariffs, and political stability.
- Economic: Considers economic growth/decline, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, wages, minimum wage, working hours, unemployment (local and national), credit availability, and the cost of living.
- Sociological: Explores cultural norms and expectations, health awareness, population growth rates, age distribution, career attitudes, health, and safety.
- Technological: Assesses the continuous emergence of new technologies (e.g., in robotics and artificial intelligence) and the increasing rate of technological change. It delves into how these changes will affect the organization’s products or services.
- Legal: Examines changes in legislation affecting employment, access to materials, quotas, resources, imports/exports, and taxation.
- Environmental: Considers global warming, the growing need to transition to sustainable resources, ethical sourcing (both locally and nationally), including information about the supply chain. It also addresses pandemics and other emergency situations.Â
Time needed
1 day
When to Use It
Quarterly.
How to use
Follow the step-by-step instructions in the template to complete the competitive analysis report. Tailor the template with specific business information, aligning the results with your brand essence, business, and marketing objectives and your customer avatar.
Benefits
1. Facilitates a broader understanding of the business environment.
2. Encourages external and strategic thinking.
3. Assists in anticipating future threats and setting measures to avoid or minimize their impact.
4. Identifies business opportunities and fully exploits them.
Pro Tips for Optimal Utilization:
Do:
- Collaborate – an analysis involving multiple perspectives yields better results.
- Utilize the expertise and resources already available within the organization.
- Use PESTEL analysis alongside other techniques such as SWOT analysis, Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, competitor analysis, or 5C analysis.
- Avoid collecting large amounts of detailed information without properly analyzing and understanding the results.
- Don’t jump to conclusions about the future based solely on the past or present.
Don't:
This analysis doesn’t predict the future but helps analyze the past and present for strategic decision-making for the future.
- Don’t oversimplify the amount of data used for decisions – it’s easy to use insufficient data.
- Avoid “analysis paralysis.” If you’ve gathered too much data, don’t get lost in detail during the process. Focus on what is essential and prioritized.
- Don’t rely 100% on this analysis, especially given the pace of current changes. For efficiency, the process must be repeated regularly.Â