Business Strategy

PEST Analysis Template

Situation being analysed: ______________________________________________________________________

PEST analysis (political, economical, social, technological) assesses a market, including competitors, from the standpoint of a particular proposition or a business.

criteria examples

ecological/environmental current legislation

future legislation

international legislation

regulatory bodies and processes

government policies

government term and change

trading policies

funding, grants and initiatives

home market pressure- groups

international pressure- groups

wars and conflicts

political

economical

    1. criteria examples

home economy

economy trends

overseas economies

general taxation

taxation specific to product/services

seasonality issues

market/trade cycles

specific industry factors

market routes trends

distribution trends

customer/end-user drivers

interest/ exchange rates

international trade and monetary issues

    1. criteria examples

lifestyle trends

demographics

consumer attitudes and opinions

media views

law changes affecting social factors

brand, company, technology image

consumer buying patterns

fashion and role models

major events and influences

buying access and trends

ethnic/religious factors

advertising and publicity

ethical issues

social

technological

    1. criteria examples

competing technology development

research funding

associated/dependent technologies

replacement technology/solutions

maturity of technology

manufacturing maturity and capacity

information and communications

consumer buying mechanisms/technology

technology legislation

innovation potential

technology access, licensing, patents

intellectual property issues

global communications

Note: PEST analysis can be useful before SWOT analysis because PEST helps to identify SWOT factors. PEST and SWOT are two different perspectives but can contain common factors. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.