STEEPLE Analysis: How to Conduct a STEEPLE Analysis

STEEPLE analysis is a planning tool businesses use to research the ecological state of the marketplace. A STEEPLE analysis considers current government policies, employment laws, political stability, and more through a macro-environmental lens. Conducting a STEEPLE analysis can help businesses understand the external environment to better predict a company’s growth rates and gain a competitive advantage in their business planning.

The STEEPLE analysis framework overlaps with other research tools, such as STEEP and PESTEL but includes legal and ethical factors. It differs from a SWOT analysis in that a STEEPLE analysis focuses on external factors whereas a SWOT analysis focuses on a company’s internal factors.

STEEPLE is an acronym for social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal, and ethical threats. Conducting a STEEPLE analysis takes time and resources to execute. Still, companies use this crucial research tool to get a stronger sense of factors outside the brand’s control that might impact business.

Businesses use the results of STEEPLE analysis research to comprehend opportunities and threats. Depending on the company, the possibilities might include low interest rates, technological advancements, and trade agreements. Threats might be restrictive tax policies, steep inflation rates, and the effects of climate change.

Before creating, marketing, and distributing new products, companies will do well to invest in a STEEPLE analysis. Strategists and stakeholders should gather data on these factors:

• Economic: Economic factors are a significant part of the STEEPLE analysis and encompass changing exchange rates, new tariffs, the GDP, and more.
• Environmental: Environmental factors or ecological factors might include the availability of natural resources and climate change, which can affect operation and production.
• Ethical: In the business world, ethical factors measure the marketplace’s attitude toward corporate social responsibility, moral standards, and accountability.
• Legal: Researching legal factors means diving into court decisions, trade unions, and other regulations that can affect day-to-day and overarching operations.
• Political: The political situation can impact trade restrictions, corporate taxation, and more, affecting the bottom line and operational procedures.
• Social: Social factors might include researching population growth rates, social mobility, and the market demographic. For the latter, understanding what genders, education levels, age distributions, and other factors are essential to target can make marketing campaigns more precise and effective.
• Technological: Before entrepreneurs rush into product development, a STEEPLE analysis of the market’s technological changes will help inform how new technological factors can streamline or impact business development.

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