"PESTLE Analysis" - a quick overview for absolute beginners. With guides.

What? Do you mean Pestle and Mortar?

No we don’t. PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental. It’s a well established way of a business or enterprise to track the wider environment in which they are operating in.

Is it still relevant?

Yes. Well mostly – there has been some debate about that. The problem is that if you undertake the analysis work once you tend to not review it for awhile so it feels static despite the world changing fast. Other methods have been suggested; STEEPLE being one (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal and Ethical)

I get confused between what falls into what category.

Us too!

The main challenge is keeping your PESTLE current!

As long as you cover all factors in your project, AND KEEP IT CURRENT then you are doing very well. Some points can be argued into different areas of the PESTLE, and if this is the kind of discussion going on over your PESTLE document, then you have covered all the important points.

Some examples might help.

Of course. Here we go:

Example PESTLE items

Political – If an election is due and there is public pressure to reduce spending in an area where traditionally there are government subsidies this is a factor!

Economic – Oil prices hit a low; if your business has heavy transportation costs this will start to help.

Social – The rise of E-cigarettes is seen as a healthier and more socially acceptable alternative to traditional cigarettes

Technological – Back to E-cigarettes – the technology behind them (essentially a delivery system) allowed the industry to explode.

Legal – Unless the above were to be made illegal

Environmental – European short-fall of snow affecting ski resorts the most obvious example