DEEPLIST analysis – an alternative to the PESTLE analysis

Is DEEPLIST better than PEST or PESTLE? or more of the same?

DEEPLIST – Demographic, Economic, Ecologic/ Environmental, Political, Legal, Informational, Social and Technology

In 2000  Paul N Finlay had a book published called “Strategic management: an introduction to business and corporate strategy”. In this book Finlay used the Acronym DEEPLIST as a way of prompting readers of the key areas that needed to be explored when looking at the “remote environment for the business” or the environment in which the business operates, which it cannot control or influence. Constraints if you like.

Traditionally marketing and business strategists have used PEST or PESTLE analysis.

In DEEPLIST the factors to be explored are:

• Demographics
• Economic
• Environmental/ Ecological
• Political
• Legal
• Informational
• Social
• Technological

 Where all but Informational are directly included in PESTLE. Demographics is an important element, but can it really be separated from social? many supporters of the ‘original’ PEST say that differentiating between Legal and Political is also difficult in some situations. Having more is not always better. Knowing how to use a model, theory or tool is far more important. I suspect that if increasingly long acronyms are created this will only lead to increased confusion by students trying to understand how to apply it in the first place.

 I wonder if many courses are starting to use this model as it is ‘new & sexy’ compared to PEST or PESTLE, or is it that people need handholding more in terms of the areas that they need to research and explore as part of the strategic planning process.

 In summary:

Deeplist – Demographics:

• Where people live
• Who they are – Age, sex, race etc..
• Social circumstances – Education, income and lifestyle

dEeplist – Economic:

• The extent to which the markets in which you operate is prosperous (or not) and the competitive environment
• Factors such as taxation, monetary and competition policies of your target markets.

deEplist – Environmental/ Ecological:

• What is the perception of the environment in your sector? What are customers attitudes to environmental or green issues. What about availability of materials? Sustainability

deePlist – Political

• In the political landscape in which you operate (both source materials & deliver product) – what will help/ hinder operations and products

deepList – Legal

• What are the limits or constraints on what you do. What may change?

deeplIst – Informational

• What data do you have?
• How do you use it?
• How is it protected?
• As the connected world changes with ever increasing use of the internet and social media what is being said about you, your market and your competitors?
• It is about access a to information and what you can and cannot control.

deepliSt – Social

• The needs and wants of both target markets, social attitudes to the types of products and services you offer.
• How your organisation is seen by the outside world
• CSR – Corperate Social Responsibility

deeplisT – Technology

• What is changing in the world of technology which will impact your products or services.?
• New innovations, adaptations and adoption rates of new technologies. What is changing and how fast?

Personally I prefer PESTLE, we know and understand the model. Maybe we need to change PESTLE to iPESTLE (or iPEST) where I is Information.

iPESTLE or DEEPLIST can be used to best effect when the results of this analysis are used in a SWOT analysis.

Footnote

One of the reasons why DEEPLIST is becoming popular in the UK is its adoption by CIMA in its course content.

One disadvantage of DEEPLIST over PESTLE is that DEEPLIST is © Finlay and this may cause organisations that promote it difficulties in the future, this is in addition to increasing the separation of some element’s that may well create difficulties in application (Political/ Legal, Demographics/ Social etc).