Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?
A local, non-profit, no-kill animal shelter is committed to rescuing homeless cats and helping them find permanent homes. This shelter offers a wide variety of services, including adoption, foster programs, low-cost spay and neuter services, and low-income assistance programs for local pet owners. With a personnel shortage at the shelter and increasing numbers of homeless cats in the area, the executive director must look for ways to effectively allocate the organization's limited resources. She wonders whether some form of social media marketing might be the answer.
Authors :: Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, June Cotte, Kaitlyn Kenyon
Swot Analysis of "Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?" written by Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, June Cotte, Kaitlyn Kenyon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Shelter Cats facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shelter Cats, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shelter Cats operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shelter Cats
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shelter Cats
Strengths Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shelter Cats in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Shelter Cats
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Shelter Cats does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Shelter Cats has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shelter Cats has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shelter Cats has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shelter Cats digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shelter Cats has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Shelter Cats has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shelter Cats has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shelter Cats in the sector have low bargaining power. Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shelter Cats to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shelter Cats is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shelter Cats to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shelter Cats to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shelter Cats is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Shelter Cats is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Shelter Cats in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Shelter Cats is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Shelter Cats needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, June Cotte, Kaitlyn Kenyon suggests that, Shelter Cats is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?, it seems that the employees of Shelter Cats don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Shelter Cats has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Shelter Cats even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Shelter Cats has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Shelter Cats supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shelter Cats vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?, is just above the industry average. Shelter Cats needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shelter Cats has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shelter Cats has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shelter Cats is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shelter Cats has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? are -
Loyalty marketing
– Shelter Cats has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shelter Cats in the consumer business. Now Shelter Cats can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shelter Cats can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shelter Cats can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shelter Cats is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shelter Cats to increase its market reach. Shelter Cats will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shelter Cats has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shelter Cats to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shelter Cats to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shelter Cats in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shelter Cats can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shelter Cats can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Shelter Cats can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shelter Cats can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Threats Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? are -
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Shelter Cats will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Shelter Cats with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Shelter Cats needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Shelter Cats
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Shelter Cats.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shelter Cats can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shelter Cats in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Shelter Cats.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Shelter Cats in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Shelter Cats business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends?, Shelter Cats may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Regulatory challenges
– Shelter Cats needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shelter Cats demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shelter Cats has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shelter Cats needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Can Facebook Save Our Furry Friends? is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Shelter Cats needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.