Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan
The Just Us! worker cooperative has been in business since the mid-1990s. Founded by Jeff and Debra Moore, this company with an economic and social mission has sought to make its mark in the business world by trumpeting its "humanitarian" positioning through the slogan: "People and the planet before profits." In addition to operating four coffeehouses (two in Halifax, one in Wolfville and one in its Grand-PrA? headquarters), Just Us! sells its products (mainly fair trade and organic coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar) via a distribution network. Although the company was prospering, the financial crisis of fall 2008, which triggered an economic recession, quickly prompted the management committee to consider producing a marketing plan for the coming year, to optimize the use of the organization's resources. Pauline, hired by Just Us! slightly more than two years earlier, was assigned this task. Her work at the co-op was so impressive that she had recently been promoted to director of marketing and sales.
Swot Analysis of "Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan" written by Normand Turgeon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Op Coffee facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Op Coffee, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Op Coffee 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Op Coffee
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 Op Coffee
Strengths Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Op Coffee in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Op Coffee 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 Op Coffee in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Op Coffee is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Op Coffee 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Op Coffee has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Op Coffee is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Op Coffee 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Op Coffee in the sector have low bargaining power. Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Op Coffee to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Op Coffee has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Op Coffee to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Op Coffee in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Op Coffee has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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.
Learning organization
- Op Coffee is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Op Coffee is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Op Coffee is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Op Coffee is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Op Coffee products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Op Coffee needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Op Coffee 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Op Coffee, firm in the HBR case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Op Coffee is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Op Coffee 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Op Coffee is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Op Coffee needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Op Coffee to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan, is just above the industry average. Op Coffee 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Normand Turgeon suggests that, Op Coffee 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Op Coffee has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan | 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Op Coffee has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Op Coffee to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan case study. Op Coffee can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Op Coffee can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Op Coffee to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Op Coffee to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Op Coffee can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Loyalty marketing
– Op Coffee 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Op Coffee 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Op Coffee to increase its market reach. Op Coffee 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
– Op Coffee 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Op Coffee to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Op Coffee 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Op Coffee to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Op Coffee 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, Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan, 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, Op Coffee is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Op Coffee can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Op Coffee can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan, Op Coffee 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Op Coffee with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Op Coffee needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Op Coffee can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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 Op Coffee.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Op Coffee 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan .
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. Op Coffee 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.
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 Op Coffee in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Op Coffee 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing wage structure of Op Coffee
– 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 Op Coffee.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Op Coffee 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Op Coffee 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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 Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op - Coffeehouse Division Marketing Plan 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 Op Coffee needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.