Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A)
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), a branded and integrated content and media company dedicated to "elevating the role of the homemaker," went public on October 19, 1999, creating a company with a market value of $1.73 billion, and a stake for Stewart worth $1.2 billion. Aretha Jackson, president of a private investment firm, must counsel a client on whether to invest in MSLO--a precarious prospect in light of the steady downward plunge in MSLO stock performance since the IPO. Risks outlined in the company's S-1 filing also highlighted special concerns specific to the management of the "Person-Brand." Could the company outlive Stewart? What if Stewart's reputation or image was tarnished? How, exactly, did the reputation of Stewart affect the value of the brand? Jackson must understand what meanings Martha Stewart claimed, and for whom, while also coming to grips with the meaning-management principles that applied in "managing Martha," the person and the brand. From a cultural meaning-management point of view, the person-brand context is unique in that it must consider two significant sources of meaning, both of which must be managed: 1) the public (the brand face) and 2) the private (the person face). Also considers the special meaning-management issues involved with multivocality of the brand proposition: i.e., the embodiment of multiple, and perhaps conflicting, meanings within one brand for various consumer audiences. This is an important meaning-management theme as it involves MSLO's engagements with K-Mart and the formulation of future line extension ideas.
Authors :: Susan Fournier, Laura Winig, Kerry Herman, Andrea Wojnicki
Swot Analysis of "Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A)" written by Susan Fournier, Laura Winig, Kerry Herman, Andrea Wojnicki includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stewart Mslo facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stewart Mslo, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stewart Mslo 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stewart Mslo
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 Stewart Mslo
Strengths Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Stewart Mslo in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Stewart Mslo is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Stewart Mslo 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Stewart Mslo in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Stewart Mslo digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Stewart Mslo 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Stewart Mslo 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stewart Mslo to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stewart Mslo to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Stewart Mslo is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Stewart Mslo 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 Stewart Mslo is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Stewart Mslo
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Stewart Mslo does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Stewart Mslo 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Stewart Mslo is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Stewart Mslo 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 Stewart Mslo in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stewart Mslo is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Stewart Mslo has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Stewart Mslo 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Stewart Mslo is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Stewart Mslo 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.
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 Stewart Mslo supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Stewart Mslo vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Stewart Mslo 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Susan Fournier, Laura Winig, Kerry Herman, Andrea Wojnicki suggests that, Stewart Mslo 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Stewart Mslo is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Stewart Mslo needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Stewart Mslo to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Stewart Mslo products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stewart Mslo needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A), in the dynamic environment Stewart Mslo has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Stewart Mslo has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) | 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) are -
Buying journey improvements
– Stewart Mslo can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Stewart Mslo 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Stewart Mslo can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Stewart Mslo operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Stewart Mslo has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Stewart Mslo to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) case study. Stewart Mslo can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Stewart Mslo 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Stewart Mslo 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Stewart Mslo 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stewart Mslo 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Stewart Mslo 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.
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. Stewart Mslo can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Stewart Mslo 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Stewart Mslo can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Stewart Mslo can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Stewart Mslo 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Stewart Mslo to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) are -
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 Stewart Mslo in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Stewart Mslo 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
– Stewart Mslo has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Stewart Mslo 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Stewart Mslo 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Stewart Mslo is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Stewart Mslo 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. Stewart Mslo can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Stewart Mslo with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Stewart Mslo 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 Stewart Mslo.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Stewart Mslo 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.
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. Stewart Mslo needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A), Stewart Mslo 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (A) 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 Stewart Mslo needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.