Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce
In December 2011, the co-founder of Unbounce, a Vancouver-based software services start-up, is considering expanding into the enterprise user space. Unbounce got its start providing turnkey landing pages - web pages specific to current advertising campaigns - to the small and medium-sized enterprise market. Within 18 months, the company has achieved thought leadership in this space, has a list of paying customers and has built its support team from six to 25 people. The challenge is that since the entire company is focused on its core market segment, entering the enterprise user space means that different capabilities will have to be developed. Will developing the enterprise user market prevent the competition from invading this space or will it mean alienating and perhaps losing its current customers? What is the best plan for going forward?
Swot Analysis of "Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce" written by Raymond Pirouz, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Unbounce Space facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social platforms and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Unbounce Space, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Unbounce Space 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Unbounce Space
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 Unbounce Space
Strengths Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Unbounce Space in Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Unbounce Space has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Unbounce Space 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Unbounce Space is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Unbounce Space digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Unbounce Space 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Unbounce Space 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce - 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 Unbounce Space in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Unbounce Space to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Unbounce Space to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Unbounce Space is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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
– Unbounce Space 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 Unbounce Space in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Unbounce Space 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Unbounce Space has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Unbounce Space 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 Unbounce Space in the sector have low bargaining power. Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Unbounce Space to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Unbounce Space has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Unbounce Space 's lucrative customers.
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 Unbounce Space supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Unbounce Space vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Unbounce Space 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Unbounce Space 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. Unbounce Space 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce, it seems that the employees of Unbounce Space 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Unbounce Space is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Unbounce Space is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Unbounce Space needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Unbounce Space to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Unbounce Space 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 - Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Unbounce Space, firm in the HBR case study Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Unbounce Space products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Unbounce Space needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce | 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Unbounce Space can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Unbounce Space 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Unbounce Space 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 Unbounce Space to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Unbounce Space to increase its market reach. Unbounce Space 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
– Unbounce Space 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Unbounce Space to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Unbounce Space in the consumer business. Now Unbounce Space can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Unbounce Space 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Unbounce Space has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Unbounce Space to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce case study. Unbounce Space can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Unbounce Space is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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. Unbounce Space can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Unbounce Space can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Unbounce Space operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Unbounce Space 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Unbounce Space can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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.
Threats Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce are -
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 Unbounce Space business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Unbounce Space.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Unbounce Space 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. Unbounce Space 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce, Unbounce Space 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Unbounce Space 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce .
Regulatory challenges
– Unbounce Space 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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. Unbounce Space 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 Unbounce Space in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Unbounce Space with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Unbounce Space 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Customer Segmentation and Business Model Evolution at Unbounce 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 Unbounce Space needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.