Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors
A partnership of two real estate agents want to increase their recognition in an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace. Both partners had strong individual reputations, but they believed a campaign focused on their identity as a team would give them a competitive edge in the real estate business. A comprehensive marketing communications plan needed to be developed and implemented quickly as the market was poised for a period of growth in the coming months.
Swot Analysis of "Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors" written by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Niki Healey includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Poulopoulos Realtors facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors casestudy better are - – technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Poulopoulos Realtors, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Poulopoulos Realtors
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 Poulopoulos Realtors
Strengths Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Poulopoulos Realtors in Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Poulopoulos Realtors is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Poulopoulos Realtors has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Poulopoulos Realtors is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Poulopoulos Realtors is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Poulopoulos Realtors is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Niki Healey can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Poulopoulos Realtors to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Poulopoulos Realtors to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Poulopoulos Realtors is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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
– Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Poulopoulos Realtors
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Poulopoulos Realtors in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Poulopoulos Realtors is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Niki Healey suggests that, Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors, it seems that the employees of Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Poulopoulos Realtors, firm in the HBR case study Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Poulopoulos Realtors has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors, is just above the industry average. Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Poulopoulos Realtors products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors, in the dynamic environment Poulopoulos Realtors has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Poulopoulos Realtors has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors | 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors are -
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 Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
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 Poulopoulos Realtors in the consumer business. Now Poulopoulos Realtors can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Poulopoulos Realtors can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Poulopoulos Realtors 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. Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Poulopoulos Realtors can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Poulopoulos Realtors can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Poulopoulos Realtors to increase its market reach. Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Poulopoulos Realtors can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Poulopoulos Realtors is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Poulopoulos Realtors 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, Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
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 Poulopoulos Realtors business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Poulopoulos Realtors has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
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 Poulopoulos Realtors.
Environmental challenges
– Poulopoulos Realtors 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. Poulopoulos Realtors can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Increasing wage structure of Poulopoulos Realtors
– 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 Poulopoulos Realtors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors, Poulopoulos Realtors 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 .
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 Poulopoulos Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Poulopoulos Realtors 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Costa Poulopoulos and Mary Johnson - Realtors 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 Poulopoulos Realtors needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
