LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone
A fourth year business student prepares for an interview as an assistant marketing manager with one of the world's largest electronic conglomerates. To help secure the position, he develops a marketing plan for the Canadian launch of a new product. This case serves as an introduction to marketing management at the undergraduate level. Students can properly analyze this case after having been introduced to the 4 Ps (product, placement, price, promotion) and or a marketing framework. Students are required to complete the following: 1) an industry analysis, 2) a corporate size-up, 3) a consumer analysis, 4) a competitive analysis, and 5) a marketing plan design.
Swot Analysis of "LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone" written by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Ian Dunn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Marketing 4 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Marketing 4, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Marketing 4 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Marketing 4
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 Marketing 4
Strengths LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Marketing 4 in LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Marketing 4 in the sector have low bargaining power. LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Marketing 4 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Marketing 4 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Marketing 4 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Marketing 4 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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
– LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Marketing 4 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Marketing 4 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Marketing 4 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Marketing 4 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 Marketing 4 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Marketing 4 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Marketing 4 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Marketing 4 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Marketing 4 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Marketing 4 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone are -
Need for greater diversity
– Marketing 4 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Marketing 4 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. Marketing 4 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Marketing 4 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone, it seems that the employees of Marketing 4 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 Marketing 4 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 Marketing 4 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Marketing 4 needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High 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 Marketing 4 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Marketing 4 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone HBR case study mentions - Marketing 4 takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Marketing 4, firm in the HBR case study LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Marketing 4 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Marketing 4 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Marketing 4 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone | 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone are -
Manufacturing automation
– Marketing 4 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Marketing 4 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Marketing 4 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, LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Marketing 4 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.
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. Marketing 4 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Marketing 4 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Marketing 4 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Marketing 4 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Marketing 4 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Marketing 4 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone case study. Marketing 4 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Marketing 4 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Marketing 4 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 Marketing 4 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Marketing 4 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Marketing 4 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Marketing 4 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.
Threats LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone are -
Environmental challenges
– Marketing 4 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. Marketing 4 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Marketing 4 high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Marketing 4 is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Marketing 4 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Marketing 4
– 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 Marketing 4.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone, Marketing 4 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, Marketing 4 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone .
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 Marketing 4 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 Marketing 4.
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 Marketing 4 in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline 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. Marketing 4 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Marketing 4 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 LG Electronics Canada, Inc. - The Watch Phone 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 Marketing 4 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
