12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing
This case analyses the first years of operation of 12Snap, a German start-up launched in 1999 and considered today the largest mobile marketing channel in Europe. It focuses on the changing market positioning and business model of the company, which evolved from B2C mobile retailing to B2B mobile marketing.
Authors :: Enders Albrecht, Tawfik Jelassi, Charles Waldman
Swot Analysis of "12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing" written by Enders Albrecht, Tawfik Jelassi, Charles Waldman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mobile 12snap facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing casestudy better are - – 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, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mobile 12snap, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mobile 12snap
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 Mobile 12snap
Strengths 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mobile 12snap in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mobile 12snap is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mobile 12snap to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mobile 12snap to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Mobile 12snap 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 Mobile 12snap is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mobile 12snap are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Mobile 12snap
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mobile 12snap does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Mobile 12snap is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Mobile 12snap is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Mobile 12snap has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mobile 12snap to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mobile 12snap is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mobile 12snap has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mobile 12snap 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.
Weaknesses 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing are -
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 Mobile 12snap supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mobile 12snap vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mobile 12snap 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mobile 12snap 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 - 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, in the dynamic environment Mobile 12snap has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mobile 12snap has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mobile 12snap 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. Mobile 12snap 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing HBR case study mentions - Mobile 12snap 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mobile 12snap is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Mobile 12snap 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mobile 12snap 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.
Opportunities 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing | 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mobile 12snap can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mobile 12snap operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
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 Mobile 12snap in the consumer business. Now Mobile 12snap can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mobile 12snap is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mobile 12snap 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 Mobile 12snap to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mobile 12snap can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Mobile 12snap 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. Mobile 12snap 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
– Mobile 12snap can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mobile 12snap 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, 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mobile 12snap 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mobile 12snap to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mobile 12snap has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mobile 12snap to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study. Mobile 12snap can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mobile 12snap 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mobile 12snap 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.
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.
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 Mobile 12snap business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, Mobile 12snap 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mobile 12snap
– 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 Mobile 12snap.
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. Mobile 12snap needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mobile 12snap 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.