SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future
SUNDAY Communications was one of six mobile phone service providers facing fierce competition in a small market of 6.7 million population in Hong Kong. The company had pursued an aggressive marketing and branding strategy since its establishment in 1994. However, after six years, it was still struggling to make a profit. With the imminent granting of 3G licenses in early 2001, the company is hard-pressed to formulate a viable strategy that will enable it to capitalize on its brand image and reposition itself in the mobile phone industry.
Swot Analysis of "SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future" written by Velma Lee, Pauline Ng, Elsie Choi includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sunday Phone facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sunday Phone, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sunday Phone 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sunday Phone
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 Sunday Phone
Strengths SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sunday Phone in SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Sunday Phone has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Sunday Phone 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 Sunday Phone in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sunday Phone has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sunday Phone 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
– Sunday Phone is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sunday Phone 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sunday Phone 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sunday Phone 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Sunday Phone has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sunday Phone to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sunday Phone is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 recruit top talent
– Sunday Phone is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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
– Sunday Phone 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 Velma Lee, Pauline Ng, Elsie Choi 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.
Weaknesses SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future HBR case study mentions - Sunday Phone 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sunday Phone 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 - SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sunday Phone is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future, it seems that the employees of Sunday Phone 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sunday Phone 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sunday Phone is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Sunday Phone needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sunday Phone to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sunday Phone products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sunday Phone needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future, is just above the industry average. Sunday Phone 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sunday Phone is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on 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 Sunday Phone supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sunday Phone vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 Sunday Phone has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future | 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future are -
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 Sunday Phone in the consumer business. Now Sunday Phone can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sunday Phone can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sunday Phone operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sunday Phone can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sunday Phone 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.
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. Sunday Phone can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Sunday Phone 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sunday Phone can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sunday Phone 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 Sunday Phone to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sunday Phone 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sunday Phone 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Sunday Phone 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.
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. Sunday Phone 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. Sunday Phone 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sunday Phone 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, SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future, 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future are -
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.
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. Sunday Phone needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sunday Phone has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sunday Phone 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 Sunday Phone.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future, Sunday Phone 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sunday Phone 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sunday Phone is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Sunday Phone 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sunday Phone 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sunday Phone with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Sunday Phone 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. Sunday Phone can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Sunday Phone 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 SUNDAY Communications Ltd.: A Marketing Strategy for a Wireless Future 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 Sunday Phone needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.