Case Study Description of Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20
In 1995, before people "googled" or "yelped," Angela Hicks (HBS, 2000) was establishing her Angie's List as a pioneer in the accumulation and dissemination of consumer rating information. Hicks focused on the home repair and maintenance market, and, as she put it, "particularly on high cost of failure situations where good information on potential service providers is correspondingly of high value." Angie's List had a paid subscription model as it charged "members" for access to the information they collectively provided on service providers. More recently, companies such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google have started offering free access to their reviews while relying totally on site advertising and service provider fees for their revenues. In 2015, Angie's List collected close to $68 million in membership fees. In January 2016, with recent declines in the growth rate of member numbers, Angie's List has to decide if it was time to drop the "paid subscription for all" model and introduce a free version of its service to its product line.
Swot Analysis of "Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20" written by Robert J. Dolan, Ayelet Israeli includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Angie's List facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Internet, Market research, Pricing, Product development, Supply chain and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Angie's List, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Angie's List 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Angie's List
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 Angie's List
Strengths Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Angie's List in Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Angie's List has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Angie's List 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Angie's List digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Angie's List 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Angie's List to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Angie's List to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Angie's List 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Angie's List is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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
– Angie's List 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 Angie's List in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Angie's List
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Angie's List does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Angie's List has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Angie's List has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Angie's List to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Angie's List in the sector have low bargaining power. Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Angie's List to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Angie's List in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Angie's List products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Angie's List needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Angie's List 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20, is just above the industry average. Angie's List 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Angie's List, firm in the HBR case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20, it seems that the employees of Angie's List 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Angie's List 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 - Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert J. Dolan, Ayelet Israeli suggests that, Angie's List 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Angie's List is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 HBR case study mentions - Angie's List 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 | 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Angie's List can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Angie's List 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 Angie's List to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Angie's List 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Angie's List to increase its market reach. Angie's List 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Angie's List 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.
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 Angie's List in the consumer business. Now Angie's List can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Angie's List 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.
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. Angie's List can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Angie's List 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Angie's List 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, Angie's List 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, Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Angie's List can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Angie's List can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Angie's List operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Threats Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 are -
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
– Angie's List 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. Angie's List can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Angie's List is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Angie's List 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Angie's List 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20, Angie's List 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 .
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. Angie's List needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Angie's List with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Angie's List.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Angie's List has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Angie's List 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.
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. Angie's List can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Angie's List 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20 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 Angie's List needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.