GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause
Started in 2000, GiveIndia is a web-based donation platform headquartered in Mumbai, India. It uses online tools and social media to engage with donors and encourage donations to be made to various non-governmental organizations. GiveIndia's chief executive officer wants to develop a strategic approach for social media communication, which is gaining greater acceptance in India. As part of its online initiatives, GiveIndia has been running a search engine marketing program with Google Grants. The chief executive officer wants to optimize the program by using the right metrics. He is also interested in applying the concept of customer lifetime value to manage the donations. GiveIndia is already present on popular social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but how can the company hone its strategic focus on each of these websites?
Swot Analysis of "GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause" written by Sanjeev Tripathi, Shashank Bhasker includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Giveindia Donations facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Internet, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Giveindia Donations, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Giveindia Donations 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Giveindia Donations
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 Giveindia Donations
Strengths GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Giveindia Donations in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Giveindia Donations is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Giveindia Donations 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause - 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Giveindia Donations 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.
Organizational Resilience of Giveindia Donations
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Giveindia Donations does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Giveindia Donations has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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
– Giveindia Donations has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Giveindia Donations to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 Giveindia Donations digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Giveindia Donations 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.
Learning organization
- Giveindia Donations 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 Giveindia Donations is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Giveindia Donations 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Giveindia Donations in the sector have low bargaining power. GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Giveindia Donations to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Giveindia Donations has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Giveindia Donations 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause, 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.
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 Giveindia Donations supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Giveindia Donations vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause, in the dynamic environment Giveindia Donations has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Giveindia Donations has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Giveindia Donations 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Giveindia Donations has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Giveindia Donations 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 - GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Giveindia Donations is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause HBR case study mentions - Giveindia Donations 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Giveindia Donations 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Giveindia Donations products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Giveindia Donations needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Giveindia Donations, firm in the HBR case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause | 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Giveindia Donations 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Giveindia Donations can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Giveindia Donations 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Giveindia Donations 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 Giveindia Donations to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Giveindia Donations 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Giveindia Donations to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Giveindia Donations in the consumer business. Now Giveindia Donations can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Giveindia Donations to increase its market reach. Giveindia Donations 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Giveindia Donations 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Giveindia Donations 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.
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 Giveindia Donations 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Giveindia Donations can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Giveindia Donations operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Giveindia Donations can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Giveindia Donations is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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.
Threats GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause are -
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 Giveindia Donations business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Giveindia Donations 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause, Giveindia Donations 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, Giveindia Donations 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause .
Increasing wage structure of Giveindia Donations
– 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 Giveindia Donations.
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 Giveindia Donations in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Giveindia Donations 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. Giveindia Donations can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Giveindia Donations 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 Giveindia Donations is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Giveindia Donations 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.
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 Giveindia Donations.
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. Giveindia Donations can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Giveindia Donations needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 Giveindia Donations needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.