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 - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Giveindia Donations to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Giveindia Donations to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
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.
Analytics focus
– Giveindia Donations 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 Sanjeev Tripathi, Shashank Bhasker 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.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Giveindia Donations is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Giveindia Donations 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Giveindia Donations is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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 -
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Giveindia Donations 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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Giveindia Donations 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. Giveindia Donations 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause, is just above the industry average. Giveindia Donations 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Giveindia Donations 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.
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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Giveindia Donations is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Giveindia Donations 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause 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 Giveindia Donations has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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.
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 -
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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Giveindia Donations has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Giveindia Donations to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the GiveIndia: On the Net for a Cause case study. Giveindia Donations can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Giveindia Donations 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. Giveindia Donations 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.
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.
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.
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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Giveindia Donations can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Giveindia Donations 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.
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.
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.
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. Giveindia Donations can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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 -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Giveindia Donations has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Giveindia Donations 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.
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.
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.
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 Giveindia Donations is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Giveindia Donations 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, 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 .
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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Giveindia Donations 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.
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. Giveindia Donations 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.
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.
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.