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The Times of India: Start the Presses SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Times of India: Start the Presses


Perhaps among the most popular newspapers in the world, the Times of India (TOI) was faced with developing a national strategy in a very diverse country. The paper's strategy included lowering the price of print newspapers, developing readership among India's youth, embracing active story coverage, and continuing to deliver door-to-door in metro areas. But by 2014, the cost structure required to keep newspapers on doorsteps every morning had Rahul Kansal, executive president at Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (TOI's publisher), reexamining the paper's direction. The firm's growth model had included nonmetro and digital expansion. Should TOI continue to tap into the increasingly literate and underserved Indian population to grow its print readership in metro and nonmetro areas? What effect would that decision have on TOI's digital penetration?

Authors :: Rajkumar Venkatesan, Gerry Yemen, Sripad Sriram

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Generational issues, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Times of India: Start the Presses" written by Rajkumar Venkatesan, Gerry Yemen, Sripad Sriram includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nonmetro Toi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Times of India: Start the Presses case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Generational issues, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Times of India: Start the Presses casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Times of India: Start the Presses


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Times of India: Start the Presses case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nonmetro Toi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nonmetro Toi 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Times of India: Start the Presses case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nonmetro Toi
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 Nonmetro Toi




Strengths The Times of India: Start the Presses | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Nonmetro Toi in The Times of India: Start the Presses Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 Nonmetro Toi in the sector have low bargaining power. The Times of India: Start the Presses has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nonmetro Toi to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Organizational Resilience of Nonmetro Toi

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nonmetro Toi does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Nonmetro Toi has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nonmetro Toi 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Nonmetro Toi 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– The Times of India: Start the Presses firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nonmetro Toi to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nonmetro Toi to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Nonmetro Toi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Times of India: Start the Presses are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Nonmetro Toi 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Nonmetro Toi 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Innovation driven organization

– Nonmetro Toi is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Times of India: Start the Presses Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Learning organization

- Nonmetro Toi 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 Nonmetro Toi is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Times of India: Start the Presses Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nonmetro Toi digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nonmetro Toi 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.






Weaknesses The Times of India: Start the Presses | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Times of India: Start the Presses are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nonmetro Toi is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 Nonmetro Toi has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rajkumar Venkatesan, Gerry Yemen, Sripad Sriram suggests that, Nonmetro Toi 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Nonmetro Toi is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Nonmetro Toi needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nonmetro Toi to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nonmetro Toi 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study The Times of India: Start the Presses, it seems that the employees of Nonmetro Toi 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Nonmetro Toi products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nonmetro Toi needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Times of India: Start the Presses, in the dynamic environment Nonmetro Toi has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nonmetro Toi has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As The Times of India: Start the Presses HBR case study mentions - Nonmetro Toi 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, Nonmetro Toi 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Nonmetro Toi 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.




Opportunities The Times of India: Start the Presses | 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses are -

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nonmetro Toi can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nonmetro Toi operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.

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. Nonmetro Toi can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Nonmetro Toi 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Nonmetro Toi 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nonmetro Toi to increase its market reach. Nonmetro Toi 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.

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. Nonmetro Toi can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Nonmetro Toi can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Times of India: Start the Presses 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Nonmetro Toi 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nonmetro Toi to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nonmetro Toi is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Times of India: Start the Presses 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nonmetro Toi 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, The Times of India: Start the Presses, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Nonmetro Toi 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 Nonmetro Toi 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nonmetro Toi 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.




Threats The Times of India: Start the Presses External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Times of India: Start the Presses are -

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Nonmetro Toi is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– Nonmetro Toi 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.

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. Nonmetro Toi can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Nonmetro Toi demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

High 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. Nonmetro Toi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Nonmetro Toi business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Nonmetro Toi 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Nonmetro Toi has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nonmetro Toi 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.

Environmental challenges

– Nonmetro Toi 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. Nonmetro Toi can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nonmetro Toi with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Times of India: Start the Presses, Nonmetro Toi 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 .

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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 The Times of India: Start the Presses 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 Nonmetro Toi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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