Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy
Strength Pharma was an Indian health care company that focused on developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that catered to the sports nutrition market in India. The senior director of marketing was responsible in March 2016 for managing the upcoming launch of the company's newest whey protein supplement, Muscle-RDX. This new product would be the first protein supplement for high-endurance athletes ever to be approved by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India, and its chances for success in the Indian market looked quite promising. With the upcoming new-product launch just a few months away, the marketing director needed to develop a product-positioning strategy and a marketing communication plan for Muscle-RDX. To find the best plan, he had several questions to answer: Who would be the ideal target customer? How should the key stakeholders be reached? What was an appropriate message for each of the fitness coaches and athletes? What role would the mobile application play in the marketing communication roll out? Prem Dewani is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Lucknow. Achint Nigam is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Lucknow.
Swot Analysis of "Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy" written by Prem Dewani, Achint Nigam includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rdx Muscle facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rdx Muscle, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rdx Muscle 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rdx Muscle
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 Rdx Muscle
Strengths Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rdx Muscle in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Rdx Muscle digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Rdx Muscle 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Rdx Muscle 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 Rdx Muscle in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Rdx Muscle 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 Rdx Muscle is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Rdx Muscle 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Rdx Muscle
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Rdx Muscle does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rdx Muscle is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Rdx Muscle is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Rdx Muscle is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Rdx Muscle in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rdx Muscle has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rdx Muscle 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rdx Muscle 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Rdx Muscle 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.
Weaknesses Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Rdx Muscle is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Rdx Muscle needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rdx Muscle to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rdx Muscle is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy, 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Rdx Muscle has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rdx Muscle is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Rdx Muscle 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy, is just above the industry average. Rdx Muscle 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Rdx Muscle 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy, it seems that the employees of Rdx Muscle 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy, in the dynamic environment Rdx Muscle has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Rdx Muscle has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Prem Dewani, Achint Nigam suggests that, Rdx Muscle 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.
Opportunities Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy | 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rdx Muscle has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rdx Muscle to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy case study. Rdx Muscle can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rdx Muscle 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, Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Rdx Muscle can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Rdx Muscle has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Rdx Muscle 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. Rdx Muscle 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rdx Muscle 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rdx Muscle can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rdx Muscle operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Rdx Muscle can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Rdx Muscle 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rdx Muscle to increase its market reach. Rdx Muscle 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rdx Muscle in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Rdx Muscle can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Rdx Muscle in the consumer business. Now Rdx Muscle can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rdx Muscle 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.
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 Rdx Muscle business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rdx Muscle 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Rdx Muscle 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Rdx Muscle 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rdx Muscle with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Rdx Muscle 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.
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. Rdx Muscle needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Rdx Muscle 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. Rdx Muscle can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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 Rdx Muscle in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Rdx Muscle is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Rdx Muscle has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Rdx Muscle 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Muscle-RDX: Product Positioning and Communication Strategy 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 Rdx Muscle needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.