Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji
With a rich history stretching back to the 19th century, Wang Laoji herbal tea was one of the most popular drinks in China. The tea was sold in a green-box version by Wang Laoji and a red-can version licensed to Jiaduobao Beverage Co. Ltd. (Jiaduobao Beverage), but in 2012 the right to use the Wang Laoji name was lost by Jiaduobao Beverage following a legal dispute. Jiaduobao Beverage had to quickly transfer brand associations from Wang Laoji to its own brand and retain consumer loyalty. But was it successful in doing so? Did Jiaduobao Beverage enhance its brand equity through transferring Wang Laoji's brand associations? What could Wang Laoji do to counter its loss of brand equity? Yuping Du is affiliated with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. Randall O. Chang is affiliated with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
Swot Analysis of "Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji" written by Yuping Du, Meng Wu, Randall O. Chang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Jiaduobao Laoji facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jiaduobao Laoji, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jiaduobao Laoji
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 Jiaduobao Laoji
Strengths Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jiaduobao Laoji in Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji - 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
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Yuping Du, Meng Wu, Randall O. Chang 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.
Training and development
– Jiaduobao Laoji has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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
– Jiaduobao Laoji has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Jiaduobao Laoji to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Jiaduobao Laoji has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Jiaduobao Laoji in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Jiaduobao Laoji to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Jiaduobao Laoji to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Jiaduobao Laoji digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Jiaduobao Laoji 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. Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jiaduobao Laoji has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao Laoji has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Jiaduobao Laoji is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Jiaduobao Laoji needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Jiaduobao Laoji to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji, is just above the industry average. Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Jiaduobao Laoji products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Jiaduobao Laoji needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Jiaduobao Laoji is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji | 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Jiaduobao Laoji 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, Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Jiaduobao Laoji has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Jiaduobao Laoji to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji case study. Jiaduobao Laoji can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jiaduobao Laoji to increase its market reach. Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
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 Jiaduobao Laoji in the consumer business. Now Jiaduobao Laoji can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Jiaduobao Laoji to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Jiaduobao Laoji can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jiaduobao Laoji operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Jiaduobao Laoji can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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, Jiaduobao Laoji is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji are -
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. Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
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 Jiaduobao Laoji.
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.
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. Jiaduobao Laoji can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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
– Jiaduobao Laoji has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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 wage structure of Jiaduobao Laoji
– 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 Jiaduobao Laoji.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Jiaduobao Laoji is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Jiaduobao Laoji in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Jiaduobao Laoji with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Jiaduobao Laoji 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao: Transferring Brand Associations from Wang Laoji 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 Jiaduobao Laoji needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
