State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy''
State Bank of India: SMS Unhappy, is a deceptively simple but comprehensive case of a public sector company using a customer complaint management tool as a catalyst to improve overall service performance and overtaking even its private sector competitors in terms of both customer satisfaction and organizational performance. The case describes a novel, mobile phone-based complaint redressal system designed and implemented by Shiva Kumar, chief general manager (south) of the State Bank of India (SBI). The long-term impact of the simple system was the alignment of the entire organization, especially at the branch level, with customer-defined parameters of performance, driving it towards very high levels of customer-centricity. The SMS Unhappy initiative brought greater levels of transparency to all levels of branch performance, resulting in superior service operations with low variance, and ultimately, better customer response.
Swot Analysis of "State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy''" written by Rishtee Batra, Piyush Kumar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sms Unhappy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Operations management, Performance measurement and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy''
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sms Unhappy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sms Unhappy 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sms Unhappy
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 Sms Unhappy
Strengths State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sms Unhappy in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sms Unhappy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sms Unhappy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sms Unhappy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Sms Unhappy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sms Unhappy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sms Unhappy 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
– Sms Unhappy 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Sms Unhappy 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
- Sms Unhappy 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 Sms Unhappy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sms Unhappy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sms Unhappy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Sms Unhappy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sms Unhappy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Sms Unhappy 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 Sms Unhappy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Sms Unhappy 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 Rishtee Batra, Piyush Kumar 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.
Weaknesses State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'', it seems that the employees of Sms Unhappy 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sms Unhappy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Sms Unhappy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sms Unhappy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Sms Unhappy 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sms Unhappy 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'', 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rishtee Batra, Piyush Kumar suggests that, Sms Unhappy 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sms Unhappy 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sms Unhappy 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 - State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 Sms Unhappy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 Sms Unhappy 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sms Unhappy, firm in the HBR case study State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' | 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sms Unhappy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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.
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. Sms Unhappy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sms Unhappy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sms Unhappy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' case study. Sms Unhappy 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, Sms Unhappy 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, State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'', to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sms Unhappy 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sms Unhappy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sms Unhappy 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.
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. Sms Unhappy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sms Unhappy to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Sms Unhappy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Sms Unhappy 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. Sms Unhappy 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 Sms Unhappy 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sms Unhappy 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 Sms Unhappy in the consumer business. Now Sms Unhappy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sms Unhappy 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.
Threats State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sms Unhappy 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sms Unhappy 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.
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. Sms Unhappy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'', Sms Unhappy 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sms Unhappy is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Sms Unhappy.
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. Sms Unhappy 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.
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 Sms Unhappy in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sms Unhappy 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 Sms Unhappy 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.
Increasing wage structure of Sms Unhappy
– 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 Sms Unhappy.
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. Sms Unhappy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 State Bank of India: ''SMS Unhappy'' 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 Sms Unhappy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
