Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry
For centuries, Jingdezhen, the "Porcelain Metropolis" of China, produced and exported the finest porcelain treasures in the world. By the late 20th century, however, the city was in danger of losing its past glory. Although its factories still churned out more than a million pieces of porcelain a day, it was facing more competitors at home and abroad than at any time in its history. The declining quality of porcelain made in this highly respected city disappointed a number of porcelain experts and collectors. Jiangdong Crystal-color Art and Crafts Co. Ltd. (JCAC) was one of the few ceramic makers that had differentiated itself from its rivals. The company manufactured top-of-the-line luxury products and limited its distribution to the government and high-end retailers. Although JCAC was enjoying its success, a number of small and medium-size porcelain manufacturers in Jingdezhen were still struggling to make a profit. With new competitors looming on the horizon, some ceramic firms were reviewing their marketing plans with an eye toward finding a market niche. JCAC, at the same time, was aiming to develop a global brand and to revive the image of Jingdezhen ceramics. This case illustrates the problems of adopting an undifferentiated strategy in a competitive market. It explores how to identify market niches in a traditional industry and examines strategies for building a global brand.
Swot Analysis of "Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry" written by David Tse, Mary Ho includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Porcelain Jcac facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Porcelain Jcac, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Porcelain Jcac 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Porcelain Jcac
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 Porcelain Jcac
Strengths Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Porcelain Jcac in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Porcelain Jcac 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.
High brand equity
– Porcelain Jcac has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Porcelain Jcac to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Porcelain Jcac has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Porcelain Jcac 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
– Porcelain Jcac 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Porcelain Jcac digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Porcelain Jcac 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
– Porcelain Jcac 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 Porcelain Jcac in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Porcelain Jcac
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Porcelain Jcac does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Porcelain Jcac to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Porcelain Jcac to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Porcelain Jcac is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Porcelain Jcac has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Porcelain Jcac 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Porcelain Jcac is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Porcelain Jcac 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 - Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Porcelain Jcac 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, Porcelain Jcac is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Porcelain Jcac supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Porcelain Jcac vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Porcelain Jcac 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry HBR case study mentions - Porcelain Jcac 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Porcelain Jcac 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Porcelain Jcac is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry, it seems that the employees of Porcelain Jcac 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry, is just above the industry average. Porcelain Jcac needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Porcelain Jcac 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.
Opportunities Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry | 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Porcelain Jcac to increase its market reach. Porcelain Jcac 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Porcelain Jcac to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Loyalty marketing
– Porcelain Jcac 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Porcelain Jcac 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.
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. Porcelain Jcac can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Porcelain Jcac can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Porcelain Jcac 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 Porcelain Jcac to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Porcelain Jcac 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, Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Porcelain Jcac is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Porcelain Jcac 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Porcelain Jcac 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.
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 Porcelain Jcac in the consumer business. Now Porcelain Jcac can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Porcelain Jcac 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.
Threats Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Porcelain Jcac 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
– Porcelain Jcac has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Porcelain Jcac 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.
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 Porcelain Jcac in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Porcelain Jcac 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Porcelain Jcac 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
– Porcelain Jcac 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 Porcelain Jcac
– 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 Porcelain Jcac.
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.
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 Porcelain Jcac business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Porcelain Jcac.
Environmental challenges
– Porcelain Jcac 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. Porcelain Jcac can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Porcelain Jcac needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Porcelain Jcac 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Rediscovering Market Niches in a Traditional Industry 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 Porcelain Jcac needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.