Green Hills Market Loyalty Program SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Green Hills Market Loyalty Program
With the competitive 2007 holiday season approaching, Gary Hawkins (CEO of Green Hills Market, an independent grocery retailer in Syracuse, NY) was looking for a promotional program that would keep his best customers coming to Green Hills for all of their holiday meal shopping. Hawkins knew that his larger competitors (such as Price Chopper, Wegmans, and Wal-Mart) would use their size and buying power to procure products at the lowest possible cost, enabling them to offer rock bottom prices. Hawkins was looking for a program that would take advantage of Green Hills' proprietary systems for tracking customers' buying patterns and shopping preferences. The promotional program under consideration was a continuity program, in which shoppers earned points that could be redeemed for pieces of Arzberg porcelain. Hawkins and his team needed to establish their objectives for the holiday season and decide whether or not the Arzberg promotion was right for Green Hills Market. The case can be accompanied by a data set ("M318 Green Hills Data Set") that captures weekly expenditures by a sample of 1000 households shopping at Green Hills Market before, during, and after the Arzberg promotional program. The students can use these data (and other information available in the case) to examine how well the Arzberg promotion actually worked. "M318 Green Hills Data Set" can be obtained from cases_requests@gsb.stanford.edu.
Swot Analysis of "Green Hills Market Loyalty Program" written by James Lattin, Meredith P. Jensen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hills Arzberg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Green Hills Market Loyalty Program case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Motivating people, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Green Hills Market Loyalty Program casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Green Hills Market Loyalty Program
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Green Hills Market Loyalty Program case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hills Arzberg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hills Arzberg 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Green Hills Market Loyalty Program case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hills Arzberg
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 Hills Arzberg
Strengths Green Hills Market Loyalty Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hills Arzberg in Green Hills Market Loyalty Program Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hills Arzberg 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Hills Arzberg 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hills Arzberg in the sector have low bargaining power. Green Hills Market Loyalty Program has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hills Arzberg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Hills Arzberg
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hills Arzberg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Hills Arzberg has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Hills Arzberg 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 Hills Arzberg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hills Arzberg digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hills Arzberg 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Hills Arzberg 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 Hills Arzberg 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Hills Arzberg is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Green Hills Market Loyalty Program Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Hills Arzberg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hills Arzberg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Green Hills Market Loyalty Program | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Green Hills Market Loyalty Program are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hills Arzberg is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Hills Arzberg needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hills Arzberg to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hills Arzberg 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hills Arzberg 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hills Arzberg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Hills Arzberg 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program, is just above the industry average. Hills Arzberg 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hills Arzberg 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program, in the dynamic environment Hills Arzberg has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hills Arzberg has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hills Arzberg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hills Arzberg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program, it seems that the employees of Hills Arzberg 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.
Opportunities Green Hills Market Loyalty Program | 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hills Arzberg 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hills Arzberg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hills Arzberg 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hills Arzberg 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 Hills Arzberg 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.
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. Hills Arzberg 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. Hills Arzberg 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hills Arzberg 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, Green Hills Market Loyalty Program, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hills Arzberg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Hills Arzberg 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 Hills Arzberg in the consumer business. Now Hills Arzberg can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hills Arzberg to increase its market reach. Hills Arzberg 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hills Arzberg 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 Hills Arzberg to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hills Arzberg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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. Hills Arzberg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Green Hills Market Loyalty Program External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Green Hills Market Loyalty Program are -
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hills Arzberg 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program .
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 Hills Arzberg.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hills Arzberg 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.
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 Hills Arzberg in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Hills Arzberg 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.
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 Hills Arzberg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Hills Arzberg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Hills Arzberg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hills Arzberg 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hills Arzberg is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hills Arzberg 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
– Hills Arzberg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hills Arzberg 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Green Hills Market Loyalty Program 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 Hills Arzberg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.