Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil
Ronaldo Art, brand manager for J&J's Listerine, reflected on the progress he had made in market penetration for the oral hygiene product from the time he started in the position in 2010 to late 2014. He wanted to develop a long-term strategy for the brand rather than stimulating short-term increases in market share, which could compromise the equity of the brand, its profitability, and its long-term competitive advantage. This case has been used in Darden's second-year course "Marketing Metrics and Integrated Marketing Communications" and would work well in any course module focused on brand management and brand strategy.
Authors :: Paul W. Farris, Leandro Guissoni, Olegario Araujo
Swot Analysis of "Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil" written by Paul W. Farris, Leandro Guissoni, Olegario Araujo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Listerine Brand facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Performance measurement, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Listerine Brand, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Listerine Brand 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Listerine Brand
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 Listerine Brand
Strengths Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Listerine Brand in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Listerine Brand to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Listerine Brand to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Listerine Brand 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Listerine Brand 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 Listerine Brand in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Listerine Brand has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Listerine Brand 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Listerine Brand is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Listerine Brand in the sector have low bargaining power. Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Listerine Brand to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Listerine Brand
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Listerine Brand does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Listerine Brand 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Listerine Brand 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 Listerine Brand is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Listerine Brand is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Listerine Brand in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Listerine Brand is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Listerine Brand needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Listerine Brand to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Listerine Brand 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 - Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Listerine Brand 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Listerine Brand 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. Listerine Brand 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil HBR case study mentions - Listerine Brand 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul W. Farris, Leandro Guissoni, Olegario Araujo suggests that, Listerine Brand 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil, in the dynamic environment Listerine Brand has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Listerine Brand has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Listerine Brand is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Listerine Brand is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Listerine Brand 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Listerine Brand 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.
Opportunities Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil | 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Listerine Brand 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.
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. Listerine Brand can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Listerine Brand 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Listerine Brand to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Listerine Brand can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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.
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 Listerine Brand in the consumer business. Now Listerine Brand can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Listerine Brand 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. Listerine Brand 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Listerine Brand 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Listerine Brand 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, Listerine Brand 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Listerine Brand 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.
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 Listerine Brand 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Listerine Brand 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Listerine Brand can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Listerine Brand operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Threats Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Listerine Brand is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Listerine Brand 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil .
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 Listerine Brand.
Increasing wage structure of Listerine Brand
– 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 Listerine Brand.
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. Listerine Brand can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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. Listerine Brand 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
– Listerine Brand 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Listerine Brand 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Listerine Brand 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 Listerine Brand in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Listerine Brand has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Listerine Brand 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil, Listerine Brand 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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 Choosing the Right Metrics for Listerine Brand Management in Brazil 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 Listerine Brand needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.