Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count
Emotiv is getting ready to launch its innovative brain-computer interfacing (BCI) technology. The company has developed a special headset, called EPOC, and highly sophisticated software that can translate a person's emotions, cognitive thoughts and facial expressions into digital outcomes. Emotiv wants the technology to be adopted by mainstream consumers and is leaning towards the video game market as its primary initial target. However, it needs to decide whether to continue efforts to convince one of the big three console makers (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) to enable the EPOC on their platform or to settle for the PC gaming market. Alternatively, the company could have chosen a number of different markets to focus on (such as medical, military, market research). A host of additional marketing decisions (pricing, channels, bundling a demo game) need to be made. The case allows students to grapple with the issues of: selecting a target application for the launch of an innovation; determining the importance of having a big name partner for the launch by an unknown start-up; considering the wisdom of taking a B2C rather than B2B approach with a novel technology; using analogous products to forecast demand and sales for a new technology.
Swot Analysis of "Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count" written by Elie Ofek, Jason Riis, Paul Hamilton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Emotiv Epoc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Marketing, Product development, Sales, Technology and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices,
wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Emotiv Epoc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Emotiv Epoc
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 Emotiv Epoc
Strengths Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Emotiv Epoc in Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Emotiv Epoc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Emotiv Epoc 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Emotiv Epoc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Emotiv Epoc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Epoc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Epoc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Emotiv Epoc 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.
Organizational Resilience of Emotiv Epoc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Emotiv Epoc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Emotiv Epoc is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Epoc in the sector have low bargaining power. Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Emotiv Epoc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Emotiv Epoc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Emotiv Epoc 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, Emotiv Epoc has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Emotiv Epoc 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Epoc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Emotiv Epoc products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Emotiv Epoc needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count, is just above the industry average. Emotiv Epoc 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Emotiv Epoc 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Emotiv Epoc 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 - Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Emotiv Epoc is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Emotiv Epoc, firm in the HBR case study Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Emotiv Epoc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Emotiv Epoc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Emotiv Epoc to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count | 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count are -
Manufacturing automation
– Emotiv Epoc 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Emotiv Epoc 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Emotiv Epoc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Emotiv Epoc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Emotiv Epoc 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Epoc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Emotiv Epoc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Emotiv Epoc 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, Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Emotiv Epoc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Emotiv Epoc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Emotiv Epoc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Emotiv Epoc to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count case study. Emotiv Epoc can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Emotiv Epoc to increase its market reach. Emotiv Epoc 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Emotiv Epoc 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Emotiv Epoc 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.
Threats Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Emotiv Epoc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Emotiv Epoc 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Emotiv Epoc 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 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Emotiv Epoc 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.
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. Emotiv Epoc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Emotiv Epoc 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.
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 Emotiv Epoc in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Emotiv Epoc 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count .
Regulatory challenges
– Emotiv Epoc 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Emotiv Epoc 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Emotiv Epoc is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Emotiv Epoc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Emotiv Epoc 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Systems, Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count 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 Emotiv Epoc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.