To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell
Many people think selling is about extolling product features, acting like some kind of talking brochure. Yet a survey of buyers reveals that approach to be the least convincing. Customers want value, so salespeople need to start creating it rather than merely communicating it. Solving problems for the customer and giving them strategic-level advice afford the most possibilities to create value, argues the author, an expert on successful, effective selling. This article draws upon his research and experiences to suggest where the selling profession is headed and what individuals and organizations must do to distinguish themselves from the competition. It starts by understanding that customers are becoming increasingly polarized, buying either transactionally or consultatively. Companies must take these two opposite customer types and buying patterns into account when devising their sales strategies. It may mean migrating the transactional business to the marketing team, so the sales force can concentrate on lucrative consultative sales and winning bids.
Swot Analysis of "To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell" written by Neil Rackham includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Selling Sales facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Selling Sales, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Selling Sales 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Selling Sales
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 Selling Sales
Strengths To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Selling Sales in To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Selling Sales 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Selling Sales is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Selling Sales has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Selling Sales 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Selling Sales in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Selling Sales
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Selling Sales 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
– To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Selling Sales to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Selling Sales to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Selling Sales 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Selling Sales digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Selling Sales 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.
Learning organization
- Selling Sales 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 Selling Sales is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Selling Sales in the sector have low bargaining power. To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Selling Sales to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Selling Sales 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Neil Rackham suggests that, Selling Sales 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Selling Sales 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. Selling Sales 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell, in the dynamic environment Selling Sales has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Selling Sales 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 Selling Sales products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Selling Sales needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Selling Sales supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Selling Sales vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Selling Sales is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 Selling Sales has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Selling Sales 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Selling Sales 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell, it seems that the employees of Selling Sales 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell | 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Selling Sales 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 Selling Sales to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Selling Sales 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Selling Sales to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Selling Sales 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 Selling Sales in the consumer business. Now Selling Sales can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Selling Sales is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Selling Sales 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Selling Sales 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, To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Selling Sales 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Selling Sales 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Selling Sales 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Selling Sales can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Selling Sales can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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.
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 Selling Sales 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.
Threats To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Selling Sales with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Selling Sales 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.
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.
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. Selling Sales can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Selling Sales in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Selling Sales 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell .
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. Selling Sales needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Selling Sales 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. Selling Sales can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Selling Sales 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Selling Sales 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.
Increasing wage structure of Selling Sales
– 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 Selling Sales.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Selling Sales is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 To Increase Sales, Change the Way You Sell 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 Selling Sales needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
