Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B)
This is a Darden case study.In this three-part case, an established winery's first marketing director is charged with reviving the once-hot brand. Cofounded by an expert winemaker with ties to the famous ChA?teau Lafite-Rothschild, Clos Du Val had seen its glory days, with high ratings accompanied by robust sales. During the 1990s, however, sales had begun to lag, though it was unclear why. What should the new marketing director do first? How should the company allocate its marketing budget? A teaching note is available for verified faculty; a multimedia case supplement featuring interviews with the principals is also available.
Swot Analysis of "Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B)" written by Marian Moore, Gosia Glinska includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Clos Val facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Market research, Pricing, Public relations and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Clos Val, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Clos Val 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Clos Val
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 Clos Val
Strengths Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Clos Val in Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Clos Val is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Clos Val is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Clos Val 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.
High brand equity
– Clos Val has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Clos Val to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Clos Val 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Clos Val has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Clos Val 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
– Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Clos Val to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Clos Val to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Clos Val 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 Clos Val in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Clos Val
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Clos Val does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Clos Val digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Clos Val 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
– Clos Val 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) are -
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 Clos Val supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Clos Val vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Clos Val 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Clos Val is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Clos Val needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Clos Val to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Marian Moore, Gosia Glinska suggests that, Clos Val 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B), 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Clos Val 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) HBR case study mentions - Clos Val 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Clos Val 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 - Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B), in the dynamic environment Clos Val has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Clos Val 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, Clos Val is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Clos Val products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Clos Val needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) | 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Clos Val has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Clos Val to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) case study. Clos Val can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Clos Val 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Clos Val 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 Clos Val 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Clos Val 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 Clos Val in the consumer business. Now Clos Val 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, Clos Val is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Clos Val can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Clos Val can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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.
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. Clos Val 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. Clos Val 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, Clos Val 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, Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Clos Val 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 Clos Val 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 Clos Val to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) are -
Increasing wage structure of Clos Val
– 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 Clos Val.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Clos Val 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Clos Val with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Clos Val 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.
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 Clos Val.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Clos Val 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Clos Val 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) .
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. Clos Val can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Clos Val 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. Clos Val can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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 Clos Val in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B), Clos Val 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Clos Val has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Clos Val 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Brooke Correll and Clos Du Val: Adventures in Napa Valley (B) 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 Clos Val needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
