12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing
This case analyses the first years of operation of 12Snap, a German start-up launched in 1999 and considered today the largest mobile marketing channel in Europe. It focuses on the changing market positioning and business model of the company, which evolved from B2C mobile retailing to B2B mobile marketing.
Authors :: Enders Albrecht, Tawfik Jelassi, Charles Waldman
Swot Analysis of "12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing" written by Enders Albrecht, Tawfik Jelassi, Charles Waldman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mobile 12snap facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mobile 12snap, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mobile 12snap
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 Mobile 12snap
Strengths 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mobile 12snap in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mobile 12snap in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Mobile 12snap 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 Mobile 12snap in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mobile 12snap is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mobile 12snap in the sector have low bargaining power. 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mobile 12snap to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mobile 12snap is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mobile 12snap has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mobile 12snap 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
– 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mobile 12snap to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mobile 12snap to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Mobile 12snap has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mobile 12snap to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mobile 12snap 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
– Mobile 12snap is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mobile 12snap vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mobile 12snap is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Mobile 12snap needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mobile 12snap to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing HBR case study mentions - Mobile 12snap 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mobile 12snap 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. Mobile 12snap 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mobile 12snap 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mobile 12snap 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, is just above the industry average. Mobile 12snap 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, in the dynamic environment Mobile 12snap has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mobile 12snap 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, Mobile 12snap is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing | 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing are -
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. Mobile 12snap can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Mobile 12snap 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.
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 Mobile 12snap in the consumer business. Now Mobile 12snap can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Mobile 12snap can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mobile 12snap 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 Mobile 12snap to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mobile 12snap can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mobile 12snap 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mobile 12snap has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mobile 12snap to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing case study. Mobile 12snap can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mobile 12snap can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Mobile 12snap can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Mobile 12snap 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. Mobile 12snap 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.
Threats 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing are -
Environmental challenges
– Mobile 12snap 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. Mobile 12snap 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 Mobile 12snap in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline 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. Mobile 12snap needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mobile 12snap 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. Mobile 12snap 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mobile 12snap is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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
– Mobile 12snap 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Mobile 12snap 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mobile 12snap
– 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 Mobile 12snap.
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. Mobile 12snap can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing, Mobile 12snap 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 12Snap* (Germany, UK, Italy): From B2C Mobile Retailing to B2B Mobile Marketing 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 Mobile 12snap needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.