Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website
Businesses have traditionally operated under a brick-and-mortar strategy, paying little attention to the electronic retail channel. Now, though, increasing competitive pressures and Web technologies as an information source necessitate that managers adopt an integrated click-and-mortar strategy. With differing levels of success, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have invested in their own websites to promote their online presence. However, the recent power of information intermediaries makes it difficult for companies to attract consumers solely through their own webpages. As a result, companies are being forced to adapt their online strategies to increase customer attraction; a proper use of backlinks and infomediaries can accomplish this at relatively low cost. This article traces the emergence of infomediaries and backlinks and the mechanics of their operation, offering managers and practitioners guidance regarding how best to improve the impact of their online visibility.
Authors :: Eva Lahuerta Otero, Pablo A Munoz Gallego, Renee M.E. Pratt
Swot Analysis of "Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website" written by Eva Lahuerta Otero, Pablo A Munoz Gallego, Renee M.E. Pratt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Backlinks Infomediaries facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Backlinks Infomediaries, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Backlinks Infomediaries
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 Backlinks Infomediaries
Strengths Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Backlinks Infomediaries in Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Backlinks Infomediaries digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Backlinks Infomediaries in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Backlinks Infomediaries has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Backlinks Infomediaries to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Backlinks Infomediaries
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Backlinks Infomediaries does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Backlinks Infomediaries is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Backlinks Infomediaries is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Backlinks Infomediaries has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Backlinks Infomediaries in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Backlinks Infomediaries to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Backlinks Infomediaries to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Backlinks Infomediaries is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website, is just above the industry average. Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Backlinks Infomediaries is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Backlinks Infomediaries needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Backlinks Infomediaries to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Eva Lahuerta Otero, Pablo A Munoz Gallego, Renee M.E. Pratt suggests that, Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Backlinks Infomediaries has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Backlinks Infomediaries 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. Backlinks Infomediaries 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 Backlinks Infomediaries has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Backlinks Infomediaries is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website, in the dynamic environment Backlinks Infomediaries has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Backlinks Infomediaries has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website | 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
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. Backlinks Infomediaries can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Backlinks Infomediaries to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Backlinks Infomediaries is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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.
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 Backlinks Infomediaries in the consumer business. Now Backlinks Infomediaries can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Backlinks Infomediaries to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Backlinks Infomediaries to increase its market reach. Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
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. Backlinks Infomediaries can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Backlinks Infomediaries can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Backlinks Infomediaries operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Backlinks Infomediaries to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Backlinks Infomediaries 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, Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website are -
Environmental challenges
– Backlinks Infomediaries 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. Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Backlinks Infomediaries in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Backlinks Infomediaries can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Backlinks Infomediaries
– 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 Backlinks Infomediaries.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Backlinks Infomediaries business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Backlinks Infomediaries needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Backlinks Infomediaries with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Backlinks Infomediaries has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Backlinks Infomediaries 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Backlinks Infomediaries 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Backlinks Infomediaries is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 Click-and-Mortar SMEs: Attracting customers to your website 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 Backlinks Infomediaries needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.