Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image
In recent years, the Indian shampoo market had been growing at an exponential rate, with several categories and brands of personal care products showing significant growth. Like consumers in several emerging markets, Indians had begun to place a heightened degree of importance on physical appearance, perhaps as an outcome of Westernization and exposure to media. Traditionally, Indians were known to use herbs to nurture and enhance their hair. Now, however, Indian consumers were caught between the propositions of "synthetic" hair-care brands versus the "natural benefits of the herbal" brands, despite the fact that some degree of processing was required for both types. Amid this dichotomous culture of hair-care products, how could the Himalaya brand establish itself as a differentiated herbal offering? S. Ramesh Kumar is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management and S. Venkatesh is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Swot Analysis of "Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image" written by S. Ramesh Kumar, S. Venkatesh includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hair Himalaya facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Market research and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hair Himalaya, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hair Himalaya 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hair Himalaya
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 Hair Himalaya
Strengths Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hair Himalaya in Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Hair Himalaya is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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.
Training and development
– Hair Himalaya has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hair Himalaya is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hair Himalaya 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
– Hair Himalaya has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hair Himalaya 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hair Himalaya 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Hair Himalaya is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by S. Ramesh Kumar, S. Venkatesh can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hair Himalaya digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hair Himalaya 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hair Himalaya in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hair Himalaya 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hair Himalaya to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hair Himalaya to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Hair Himalaya 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hair Himalaya, firm in the HBR case study Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hair Himalaya products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hair Himalaya needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image, is just above the industry average. Hair Himalaya 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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 Hair Himalaya 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hair Himalaya 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image, in the dynamic environment Hair Himalaya has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hair Himalaya has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Hair Himalaya supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hair Himalaya vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Hair Himalaya 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hair Himalaya has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, S. Ramesh Kumar, S. Venkatesh suggests that, Hair Himalaya 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hair Himalaya 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.
Opportunities Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image | 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hair Himalaya is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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.
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. Hair Himalaya can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hair Himalaya 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hair Himalaya 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 Hair Himalaya to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hair Himalaya can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Hair Himalaya 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, Hair Himalaya 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
– Hair Himalaya 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hair Himalaya 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hair Himalaya to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hair Himalaya has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hair Himalaya to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image case study. Hair Himalaya can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Hair Himalaya 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hair Himalaya 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, Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hair Himalaya can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Threats Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hair Himalaya 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hair Himalaya 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hair Himalaya 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.
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. Hair Himalaya can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Hair Himalaya in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Hair Himalaya business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image, Hair Himalaya 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Hair Himalaya 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hair Himalaya 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, Hair Himalaya 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image .
Increasing wage structure of Hair Himalaya
– 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 Hair Himalaya.
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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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 Himalaya Shampoo: Building a Differentiated Brand Image 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 Hair Himalaya needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.