Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A)
Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill (RGSH), a New England advertising agency, was keen to secure the account of Microsoft Corp. The case describes the bid for the account, which included the submission of a "flier" referring to knowledge of a competitor's plans, as a result of hiring two new creative people who had worked on the account of Lotus Development Corp. at another agency. Teaching objectives: 1) to examine how agencies bid for advertising accounts, 2) to consider how companies review agencies, and 3) to show how aggressive marketing may lead to allegations of misconduct.
Swot Analysis of "Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A)" written by N. Craig Smith, John A. Quelch includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Greenberg Rossin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Greenberg Rossin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Greenberg Rossin 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Greenberg Rossin
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 Greenberg Rossin
Strengths Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Greenberg Rossin in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Greenberg Rossin 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 Greenberg Rossin in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Greenberg Rossin 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.
Organizational Resilience of Greenberg Rossin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Greenberg Rossin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Greenberg Rossin 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 N. Craig Smith, John A. Quelch 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Greenberg Rossin in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Greenberg Rossin has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Greenberg Rossin to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Greenberg Rossin is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Greenberg Rossin is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Greenberg Rossin to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Greenberg Rossin to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Greenberg Rossin is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Greenberg Rossin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Greenberg Rossin 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Greenberg Rossin has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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.
Weaknesses Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Greenberg Rossin 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. Greenberg Rossin 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A), it seems that the employees of Greenberg Rossin don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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 Greenberg Rossin 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Greenberg Rossin is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Greenberg Rossin 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Greenberg Rossin, firm in the HBR case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Greenberg Rossin 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 - Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Greenberg Rossin supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Greenberg Rossin vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, N. Craig Smith, John A. Quelch suggests that, Greenberg Rossin 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A), is just above the industry average. Greenberg Rossin 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Greenberg Rossin 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.
Opportunities Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) | 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) are -
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. Greenberg Rossin can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Greenberg Rossin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Greenberg Rossin 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Greenberg Rossin 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, Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Greenberg Rossin 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.
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. Greenberg Rossin 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. Greenberg Rossin 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Greenberg Rossin 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Greenberg Rossin to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Greenberg Rossin 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 Greenberg Rossin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Greenberg Rossin 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, Greenberg Rossin can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Manufacturing automation
– Greenberg Rossin 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Greenberg Rossin 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.
Threats Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Greenberg Rossin with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Greenberg Rossin 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.
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. Greenberg Rossin 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.
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 Greenberg Rossin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A), Greenberg Rossin 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Greenberg Rossin 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) .
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.
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. Greenberg Rossin 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 Greenberg Rossin in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Greenberg Rossin is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Greenberg Rossin 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Greenberg Rossin 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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 Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (A) 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 Greenberg Rossin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.