Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage
Biztainment is a practice by which entertainment is added to a bundle of goods and services, in order to gain competitive advantage. The achievement of this goal is illustrated herein using economic examples of increased revenue, repeat business, and profits, and by extending the product lifecycle, thus ensuring survival of the firm. The general premise is that biztainment is an increasingly popular business strategy, applicable to all industries. For example, consider the goods and services provided by Build-A-Bear stores: children can select the fabric, eyes, and buttons to create a unique tangible good, while the memorable process of building it (employing self-service, too) with family or friends adds extraordinary value to the purchase. Build-A-Bear's use of biztainment has resulted in 370 stores worldwide on five continents, expanding at a rate of 25 locations per year, and earned revenue of $474 million in 2007 (Build-A-Bear, 2008). This article concludes by offering examples of ways in which managers can evaluate their current product-service strategies against the environmental drivers of biztainment.
Authors :: Mi Kyong Newsom, David A. Collier, Eric Olsen
Swot Analysis of "Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage" written by Mi Kyong Newsom, David A. Collier, Eric Olsen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Biztainment Bear facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Organizational structure and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Biztainment Bear, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Biztainment Bear 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Biztainment Bear
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 Biztainment Bear
Strengths Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Biztainment Bear in Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Biztainment Bear is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Biztainment Bear 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 Biztainment Bear in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Biztainment Bear is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Biztainment Bear digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Biztainment Bear 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Biztainment Bear 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Biztainment Bear in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Biztainment Bear is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Biztainment Bear in the sector have low bargaining power. Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Biztainment Bear to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Biztainment Bear 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Biztainment Bear 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.
High brand equity
– Biztainment Bear has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Biztainment Bear to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Biztainment Bear has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Biztainment Bear is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Biztainment Bear 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage HBR case study mentions - Biztainment Bear 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Biztainment Bear 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, Biztainment Bear 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. Biztainment Bear 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Biztainment Bear 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Biztainment Bear 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Biztainment Bear is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Biztainment Bear needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Biztainment Bear to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Biztainment Bear 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, Biztainment Bear is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage | 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage are -
Loyalty marketing
– Biztainment Bear 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 Biztainment Bear in the consumer business. Now Biztainment Bear can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Biztainment Bear can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Biztainment Bear 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. Biztainment Bear 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.
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 Biztainment Bear 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Biztainment Bear 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Biztainment Bear to increase its market reach. Biztainment Bear 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Biztainment Bear 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Biztainment Bear can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Biztainment Bear can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Biztainment Bear operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Biztainment Bear 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Biztainment Bear 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Biztainment Bear 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage are -
Environmental challenges
– Biztainment Bear 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. Biztainment Bear can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Biztainment Bear has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Biztainment Bear 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Biztainment Bear 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Biztainment Bear 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage, Biztainment Bear 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Biztainment Bear 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Biztainment Bear is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Biztainment Bear
– 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 Biztainment Bear.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Biztainment Bear 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 Biztainment Bear 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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Biztainment Bear.
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 Biztainment Bear business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Biztainment Bear can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Using "Biztainment" to Gain Competitive Advantage 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 Biztainment Bear needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
