Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc.
The owner of Escapes Outdoor Living Designs (Escapes) must decide what to do with his small landscaping and construction business. Escapes has been doing well, but has not had any sustainable growth over five years. The owner feels the business lacks focus and will need a good strategy in order to grow successfully. Facing problems with employee retention and shifting market opportunities, he has to perform an in-depth analysis of his current business to decide where it should go in the next few years or if it should be closed down altogether.
Swot Analysis of "Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc." written by Michael Sider, Richie Bloomfield includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Escapes Outdoor facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Escapes Outdoor, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Escapes Outdoor 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Escapes Outdoor
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Escapes Outdoor
Strengths Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Escapes Outdoor in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Escapes Outdoor is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Strong track record of project management
– Escapes Outdoor is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Escapes Outdoor 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 Michael Sider, Richie Bloomfield 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.
High brand equity
– Escapes Outdoor has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Escapes Outdoor to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Escapes Outdoor to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Escapes Outdoor to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Escapes Outdoor 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Escapes Outdoor 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Escapes Outdoor
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Escapes Outdoor does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Escapes Outdoor is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Escapes Outdoor in the sector have low bargaining power. Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Escapes Outdoor to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Escapes Outdoor 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 Escapes Outdoor is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc., it seems that the employees of Escapes Outdoor 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 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 Escapes Outdoor supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Escapes Outdoor vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. HBR case study mentions - Escapes Outdoor 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Escapes Outdoor, firm in the HBR case study Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Escapes Outdoor 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Escapes Outdoor is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Escapes Outdoor 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. Escapes Outdoor 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Escapes Outdoor is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael Sider, Richie Bloomfield suggests that, Escapes Outdoor 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. | 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Escapes Outdoor 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Escapes Outdoor 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Escapes Outdoor to increase its market reach. Escapes Outdoor 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Escapes Outdoor can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Escapes Outdoor 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. Escapes Outdoor 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Escapes Outdoor in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Escapes Outdoor 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Escapes Outdoor can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Escapes Outdoor operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Escapes Outdoor is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Escapes Outdoor has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Escapes Outdoor to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. case study. Escapes Outdoor can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Escapes Outdoor 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Escapes Outdoor can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Escapes Outdoor in the consumer business. Now Escapes Outdoor can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. are -
Regulatory challenges
– Escapes Outdoor 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Escapes Outdoor with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Escapes Outdoor 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. Escapes Outdoor can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Escapes Outdoor needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Escapes Outdoor 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Escapes Outdoor is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Escapes Outdoor can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Escapes Outdoor 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 Escapes Outdoor 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Escapes Outdoor in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Escapes Outdoor in the Strategy & Execution 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Escapes Outdoor 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor Living Designs Inc. 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 Escapes Outdoor needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
