Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version
In 2000, Procter & Gamble Co. introduced Crest Whitestrips, a new, revolutionary product that allowed consumers to whiten their teeth at home. With Whitestrips, P&G created an entire new category in oral care, worth $460 million in 2002. Whitestrips sent P&G's main competitor in oral care, Colgate Palmolive Co., scrambling because several patents protected the strips, making it difficult for Colgate to copy the invention. But in September 2002, the tables turned. Colgate introduced Simply White, a favorably priced whitening product that consumers could simply paint on their teeth. One month after its introduction, Simply White had captured one half of the market, and Crest Whitestrips lost more than 50% of its share. However, P&G's tests of Simply White indicated that Colgate's new product was largely ineffective. Had Colgate just committed a major strategic blunder by introducing a product that did not work? And, if so, how could P&G best take advantage of the situation?
Authors :: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis Yao, Filipa Azevedo Jorge
Swot Analysis of "Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version" written by Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis Yao, Filipa Azevedo Jorge includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Whitestrips Colgate facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Intellectual property, Marketing, Product development, Regulation and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Whitestrips Colgate, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Whitestrips Colgate 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Whitestrips Colgate
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 Whitestrips Colgate
Strengths Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Whitestrips Colgate in Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Whitestrips Colgate to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Whitestrips Colgate to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Analytics focus
– Whitestrips Colgate 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 Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis Yao, Filipa Azevedo Jorge 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 Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Whitestrips Colgate digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Whitestrips Colgate 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.
High brand equity
– Whitestrips Colgate has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Whitestrips Colgate to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Whitestrips Colgate has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Whitestrips Colgate 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)
– Whitestrips Colgate 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Whitestrips Colgate has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Whitestrips Colgate in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Whitestrips Colgate
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Whitestrips Colgate does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Whitestrips Colgate 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Whitestrips Colgate is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Whitestrips Colgate 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 - Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Whitestrips Colgate 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Whitestrips Colgate 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. Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Whitestrips Colgate, firm in the HBR case study Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Whitestrips Colgate needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Whitestrips Colgate is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Whitestrips Colgate needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Whitestrips Colgate to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version | 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version are -
Buying journey improvements
– Whitestrips Colgate can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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, Whitestrips Colgate can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Whitestrips Colgate operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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. Whitestrips Colgate can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Whitestrips Colgate can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Whitestrips Colgate 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 Whitestrips Colgate 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 Whitestrips Colgate to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Whitestrips Colgate to increase its market reach. Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Whitestrips Colgate 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Whitestrips Colgate to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Whitestrips Colgate is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Whitestrips Colgate 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Whitestrips Colgate 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, Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version are -
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. Whitestrips Colgate needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Whitestrips Colgate in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Environmental challenges
– Whitestrips Colgate 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. Whitestrips Colgate can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Whitestrips Colgate can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Whitestrips Colgate has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Whitestrips Colgate needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Whitestrips Colgate 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.
Increasing wage structure of Whitestrips Colgate
– 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 Whitestrips Colgate.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Whitestrips Colgate 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Whitestrips Colgate 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G, Spanish Version 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 Whitestrips Colgate needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
