Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market

Supplement to case IN1300. mfish is a case about global partnerships which target the bottom of the pyramid. This case focuses on mobile penetration and using a local partner to gain access to consumers, however this is not specific to mobile or fishing and can be applied across industries. One of Tone's main successes here was focusing on their core competencies, mobile app development, and using key partnerships to fill in their knowledge and competency gaps. Tone/mfish were able to monetize a solution, despite targeting this very low income sector by making a product that greatly increased the livelihood of it's consumers, which customers were willing to pay for. This case challenges students to think creatively about solving a problem in a low cost way, while also maintaining a customer centric focus. If the product doesn't solve problems for consumers, then there won't be high demand for it, so keeping a customer centric focus is key. In addition, a low cost solution is important when targeting this segment since their willingness to pay might be low on an absolute scale given their low level of income.

Authors :: Philip Parker, Katelyn Atherton

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Emerging markets, Joint ventures, Marketing, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market" written by Philip Parker, Katelyn Atherton includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mfish Low facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Joint ventures, Marketing, Technology and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mfish Low, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mfish Low 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mfish Low
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 Mfish Low

---

Strengths Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Mfish Low in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market Harvard Business Review case study are -

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mfish Low digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mfish Low 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Mfish Low is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Mfish Low has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mfish Low 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.

Learning organization

- Mfish Low 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 Mfish Low is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Mfish Low 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 Philip Parker, Katelyn Atherton 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.

Training and development

– Mfish Low has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

– Mfish Low 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 Mfish Low in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High brand equity

– Mfish Low has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mfish Low to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Mfish Low is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Mfish Low is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Mfish Low in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

---

---

Weaknesses Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market are -

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market, in the dynamic environment Mfish Low has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mfish Low has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Mfish Low 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Mfish Low 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 Mfish Low, firm in the HBR case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market, 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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 Mfish Low 's lucrative customers.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market, is just above the industry average. Mfish Low 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mfish Low is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Mfish Low 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Mfish Low 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market HBR case study mentions - Mfish Low 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.

---

Opportunities Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market | 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market are -

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mfish Low can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mfish Low operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mfish Low can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mfish Low 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mfish Low is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Mfish Low 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mfish Low 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Mfish Low has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mfish Low 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, Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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. Mfish Low 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. Mfish Low 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Mfish Low 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.

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. Mfish Low can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mfish Low 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 Mfish Low to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mfish Low to increase its market reach. Mfish Low 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.

---

Threats Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market are -

Environmental challenges

– Mfish Low 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. Mfish Low can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

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 Mfish Low.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market, Mfish Low may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Mfish Low has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mfish Low 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.

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Mfish Low 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 Mfish Low with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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. Mfish Low can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Mfish Low is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mfish Low 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market .

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.

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. Mfish Low 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 Mfish Low business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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 Tone and mfish (B): Targeting Fishermen at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia's Mobile Market 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 Mfish Low needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---