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Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity


Minnetonka Corp. which was founded in 1964, began as a niche player in the gift soap and novelty toiletries markets. In 1980, it entered--and managed to capture a piece of--the mass bar-soap market with pump-dispensed Softsoap liquid soap. In 1984, the company took on the toothpaste market with plaque-fighting, pump-dispensed Check-Up. This time, success was more fleeting. Minnetonka launched the hugely successful Obsession fragrance in 1985, following up with Eternity in 1988. Minnetonka's various businesses were sold over the period 1987 to 1989. Analysis suggests that the key is the use of scope--starting a new game linked to an existing game in which rival players are already established. Analysis indicates that rivals may then deliberately choose to delay imitating the innovator if they view the innovation as: 1) sufficiently unlikely to succeed in the marketplace, and 2) sufficiently close a substitute to their existing products. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Authors :: Adam Brandenburger, Vijay Krishna

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Marketing, Product development, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity" written by Adam Brandenburger, Vijay Krishna includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Minnetonka Soap facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Product development and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Minnetonka Soap, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Minnetonka Soap 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Minnetonka Soap
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 Minnetonka Soap




Strengths Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Minnetonka Soap in Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity Harvard Business Review case study are -

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

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

– Minnetonka Soap 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Analytics focus

– Minnetonka Soap 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 Adam Brandenburger, Vijay Krishna 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry

– Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Minnetonka Soap to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Minnetonka Soap to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– Minnetonka Soap is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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.

High brand equity

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

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Minnetonka Soap 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.

Organizational Resilience of Minnetonka Soap

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Minnetonka Soap does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Training and development

– Minnetonka Soap has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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.

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

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






Weaknesses Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity are -

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Minnetonka Soap is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Minnetonka Soap needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Minnetonka Soap to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Need for greater diversity

– Minnetonka Soap 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, Minnetonka Soap 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. Minnetonka Soap 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity, is just above the industry average. Minnetonka Soap 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 strategic competitive environment developments

– As Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity HBR case study mentions - Minnetonka Soap 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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 Minnetonka Soap 's lucrative customers.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Adam Brandenburger, Vijay Krishna suggests that, Minnetonka Soap 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity, it seems that the employees of Minnetonka Soap 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Minnetonka Soap 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 Minnetonka Soap, firm in the HBR case study Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Minnetonka Soap 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 - Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.




Opportunities Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity | 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity are -

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 Minnetonka Soap 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 Minnetonka Soap 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 Minnetonka Soap to increase its market reach. Minnetonka Soap 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Minnetonka Soap can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Minnetonka Soap 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Minnetonka Soap 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.

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. Minnetonka Soap 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. Minnetonka Soap 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.

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 Minnetonka Soap in the consumer business. Now Minnetonka Soap 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. Minnetonka Soap can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Loyalty marketing

– Minnetonka Soap 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Minnetonka Soap 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Minnetonka Soap 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.

Increase in government spending

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




Threats Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

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

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

Environmental challenges

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

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Minnetonka Soap 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 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 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. Minnetonka Soap needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Regulatory challenges

– Minnetonka Soap 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.

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 Minnetonka Soap business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Minnetonka Soap 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.

Shortening product life cycle

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

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. Minnetonka Soap 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.

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.

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 Minnetonka Soap.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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 Minnetonka Corp.: From Softsoap to Eternity 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 Minnetonka Soap needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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