Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A)
At the age of 39, Solmaz AltA?n took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost control. Consequently, customer satisfaction was suffering. Despite the growing Turkish economy and a favorable regulatory environment, Solmaz was struggling to grow the company without further sacrificing customer satisfaction or profitability. Used as part of a course on service excellence, the case provides an insurance context in which to explore the link between customer satisfaction and competitive performance and challenges the students to ponder the extent of the relationship between customer satisfaction and financial performance. In the (A) case, the Allianz Turkey executives focus their initial efforts on the claims process of the automobile insurance business-a lowly rated segment of the insurance industry by their policyholders. They begin by creating a map of the customer experience and then doing extensive consumer research to determine what really matters to the policyholder. The insights gleaned from the detailed consumer analysis are quite different than the original beliefs of the management team. Students must devise a new customer service model for the claims process based upon the customer analysis. The (B) case describes the new customer service model for the claims process and the resulting increase in customer satisfaction as measured by the Net Promoter Score (NPS) metric. Students must first decide whether the initial effort is a success and then develop a plan for the future.
Swot Analysis of "Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A)" written by W. Earl Sasser Jr., Gamze Yucaoglu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Customer Solmaz facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customer service, Customers, Emerging markets, Supply chain and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions,
technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Customer Solmaz, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Customer Solmaz 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Customer Solmaz
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 Customer Solmaz
Strengths Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Customer Solmaz in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Customer Solmaz has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Customer Solmaz to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Customer Solmaz is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Customer Solmaz in the sector have low bargaining power. Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Customer Solmaz to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Customer Solmaz has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Customer Solmaz 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Customer Solmaz 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 Customer Solmaz is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Customer Solmaz 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Customer Solmaz has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Customer Solmaz 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)
– Customer Solmaz 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Customer Solmaz in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Customer Solmaz is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Customer Solmaz 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A), 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) HBR case study mentions - Customer Solmaz 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Customer Solmaz is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Customer Solmaz is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, W. Earl Sasser Jr., Gamze Yucaoglu suggests that, Customer Solmaz 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Customer Solmaz has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Customer Solmaz 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Customer Solmaz 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 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 Customer Solmaz supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Customer Solmaz vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Customer Solmaz 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.
Opportunities Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) | 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Customer Solmaz 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, Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Customer Solmaz is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Customer Solmaz 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.
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. Customer Solmaz can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Customer Solmaz 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Customer Solmaz has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Customer Solmaz to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) case study. Customer Solmaz can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Customer Solmaz 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Customer Solmaz has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Customer Solmaz in the consumer business. Now Customer Solmaz can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Customer Solmaz 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Customer Solmaz can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Customer Solmaz 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.
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. Customer Solmaz 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. Customer Solmaz 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.
Threats Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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. Customer Solmaz needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Customer Solmaz.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Customer Solmaz 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.
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 Customer Solmaz business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Customer Solmaz 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Customer Solmaz 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.
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. Customer Solmaz 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 Customer Solmaz is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Customer Solmaz
– 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 Customer Solmaz.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A), Customer Solmaz 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 .
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. Customer Solmaz 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Customer Solmaz 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.
Environmental challenges
– Customer Solmaz 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. Customer Solmaz can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (A) 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 Customer Solmaz needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
