Case Study Description of DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence
DoubleClick, Inc., with global headquarters in New York City and over 30 offices around the world, was a leading provider of comprehensive Internet advertising solutions for marketers and web publishers. It combined technology, media, and data expertise to centralize planning, execution, control, tracking, and reporting for online media companies. DoubleClick was able to track Internet users' surfing habits (but not the surfers' identities), allowing it to personalize ads for specific market groups. When DoubleClick announced it was merging with Abacus Direct, a direct marketing company with a database of consumer names, addresses, and retail purchasing habits of 90% of American households, it raised many privacy-related questions and concerns. Several Internet privacy activists had filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission after being informed by media sources that DoubleClick had the ability to divulge a person's identity by merging the databases of the two companies and matching the information in "cookies" with a surfer's profile. The president was confident that its internal practices were sound, but he wondered whether they would placate advertising clients afraid of consumer backlash, the concerns of Internet surfers, and the company's investors.
Swot Analysis of "DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence" written by Ken Mark, Scott Schneberger includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Doubleclick Surfers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Marketing, Risk management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Doubleclick Surfers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Doubleclick Surfers 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Doubleclick Surfers
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Doubleclick Surfers
Strengths DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Doubleclick Surfers in DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Doubleclick Surfers 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 Doubleclick Surfers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Doubleclick Surfers has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Doubleclick Surfers to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Doubleclick Surfers 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Doubleclick Surfers 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 Ken Mark, Scott Schneberger 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.
Organizational Resilience of Doubleclick Surfers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Doubleclick Surfers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Doubleclick Surfers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Doubleclick Surfers in the sector have low bargaining power. DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Doubleclick Surfers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Doubleclick Surfers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Doubleclick Surfers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Doubleclick Surfers 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 Doubleclick Surfers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Doubleclick Surfers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 Doubleclick Surfers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Doubleclick Surfers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Weaknesses DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence HBR case study mentions - Doubleclick Surfers 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 Doubleclick Surfers 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ken Mark, Scott Schneberger suggests that, Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Doubleclick Surfers is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Doubleclick Surfers 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 - DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence, it seems that the employees of Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Doubleclick Surfers 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. Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence, in the dynamic environment Doubleclick Surfers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Doubleclick Surfers has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence | 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Doubleclick Surfers 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, DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Doubleclick Surfers can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Doubleclick Surfers operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Doubleclick Surfers to increase its market reach. Doubleclick Surfers will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Developing new processes and practices
– Doubleclick Surfers can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Doubleclick Surfers 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Doubleclick Surfers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Doubleclick Surfers 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.
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. Doubleclick Surfers 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 Doubleclick Surfers 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 Doubleclick Surfers to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Doubleclick Surfers in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Doubleclick Surfers in the consumer business. Now Doubleclick Surfers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence are -
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 Doubleclick Surfers business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Doubleclick Surfers is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Doubleclick Surfers 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. Doubleclick Surfers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of Doubleclick Surfers
– 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 Doubleclick Surfers.
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.
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 Doubleclick Surfers.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Doubleclick Surfers 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.
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 Doubleclick Surfers in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Doubleclick Surfers 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence, Doubleclick Surfers may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
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. Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Doubleclick Surfers 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Doubleclick Surfers can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 DoubleClick, Inc.: Gathering Customer Intelligence 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 Doubleclick Surfers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.