Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews
Millennials have heavily influenced social media's evolution into an important source of product information. They are increasingly basing their product evaluations on information gathered from online reviews. Thus, companies targeting Millennials may wish to pay heed to online reviews. Which products are affected by Millennials' online reviews? Do the reviews tend to be positive or negative? Where do Millennial customers look for information amongst the plethora of online venues? As presented herein, a survey of 227 Millennials reveals that this generation is undeniably posting reviews online and being influenced by these reviews. Respondents show a definite preference for two online venues, Facebook and company websites, when voicing their opinions. Reviews are broken down by positive and negative comments, and how product categories fare for each type. Contrary to popular thinking, the respondents were more prone to post positive reviews than negative reviews. Males voice their opinions online significantly more often than females, and specific gender differences are observed by product category. Recommendations are provided for selling to Millennials by leveraging online reviews.
Authors :: W. Glynn Mangold, Katherine Taken Smith
Swot Analysis of "Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews" written by W. Glynn Mangold, Katherine Taken Smith includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Reviews Millennials facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Sales, Social platforms and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Reviews Millennials, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Reviews Millennials 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Reviews Millennials
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 Reviews Millennials
Strengths Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Reviews Millennials in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Reviews Millennials is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Reviews Millennials to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Reviews Millennials to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Reviews Millennials has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Reviews Millennials has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Reviews Millennials to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Reviews Millennials is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Reviews Millennials is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Reviews Millennials digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Reviews Millennials 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Reviews Millennials is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Reviews Millennials in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Reviews Millennials has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Reviews Millennials 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.
Learning organization
- Reviews Millennials 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 Reviews Millennials is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews HBR case study mentions - Reviews Millennials 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews, it seems that the employees of Reviews Millennials 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, Reviews Millennials 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. Reviews Millennials 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Reviews Millennials 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 - Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews, in the dynamic environment Reviews Millennials has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Reviews Millennials has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Reviews Millennials 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Reviews Millennials 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, Reviews Millennials is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Reviews Millennials, firm in the HBR case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Reviews Millennials 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Reviews Millennials is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Reviews Millennials needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Reviews Millennials to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews | 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews are -
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. Reviews Millennials can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Reviews Millennials 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Reviews Millennials is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Reviews Millennials can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Reviews Millennials 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Reviews Millennials can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Reviews Millennials 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.
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 Reviews Millennials in the consumer business. Now Reviews Millennials can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Reviews Millennials can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Reviews Millennials operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Reviews Millennials can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Reviews Millennials 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Reviews Millennials 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Reviews Millennials has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Reviews Millennials to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews are -
Increasing wage structure of Reviews Millennials
– 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 Reviews Millennials.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Reviews Millennials is facing in Technology & Operations 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. Reviews Millennials 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.
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. Reviews Millennials can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Reviews Millennials needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Reviews Millennials in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Reviews Millennials business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Reviews Millennials 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. Reviews Millennials can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Reviews Millennials with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews, Reviews Millennials 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 .
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 Reviews Millennials.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Reviews Millennials high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Selling To Millennials With Online Reviews 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 Reviews Millennials needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.