This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of This is Not What I Saw on HGTV...
An angry customer with a laundry list of complaints has just stormed into a local home staging company. The owner is unavailable, so her assistant must try to salvage the customer's service experience. Using the gaps model of service quality, the assistant (and students) must recognize service quality issues, explore the imbalance between what was promised and delivered, and attempt to manage a disgruntled customer. Complicating matters, the assistant has been given limited authority and must appease the customer without making her boss look unprofessional.
Authors :: Mary Dana Laird, James J. Zboja, Jeffrey B. Paul
Swot Analysis of "This is Not What I Saw on HGTV..." written by Mary Dana Laird, James J. Zboja, Jeffrey B. Paul includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Assistant Hgtv facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of This is Not What I Saw on HGTV...
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Assistant Hgtv, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Assistant Hgtv 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Assistant Hgtv
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Assistant Hgtv
Strengths This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Assistant Hgtv in This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Assistant Hgtv has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Assistant Hgtv 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Assistant Hgtv is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Assistant Hgtv 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Assistant Hgtv has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Assistant Hgtv 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Assistant Hgtv 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.
Analytics focus
– Assistant Hgtv 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 Mary Dana Laird, James J. Zboja, Jeffrey B. Paul 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Assistant Hgtv in the sector have low bargaining power. This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Assistant Hgtv to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Assistant Hgtv has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Assistant Hgtv to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Assistant Hgtv in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Assistant Hgtv is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study This is Not What I Saw on HGTV..., it seems that the employees of Assistant Hgtv 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study This is Not What I Saw on HGTV..., is just above the industry average. Assistant Hgtv 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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 Assistant Hgtv 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Assistant Hgtv has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study This is Not What I Saw on HGTV..., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Assistant Hgtv is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Assistant Hgtv needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Assistant Hgtv to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mary Dana Laird, James J. Zboja, Jeffrey B. Paul suggests that, Assistant Hgtv 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Assistant Hgtv 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 - This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Assistant Hgtv 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Assistant Hgtv is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Assistant Hgtv 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.
Opportunities This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... | 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Assistant Hgtv 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
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 Assistant Hgtv 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
– Assistant Hgtv can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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.
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. Assistant Hgtv can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Assistant Hgtv 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 Assistant Hgtv in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Assistant Hgtv 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Assistant Hgtv 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Assistant Hgtv 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Assistant Hgtv to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Assistant Hgtv 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 Assistant Hgtv to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Assistant Hgtv 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, This is Not What I Saw on HGTV..., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Assistant Hgtv can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Assistant Hgtv can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... are -
Environmental challenges
– Assistant Hgtv 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. Assistant Hgtv can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Assistant Hgtv has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Assistant Hgtv needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Assistant Hgtv 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.
Increasing wage structure of Assistant Hgtv
– 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 Assistant Hgtv.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Assistant Hgtv with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Assistant Hgtv in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Assistant Hgtv 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Assistant Hgtv is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.
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 Assistant Hgtv business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Assistant Hgtv.
Regulatory challenges
– Assistant Hgtv 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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 This is Not What I Saw on HGTV... 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 Assistant Hgtv needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.