Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India
"What are the nuances that link brand positioning, brand associations and brand equity related aspects of a brand performing successfully in the market?" especially in an emerging market such as India is a question that triggers many approaches among academics and practitioners. Head &Shoulders brand from Procter and Gamble is a multinational brand that had grown rapidly in the Indian context after displacing a well-entrenched brand of shampoo. The brand's effective positioning had struck a chord with consumers and had sustained its success over a period of time. With several competitive brands entering the well-advertised category of shampoos, the brand manager for Head &Shoulders felt that its positioning though effective cannot last forever and wanted to find out if the brand's positioning could be strengthened. Besides the analysis of thr regular brand positioning strategies, the company felt that a study on consumer behavior could provide useful pointers to the alternatives of brand positioning with respect to Head &Shoulders when studied with its competitive brands. The results of the study provided interesting but challenging results that made brand repositioning more complex than what the brand manager had assessed. The case study highlights the importance of consumer behavior when brands decide to reposition themselves in a dynamic environment. Furthermore, the case also draws on the implications of brand positioning and consumer behavior on the qualitative dimensions of brand equity.
Swot Analysis of "Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India" written by Loveneet Tyagi, S. Ramesh Kumar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Brand Shoulders facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Emerging markets, Market research and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Brand Shoulders, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Brand Shoulders 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Brand Shoulders
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 Brand Shoulders
Strengths Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Brand Shoulders in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Brand Shoulders
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Brand Shoulders does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Brand Shoulders is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Brand Shoulders 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
- Brand Shoulders 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 Brand Shoulders is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Brand Shoulders 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Brand Shoulders has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Brand Shoulders 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Brand Shoulders 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Brand Shoulders is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Brand Shoulders is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Brand Shoulders digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Brand Shoulders 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Brand Shoulders 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Brand Shoulders has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Brand Shoulders to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Brand Shoulders is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Brand Shoulders needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Brand Shoulders to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Loveneet Tyagi, S. Ramesh Kumar suggests that, Brand Shoulders 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Brand Shoulders has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Brand Shoulders is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Brand Shoulders 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brand Shoulders, firm in the HBR case study Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Brand Shoulders has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Brand Shoulders 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Brand Shoulders 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Brand Shoulders products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Brand Shoulders needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India, it seems that the employees of Brand Shoulders 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.
Opportunities Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India | 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Brand Shoulders 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. Brand Shoulders 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Brand Shoulders is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Brand Shoulders can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Brand Shoulders 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.
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 Brand Shoulders to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Brand Shoulders 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Brand Shoulders can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Brand Shoulders 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Brand Shoulders can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
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. Brand Shoulders can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Brand Shoulders to increase its market reach. Brand Shoulders will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Brand Shoulders can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Brand Shoulders 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Brand Shoulders to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Brand Shoulders has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Brand Shoulders 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.
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 Brand Shoulders business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Brand Shoulders with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Brand Shoulders.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Brand Shoulders 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Brand Shoulders in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India, Brand Shoulders may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Environmental challenges
– Brand Shoulders 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. Brand Shoulders can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Brand Shoulders
– 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 Brand Shoulders.
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 Brand Shoulders in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Brand Shoulders 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Behavioral Drivers of Brand Equity - Head & Shoulders in India 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 Brand Shoulders needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
