Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website
In August 2016, the director of UdaipurTimes.com, a hyperlocal news website, and his partner were faced with a problem. Their start-up venture had thus far grown without any explicit strategy. Despite a steady readership of nearly 200,000, achieving further revenue growth and sustained profitability were ongoing issues. UdaipurTimes.com needed to come up with a comprehensive strategy by evaluating various alternatives (such as creating a mobile app and soliciting user-generated content) to increase the frequency of customer visits and attract new readers to the website. Given its limited financial strength and its focus on speedily growing its customer base while leveraging current resources and capabilities, what strategy should UdaipurTimes.com choose? The authors Atul Arun Pathak and ShabbirHusain R.V. are affiliated with XLRI-Xavier School of Management.
Swot Analysis of "Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website" written by Atul Arun Pathak, ShabbirHusain RV includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, 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%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal
Strengths Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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.
Analytics focus
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Atul Arun Pathak, ShabbirHusain RV 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal in the sector have low bargaining power. Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 - Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal, firm in the HBR case study Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website HBR case study mentions - Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website, it seems that the employees of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Opportunities Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website | 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website case study. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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, Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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.
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. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal to increase its market reach. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website, Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Environmental challenges
– Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal 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. Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal
– 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipur Times: Strategy of a Hyperlocal News Website 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 Udaipurtimes.com Hyperlocal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.