Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy
Tech Talk is an electronic content publishing portal that publishes articles on information and communication technologies. The articles cover specialized areas such as business analytics, e-governance, e-commerce, web technologies, big data analytics, software project management, telecommunication systems, business management theories, service science, e-payments, and Internet marketing. As a growth strategy, the co- founder of Tech Talk wants to draw traffic by creating a larger social media presence. He wants to use established strategies, and has the following questions: How should he strategize the interaction with readers on social media? With so many platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, which ones should he focus on? Should he manage the social media marketing in-house or outsource it? The authors Arpan Kumar Kar and Reema Aswani are affiliated with Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
Swot Analysis of "Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy" written by Arpan Kumar Kar, Reema Aswani includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Talk Tech facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Social platforms and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Talk Tech, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Talk Tech 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Talk Tech
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Talk Tech
Strengths Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Talk Tech in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Talk Tech is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Talk Tech has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Talk Tech to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Talk Tech has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Talk Tech 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Talk Tech to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Talk Tech to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Talk Tech 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 Talk Tech is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Talk Tech in the sector have low bargaining power. Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Talk Tech to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Talk Tech 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Talk Tech 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Talk Tech is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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
– Talk Tech is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Talk Tech
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Talk Tech does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy are -
Need for greater diversity
– Talk Tech 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Talk Tech 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Talk Tech has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Talk Tech is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Arpan Kumar Kar, Reema Aswani suggests that, Talk Tech 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Talk Tech, firm in the HBR case study Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Talk Tech is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy HBR case study mentions - Talk Tech 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy, in the dynamic environment Talk Tech has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Talk Tech has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Talk Tech 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 - Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Talk Tech supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Talk Tech vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy | 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Talk Tech 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 Talk Tech 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
– Talk Tech can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Talk Tech 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. Talk Tech 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Talk Tech has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Talk Tech to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy case study. Talk Tech can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Talk Tech 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Talk Tech to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Talk Tech in the consumer business. Now Talk Tech can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Talk Tech to increase its market reach. Talk Tech 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Talk Tech in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Talk Tech can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Talk Tech 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Talk Tech 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Talk Tech can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Threats Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy are -
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Talk Tech can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Talk Tech in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Talk Tech can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
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 Talk Tech.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Talk Tech 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Talk Tech with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Talk Tech 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. Talk Tech can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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 Talk Tech business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Talk Tech is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Talk Tech has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Talk Tech needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy, Talk Tech may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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. Talk Tech 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy 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 Talk Tech needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.