La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause
The case recounts the development and implementation of the first social media campaign at La Protectora de la Infancia (La Protectora), a centenary, Chilean non-profit organization offering education and social assistance to children in need. With a large number of non-profits operating in several domains across the country, competition for volunteers and donations was high in the sector. However, Chile had one of the most engaged social media markets worldwide, and it had the highest rate of broadband connection in Latin America. In March 2016, the marketing team was planning the next fundraising campaign with the help of a social media marketing consultant. They needed to decide how the organization could use social media and the fundraising campaign to engage volunteers and donors, creating a stronger and more positive image for the institution.
Swot Analysis of "La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause" written by Daiane Scaraboto includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Protectora La facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social platforms and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Protectora La, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Protectora La 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Protectora La
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 Protectora La
Strengths La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Protectora La in La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Protectora La
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Protectora La does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Protectora La 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Protectora La is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Protectora La digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Protectora La 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.
Learning organization
- Protectora La 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 Protectora La is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Protectora La 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.
Training and development
– Protectora La has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Protectora La 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Protectora La 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 Protectora La in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Protectora La 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 Daiane Scaraboto 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Protectora La has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Protectora La 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.
Weaknesses La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 Protectora La 's lucrative customers.
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 Protectora La supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Protectora La vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Protectora La 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
– Protectora La 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Protectora La is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Protectora La needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Protectora La to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Protectora La 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. Protectora La 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause, 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Protectora La 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause HBR case study mentions - Protectora La 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Protectora La has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 Protectora La has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause | 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause are -
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 Protectora La in the consumer business. Now Protectora La 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 Protectora La to increase its market reach. Protectora La 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.
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. Protectora La 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. Protectora La 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, Protectora La is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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. Protectora La can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Protectora La has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Protectora La to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause case study. Protectora La can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Protectora La can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Protectora La operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Protectora La 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Protectora La 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
– Protectora La 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Protectora La 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, La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Protectora La can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Protectora La 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 Protectora La to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause are -
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 Protectora La business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Protectora La 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.
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 Protectora La in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Protectora La 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Protectora La 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.
Environmental challenges
– Protectora La 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. Protectora La can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Protectora La 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.
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. Protectora La 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause, Protectora La 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 .
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. Protectora La can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Protectora La.
Increasing wage structure of Protectora La
– 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 Protectora La.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 La Protectora: Engaging in Social Media for a Social Cause 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 Protectora La needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.