Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies
Service failures, once handled quietly by customer service departments, are now played out on a highly public social media stage. These failures can result in not only the loss of a loyal consumer but also can negatively affect relationships with those watching the dialogue between disgruntled customers and organizations. The phenomenon of seeking resolution to service failures online is distinct from both traditional word-of-mouth and voice behaviors. This article introduces social voice: public complaining behavior that aims to change the behavior of the organization. A qualitative methodology defines eight dimensions of social voice and categorizes them by the strength of the relationship to the organization. Results indicate that appropriate response strategies differ based on social voice segment.
Swot Analysis of "Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies" written by Joanna Phillips Melancon, Vassilis Dalakas includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Voice Social facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Social platforms and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Voice Social, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Voice Social 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Voice Social
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 Voice Social
Strengths Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Voice Social in Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Voice Social in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Voice Social digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Voice Social 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Voice Social 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Voice Social has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Voice Social 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.
Training and development
– Voice Social has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Voice Social is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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.
Organizational Resilience of Voice Social
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Voice Social does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Voice Social to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Voice Social to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Voice Social 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Voice Social in the sector have low bargaining power. Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Voice Social to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Voice Social is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Voice Social 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 Joanna Phillips Melancon, Vassilis Dalakas 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.
Weaknesses Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies HBR case study mentions - Voice Social 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Voice Social needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Voice Social is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Voice Social supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Voice Social vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies, in the dynamic environment Voice Social has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Voice Social has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies, is just above the industry average. Voice Social needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Voice Social is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Voice Social needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Voice Social to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Voice Social 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. Voice Social 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Joanna Phillips Melancon, Vassilis Dalakas suggests that, Voice Social is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Voice Social 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 - Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Voice Social, firm in the HBR case study Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies | 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Voice Social can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Voice Social 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Voice Social to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Voice Social 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, Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Voice Social 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Voice Social can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Voice Social 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Voice Social to increase its market reach. Voice Social 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Voice Social 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Voice Social can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Voice Social operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Voice Social 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.
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. Voice Social 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. Voice Social 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Voice Social 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 Voice Social to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Voice Social has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Voice Social to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies case study. Voice Social can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies are -
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. Voice Social can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Voice Social needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Voice Social 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. Voice Social can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Voice Social is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Voice Social
– 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 Voice Social.
Regulatory challenges
– Voice Social needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Voice Social 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Voice Social with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Voice Social has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Voice Social 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Voice Social 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies, Voice Social 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 .
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 Voice Social in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Consumer Social Voice in the Age of Social Media: Segmentation Profiles and Relationship Marketing Strategies 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 Voice Social needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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