Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada
In Canada, the Budweiser brand of beer was managed by Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.'s Labatt Breweries subsidiary in Toronto, Canada. In 2016, a senior manager noticed that fewer younger consumers-those aged 19 to 24-were drinking Budweiser beer. In response, the brand increased its investment in television advertising and initiated price incentives, but the sales volumes did not respond accordingly. The senior manager's brand and research teams were tasked with determining which key messages to emphasize and which advertising vehicles to use to gain market share for this segment of the beer market. They started their work by reviewing consumer research on Budweiser's television advertisements. What could the teams do to increase Budweiser's engagement with this young demographic?
Authors :: Michael Taylor, Miranda Goode, Ken Mark
Swot Analysis of "Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada" written by Michael Taylor, Miranda Goode, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Budweiser Budweiser's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Budweiser Budweiser's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Budweiser Budweiser's 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Budweiser Budweiser's
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 Budweiser Budweiser's
Strengths Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Budweiser Budweiser's in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Budweiser Budweiser's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Budweiser Budweiser's in the sector have low bargaining power. Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Budweiser Budweiser's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Budweiser Budweiser's 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
– Budweiser Budweiser's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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.
Analytics focus
– Budweiser Budweiser's 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 Michael Taylor, Miranda Goode, Ken Mark 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.
Training and development
– Budweiser Budweiser's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Budweiser Budweiser's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Budweiser Budweiser's 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
– Budweiser Budweiser's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Budweiser Budweiser's 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Budweiser Budweiser's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Budweiser Budweiser's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Budweiser Budweiser's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada, in the dynamic environment Budweiser Budweiser's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Budweiser Budweiser's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael Taylor, Miranda Goode, Ken Mark suggests that, Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada, is just above the industry average. Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
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 Budweiser Budweiser's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Budweiser Budweiser's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Budweiser Budweiser's 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. Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada, it seems that the employees of Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Budweiser Budweiser's 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada, 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.
Opportunities Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada | 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada are -
Loyalty marketing
– Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Budweiser Budweiser's 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 Budweiser Budweiser's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Budweiser Budweiser's in the consumer business. Now Budweiser Budweiser's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Budweiser Budweiser's 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. Budweiser Budweiser's 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 Budweiser Budweiser's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Budweiser Budweiser's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada case study. Budweiser Budweiser's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Budweiser Budweiser's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Budweiser Budweiser's to increase its market reach. Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Budweiser Budweiser's 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, Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Budweiser Budweiser's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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. Budweiser Budweiser's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada are -
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. Budweiser Budweiser's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Budweiser Budweiser's
– 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 Budweiser Budweiser's.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
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 Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Environmental challenges
– Budweiser Budweiser's 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. Budweiser Budweiser's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Budweiser Budweiser's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Budweiser Budweiser's 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Budweiser Budweiser's is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Budweiser Budweiser's 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.
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 Budweiser Budweiser's.
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. Budweiser Budweiser's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V.: The Budweiser Brand in Canada 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 Budweiser Budweiser's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
