Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business
In September 2016, the owner of Posana Integrative Wellness, a new start-up business in Calgary, Alberta, had to plan her marketing strategy for expansion. She was planning to transform her part-time consulting services into a full-time integrated health and wellness centre. Her target market was health-conscious consumers who were open to pursuing a natural and holistic lifestyle-primarily women aged 35-65 with disposable income. She wanted to find new and innovative marketing ideas. She also needed a detailed marketing plan for her brick-and-mortar expansion in time for the planned September 2017 opening. Vicky Roy is affiliated with Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Swot Analysis of "Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business" written by Vicky Roy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Posana Wellness facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Posana Wellness, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Posana Wellness 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Posana Wellness
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 Posana Wellness
Strengths Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Posana Wellness in Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Posana Wellness is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Posana Wellness 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 Posana Wellness in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Posana Wellness digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Posana Wellness 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Posana Wellness has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Posana Wellness 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Posana Wellness in the sector have low bargaining power. Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Posana Wellness to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Posana Wellness 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Posana Wellness is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Posana Wellness to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Posana Wellness to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Posana Wellness
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Posana Wellness does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Posana Wellness 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 Vicky Roy 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Posana Wellness is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Posana Wellness 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.
Weaknesses Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business, in the dynamic environment Posana Wellness has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Posana Wellness has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business, it seems that the employees of Posana Wellness 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Wellness has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Posana Wellness 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Wellness 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business, is just above the industry average. Posana Wellness 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Posana Wellness 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 - Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Posana Wellness is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Posana Wellness is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 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 Posana Wellness supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Posana Wellness vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Posana Wellness is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Posana Wellness needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Posana Wellness to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business | 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Posana Wellness 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
– Posana Wellness 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Posana Wellness can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Posana Wellness 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Posana Wellness to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Posana Wellness 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.
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. Posana Wellness can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Posana Wellness 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Posana Wellness has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Posana Wellness to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business case study. Posana Wellness can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Posana Wellness can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Posana Wellness 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.
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. Posana Wellness 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. Posana Wellness 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Posana Wellness 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Posana Wellness 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.
Threats Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Posana Wellness 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business, Posana Wellness 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Posana Wellness 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.
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 Posana Wellness.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Posana Wellness has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Posana Wellness 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Posana Wellness 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. Posana Wellness 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Posana Wellness 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Posana Wellness 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.
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 Posana Wellness in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Posana Wellness 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.
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. Posana Wellness 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Integrative Wellness: A Start-Up Business 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 Posana Wellness needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.