Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas
In 2016, MGM Resorts International announced it would break with the long-standing tradition of providing free parking on the Las Vegas Strip. Other Las Vegas resort companies, including Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts, soon followed suit. Las Vegas Sands Corp. owned the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, the Palazzo, and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, and had no plans to charge for parking. As more hotels and casinos chose to implement paid parking on the Las Vegas Strip, the president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. properties faced a decision: should the Las Vegas Sands Corp. properties continue to offer free self-parking and use it as a differentiating marketing tactic, or should it follow the trend of its competitors and generate additional income by introducing parking fee? Seok Woo Kwon is affiliated with University of Calgary.
Swot Analysis of "Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas" written by Seok-Woo Kwon, Won-Yong Oh, Brooke Miskiman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vegas Las facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vegas Las, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vegas Las 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vegas Las
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 Vegas Las
Strengths Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vegas Las in Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Vegas Las is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Vegas Las has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Vegas Las 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.
High brand equity
– Vegas Las has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Vegas Las to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Vegas Las is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vegas Las 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Vegas Las is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Vegas Las
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Vegas Las 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
– Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Vegas Las to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Vegas Las to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Vegas Las digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Vegas Las 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Vegas Las 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 Vegas Las in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Vegas Las is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas, in the dynamic environment Vegas Las has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Vegas Las has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Vegas Las 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Vegas Las is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Vegas Las supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vegas Las vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Vegas Las 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Vegas Las products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Vegas Las needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Vegas Las is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Vegas Las 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 - Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Vegas Las has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Vegas Las 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. Vegas Las 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.
Opportunities Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas | 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Vegas Las 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.
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. Vegas Las can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Vegas Las 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, Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas, 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 Vegas Las can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Vegas Las in the consumer business. Now Vegas Las can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Vegas Las can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Vegas Las 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Vegas Las to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Vegas Las is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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.
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. Vegas Las 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 Vegas Las to increase its market reach. Vegas Las 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
– Vegas Las 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Vegas Las 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Vegas Las to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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. Vegas Las needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Vegas Las business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas, Vegas Las 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 Vegas Las in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vegas Las is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Vegas Las has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Vegas Las 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
– Vegas Las 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.
Increasing wage structure of Vegas Las
– 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 Vegas Las.
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. Vegas Las can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Vegas Las 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.
Environmental challenges
– Vegas Las 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. Vegas Las can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Vegas Las 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Las Vegas Sands Corp.: Pricing Game in Vegas 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 Vegas Las needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.