Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver
This case describes the circumstances that led the City Council of Denver, Colorado to consider outdoor advertising restrictions on the medical marijuana industry in 2012. It is written from the perspective of Michael Elliott, executive director for the Medical Marijuana Industry Group (MMIG), a trade association representing over fifty Colorado businesses. The MMIG was founded in 2010 "to help protect and promote the Colorado medical marijuana regulatory framework, serve as a responsible resource for policy makers, and protect the rights of medical marijuana patients." The decision facing Elliott and the MMIG was whether to support the Council's proposed motion (banning outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, and daycares), oppose the motion, or come up with an alternative proposal for regulating outdoor advertising in Denver.
Swot Analysis of "Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver" written by Paul Seaborn, William Miller includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Marijuana Mmig facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Marijuana Mmig, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Marijuana Mmig 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Marijuana Mmig
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Marijuana Mmig
Strengths Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Marijuana Mmig in Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Marijuana Mmig digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Marijuana Mmig 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Marijuana Mmig 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
– Marijuana Mmig is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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.
High brand equity
– Marijuana Mmig has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Marijuana Mmig to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Marijuana Mmig in the sector have low bargaining power. Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Marijuana Mmig to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Marijuana Mmig 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Marijuana Mmig has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Marijuana Mmig 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.
Learning organization
- Marijuana Mmig is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Marijuana Mmig is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Marijuana Mmig is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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
– Marijuana Mmig 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 Paul Seaborn, William Miller 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Marijuana Mmig to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Marijuana Mmig to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Marijuana Mmig has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Marijuana Mmig has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Marijuana Mmig is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver HBR case study mentions - Marijuana Mmig 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Marijuana Mmig products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Marijuana Mmig needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Marijuana Mmig, firm in the HBR case study Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Marijuana Mmig has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Marijuana Mmig is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Marijuana Mmig is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Marijuana Mmig needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Marijuana Mmig to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Marijuana Mmig has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver, in the dynamic environment Marijuana Mmig has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Marijuana Mmig has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver | 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Marijuana Mmig 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Marijuana Mmig to increase its market reach. Marijuana Mmig 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Marijuana Mmig 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 Marijuana Mmig to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Marijuana Mmig 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Marijuana Mmig can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Marijuana Mmig has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Marijuana Mmig to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver case study. Marijuana Mmig can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Marijuana Mmig 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. Marijuana Mmig 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.
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. Marijuana Mmig can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Marijuana Mmig can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Marijuana Mmig is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Marijuana Mmig 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, Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver, 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 Marijuana Mmig in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Marijuana Mmig 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Marijuana Mmig to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver are -
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Marijuana Mmig 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver, Marijuana Mmig may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
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. Marijuana Mmig needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Marijuana Mmig can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Marijuana Mmig
– 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 Marijuana Mmig.
Regulatory challenges
– Marijuana Mmig 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 Global Business industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Marijuana Mmig can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Environmental challenges
– Marijuana Mmig 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. Marijuana Mmig can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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 Marijuana Mmig business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Marijuana Mmig 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Marijuana Mmig is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Marijuana Mmig 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Medical Marijuana Industry Group: Outdoor Advertising in Denver 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 Marijuana Mmig needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
