Case Study Description of Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock
Gauri Nanda is the creator of an innovative new product: an alarm clock named Clocky that, in addition to ringing, rolls around the room in order to force its owner to get out of bed. Beset by media attention and consumer interest but still at least a year away from the ability to debut Clocky, Nanda must navigate a series of challenges and difficult decisions in order to effectively bring her product to market. These include positioning strategies, choosing the proper channel, potential partnerships, manufacturing issues, market analysis, and PR management.
Swot Analysis of "Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock" written by Elie Ofek, Eliot Sherman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Clocky Nanda facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Public relations and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Clocky Nanda, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Clocky Nanda 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Clocky Nanda
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Clocky Nanda
Strengths Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Clocky Nanda in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Clocky Nanda 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 Clocky Nanda in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Clocky Nanda digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Clocky Nanda has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High brand equity
– Clocky Nanda has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Clocky Nanda to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Clocky Nanda 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 Elie Ofek, Eliot Sherman 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
– Clocky Nanda has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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.
Learning organization
- Clocky Nanda 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 Clocky Nanda is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Clocky Nanda
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Clocky Nanda does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Clocky Nanda has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Clocky Nanda has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Clocky Nanda 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Clocky Nanda is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Clocky Nanda is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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.
Weaknesses Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky Nanda has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Clocky Nanda is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Clocky Nanda has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky Nanda 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Clocky Nanda is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Clocky Nanda needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Clocky Nanda to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Clocky Nanda supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Clocky Nanda vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Clocky Nanda is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Clocky Nanda 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. Clocky Nanda 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Clocky Nanda, firm in the HBR case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Clocky Nanda 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 - Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock | 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Clocky Nanda 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, Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock, 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 Clocky Nanda in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Clocky Nanda 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Clocky Nanda can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Clocky Nanda can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Clocky Nanda 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Clocky Nanda can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Clocky Nanda 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Clocky Nanda can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Clocky Nanda 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Clocky Nanda 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, Clocky Nanda is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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.
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 Clocky Nanda in the consumer business. Now Clocky Nanda can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Clocky Nanda 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Threats Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Clocky Nanda is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Clocky Nanda 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Clocky Nanda has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Clocky Nanda needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Clocky Nanda business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Clocky Nanda 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Clocky Nanda in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Clocky Nanda 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock .
Increasing wage structure of Clocky Nanda
– 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 Clocky Nanda.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Clocky Nanda 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. Clocky Nanda 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock, Clocky Nanda may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Clocky Nanda 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock 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 Clocky Nanda needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.