Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?
Twitter has become an incredibly popular micro-blogging service since its launch in 2006. Its founders have ambitious plans for the service, and are backed by $155 million of venture capital funding, which valued the company at $1 billion in 2009. Twitter seems to attract a diverse audience of users from political organizers looking to disseminate information to their followers; businesses looking to reach out, in real time, to potential customers; and for social networking purposes. The company charges consumers nothing for its service. By 2009, competitors have emerged - some of whom have deep pockets. Yet, it remains unclear - at least to observers - whether the company will ever make money from its service.
Swot Analysis of "Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?" written by Simon Parker, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Twitter Service facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Networking, Social platforms and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Twitter Service, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Twitter Service
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 Twitter Service
Strengths Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Twitter Service in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Twitter Service 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.
Organizational Resilience of Twitter Service
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Twitter Service does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Twitter Service has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Twitter Service to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Twitter Service 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 lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Twitter Service in the sector have low bargaining power. Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Twitter Service to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Twitter Service is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Twitter Service has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Twitter Service 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Twitter Service is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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.
Weaknesses Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Twitter Service products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Twitter Service needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, is just above the industry average. Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service 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 - Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Twitter Service is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Twitter Service is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Twitter Service needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Twitter Service to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Twitter Service is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, it seems that the employees of Twitter Service 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Twitter Service 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? HBR case study mentions - Twitter Service 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Simon Parker, Ken Mark suggests that, Twitter Service is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Twitter Service 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.
Opportunities Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? | 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Twitter Service can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Twitter Service 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.
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. Twitter Service can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Twitter Service can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Twitter Service 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. Twitter Service 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, Twitter Service 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, Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Twitter Service 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Twitter Service can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Twitter Service operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Twitter Service to increase its market reach. Twitter Service 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Twitter Service is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Twitter Service 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.
Threats Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? are -
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. Twitter Service can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service
– 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 Twitter Service.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Twitter Service 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.
Environmental challenges
– Twitter Service 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. Twitter Service can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Twitter Service 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Twitter Service 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Twitter Service 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 Twitter Service in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Twitter Service 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Twitter Service with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Entrepreneurs at Twitter: Building a Brand, a Social Tool or a Tech Powerhouse? 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 Twitter Service needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
