Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game
University of California, Berkeley-Haas collectionAlex Mehr and Shayan Zadeh founded Zoosk in 2007 and by 2012, the company had reached over $100 million in revenue. The Zoosk case study provides an overview of the company's short history, paying particular attention to the founding of the company and to its growth. The main case study objective is to teach students how to analyze a startup's go-to-market strategy and to discuss a startup's ability to pivot as one of its drivers of success. Entrepreneurs (and students) often do not realize the myriad of decisions that must be made in order to go to market with their product or service. What are these decisions and how can a startup identify them and organize them? Importantly, a startup's go-to-market strategy is not static, as can be seen in the case of Zoosk. The backdrop of social media and the opening of the Facebook platform make this an especially rich case that offers several opportunities to discuss various options that any startup company has.
Swot Analysis of "Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game" written by Naeem Zafar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Zoosk Startup's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Innovation, International business, Internet, Marketing, Pricing and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zoosk Startup's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zoosk Startup's
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 Zoosk Startup's
Strengths Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Zoosk Startup's in Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Zoosk Startup's in the sector have low bargaining power. Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Zoosk Startup's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Zoosk Startup's 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 Naeem Zafar 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Zoosk Startup's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk Startup's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Zoosk Startup's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Zoosk Startup's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Zoosk Startup's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Zoosk Startup's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Zoosk Startup's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Zoosk Startup's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk Startup's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Zoosk Startup's 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.
Weaknesses Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game, 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Zoosk Startup's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Zoosk Startup's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Zoosk Startup's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Zoosk Startup's 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Zoosk Startup's 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Zoosk Startup's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Zoosk Startup's 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. Zoosk Startup's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Zoosk Startup's 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 - Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game, in the dynamic environment Zoosk Startup's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Zoosk Startup's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Zoosk Startup's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Zoosk Startup's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game, is just above the industry average. Zoosk Startup's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Zoosk Startup's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game | 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Zoosk Startup's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zoosk Startup's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Zoosk Startup's 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, Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zoosk Startup's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Zoosk Startup's 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
– Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Zoosk Startup's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Zoosk Startup's 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. Zoosk Startup's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Zoosk Startup's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Zoosk Startup's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game case study. Zoosk Startup's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Zoosk Startup's 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
– Zoosk Startup's 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Zoosk Startup's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Zoosk Startup's 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.
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 Zoosk Startup's in the consumer business. Now Zoosk Startup's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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. Zoosk Startup's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game .
Increasing wage structure of Zoosk Startup's
– 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 Zoosk Startup's.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Zoosk Startup's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Zoosk Startup's 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Zoosk Startup's 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Zoosk Startup's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Zoosk Startup's 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 Zoosk Startup's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Zoosk Startup's.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Zoosk Startup's 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.
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 Zoosk Startup's in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game, Zoosk Startup's 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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 Zoosk: Pivoting to Win the Dating Game 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 Zoosk Startup's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
