ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?
In a testament to the power of social media and the effect it can have on a business, the chief executive officer of a bank adopts the habit of taking to Twitter on a daily basis to promote his company's services. But when the bank's most recent ad campaign ignites a furor among TV audiences, Twitter quickly becomes a vehicle for crucifying the bank rather than promoting it. Within a week of the ad's air date, the bank is inundated with angry tweets, Facebook messages and media criticism. It becomes clear that the bank has made a mistake and will have to act quickly to decide on an appropriate response.
Swot Analysis of "ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?" written by Gerard Seijts, Andy Holloway includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bank Twitter facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bank Twitter, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bank Twitter 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bank Twitter
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bank Twitter
Strengths ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bank Twitter in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Bank Twitter is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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.
Learning organization
- Bank Twitter 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 Bank Twitter is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bank Twitter in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Bank Twitter 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 Gerard Seijts, Andy Holloway 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bank Twitter digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bank Twitter 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
– Bank Twitter has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bank Twitter to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Bank Twitter has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bank Twitter to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bank Twitter to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Bank Twitter is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bank Twitter has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bank Twitter 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bank Twitter
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bank Twitter does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bank Twitter 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? are -
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 Bank Twitter supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bank Twitter vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Gerard Seijts, Andy Holloway suggests that, Bank Twitter 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bank Twitter has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bank Twitter needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?, in the dynamic environment Bank Twitter has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bank Twitter has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Bank Twitter 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?, it seems that the employees of Bank Twitter 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bank Twitter is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 Bank Twitter 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bank Twitter is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? | 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bank Twitter 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, ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?, 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 Bank Twitter 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bank Twitter to increase its market reach. Bank Twitter 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.
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. Bank Twitter can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Bank Twitter can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bank Twitter in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bank Twitter can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bank Twitter operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Bank Twitter in the consumer business. Now Bank Twitter can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bank Twitter 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bank Twitter is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bank Twitter 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
– Bank Twitter 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bank Twitter 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.
Threats ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bank Twitter 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bank Twitter in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering?, Bank Twitter may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bank Twitter with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Bank Twitter will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bank Twitter has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bank Twitter needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Bank Twitter.
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. Bank Twitter needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Bank Twitter 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. Bank Twitter can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bank Twitter 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bank Twitter is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Bank Twitter 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 Leadership & Managing People 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 ING Direct Canada: Are You Suffering? 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 Bank Twitter needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
