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Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop


The founder and CEO of Veranda Brands, a designer and marketer of home furnishing products, is preparing to coach three department managers so that they are ready to work well in a growing organization. Through staff layoffs, the company (founded in 2002) survived the 2008 financial crisis and actually increased the founder's personal investment. The company has since grown to $8 million in sales and its staff has grown to 50 employees (2012). To continue this growth and progress to the next level, the company's top employees need to function at a higher level which can be reached through targeted coaching.

Authors :: Jane M. Howell, Ken Mark

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Leadership, Strategy, Talent management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop" written by Jane M. Howell, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Veranda Coaching facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Strategy, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop casestudy better are - – technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Veranda Coaching, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Veranda Coaching 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Veranda Coaching
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 Veranda Coaching




Strengths Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Veranda Coaching in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Veranda Coaching 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 Veranda Coaching in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Veranda Coaching is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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.

Training and development

– Veranda Coaching has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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

- Veranda Coaching 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 Veranda Coaching is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Veranda Coaching 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.

Analytics focus

– Veranda Coaching 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 Jane M. Howell, Ken Mark 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.

Organizational Resilience of Veranda Coaching

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Veranda Coaching does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Veranda Coaching has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Veranda Coaching 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.

High brand equity

– Veranda Coaching has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Veranda Coaching to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Veranda Coaching to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Veranda Coaching to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Veranda Coaching in the sector have low bargaining power. Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Veranda Coaching to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.






Weaknesses Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop are -

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jane M. Howell, Ken Mark suggests that, Veranda Coaching 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Veranda Coaching 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Veranda Coaching is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Veranda Coaching needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Veranda Coaching to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Veranda Coaching, firm in the HBR case study Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Veranda Coaching 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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 Veranda Coaching 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop, 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Veranda Coaching 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop, it seems that the employees of Veranda Coaching 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Veranda Coaching 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop HBR case study mentions - Veranda Coaching 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.




Opportunities Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop | 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop are -

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Veranda Coaching can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Buying journey improvements

– Veranda Coaching can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Veranda Coaching to increase its market reach. Veranda Coaching 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Veranda Coaching has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Veranda Coaching to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop case study. Veranda Coaching can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Developing new processes and practices

– Veranda Coaching can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Veranda Coaching 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Veranda Coaching 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Veranda Coaching 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.

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 Veranda Coaching in the consumer business. Now Veranda Coaching can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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. Veranda Coaching can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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 Veranda Coaching 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Veranda Coaching is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Veranda Coaching 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. Veranda Coaching 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.




Threats Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop are -

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. Veranda Coaching 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Veranda Coaching with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Environmental challenges

– Veranda Coaching 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. Veranda Coaching can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

Regulatory challenges

– Veranda Coaching 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.

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. Veranda Coaching needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People 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, Veranda Coaching 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop .

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 Veranda Coaching business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Veranda Coaching 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop, Veranda Coaching 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 .

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.

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 Veranda Coaching in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Veranda Coaching 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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 Veranda Brands: Developing and Coaching Talent Workshop 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 Veranda Coaching needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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