Secure Trust Bank (STBS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Secure Trust Bank (United Kingdom)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Secure Trust Bank is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Secure Trust Bank

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Secure Trust Bank can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Secure Trust Bank, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Secure Trust Bank 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Secure Trust Bank can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Secure Trust Bank
2. Improving business portfolio management of Secure Trust Bank
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Regional Banks sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Secure Trust Bank

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Strengths of Secure Trust Bank | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Secure Trust Bank are -

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Highly skilled collaborators

– Secure Trust Bank has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Regional Banks industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Secure Trust Bank have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Secure Trust Bank is one of the leading players in the Regional Banks industry in United Kingdom. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United Kingdom. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Analytics focus

– Secure Trust Bank 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 Regional Banks industry. The technology infrastructure of United Kingdom is also helping 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 Secure Trust Bank in Regional Banks industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Training and development

– Secure Trust Bank has one of the best training and development program in Financial industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – 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 Regional Banks industry

– Secure Trust Bank has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Secure Trust Bank to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Regional Banks industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Secure Trust Bank to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Secure Trust Bank has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Secure Trust Bank staying ahead in the Regional Banks industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Learning organization

- Secure Trust Bank 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 Secure Trust Bank is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Secure Trust Bank emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– Secure Trust Bank is present in almost all the verticals within the Regional Banks industry. This has provided Secure Trust Bank 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.

Digital Transformation in Regional Banks industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Secure Trust Bank digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Secure Trust Bank 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Secure Trust Bank is one of the most innovative firm in Regional Banks sector.

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Weaknesses of Secure Trust Bank | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Secure Trust Bank are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Secure Trust Bank is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Secure Trust Bank to provide better information regarding Regional Banks products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Secure Trust Bank 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Secure Trust Bank has some of the most successful models in the Regional Banks industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Secure Trust Bank should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Secure Trust Bank, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Regional Banks industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Secure Trust Bank is one of the leading players in the Regional Banks industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Regional Banks industry in last five years.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Regional Banks industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, Secure Trust Bank 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 Regional Banks industry.

Skills based hiring in Regional Banks industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Secure Trust Bank 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 dependence on Secure Trust Bank ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Secure Trust Bank still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Regional Banks industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Secure Trust Bank has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Secure Trust Bank is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Regional Banks industry, but Secure Trust Bank needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Secure Trust Bank to focus more on services in the Regional Banks industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Secure Trust Bank, in the dynamic environment of Regional Banks industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Secure Trust Bank 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 Secure Trust Bank supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Secure Trust Bank is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Secure Trust Bank vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

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Secure Trust Bank Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Secure Trust Bank are -

Loyalty marketing

– Secure Trust Bank 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Regional Banks industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Secure Trust Bank in the Regional Banks industry. Now Secure Trust Bank can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Secure Trust Bank 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 Regional Banks industry.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Secure Trust Bank to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Developing new processes and practices

– Secure Trust Bank can develop new processes and procedures in Regional Banks 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Secure Trust Bank can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Regional Banks industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.

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. Secure Trust Bank can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Secure Trust Bank to increase its market reach. Secure Trust Bank 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Secure Trust Bank has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Regional Banks sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Secure Trust Bank to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Secure Trust Bank to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Manufacturing automation

– Secure Trust Bank can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Regional Banks sector. 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Secure Trust Bank can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Secure Trust Bank operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Regional Banks sector.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Regional Banks industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Secure Trust Bank 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. Secure Trust Bank 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.

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Threats Secure Trust Bank External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Secure Trust Bank 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. Secure Trust Bank needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Regional Banks industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of Secure Trust Bank

– 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 Secure Trust Bank.

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 Secure Trust Bank business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Secure Trust Bank 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 Regional Banks industry and other sectors.

Environmental challenges

– Secure Trust Bank 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. Secure Trust Bank can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Regional Banks industry.

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 Secure Trust Bank.

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. Secure Trust Bank 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Secure Trust Bank 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 Regional Banks industry regulations.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Regional Banks industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Secure Trust Bank can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Secure Trust Bank in the Regional Banks sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Secure Trust Bank may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Regional Banks sector.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Secure Trust Bank is facing in Regional Banks sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Secure Trust Bank Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Secure Trust Bank 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 Secure Trust Bank 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 Secure Trust Bank 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 Secure Trust Bank 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 Secure Trust Bank needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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