Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Curtis Banks Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Curtis Banks Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Curtis Banks Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Curtis Banks Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Curtis Banks Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Investment Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Curtis Banks Ltd
Strengths of Curtis Banks Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Curtis Banks Ltd are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Curtis Banks Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Investment Services 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Curtis Banks Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Investment Services sector.
Ability to lead change in Investment Services
– Curtis Banks Ltd is one of the leading players in the Investment Services industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Investment Services industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Curtis Banks Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Curtis Banks Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Curtis Banks Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Curtis Banks Ltd staying ahead in the Investment Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Investment Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Curtis Banks Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Curtis Banks Ltd 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Investment Services industry
– Curtis Banks Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Curtis Banks Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Investment Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Curtis Banks Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Curtis Banks Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Curtis Banks Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Curtis Banks Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Curtis Banks Ltd 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
– Curtis Banks Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Investment Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Curtis Banks Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Investment Services 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 Curtis Banks Ltd in Investment Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses of Curtis Banks Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Curtis Banks Ltd are -
High dependence on Curtis Banks Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Curtis Banks Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Investment Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Curtis Banks Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Curtis Banks Ltd is one of the leading players in the Investment Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Investment Services industry in last five years.
Employees’ less understanding of Curtis Banks Ltd strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Curtis Banks Ltd 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Curtis Banks Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Investment Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Curtis Banks Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Curtis Banks Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Curtis Banks Ltd to provide better information regarding Investment Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Curtis Banks Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Investment Services industry over the last five years. Curtis Banks Ltd 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Curtis Banks Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Investment Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Curtis Banks Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Investment Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Curtis Banks Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Curtis Banks Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Curtis Banks Ltd 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Curtis Banks Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Investment Services 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Curtis Banks Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Investment Services industry, but Curtis Banks Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Curtis Banks Ltd to focus more on services in the Investment Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Curtis Banks Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Curtis Banks Ltd 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, Curtis Banks Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Curtis Banks Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Investment Services sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Curtis Banks Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Investment Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Curtis Banks Ltd to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Curtis Banks Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Investment Services industry.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Curtis Banks Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Investment Services industry. This can help Curtis Banks Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Curtis Banks Ltd products in the Investment Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Curtis Banks Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Investment Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Curtis Banks Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Curtis Banks Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Curtis Banks Ltd 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Curtis Banks Ltd can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Curtis Banks Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Curtis Banks Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Investment Services 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Curtis Banks Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Curtis Banks Ltd to increase its market reach. Curtis Banks Ltd 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.
Threats Curtis Banks Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Curtis Banks Ltd are -
Environmental challenges
– Curtis Banks Ltd 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. Curtis Banks Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Investment Services industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Curtis Banks Ltd is facing in Investment Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Curtis Banks Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Investment Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Curtis Banks Ltd in Investment Services industry. The Investment Services 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Investment Services industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd prominent markets.
Increasing wage structure of Curtis Banks Ltd
– 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 Curtis Banks Ltd.
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. Curtis Banks Ltd 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
– Curtis Banks Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Investment Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Curtis Banks Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Investment Services 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.
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.
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 Curtis Banks Ltd.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Investment Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Curtis Banks Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Investment Services industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Curtis Banks Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd 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 Curtis Banks Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.