SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1
2. Improving business portfolio management of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a Regional Banks sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1
Strengths of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 in Regional Banks industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Ability to lead change in Regional Banks
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 is one of the leading players in the Regional Banks industry in Brazil. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Regional Banks industry in Brazil but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Regional Banks industry
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Regional Banks industry. The sustainable margins have also helped ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Regional Banks industry
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Regional Banks industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Regional Banks 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.
Analytics focus
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 Brazil 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.
Weaknesses of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has high operating costs in the Regional Banks industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1, in the dynamic environment of Regional Banks industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Regional Banks industry, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to provide better information regarding Regional Banks products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Regional Banks industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 is planning to shift buying processes online.
ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 are -
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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Regional Banks industry. This can help ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to build a more holistic ecosystem for ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 products in the Regional Banks industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Regional Banks industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Buying journey improvements
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 to increase its market reach. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Regional Banks sector.
Threats ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Regional Banks industry are lowering. It can presents ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Regional Banks sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Regional Banks industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Environmental challenges
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
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.
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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 is facing in Regional Banks sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 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 ITAUUNIBANCOPN EB N1 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.