Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref (ECCA) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref
2. Improving business portfolio management of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref
Strengths of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 of United States 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref in the sector have low bargaining power. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Ability to lead change in
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is just above the industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
High dependence on Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref is one of the leading players in the industry, it 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref in the industry. Now Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can develop new processes and procedures in 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref to build a more holistic ecosystem for Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
Threats Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref are -
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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref in industry. The 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.
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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 industry regulations.
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. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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.
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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref 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 Eagle Point Credit Company Inc Pref needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.