SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for 1-800 FLOWERS.COM (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 1-800 FLOWERS.COM, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM
2. Improving business portfolio management of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Retail (Specialty) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM
Strengths of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Training and development
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in Retail (Specialty) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Specialty) industry
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Specialty) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – 1-800 FLOWERS.COM staying ahead in the Retail (Specialty) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in the Services sector have low bargaining power. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Retail (Specialty) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 1-800 FLOWERS.COM digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Analytics focus
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 Retail (Specialty) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is one of the leading players in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is present in almost all the verticals within the Retail (Specialty) industry. This has provided 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Weaknesses of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Retail (Specialty) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Retail (Specialty) industry, but 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to focus more on services in the Retail (Specialty) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Retail (Specialty) industry, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Need for greater diversity
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Retail (Specialty) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 Retail (Specialty) industry.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on 1-800 FLOWERS.COM ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Retail (Specialty) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Employees’ less understanding of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is one of the leading players in the Retail (Specialty) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Retail (Specialty) industry in last five years.
1-800 FLOWERS.COM Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can utilize new technology in the field of Retail (Specialty) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can develop new processes and procedures in Retail (Specialty) 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Retail (Specialty) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Retail (Specialty) industry. This can help 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to build a more holistic ecosystem for 1-800 FLOWERS.COM products in the Retail (Specialty) 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. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Specialty) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in the Retail (Specialty) industry. Now 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 Retail (Specialty) industry.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Threats 1-800 FLOWERS.COM External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Specialty) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 Retail (Specialty) industry and other sectors.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM prominent markets.
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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in the Retail (Specialty) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM.
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. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Specialty) sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Specialty) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is facing in Retail (Specialty) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM
– 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in Retail (Specialty) industry. The Retail (Specialty) industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.