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 – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, 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 -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Learning organization
- 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at 1-800 FLOWERS.COM emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is one of the most innovative firm in Retail (Specialty) sector.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Retail (Specialty) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Retail (Specialty)
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is one of the leading players in the Retail (Specialty) industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Specialty) industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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 -
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 Retail (Specialty) industry using digital technology.
Skills based hiring in Retail (Specialty) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at 1-800 FLOWERS.COM, in the dynamic environment of Retail (Specialty) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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.
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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to provide better information regarding Retail (Specialty) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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.
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.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of 1-800 FLOWERS.COM supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left 1-800 FLOWERS.COM vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, 1-800 FLOWERS.COM has high operating costs in the Retail (Specialty) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract 1-800 FLOWERS.COM lucrative customers.
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 -
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 1-800 FLOWERS.COM to increase its market reach. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
Buying journey improvements
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Retail (Specialty) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Specialty) 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.
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.
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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 1-800 FLOWERS.COM in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Retail (Specialty) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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.
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.
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 -
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. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Retail (Specialty) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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. 1-800 FLOWERS.COM can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Specialty) industry.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 1-800 FLOWERS.COM 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 Retail (Specialty) industry.
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.
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 1-800 FLOWERS.COM business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Specialty) industry are lowering. It can presents 1-800 FLOWERS.COM with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Specialty) sector.
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.
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.
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.