Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref
Strengths of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Analytics focus
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
High brand equity
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Ability to lead change in
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Learning organization
- Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref has one of the best training and development program in 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref staying ahead in the 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Weaknesses of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the industry, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ less understanding of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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 industry.
Buying journey improvements
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can improve the customer journey of consumers in the 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref to increase its market reach. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
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. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Threats Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref are -
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. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of sector.
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. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref 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 industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref
– 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref.
Environmental challenges
– Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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. Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph 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 Gabelli Equity Trust Inc Ph Pref needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.