Liberty Broadband Srs A (LBRDA) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Broadcasting & Cable TV
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Liberty Broadband Srs A (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Liberty Broadband Srs A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Liberty Broadband Srs A
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Liberty Broadband Srs A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Liberty Broadband Srs A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Liberty Broadband Srs A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Liberty Broadband Srs A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Broadcasting & Cable TV sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Liberty Broadband Srs A
Strengths of Liberty Broadband Srs A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Liberty Broadband Srs A are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Digital Transformation in Broadcasting & Cable TV industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Liberty Broadband Srs A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Learning organization
- Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Liberty Broadband Srs A emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Liberty Broadband Srs A is one of the leading players in the Broadcasting & Cable TV 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry
– Liberty Broadband Srs A is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Liberty Broadband Srs A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Ability to lead change in Broadcasting & Cable TV
– Liberty Broadband Srs A is one of the leading players in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Liberty Broadband Srs A in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Analytics focus
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Broadcasting & Cable TV 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
– Liberty Broadband Srs A has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Liberty Broadband Srs A to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Liberty Broadband Srs A has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Liberty Broadband Srs A staying ahead in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Liberty Broadband Srs A is present in almost all the verticals within the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry. This has provided Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Liberty Broadband Srs A are -
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Liberty Broadband Srs A, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Broadcasting & Cable TV 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.
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 Liberty Broadband Srs A supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Liberty Broadband Srs A is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Liberty Broadband Srs A vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Broadcasting & Cable TV industry using digital technology.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry, Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A is one of the leading players in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry in last five years.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Liberty Broadband Srs A, in the dynamic environment of Broadcasting & Cable TV industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Liberty Broadband Srs A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Liberty Broadband Srs A products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Liberty Broadband Srs A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Liberty Broadband Srs A has high operating costs in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Liberty Broadband Srs A lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Liberty Broadband Srs A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Liberty Broadband Srs A to provide better information regarding Broadcasting & Cable TV products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on Liberty Broadband Srs A ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Liberty Broadband Srs A still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Broadcasting & Cable TV industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Liberty Broadband Srs A has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Liberty Broadband Srs A is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry, but Liberty Broadband Srs A needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Liberty Broadband Srs A to focus more on services in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Liberty Broadband Srs A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Liberty Broadband Srs A are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Liberty Broadband Srs A to increase its market reach. Liberty Broadband Srs A 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
– Liberty Broadband Srs A can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Broadcasting & Cable TV 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Liberty Broadband Srs A 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, Liberty Broadband Srs A is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Liberty Broadband Srs A can utilize new technology in the field of Broadcasting & Cable TV industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Liberty Broadband Srs A has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Broadcasting & Cable TV sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Liberty Broadband Srs A to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Liberty Broadband Srs A to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Broadcasting & Cable TV industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Liberty Broadband Srs A can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Broadcasting & Cable TV industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Liberty Broadband Srs A in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry. Now Liberty Broadband Srs A can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Liberty Broadband Srs A in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Liberty Broadband Srs A can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Liberty Broadband Srs A operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Broadcasting & Cable TV sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Liberty Broadband Srs A has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Broadcasting & Cable TV industry. This can help Liberty Broadband Srs A to build a more holistic ecosystem for Liberty Broadband Srs A products in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Liberty Broadband Srs A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Liberty Broadband Srs A are -
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 Liberty Broadband Srs A in the Broadcasting & Cable TV sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Liberty Broadband Srs A
– 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Broadcasting & Cable TV industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Liberty Broadband Srs A can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Broadcasting & Cable TV industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Liberty Broadband Srs A has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Liberty Broadband Srs A needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Broadcasting & Cable TV 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Broadcasting & Cable TV industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Liberty Broadband Srs A 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. Liberty Broadband Srs A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Broadcasting & Cable TV industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Liberty Broadband Srs A may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Broadcasting & Cable TV sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Broadcasting & Cable TV industry and other sectors.
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 Liberty Broadband Srs A.
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. Liberty Broadband Srs A will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Liberty Broadband Srs A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A 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 Liberty Broadband Srs A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.