Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Reach Messaging Hldg 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 household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Reach Messaging Hldg
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Reach Messaging Hldg can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Reach Messaging Hldg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Reach Messaging Hldg
2. Improving business portfolio management of Reach Messaging Hldg
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Software & Programming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Reach Messaging Hldg
Strengths of Reach Messaging Hldg | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Reach Messaging Hldg are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Reach Messaging Hldg has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Software & Programming industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Reach Messaging Hldg have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Reach Messaging Hldg has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Reach Messaging Hldg staying ahead in the Software & Programming industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Reach Messaging Hldg is present in almost all the verticals within the Software & Programming industry. This has provided Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
Training and development
– Reach Messaging Hldg has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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
– Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Software & Programming 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.
Learning organization
- Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Reach Messaging Hldg emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Reach Messaging Hldg is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Reach Messaging Hldg is one of the most innovative firm in Software & Programming sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Reach Messaging Hldg comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Software & Programming 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Software & Programming industry
– Reach Messaging Hldg is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Software & Programming industry
– Reach Messaging Hldg has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Reach Messaging Hldg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Software & Programming industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Reach Messaging Hldg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
Weaknesses of Reach Messaging Hldg | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Reach Messaging Hldg are -
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 Reach Messaging Hldg supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Reach Messaging Hldg is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Reach Messaging Hldg vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Reach Messaging Hldg needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Software & Programming industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Reach Messaging Hldg can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Reach Messaging Hldg is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Software & Programming industry, Reach Messaging Hldg 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
– Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg, in the dynamic environment of Software & Programming industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Reach Messaging Hldg has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Reach Messaging Hldg, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Software & Programming 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Reach Messaging Hldg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Reach Messaging Hldg to provide better information regarding Software & Programming products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Reach Messaging Hldg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Reach Messaging Hldg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Reach Messaging Hldg needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Reach Messaging Hldg has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Software & Programming industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Reach Messaging Hldg Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Reach Messaging Hldg are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
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. Reach Messaging Hldg can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Reach Messaging Hldg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Software & Programming 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Software & Programming industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Reach Messaging Hldg 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. Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Reach Messaging Hldg can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Software & Programming 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Software & Programming industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Reach Messaging Hldg to increase its market reach. Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Reach Messaging Hldg in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Software & Programming industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Reach Messaging Hldg has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Software & Programming sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Reach Messaging Hldg to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Reach Messaging Hldg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Reach Messaging Hldg can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Reach Messaging Hldg operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Software & Programming sector.
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 Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
Threats Reach Messaging Hldg External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Reach Messaging Hldg are -
Regulatory challenges
– Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Software & Programming industry regulations.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Reach Messaging Hldg 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.
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 Reach Messaging Hldg.
Increasing wage structure of Reach Messaging Hldg
– 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 Reach Messaging Hldg.
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 Reach Messaging Hldg in the Software & Programming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Reach Messaging Hldg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Software & Programming industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Reach Messaging Hldg needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Software & Programming 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.
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 Reach Messaging Hldg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Reach Messaging Hldg may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Software & Programming sector.
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 Software & Programming industry are lowering. It can presents Reach Messaging Hldg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Software & Programming sector.
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. Reach Messaging Hldg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Software & Programming industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Software & Programming industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Reach Messaging Hldg is facing in Software & Programming sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Reach Messaging Hldg Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg 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 Reach Messaging Hldg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.