What evidence do you have to support your decision?
You enter your project team meeting with Mike and Tiffany to hear them discussing the tools that they found to conduct an analysis of the industry and competitors. “Mike, there are so many more tools than I even realized to give us some good data,” Tiffany states.
“I know,” Mike says. “That’s why I wanted to take some time to look at our options and figure out what information we really need to support the board’s decision.”
Mike and Tiffany both found some great tools from their research on the subject. Complete the following:
Based on your classmates’ discussion posts for Week 2, do you still believe the tools that you selected will work best for a global strategy? Why or why not?
What evidence do you have to support your decision?
How would you refute the people who chose an additional tool rather than one of the tools that you selected?
Based on the tools that you selected, provide a brief analysis of your market, using those tools.
DELIVERABLE LENGTH: 2–3 pages, 600 words min.
Company Biography
In January of 2002, John Ferrer and his wife Deborah started their own corporation, a large custom furniture manufacturer located in Boston, MA. Their initial accounts were in the Northeastern region of the United States, and they annually observed a constant profit increase. By March of 2006, they were able to grow the company enough to go from five distribution and manufacturing plants to 10 to allow shipping to 48 states. Although they have two retail stores, one located in Phoenix and one in Boston, their primary source of revenue is online catalog sales. They have 10 manufacturing plants and distribution centers throughout the country.
John and Deborah’s corporation is known throughout the industry for its exceptional customer service and superior quality. The contemporary designs lend themselves to a younger market, and the customer base is predominantly upper-middle class because it is one of the highest priced furniture companies in the market. Part of the appeal of John and Deborah’s brand is their consistent involvement with the local communities to create green gardens. They have also been a major contributor to organizations that build houses for people in need.
One of their primary strengths is their vertical integration. They have a team of in-house designers saving the company design costs and allowing the flexibility to rapidly change designs as the market changes. Their products have been featured on several prominent home design and gardening shows and have been endorsed by several well-known designers.
Because of the recent housing market sales decline (8% from 2005–2006), home renovations have slowed significantly. This has impacted the amount of furniture and fixture sales and continues to impact revenue. Furniture sales in the United States have decreased significantly, and John and Deborah have recently been discussing the possibility of global expansion.
Another potential threat to their company is that many higher-end brands have been marketing aggressively and creating lines for popular retail stores. These allow the lower-income consumers to have access to high-end brands at a much lower price point. So far, these lines have been incredibly successful and have significantly increased profits for competitors. Many of these competitors have also had great success in the global marketplace with these lower cost replicas.
John and Deborah know that it is time to seriously consider expanding their business. They want to be able to make it through the economic crisis and rely on other ways to increase sales and business. They are open to looking into the global market, but they want to be sure that it is the right move for the business. They have requested an advisory board meeting next month in which you will present the global marketing strategy. As the market strategist, you will play a key role in helping the board decide if this is the right move for the company.
The Problem
You are sitting in Deborah Ferrer’s office. After the customary small talk, Deborah sits forward and states, “I am very impressed with the work that you have done as the strategic marketing manager. Since John and I started this company in Boston, we have seen continuous growth, but nothing like what we have seen since you started. However, the housing market is really starting to impact our profits. This last quarter’s numbers were not looking good.”
You reply, “The crisis has really hit us hard. We have some stiff competition, too, with the other brands creating retail knock-offs.”
She counters, “We’ve had great success with your strategies in the domestic markets, but we do need to think of a new approach and strategy. I have complete faith in your abilities to take this company exactly where it needs to go. I must say that we are really counting on you, and I know that you will follow through.”
“I will make sure that we do well. Do you have any new projects for me?” you ask.
Deborah smiles and says, “You know me well. I do have a new project for you. I sent you an e-mail just before our meeting. I’m curious if expanding in a global market would be a good move for our company. I would like you to look into this for me.”
“Our team is definitely up for the challenge,” you say with enthusiasm.
Deborah shakes hands with you warmly, and you make your way out of the meeting. As you drive out of the parking garage, you think about your success with the company. You cannot wait to get started.
I will provde you with two post from my class mates so you have something to base this off.
Here is one post from one of my classmates:
Integrative and Analytical Tools
What are the best tools to use in this situation? Provide a brief summary of at least 2 of these tools.
Before FCF can commit to expanding overseas – first, it needs to look internally and understand itself as a business and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Second, it needs to look externally and understand competitors, and the business environment as a whole and identify potential threats but also opportunities to take capitalize on. McGraw-Hill Create (2017) states, “In evaluating a company’s overall situation, a key question is whether the company is in a position to pursue attractive market opportunities and defend against external threats to its future well-being.” (McGraw-Hill Create, 2017, p. 89).
One of the most common analytical tools used by companies to gain these valuable insights is the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis (SWOT), also known as SWOTT – the extra “T” for trends. As a basis for formulating global strategy, a SWOT analysis allows the company to capitalize on its strengths, overcome challenges and weaknesses, capture opportunities within the market, and defends against any competitor and environmental threats (McGraw-Hill Create, 2017, p. 89-90).
A complementary analytical tool to the SWOT analysis is the threats, opportunities, weaknesses, and strengths analysis or TOWS. This method analyzes the company’s external environment (opportunities and threats) and assesses the company’s internal environment (strengths and weaknesses) in order to develop strategic alternatives to compete in the marketplace (Rozier, 2020).
Why do you think these are the best ways to analyze the market?
So, for FCF to analyze its potential market and business environment, the best tool to use would be the SWOT analysis first and then complement it with the TOWS analysis for an in-depth understanding of the different factors and crafting the best strategy forward. Additionally, with the TOWS analysis matrix, not only multiple plans can be formulated, but they can also be examined to see which one is best based on the situation. “It’s not just merely brainstorming some strategic ideas. It’s about actually linking internal factors to external factors to generate the best strategies for the organization.” (TOWS matrix analysis, n.d.).
How will you use these tools in your plan?
In utilizing these tools, the FCF marketing team will conduct a SWOT analysis and compile all its strengths and weaknesses but also externally and identify all market and environmental opportunities and threats. With regards to the TOWS analysis, the marketing team will compile the best strategies based on strategies most likely to succeed and which strategies best suits the environment and competition.
Example:
FCF SWOT Analysis:
Strengths: Financially strong, Brand recognition, Rapid in-house custom designers, Strong vertical integration, consistent involvement with the local communities to create green gardens, a major contributor to organizations that build houses for people in need, exceptional customer service, and quality furniture.
Weaknesses: Not a global brand. No global experience, only two retail stores – online sales primary source of revenue.
Opportunities: Expansion into the Chinese markets, global experience, Joint ventures, mergers, rapidly growing Chinese economy – a popular business partner to most businesses.
Threats: Housing market sales decline by 8%, competitors selling quality furniture at low costs, competitor owning retail stores, competitor global presence.
With regards to the TOWS analysis, the marketing team will formulate strategies based on the Maxi-maxi, the mini-mini, maxi-mini and the mini-maxi approach.
References
McGraw-Hill Create. (2017). Strategic management in dynamic environments. Retrieved from
https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/97813090549… Rozier, C. (2020, April 15). Unit 2 Live Chat: Integrative and analytical tools [chat].
Retrieved from Colorado Technical University, Virtual Campus, MKTG630-1904B-04: https://campus.ctuonline.edu
TOWS matrix analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2019/05/tows-m…
Here is another just in case:
Any company or firm expanding into a new location is going to experience an unfortunate laundry list of problems and struggle to remain competitive with senior companies at the location. However, the company can use the SWOT analysis and Porter’s five forces model to assist in making strategic planning decisions at global subsidiaries. The SWOT analysis provides the current state of company and highlights all the internal/external factors that may affect the company (Parsons,2018). The SWOT analysis is broken down into four sections which are: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The strengths section (internal) highlights attributes that the company already has such as: strong brand reputation, patent products, highly skilled labor workers, and any other competitive advantage the company may have in comparison to the rest of the market. The weaknesses sections (internal) emphasizes on elements that may hinder the strengths expressed above. Weaknesses may include patent products owned by competitors, bad reputation, gaps in senior management, or even a dysfunctional global strategy. The opportunities and threats sections of SWOT analysis are made up of external factors that may accelerate or decline a company’s performance. External factors that may be displayed as opportunities could include market growth, consumer word of mouth, changes to government regulations, and upcoming events that the company capitalize on. On the flip side, there are external factors that may lose as threats to the company/firm. The barriers to entry of the market may be low so potential competitors may have easy access to the market. Another threat that may cause for some concern is the development of technology as well as market trends taking a downward curve. The SWOT analysis can be utilized quarterly, biannually, or annually which could prove to be beneficial because comparisons can be drawn with the results. I recommend utilization of the SWOT analysis in order to create an affective global strategy. Internal weaknesses will only worsen for not addressed before the capital investment is made into the global subsidiary.
Moving forward, Michael Porter’s five forces can also be utilized as tool to assist senior management in selecting a global subsidiary location. Unlike the SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces model focuses on the competition and the potential profitability. Porters model emphasizes on five key forces of the potential market which are: power of suppliers, power of customers, compete rivalry, potential new entrants to the market, and the threat of substitute products in the market. I’ll begin with the threat the of substitute products in the market. Entering in a free market or a market with low barriers to entry is more than likely to have an abundance of substitute products. Consumers will not see the need or significance of your product if similar products are available at a cheaper price. The barriers to entry or new entrants to the market can raise an eyebrow for concern. The company/firm may have to reconstruct the product marketing strategy in order to remain competitive in the market. Additionally, the power of supplier’s section model simply highlights aspects such as: how many suppliers are in the market, how expensive it may be to switch from one supplier to the next, and the fluctuations of prices demanded by the supplier. The competitive rivalry portion of Porter’s model details the strength and performance of your competition in the market. Lastly, the power of customers is how many buyers or customers a company has, how significant each customer is, and how much it would cost a company to find new customers or markets for its output (Chappelow,2020). I will utilize both tools bi-annually to form routine so I can benchmark internal progression and external threats to the company. I will also recommend using Porter’s five forces model before entering a new market before making a capital investment.
References
Martin, M. (2019, December 3). Analyzing the Competition with Porter’s Five Forces. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5446-porters-five-forces.html
Chappelow, J. (2020, March 2). Porter’s 5 Forces Definition. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/porter.asp
Parsons, N. (2019, September 12). What Is a SWOT Analysis, and How to Do It Right (With Examples). Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://www.liveplan.com/blog/what-is-a-swot-analysis-and-how-to-do-it-right-with-examples/
6 hours ago
Any company or firm expanding into a new location is going to experience an unfortunate laundry list of problems and struggle to remain competitive with senior companies at the location. However, the company can use the SWOT analysis and Porter’s five forces model to assist in making strategic planning decisions at global subsidiaries. The SWOT analysis provides the current state of company and highlights all the internal/external factors that may affect the company (Parsons,2018). The SWOT analysis is broken down into four sections which are: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The strengths section (internal) highlights attributes that the company already has such as: strong brand reputation, patent products, highly skilled labor workers, and any other competitive advantage the company may have in comparison to the rest of the market. The weaknesses sections (internal) emphasizes on elements that may hinder the strengths expressed above. Weaknesses may include patent products owned by competitors, bad reputation, gaps in senior management, or even a dysfunctional global strategy. The opportunities and threats sections of SWOT analysis are made up of external factors that may accelerate or decline a company’s performance. External factors that may be displayed as opportunities could include market growth, consumer word of mouth, changes to government regulations, and upcoming events that the company capitalize on. On the flip side, there are external factors that may lose as threats to the company/firm. The barriers to entry of the market may be low so potential competitors may have easy access to the market. Another threat that may cause for some concern is the development of technology as well as market trends taking a downward curve. The SWOT analysis can be utilized quarterly, biannually, or annually which could prove to be beneficial because comparisons can be drawn with the results. I recommend utilization of the SWOT analysis in order to create an affective global strategy. Internal weaknesses will only worsen for not addressed before the capital investment is made into the global subsidiary.
Moving forward, Michael Porter’s five forces can also be utilized as tool to assist senior management in selecting a global subsidiary location. Unlike the SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces model focuses on the competition and the potential profitability. Porters model emphasizes on five key forces of the potential market which are: power of suppliers, power of customers, compete rivalry, potential new entrants to the market, and the threat of substitute products in the market. I’ll begin with the threat the of substitute products in the market. Entering in a free market or a market with low barriers to entry is more than likely to have an abundance of substitute products. Consumers will not see the need or significance of your product if similar products are available at a cheaper price. The barriers to entry or new entrants to the market can raise an eyebrow for concern. The company/firm may have to reconstruct the product marketing strategy in order to remain competitive in the market. Additionally, the power of supplier’s section model simply highlights aspects such as: how many suppliers are in the market, how expensive it may be to switch from one supplier to the next, and the fluctuations of prices demanded by the supplier. The competitive rivalry portion of Porter’s model details the strength and performance of your competition in the market. Lastly, the power of customers is how many buyers or customers a company has, how significant each customer is, and how much it would cost a company to find new customers or markets for its output (Chappelow,2020). I will utilize both tools bi-annually to form routine so I can benchmark internal progression and external threats to the company. I will also recommend using Porter’s five forces model before entering a new market before making a capital investment.
References
Martin, M. (2019, December 3). Analyzing the Competition with Porter’s Five Forces. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5446-porters-five-forces.html
Chappelow, J. (2020, March 2). Porter’s 5 Forces Definition. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/porter.asp
Parsons, N. (2019, September 12). What Is a SWOT Analysis, and How to Do It Right (With Examples). Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://www.liveplan.com/blog/what-is-a-swot-analysis-and-how-to-do-it-right-with-exampl
6 hours ago
Here is another just in case you need it.
Any company or firm expanding into a new location is going to experience an unfortunate laundry list of problems and struggle to remain competitive with senior companies at the location. However, the company can use the SWOT analysis and Porter’s five forces model to assist in making strategic planning decisions at global subsidiaries. The SWOT analysis provides the current state of company and highlights all the internal/external factors that may affect the company (Parsons,2018). The SWOT analysis is broken down into four sections which are: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The strengths section (internal) highlights attributes that the company already has such as: strong brand reputation, patent products, highly skilled labor workers, and any other competitive advantage the company may have in comparison to the rest of the market. The weaknesses sections (internal) emphasizes on elements that may hinder the strengths expressed above. Weaknesses may include patent products owned by competitors, bad reputation, gaps in senior management, or even a dysfunctional global strategy. The opportunities and threats sections of SWOT analysis are made up of external factors that may accelerate or decline a company’s performance. External factors that may be displayed as opportunities could include market growth, consumer word of mouth, changes to government regulations, and upcoming events that the company capitalize on. On the flip side, there are external factors that may lose as threats to the company/firm. The barriers to entry of the market may be low so potential competitors may have easy access to the market. Another threat that may cause for some concern is the development of technology as well as market trends taking a downward curve. The SWOT analysis can be utilized quarterly, biannually, or annually which could prove to be beneficial because comparisons can be drawn with the results. I recommend utilization of the SWOT analysis in order to create an affective global strategy. Internal weaknesses will only worsen for not addressed before the capital investment is made into the global subsidiary.
Moving forward, Michael Porter’s five forces can also be utilized as tool to assist senior management in selecting a global subsidiary location. Unlike the SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces model focuses on the competition and the potential profitability. Porters model emphasizes on five key forces of the potential market which are: power of suppliers, power of customers, compete rivalry, potential new entrants to the market, and the threat of substitute products in the market. I’ll begin with the threat the of substitute products in the market. Entering in a free market or a market with low barriers to entry is more than likely to have an abundance of substitute products. Consumers will not see the need or significance of your product if similar products are available at a cheaper price. The barriers to entry or new entrants to the market can raise an eyebrow for concern. The company/firm may have to reconstruct the product marketing strategy in order to remain competitive in the market. Additionally, the power of supplier’s section model simply highlights aspects such as: how many suppliers are in the market, how expensive it may be to switch from one supplier to the next, and the fluctuations of prices demanded by the supplier. The competitive rivalry portion of Porter’s model details the strength and performance of your competition in the market. Lastly, the power of customers is how many buyers or customers a company has, how significant each customer is, and how much it would cost a company to find new customers or markets for its output (Chappelow,2020). I will utilize both tools bi-annually to form routine so I can benchmark internal progression and external threats to the company. I will also recommend using Porter’s five forces model before entering a new market before making a capital investment.
References
Martin, M. (2019, December 3). Analyzing the Competition with Porter’s Five Forces. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5446-porters-five-forces.html
Chappelow, J. (2020, March 2). Porter’s 5 Forces Definition. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/porter.asp
Parsons, N. (2019, September 12). What Is a SWOT Analysis, and How to Do It Right (With Examples). Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://www.liveplan.com/blog/what-is-a-swot-analysis-and-how-to-do-it-right-with-examples/
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