1.) SWOT analysis Strengths: a.) Can sell directly to a specialized market b.) Experienced help is available c.) Sales staff is ready to produce information to specialized audience.
Weaknesses: a.) In a business with large, corporate competition b.) Marketing to a smaller population. c.
) May not have the buying power of larger chain stores. Opportunities: a.) To create an online business with a personal, specialized touch. b.) May make specialized market customers feel grateful for specialized products/training/services which could generate customer loyalty and referrals. c.
) Reach more customers across the world. Threats: a.) Bigger chains may decide to start specialized online services as well. b.
) Being undersold. c.) Generating interest by other companies causing more competition. d.) Suppliers marketing to customer directly.
2.) Hal's Hardware has been around for more than 30 years and has offered fair prices with excellent service. In the many years, Hal's has gone from a small hardware store to a local gathering place where customers can also take comprehensive courses in order to learn a variety of handy work including plumbing, electrical, power tools, flooring, and even gardening. With the new information age, Hal's Hardware is ready to expand its business to include specialized tools and training available online for the convenience of dedicated wood workers. With this new approach, care must be taken in order to succeed.
When it comes to the threats Hal's Woodworking faces, the biggest would be problems with advertisement and not being able to reach any of the specialized audiences and the possibility of larger chains using Hal's ground breaking ideas for their own gain. Smaller businesses find these threats to be the hardest to prevent but there are ways that these small businesses can protect themselves from these types of threats. In order to deal with the possible threats of Hal's new venture, there are some strategic maneuvers that can prevent these treats from preventing Hal from failing. First and, social media is one of the greatest business inventions in quite some time giving companies the ability to reach millions of customers across the world wide web."Large chains and franchises typically do a terrible job of maintaining social media profiles in the local communities where they have stores.
Set yourself apart by ramping up local engagement via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube" (Belicove, 2012). Hal can set himself apart by delegating an associate to keep these sites updated and provide customer support in a convenient way for the customer. The next way to deal with these threats is to obtain a patent. "Paden Woodruff, an intellectual property and antitrust lawyer with Woodruff & Black, says companies should protect their ideas, especially against the tech giants who may go on the prowl and adopt features that are not protected.
He says the most common approach to protecting user interface features is to secure a patent" (Brandon, 2011). This can prevent the threat of larger chains using the specialized ideas of Hal's Woodworking. Patents can be obtained online or in a local patent office and can protect a business' ideas and keep the biggest chains from utilizing these ideas for their own personal gain.
