Here is the SWOT analysis that I did for our Angus idea. I won’t go into the details of the idea in this posting, since we’ve hashed that out in our yahoo group page already. Yes we have both a yahoo and google groups page; we like the google one better and transferred most of our info over to there.
Based on this SWOT, we canned this idea because there was not a compelling upside compared with the hurdles.
SWOT: Angus
Angus is a software venture with a vision on how to influence online consumer purchase decisions at the online point of sale. The venture is currently assessing which products will have the most impact on a mature market.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Business Model | Business Model Products |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| Products Increase Market Share | Mature Market Competition |
Strengths
Business Model
Angus works on a business model which unites consumers with the information they need to make a purchase decision at the online point of sale. This business model overcomes the inadequacies that consumers are presented when visiting online retailers and auctions – lack of supporting product information, limited perspectives, and product excitement. This business model saves the shopper time by not having to search the Internet for product reviews, consumer perspectives, and marketing buzz, ultimately this means the shopper does not leave and will spend more time at the online point of sale. Not only will this model help online retailers and auctions sell new and current year items, it will also help influence the purchase of end-of-life and used items because the information doesn’t age and will continue to influence the shopper to make the purchase. The simplicity of this model will allow Angus to remain focused on influencing the shopper.
Weaknesses
Business Model
This business model is not unique, as it is already in use by many competitors in the online retail space. The competition is currently providing information to the shopper by means of consumer and expert reviews.
Products
Angus product offerings are not unique, they are as follows:
- Consumer review
- Angus would need to catch up with all competitors
- Expert review
- Angus would need to catch up with all competitors
- Video review – n/a
- Commercials videos – n/a
Opportunities
Products
Angus product offerings may be unique in the following ways:
- Consumer review
- Angus intends to provided filterable reviews.
- Expert review
- Angus is proposing to sign up a large list of 3rd party, expert, reviews and will allow the retailer to select which from the list to be displayed, perhaps based on the demographic of the shopper at that time.
- Video review
- Angus is proposing to allow all consumer reviews to be in any video format and source (web-cam, cell phone)
- Commercials videos
- Angus is proposing to sign up a large list of manufacturers and to provide their television commercials at the point of sale.
Increase Market Share
As broadband acceptance in the consumer market continues to rise, this will allow companies to offer richer content, including video. Angus’ video reviews and commercial videos will be able to leverage the greater bandwidth.
Threats
Mature Market
There may not be many opportunities for Angus to capture the business of retailers that are household names because these retailers already offer shoppers additional information at the point of sale. The most commonly used mechanisms listed in descending prevalence, based on an eye-ball survey:
- consumer review
- consumer review w/reviewer history
- consumer review w/user history plus expert review
- consumer review w/user history, expert review, and 3rd party video
Competition
There are many different types of competitors that serve this online retail market. The following types pose a threat:
- in-house solutions
- specialized software companies, like a Bazaar Voice
- open-source solutions
- social shopping networks, PriceGrabber.com, Epinions.com
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