Case study: Skoda

Résumé du document

To begin with, Skoda is in an industry gathering more than 50 players. The car industry is a fragmented market, which means that it is a daily work to stay competitive. With 2.4% of market share in 2011, Skoda is not a "top of mind" car brand in UK. This weakness means that the car manufacturer need to set up a positioning that will enable to differentiate from the top ten competitors.

Skoda identified a problem concerning the perception of the brand. Indeed, the brand is perceived as being "out-dated" and thus, it is associated with a low range car (bad quality, bad design, and bad material). The image reflected by the car is associated, often to its owner, thus, those holders of Skoda's cars were disappointed by their purchase.

Therefore, it is evident that the perception of the brand by consumers is a key weakness of Skoda. To overcome this weakness, Skoda has progressively moved upmarket, with more prestigious cars as the Skoda Superb. But to distinguish from the renowned brands, Skoda is building a strong image in the consumer's mind.

Extraits

[...] Case study: Skoda Contents 1. What was the key weakness that Skoda was able to identify? p What strength did Skoda use to turn its brand weakness into an opportunity? p How has Skoda strategically addressed external threats? p What in your view are the important benefits of using a SWOT analysis? p6 What was the key weakness that Skoda was able to identify? To begin with, Skoda is in an industry gathering more than 50 players. The car industry is a fragmented market, which means that it is a daily work to stay competitive. [...]

[...] But to distinguish from the renowned brands, Skoda is building a strong image in the consumer's mind. What strength did Skoda use to turn its brand weakness into an opportunity? These weaknesses have not been considered by Skoda as permanent plagues. On the contrary, they have considered that a little numbers of customers can also means exclusivity. That's why they show off users' satisfaction, to break the preconceptions of the public opinion led by the ignorance of the brand image. [...]

[...] The major threat for Skoda is to be diluted in this wide market. Therefore to avoid loss of market shares, the company has stretched its product portfolio, with cars for each important market segment. A real pricing and product strategy for each range has been developed, so that it can appeal to different groups within the mainstream car market. Thus, customers can't overlook Skoda brand during their prospection. Moreover, to overcome the threat of EU legal and environmental regulations, Skoda decided to be totally involved in this issue. [...]

[...] What in your view are the important benefits of using a SWOT analysis? The objective of SWOT analysis is to identify options that address a different combination of the internal factors and the external. Using a SWOT analysis, organizations implement a strategic direction which fits to its environment and enable them to be more competitive on the market. In every case, the SWOT allows to have a clear view of the macro and micro environment, and to develop the best strategies based on internal strengths and weaknesses: SO Strategies: Match internal strengths with external opportunities and record the resultant WO Strategies: Match internal weaknesses with external opportunities and record the resultant ST Strategies: Match internal strengths with external threats and record the resultant WT Strategies: Match internal weaknesses with external threats and record the resultant To rightly use this tool, it is paramount to begin with the external analysis. [...]