Problem:
Conduct a SWOT analysis for BizWiz. List at least five Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. --In not more 50 words identify and explain the biggest threat faced by BizWiz today.
In 100 words write a strategy for BizWiz to maintain its competitive advantage.
Something Brilliant is a two-year old venture selling software targeted at business students. Long-time friends and fellow engineers, founders Marion and Charlie recently invented BizWiz in their spare time while continuing in their careers as senior managers with a medical systems manufacturer. BizWiz sold for $160.00, and was the world's only software program allowing 388,000 students in North America to electronically share business case studies, and could only be purchased and downloaded from the BizWiz Web site. Because of its uniqueness, the company received over 100 daily Internet enquiries helping produce its first-year sales of 23,000 units. This was 50 percent higher than planned. The company found it easy to plan because 80 percent of annual sales were evenly split between September and January, corresponding to the beginning of the two school terms. BizWiz was promoted solely through campus radio advertisements in New York, Florida, Michigan, and Texas. Recently, Charlie was surprised to learn that sales and product enquiries were growing in California, Pennsylvania, Washington, and the Canadian province of Ontario. During its first sales year, BizWiz only used its original 30-second radio ads that featured the voices of both Marion and Charlie. The radio spot cited the company Web site address, listed some of the benefits of using the software, and quoted the price several times. Marion had spent her entire promotional budget of $10,000 per month on radio ads because she enjoyed speaking on the ads and believed the volume discounts she received were good value. The product price was still set at $160 because the partners felt this would be competitive with popular business products, such as Microsoft Office, even though many educational software downloads were priced lower, in the $50 to $75 range. BizWiz had taken one year to develop, had been funded through government grants, and had been tested on numerous students and teachers. The only costs for the business now were the $5,000 per month in web site management fees, the $10,000 monthly in radio expenses, $4,000 for automobile leases, and $2,000 monthly equipment leases. The business was run out of Marion's home and because there were no packaging, distribution, or service costs, it was a very profitable venture for the founders. While surfing the Web to conduct research, Charlie discovered an Internet directory that listed over 65 nationwide business student forums. When he visited one of these sites, he found many comments about BizWiz, such as students discussing a variety of different ways to copy and share BizWiz with their classmates and friends. With the academic year quickly approaching, Marion and Charlie wanted to develop a plan to ensure the continued success of BizWiz.