Assignment:
A company self-examination. What are we known for? Who do we want to become?
You will create a Situation Analysis for one (1) of the following companies / brands: Jeep Cherokee, Amazon.com, or Google.
Each of these three (3) companies (Jeep Cherokee, Amazon.com, and Google) has been through numerous changes in recent years. For this assignment, select only one (1) company / brand. Use the information listed, as well as your own knowledge and research, to complete the provided situation analysis template. Additional research should include the use of the company's Website, the course textbook, and other online sources.
Amazon
Google
History
Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995. By 1996, they had built a search engine (initially called BackRub) that used links to determine the importance of individual Webpages.
Larry and Sergey named the search engine they built "Google," a play on the word "googol," the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google Inc. was born in 1998, when Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a check for $100,000 to that entity-which until then didn't exist.
In 2000, we introduced AdWords, a self-service program for creating online ad campaigns. Today our advertising solutions, which include display, mobile and video ads as well as the simple text ads we introduced more than a decade ago, help thousands of businesses grow and become successful.
On April Fools' Day in 2004, we launched Gmail. Our approach to email included features like speedy search, huge amounts of storage and threaded messages. Our Initial Public Offering of 19,605,052 shares of Class A common stock took place on Wall Street on August 18, 2004.
We acquired digital mapping company Keyhole in 2004, and launched Google Maps and Google Earth in 2005. Today Maps also features live traffic, transit directions and street-level imagery, and Earth lets you explore the ocean and the moon.
In 2006, we acquired online video sharing site YouTube. Today 60 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. Cat videos, citizen journalism, political candidacy and double rainbows have never been the same.
Amidst rumors of a "Gphone," we announced Android-an open platform for mobile devices-and the Open Handset Alliance, in 2007.
Based on what you've learned so far in this course, regarding the 5 Cs, 4Ps, and STP, complete the assessment questions below. Submit the completed template in the Week 10 assignment submission link.
Company/Brand Selected (Jeep Cherokee Automobiles, Amazon, or Google):
1. Customers
Who are the current customers/users? Include information related to demographics, psychographics and buying behavior, price sensitivity, customer satisfaction and loyalty.
What do the customers buy/use?
What changes can the company/brand expect in the future? How can the company/brand better serve its customers? Include information about potential opportunities and threats.
2. Company
Identify strengths and weaknesses of the company/brand as it exists today. What does the company/brand do well and not so well at this very moment?
How can the company/brand improve its weaknesses and maintain or grow its strengths? Suggest how the company/brand can improve upon the things it does well and not so well.
3. Context
Define the current business environment. Include information about political, legal, economic technological and societal factors that may influence sales.
4. Collaborators
Define the business partnerships. Does the company/brand have any current partnerships? What other company/brand may be a good partner for them?
5. Competitors
Who are the main competitors?
6. Recommendations
Based upon the analysis you just completed in this worksheet, what are three (3) key recommendations that you could pass along to Management regarding the future direction of the company you selected?