Identifying the internal and external environment aspects that might impact the business is crucial for numerous corporation executives. To improve the organizational outputs and ensure the financial standing of the enterprise, it is crucial to perform a comprehensive situation analysis that highlights the most relevant elements of the firm’s surroundings (White, 2019). The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is an excellent tool for outlining such characteristics, allowing the company leaders to create new strategic approaches (Sarsby, 2016). As such, the Under Armour enterprise could significantly benefit from introducing a more long-term customer-oriented approach, ensuring that the clients are rewarded for their loyalty to the company. This paper presents a SWOT analysis for Under Armour, examining the key aspects of its internal and external environment and suggesting a Customer Card service to maintain customer value.
Under Armour is a well-recognized sports goods brand that offers sports clothing and equipment. The corporation was founded in 1996 in the USA and currently owns multiple international branches, occupying a significant portion of the sports clothing market (Under Armour, n.d.). Providing the client with a variety of clothes for exercising, from jackets to sports shoes, the company positions itself as a high-quality sporting brand for both amateur and professional athletes (Under Armour, n.d.). Under Armour’s main competitors are Nike and Adidas, firms that also produce sports clothing but cater to a wider audience, becoming accessible to customers with different financial capabilities.
To complete the SWOT analysis for Under Armour, it is essential to consider the conditions surrounding the firm. As such, the Strengths and Weaknesses elements of the framework refer to the organization’s internal environment, the elements that the business executives can control (Sarsby, 2016). For Under Armour, its Strength is the clothing’s quality, which remained consistently high throughout the years. However, the lack of customer-oriented initiatives is a substantial Weakness, as Under Armour does not offer many services that allow clients to gain additional benefits for purchasing. Although gift cards and promo codes are available, these possibilities do not consider customer loyalty (Under Armour, n.d.). This aspect is crucial for retaining high customer value, meaning that Under Armour could gain an additional advantage by introducing such offers.
On the other hand, Opportunities and Threats are the aspects of the company’s external environment. The firm cannot control these factors, but it is vital to consider them when planning organizational processes (Sarsby, 2016). For Under Armour, a lucrative opportunity could be the current fitness trend that endorses people to use digital technologies to exercise at home, which is easily accessible for many populations. As more people are getting involved in fitness, the demand for appropriate clothing increases dramatically, suggesting that Under Armour might benefit from addressing this tendency.
Considering the Threats element of SWOT, it is possible that the contemporary mass production trends could threaten Under Armour’s productivity. Given that multiple companies provide the customers with an opportunity to purchase clothing at lower prices, Under Armour can suffer significantly as their produce relies on high quality and is much more expensive (Under Armour, n.d.). In this regard, not only must the company adapt to the accessibility of sports clothing, but it also has to maintain the customers’ interest in purchasing their product at a higher cost.
Given the outlined SWOT elements, Under Armour might greatly benefit by introducing a Customer Card that promotes the clients’ loyalty. This technique is especially effective for retaining customer value and promoting brand support, ensuring that clients continue to purchase company products (Sarsby, 2016). If the clients were able to acquire a store card that would offer them additional privileges, namely limited coupons or sales, more customers might return to Under Armour instead of seeking alternatives.
From this perspective, the product concept proposed is an item that allows clients to obtain benefits for consistently purchasing merchandise from the company. The core product is an Under Armour Customer Card, either physical or digital, which is offered to the clients who for a purchase the cost of which is above a certain limit. Furthermore, it is possible to suggest such extended products as Customer Card levels, which vary based on card ownership time; the longer the client possesses the card, the more benefits are available.
Nevertheless, it would be crucial to create customer value to achieve competitive differentiation. To increase the value of the Customer Card and the clients’ interest in it, Under Armour could help the potential customers establish a connection to the product. For example, launching a branding campaign that focuses on the link between Under Armour and the customers would be highly effective, reflecting on how the company provided the best possible service throughout the years. After that, the packaging aspect could be emphasized by offering unique Card designs, both for the physical and digital versions. Additionally, this action ensures that the clients receive additional support from the enterprise, encouraging them to remain loyal to the brand (White, 2019). Finally, the marketing campaign should focus on providing high-quality products for a lower price through the offers accessible by obtaining the Customer Card.
To conclude, SWOT analysis for the Under Armour corporation has been discussed in this essay. Clothing’s quality, the lack of customer-oriented initiatives, current fitness trends, and mass production competition were highlighted as the major areas of the organization’s internal and external environment. It is evident that Under Armour could significantly improve its customer value by launching a Customer Card product to enhance the clients’ loyalty towards the brand. By initiating a marketing campaign that focuses on branding, packaging, support, and quality, the executives can promote the client’s interest in continuing to shop in Under Armour for their sporting clothing needs.
References
Sarsby, A. (2016). SWOT analysis. Spectaris Ltd.
Under Armour. (n.d.). About UA. Web.
White, S. (2019). Principles of marketing (2nd ed.). Bridgepoint Education.