Strategic Analysis of Lightweave Company

Lightweave is a digital company that deals in both virtual and augmented products. The paper conducts a thorough business analysis that aligns itself to this company in order to provide an experimental understanding of the importance of business analysis. First, the paper gives an overview of the products and services offered by the company. In this regard, the definition of virtual and augmented reality is given in the product overview. Customer analysis has also been outlined where the paper underscores the importance of undertaking customer analysis for every company. Other business factors such as market, environment, and competitor have also been adequately analysed. Lastly, preliminary strategic option is provide for the lightweave company that may be incorporated in the developmental plan to improve success for the company.

Strategic Market Audit

Overview of the Product

Lightweave deals in two products. Firstly, it offers services that give computer generated experiences of augmented reality. Secondly, it gives virtual reality. Augmented reality provides real world experience where real life images are augmented through information generated in a computer (Augmented reality). Augmented reality brings the digital world into the individual perception of the real world. On the other hand, virtual reality completely replaces an individual’s environment with a simulated one. Virtual reality makes use of auditory and visual senses to offer a computer generated experience. Lightweave Company uses these two technologies to give their customers perception experiences that are similar to reality.

Customer Analysis

The only way to improve business profit is by increasing customer services and experiences that in turn leads to loyalty among the customers (Charles, 2018). For the Lightweave, customer experience has been the major strategy to captivate their customers. Through the virtual and augmented reality technologies, the company offer satisfactory customer services that give the customer good experiences that makes them to continue buying the company services and products . In addition, the company provides services that attract the customers thus meeting their individual different needs. Through the virtual reality technology for instance, the customers get experiences in a simulated environment through their auditory and visual perceptions so that they keep attracted to the services provided.

According to Charles (2018), in order to satisfy customer needs, the company should endeavour to employ staff and train them through gentleness to attend to the customers’ needs satisfactorily. The sales personnel for the Lightweave actually meet this criterion. They take the customers through good experience of their products with an intention to fulfil their interests. In every successful organization, the mangers understand that the customers come first (Williams & Naumann, 2011). As a result, meeting their interest is the most important service the organization can provide to them. It sales the company positively and encourages customer growth.

Competitor Analysis

According to Jin, Ji & Gu, (2016), every business has a competitor especially with the major technological inventions that makes business to operate in almost all technological environments. Through social media, businesses receive competition, which varies from local to international. In this regard, it is important for every business to determine its competitors in order to operate successfully through provisions of better services that supersedes those of the competitor. Once the competitor is identified, it is important to know their market strengths, meaning, the Lightweave must bring close all its potential competitors and engage them in order to find out what services and products they provide better. Secondly, it is fundamental to identify opportunities and risks of the competitors. The information is very vital since it will enable Lightweave to operate competitively against these competitors. For example, in the company can identify the competitors suffering from reducing shares in the market. For such a company, it is risky to suffer share decline hence, it is the role of Lightweave to increase its strength by improving the number of its shares circulating in the market. (Kenny& Dyson, 2016), states that competition is all about identify existing market opportunities and mitigating risks suffered by the competitor.

Again, Lightweave should request business report of the competing companies and analyse such reports. The report definitely will contain the risks incurred, challenges, and strengths. Essentially, close analysis of the report will enable Lightweave to secure market by improving the strengths of the competitor so that it owns such strengths. Doing so will help the company to outstand by outdoing competitions it face from other companies. According to Jin, Ji & Gu, (2016), overcoming competition dictates that a company takes the strength of another company and owns such strengths so that the competing company does not have any advantage against the competed company.

Market Analysis

Market analysis entails the attractiveness and the dynamics that exist in a particular industrial market (Kenny & Dyson, 2016). Every market is bound to change depending on the demands of the customers and the challenges that exist. Business market is thus, influenced by various factors such as operational environment, customer demand, government policies, and completion from other businesses. Lightweave as a company majors in the production of virtual and augmented products. In essence, the market for its products depends on the customer demands and satisfaction by the products that they provide (Botha, Kourie & Snyman, 2014). In addition, demography and segments should be considered in determining the size of the market. Analysing demography shows the population of the targeted customers. For Lighweave, most of its customers are people who enjoy virtual and augmented products. In order to set a reliable market for their business, it proper to find out the number of people interested in the products.

In addition, market analysis commands that every business should know the market demands. For example, what are the products that are most demanded by the customers and investors? Knowing this will help the company to set up a business that produces goods and services that attract the customers and investors (Kenny & Dyson, 2016). Besides, with this, it easy for the business to outdo competition that is normally present in every business environment. Furthermore, it is important for the lightweave company to know its competitors- those who provide the same services and products as it does. It help to improve and secure market network because the company will endeavour to provide better services that still stands pressure from the competitive environment.

Environmental Analysis

Wetherly (2014) defines environmental analysis as a process that analyses all the components of a business includes the internal and external components. The external components represent the opportunities and the threats the business faces from the external factors while the internal components entails the strengths and weaknesses experienced by the business (Tietenberg & Lewis, 2016). For the Lightweave company, analysing its operational environment will help realize the threats that the business faces from the environment. Again, it will help the company to realize the employee performance, satisfaction by the customer, and cost maintenance. This will prompt corrective measures within the company so that it can improve the weaknesses determined through environmental analysis.

The first step in analysis is to consider all the factors that influence the performance of the business, which varies from the company level, market, and global level (Eva et al, 2014). For example, lightweave produces virtual reality products. Social media is therefore the first challenge that the business faces. It results into global competition that if not handled properly may lead to the collapse of the business.

Preliminary Strategic Options

Considering the prevailing business environment where competition is high due to technological advancement and social media popularity, Lightweave has the option to provide online streamline of their products. Through the social media accounts, the company should create a platform that enables online streamline of the products so that the accounts provide extraordinary experiences to their customers. Advancement in technology will help the company to reach a wide network of customers and possibly overcome competitions that it faces from the current business environment. In addition, increasing and availing its shares to the customers and investors will work to enhance customer attraction thus achieving successful business development. According to David (2011), every company should embrace strategic management that aids in providing possible options for its success.

References

Augmented reality. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2018, from Lightweave: https://lightweave.co/category/augmented-reality/

Botha, A., Kourie, D., & Snyman, R. (2014). Coping with continuous change in the business environment: Knowledge management and knowledge management technology. Elsevier.

Charles, T. (2018, May 21). Strategic Customer objectives. Retrieved August 14, 2018, from azcentral: https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/strategic-customer-objectives-12858.html

David, F. R. (2011). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Peaeson/Prentice Hall.

Eva, M., Hindle, K., Paul, D., Rollaston, C., & Tudor, D. (2014). Business analysis. D. Paul, D. Yeates, & J. Cadle (Eds.). British Computer Society.

Jin, J., Ji, P., & Gu, R. (2016). Identifying comparative customer requirements from product online reviews for competitor analysis. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 49, 61-73.

Kenny, B., & Dyson, K. (2016). Marketing in small businesses. Routledge.

Tietenberg, T. H., & Lewis, L. (2016). Environmental and natural resource economics. Routledge.

Wetherly, P. (2014). The business environment: themes and issues in a globalizing world. Oxford University Press.

Williams, P., & Naumann, E. (2011). Customer satisfaction and business performance: a firm-level analysis. Journal of services marketing, 25(1), 20-32.