Hardees SWOT Analysis
It is important for a marketer to understand the environment by which an organization operates. SWOT analysis is an acronym of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Leiber, Stensaker, & Harvey, 2018). It is a technique that is used by marketers to assess the four aspects of a business represented by those acronyms (Leiber, Stensaker, & Harvey, 2018). Additionally, SWOT analysis is used to reduce the chances of a business failing. The following is a SWOT analysis of Hardees.
Strengths
The strengths of Hardees include having alternatives for healthy meals. The organization offers healthy alternatives for individuals who are in diets, such as low carbohydrates or clients who are gluten sensitive (Farooqui & Alwi, 2019). This approach has ensured that the organization targets different clients, which, in turn, improves the company’s bottom line.
Secondly, Hardees has good consumer engagement programs. The restaurant engages clients through programs, such as winning tickets to attend American Music Awards and having free tattoos (Farooqui & Alwi, 2019). This strategy has made more customers trust the restaurant, especially when looking for fun things to do. Thirdly, the restaurant has many locations across the world. This situation has made its brand stronger and many individuals trust their products due to their strong investments.
On the same note, Hardees has innovative and premium products. The company offers food, such as boneless buffalo wings and chicken soup, which attracts clients who are adventurous (Farooqui & Alwi, 2019). In addition, the strategy has influenced more clients into wanting to visit the restaurant in order to have a taste of such products. Finally, Hardees is operated by CKE Restaurant, making it have a strong backing parent (Farooqui & Alwi, 2019). CKE restaurant has promoted the Hardees brand worldwide.
Weaknesses
The food business is in a very competitive industry worldwide. Moreover, organizations have to ensure that they meet the regulations set by different countries worldwide in order to operate. There are many organizations that offer different kinds of food for individuals who love to be adventurous in what they consume. Therefore, it has been difficult for Hardees to differentiate their products from other companies. Product differentiation, in this case, refers to the process by which a company distinguishes its products and services from those of the competitors’ (Hashim, Hashim, Bo, Ahmad, & Mobin, 2016). Although Hardees has tried to engage customers with other value additions, food is still the core business of the company.
The next weakness of Hardees is that it does not have as much international presence as their competitors. Companies, such as PizzaHut and McDonald’s are found in almost every city worldwide (Barrows, Vieira Jr, & DiPietro, 2016). The company should, therefore, develop a strategy that would enable it have a global presence, especially because they offer food for almost everyone including those that are in special diet.
Opportunities
Despite the weaknesses that Hardees faces, there are opportunities that the restaurants can tap into to grow. The first opportunity is to open outlets in other places. Hardees has good products and is in an industry where almost everyone consumes their products. Furthermore, the restaurants have other value additions with diets that can be consumed with individuals who are on diet such as those suffering from diabetes, among other illnesses.
The second opportunity for Hardees is that it can expand its product portfolio. This expansion can be done through researching on what people consume most on different sections of the world. For instance, if the company was to expand in Africa, the nations would have different delicacies. Hardees can then open brunches that offers such delicacies, depending on the location. The third opportunity for Hardees is to invest in better marketing initiatives. Competitors use new tools such as online influencers to ensure that their products reach their target market. Many companies that offer food use influencers, such as footballers and celebrities, among other people with high following to sell their products. This method works because there are millions of individuals online who follow different celebrities or personalities.
Threats
Many restaurants worldwide have been affected by the new guidelines by World Health Organizations to ensure that people stay at home, especially if they show symptoms of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Since the pandemic has affected all restaurants worldwide, many restaurants have found ways to be in the market and use other means such as delivering food to customers. Consequently, Hardees is suffering from the increasing operating costs.
In additionally, due to the prevalence of the pandemic, customers have opted to stay at home, which means that most of them either cook their own food or order online. This situation has created an additional cost of delivering food to customers and using applications such as Amazon to ensure that products is delivered in good condition. The other threat that is affecting Hardees is the growing competition. The food industry is a lucrative industry worldwide. Therefore, new restaurants that offer unique products are opened every day.
Conclusion
Despite negative effects of the pandemic and other threats that are affecting Hardees, the company has a lot of opportunities to grow. In addition, many people are seeking conducive environments that they can work from or take their family without contracting the disease. Hardees should take advantage of such opportunities to help it grow.
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References
Barrows, C. W., Vieira Jr, E. T., & DiPietro, R. B. (2016). Increasing the effectiveness of benchmarking in the restaurant industry. International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, 6(1), 79-111.
Farooqui, M., & Alwi, S. K. K. (2019). Fast food trend analysis by evaluating factors leading to customer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, 55, 55-06.
Hashim, I., Hashim, S., Bo, X. Y., Ahmad, M., & Mobin, M. (2016). Empirical analysis of pakistan hotel industry based on SWOT model. Journal Tourism, Hospitality abd Sports, 19, 17-24.
Leiber, T., Stensaker, B., & Harvey, L. C. (2018). Bridging theory and practice of impact evaluation of quality management in higher education institutions: A SWOT analysis. European Journal of Higher Education, 8(3), 351-365.