SWOT Analysis and Balanced Scorecard for Community Coffee Research Paper

SWOT Analysis and Balanced Scorecard for Community Coffee - Research Paper Example There is also a growing preference among Americans for independent cafes compared to national franchises Increased demand for coffee blends in rural areas of the United States Threats The recent economic recession and subsequent uncertainty have reduced consumption Recent health results that have shown coffee to have some negative side effects, despite others showing it is good for you. This acts to confuse the wary customer. Rising costs of dairy and coffee products that cannot be foreseen but could have a serious impact on the coffee industry Strategic Objectives Community Coffee is geared more to a business strategy, especially since it concerns competition within a specific market (Nair, 2010), i.e. coffee shops. It follows that they will have to establish a competitive advantage over its rivals. In order to achieve this, Community Coffee needs to build their strategy on differentiation of products. This will contribute to a competitive advantage and shield the business from pric e wars in the industry. It is also important for Community Coffee to think about expanding nationally, which will be incorporated into the financial aspect of the scorecard. Finally, the diversity of the locations that Community Coffee seeks to operate in might make it difficult to grab a significant market share. They need to incorporate a faster service pace to compliment an on-the-go customer base; in addition, adjusting to a slower pace for the rural coffee shops that require a friendlier and slower pace since everyone there is community (Nair, 2010). Community Coffee will need to incorporate the two elements in its overall strategy. Balanced Score Card Financial Perspective On the objective concerning revenue growth, Community Coffee needs to concentrate on market diversification... Community Coffee is geared more to a business strategy, especially since it concerns competition within a specific market (Nair, 2010), i.e. coffee shops. It follows that they will have to establish a competitive advantage over its rivals. In order to achieve this, Community Coffee needs to build their strategy on differentiation of products. This will contribute to a competitive advantage and shield the business from price wars in the industry. It is also important for Community Coffee to think about expanding nationally, which will be incorporated into the financial aspect of the scorecard. Finally, the diversity of the locations that Community Coffee seeks to operate in might make it difficult to grab a significant market share. They need to incorporate a faster service pace to compliment an on-the-go customer base; in addition, adjusting to a slower pace for the rural coffee shops that require a friendlier and slower pace since everyone there is community (Nair, 2010). Community Coffee will need to incorporate the two elements in its overall strategy. On the objective concerning revenue growth, Community Coffee needs to concentrate on market diversification (Nair, 2010). Community Coffee intends to cater to both urban and urban rural clientele with their aim being to have at least 6% market share in the rural areas and 3% market share, in the urban areas, by 2014. The key indicator of performance will aid in measuring this objective with the major similar measure being percentage revenue increase.