SWOT: Focus on British heritage as a strength
In today's global economy, brands are looking for a competitive edge that will attract the attention of customers near and far. From a SWOT perspective, that strength is often 'made in Britain', which provides an edge for British-based marketers. Grenson is a good example. The company communicates its British heritage when marketing its high quality shoes to local and international customers. Founded by William Green, the company modernised its name to Grenson in 1913, among the first brands legally registered in the UK.
With a long and proud tradition of producing quality shoes, Grenson only became active in wholesaling to major retailers like Harrods and Selfridges in 2011. Grenson launched its first branded overseas retail store in 2016, choosing a trendy neighborhood in lower New York City to influence consumer perceptions of its fashion credentials. Today, Grenson shoes are also stocked by online retailers like Mr Porter (the men's side of online merchant Net-a-Porter), amongst others.
Grenson updates its marketing plan as trends change, consumers change, the marketing environment changes and technology changes. One thing doesn't change: Grenson's brand is always mentioned in the context of its British heritage, keeping 'made in Britain' in the spotlight with every communication channel.
This is true of all Grenson's social media marketing activities: It's on Instagram (87k followers), Facebook (26k followers), Twitter (13.5k followers), Pinterest (2k followers) and Tumblr.
This example extends coverage of SWOT in Chapter 2 of my Essential Guide to Marketing Planning textbook.
