Business Strategies for San Francisco Symphony (Case Study Sample)

Business Strategies for San Francisco Symphony
Student Name
Name of the Institution
Business Strategies for San Francisco Symphony
Business Description
The rave reviews and audience growth for the last five years demonstrates the high quality of the San Francisco Symphony. SFS’ superb qualifications as a musical performing ensemble provide a sound basis for the success of this orchestra. SFS’ rapid but steady growth, stable organizational structure, and financial responsibility demonstrate the ability to manage this grant. Past media, publicity of the SFS indicates its ability and dedication to continue providing the best services in California and at the global levels.
External Analysis
Porter’s 5 Forces
Potential Entrants
The risks of entry by the potential competitors in orchestra industry depend on factors that make it costly to enter. Resources count a major entry barrier to thrive in this business. They include hiring of top artists as well as high technology investments to match the San Francisco’s Symphony. Moreover, some consumers’ behaviors may be hard to overcome since some are habituated to the old fashioned music, hence making it hard to build up consumers trust in trying to show them the advantages associated with a given brand of product over the other. Resources in form of money and time are necessary to generate adequate skills and knowledge to convince the consumer.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
With the buyers being season ticket holders, they have the power to alter the prices in course of the SFS operations. For instance, a regular ticket holder may decide against purchasing, thus impacting the operational costs of SFS. The cost of shifting from one service provider to the other could not be high, thus inclining the consumers to move where they can afford the services efficiently. Still, the discounts offer to students, and regular consumers could not be sufficient to keep the consumers.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
If the suppliers are in demand elsewhere, they may use this as a weapon to ensure that their wages are increased. In such a case, SFS may be forced to take a counter move to retain their talented assets in the organization to avoid losing the market to the competitors. On the other hand, some of the premises where SFS operates are gained lease process. It means, therefore, that the rent could rise if the lease agreement ends or is terminated.
Intensity of Competition
In California, there are over ten orchestras providing competitive products to the consumers. If all these institutions are competing for the same dollar, it means that the returns are not according to the projections if it were only one orchestra. Numerous orchestras make the switching cost to remain low. Similarly, the not many people would prefer support to an orchestra; rather, they would prefer investing in child development.
High Substitutes
Some people would prefer to remain in their homes for movies while other attends movie theaters. In fact, these circumstances are based on the personal preferences on top of being a cheaper alternative to the orchestra. Some people would prefer to enjoy themselves in the comfort of their homes rather than going out in funny dressing. Other musical performances such as opera and jazz would provide suitable alternatives.
Internal Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Power and decision making in the music industry are typically shared, with the roles and the degree and type of interaction between the board and management often geared towards the size and stage of development of the organization. A strong, competent, relationship-oriented executive director is the key to the success of the San Francisco Symphony. A healthy relationship between the chairman of the board and executive members has long been applied in addressing the dynamic problems within SFS.
As an independent music institution, the entrepreneurial vision of SFS has enabled it to step in the immense opportunities in working with the media companies. The media companies need content to help fulfill customers’ needs, differentiate themselves, and entice consumers with simplistic solutions. To get new sources of income, the music industry need to collaborate with the media companies since they have the power. There is significant synergy in providing this to the consumers in easy, manageable packages. It means, therefore, that there are plenty of ways for SFS to work with the media companies. Similar to other businesses, SFS marketing strategy is about finding the right people to work with, people who are willing to be flexible and find solutions.
Internet technology has created both global and domestic improvements in the field of commerce. In particular, cultural industries such as San Francisco Symphony have been impacted. There are no cases where the music industries solely depended on the contribution of an individual artist to boost its income sources. Nor can music and entertainment companies ignore the dangers of internet privacy. This scenario ensures that the services provided by the SFS are affordable, exciting, and attractive to the consumers. Market segmentation suggests customization of the music industries thus promoting the benefits associated with advertising. Unlike the billboards or advertising magazines, marketers are more specific interest in surf specific pages where their customer can access essential information about the SFS, thus boosting their ranking over the competitors.
If a firm can achieve and sustain overall cost leadership, then it will be above an average performer in its industry provided it can command prices at or near the industry average. Cost leadership strategies have been used at San Francisco Symphony to improve profitability and enhance the offering by building such things as brand equity. The cost advantage allows the organization greater flexibility in its pricing strategies. However, as the cost leadership advantage will usually have been obtained through investment and experience, the extra revenues should be used to develop both of these further and develop new products. It contributes to building the marketing assets of the San Francisco orchestra.
Weaknesses
In order to maintain and enhance a musical quality, audience development and increased revenue are necessary to attract and hold onto top musicians, thus maintaining high-quality performances. Fortunately, SFS boast of its publicity and good image portrayed by the musicians as well as the guest conductors. However, these musicians are in demand elsewhere, and the SFS need to provide performance opportunities and pay them competitively. In cases of scheduling conflicts, there is now a financial attraction for them to choose the larger cities. Moreover, there is the need to offer sizeable audiences and competitive compensation.
Taking the example of September 10, 2011, the Orchestra Association made the decision to avoid “debatable music” through a preliminary announcement to its customers. It is because the directors felt that her audiences preferred music that they know and love and that the performance of debatable music should be postponed until a more suitable time. These changes occurred in response to the drastic economies that owe to the fact that the income-producing endowment funds are not bringing in as high a percentage as formerly, making it hard to reduce the price of tickets even at time of falling prices in most activities.
General Opportunities and Threats
Music sponsorships offer meaningful opportunities to orchestra companies to reach their customers in a better manner than classical advertising. It is because it addresses people in direct conjunction with the emotional product of music. Still, the orchestra market develops definable target group segments accurately because the music and movies tastes imply general tendencies regarding brand and product preferences. For an effective reach of particular target group segments, music sponsorships provide almost limitless opportunities regarding the varieties of measures to realize them. SFC can integrate all its marketing and communication instruments to achieve the image, sales or relationship oriented objectives with the sponsorship. According to these objectives and in line with the company’s overall marketing and communications mix, the sponsor can choose between numerous measures that may not impact the company negatively.
Strategic Challenges Faced by SFS
Driving an association whose most very gifted professional representatives are controlled so unbendingly that they are advised precisely how to perform their advanced assignments; That is accurately the test confronted by pioneers of the 93-year-old San Francisco Symphony, and each other American Symphony of its size.
SFS official chief Brent Assink and Board President John Goldman told members in Wharton West's late Leadership Forum. The 100 -man organization, drove by Assink, comprises of staff found in every company, with the expansion of a chief of creative arranging, who meets expectations with the music executive to collect the season's system “You will be playing a project picked by the music executive, and you will get no individual criticism on your execution.” Add to that union decides that manage the number and length of practices, even the definite length and timing of restroom breaks amid those practices, and the number of hours you work, four practices a week, four shows a week, 106 shows a year, and you have an inflexibility and progressive system verging on inconceivable operations.
Recommendation of Strategies
From the exhibited statement of income statement of SFS, if the management of SFS will manage itself regarding the working of the organization and manage its work and the timeline of the ...