SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Company
Phase 2
Strategic Management
MBA 599
June 14, 2020
Student Signature: [Nicole Gonzalez, Johnathan Rundles, Ryan Sigmon, Ki’Yana Taylor]
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Company Page 3
Current Firm Description Page 3
Company History Page 3
Vision and Mission Statement Page 5
Vision and Mission Statement Assessment Page 5
External Assessment Page 7
External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix Page 7
Competitive Profile (CPM) Matrix Page 12
Internal Assessment (Completely Revised) Page 15
Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix Page 15
Financial Ratio Analysis Page 20
External and Internal Assessment Implications Page 22
(Internal Assessment Implications Completely Revised)
Current Strategy Page 24
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Matrix Page 27
The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix Page 30
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix Page 33
Possible Strategic Alternatives Page 36
Current Organizational Structure Evaluation Page 38
Organizational Recommendations Page 40
Organizational Culture Page 40
Business Processes Page 42
Rewards Structure Page 43
Technology Page 45
References Page 47
Introduction to the Company
Current Firm Description
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is a theme park and entertainment company that provides its guests with experiences that inspire them to protect animals and nature around the world (SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, n.d.). The company is comprised of SeaWorld locations in three states, Busch Gardens in two states, and Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. In addition to SeaWorld’s entertainment related activities, the company engages in animal husbandry, behavioral management, veterinary care and animal welfare, with the company helping more than 36,000 animals in the past 50 years (SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, n.d.).
Company History
On March 21, 1964, the first SeaWorld in San Diego, California was opened by four graduates of UCLA, Milton C. Shedd, Ken Norris, David Demont, and George Millay, who had an idea of opening up a marine zoological park (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.). When the park opened it only featured dolphins, sea lions, and two seawater aquariums, however it was a major success, drawing over 400,000 visitors in its first year of operations. Due to how well the San Diego location was performing, SeaWorld looked to expand the company into a new market.
In 1970, the second SeaWorld park opened in Aurora, Ohio (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.). Unlike the San Diego location, SeaWorld Ohio would be a seasonal operation, as a result of the climate in that area of Ohio. One of the main reasons why this location was selected, even though it only operated during part of the year, was due to the park being within a day’s drive for a majority of Midwest and Northeastern States (History of Branding, 2019).
Soon after the opening of SeaWorld Ohio, Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida in 1971. Looking at the success that Disney was having in Orlando, SeaWorld decided to make this the location of their third SeaWorld (History of Branding, 2019). The idea behind this strategy was to get guests who were already heading to Orlando to visit Disney World to come to SeaWorld. The SeaWorld location in Orlando would open in 1973.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. purchased SeaWorld in 1976 for 7 million dollars (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.). Under their management, SeaWorld would take on increased debt and be forced to sell off some of the company’s assets. However, the company would still open up their next and largest SeaWorld location in San Antonio, Texas in 1988 (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. continued facing economic concerns with their company, and to avoid bankruptcy, they sold SeaWorld and their entire them park division to Anheuser-Busch in 1989, who placed the four SeaWorld theme parks under its subsidiary, the Busch Entertainment Corporation (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.). Busch Entertainment Corporation had a history of being involved with theme parks, with the company opening Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida in 1959 and in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1975 (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.).
Busch Entertainment Corporation decided to expand SeaWorld Orlando, which included adding thrill rides to the park, while also adding a sister park in Discovery Cove in 2000 (Orlando Fun Tickets, n.d.). In 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold SeaWorld Ohio to Six Flags. The Blackstone Group acquired Busch Entertainment in 2009 for $1 billion, renaming the division as SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment and would themselves later sell the company to Chinese theme park operator Zhonghong Group for $2.7 billion in 2017 (Kosman, 2017). However, the group would default on its loan payments and would be required to hand its shares over to a securities agent (Palmeri, 2019). After the shares were handed back, SeaWorld Entertainment would agree to acquire 5.6 million shares, while Hill Path Capital LP would acquire approximately 13.2 million shares (SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., 2019), which would make Hill Path Capital LP the primary owner of SeaWorld. As of 2020, Hill Path Capital LP still owns SeaWorld.
Vision and Mission Statement
For a company, its vision statement should be its inspiration, while providing the framework for all of its strategic planning (Ward, 2019). SeaWorld’s vision statement is “to be a leader in saving the natural life and places across the globe” (Mission Statement Academy, 2020, para. 5). A mission statement is a declaration of an organization’s reason for existing (David & David, 2017, p. 42). SeaWorld’s mission statement is “to help our guests, and the world, explore the wonders around them, and then inspire them to take action to protect wild animals and wild places” (Mission Statement Academy, 2020, para. 5).
Vision and Mission Statement Assessment
A vision statement should reveal the type of business as firm engages with, while also stating what the company wants to become and being customer oriented (David & David, 2017, p. 41). Looking at SeaWorld’s vision statement describes that it engaged in animal welfare, it is very broad and does not state how it will save natural life. The vision statement is also not customer oriented and does not mention the entertainment portion of its operations. An improved vision statement for SeaWorld could be, “SeaWorld’s vision is to be a leader in saving natural life around the world through peerless animal welfare and providing its guests with experiences that inspire them.”
Since a mission statement can be the most visible part of a strategic-management process, there are nine components that need to be included, they are (1) customers, (2) products or services, (3) markets, (4) technology, (5) survival, growth, and profitability, (6) philosophy, (7) self-concept, (8) public image, (9) employees (David & David, 2017, p. 48). SeaWorld’s mission statement, “to help our guests (1), and the world, explore the wonders around them (2), and then inspire them to take action to protect wild animals and wild places (6, 8)” (Mission Statement Academy, 2020, para. 5), includes only four of the nine components of an effective mission statement. The mission statement does not include (3) markets, (4) technology, (5) survival, growth, and profitability, (7) self-concept, and (9) employees.
For SeaWorld, a more effective mission statement would state where they compete, which could be as simple as the United States, as this is where their portfolio of brands is located. In regards to technology, their mission statement could discuss what new technologies are being used by the company in its goal of protecting wild animals and wild places. SeaWorld’s survival, growth, and profitability could be discussed on how the company is committed to growing their parks and keeping them relevant and exciting for guests. Looking next to implementing self-concept into their mission statement, SeaWorld could state that its competitive advantage is its history, having helped 36,000 animals in the past 50 years. An effective mission statement also needs to explain why employees are a valuable asset to a firm (David & David, 2017, p. 48). SeaWorld could explain in its mission statement how its employees are an important part in inspiring its guests to protect wild animals and wild places. Without SeaWorld’s employees being effective at their job, it would almost be impossible for guests to leave inspired.
An example of a revised mission statement for SeaWorld could be “to help our guests (1) at our parks located across the United States(3), explore the wonders around them (2) through the help of our knowledgeable employees (9) and the latest conservation technology (4), and then inspire them to take action to protect wild animals and wild places (6, 8). Having helped over 36,000 animals in the past 50 years, SeaWorld provides guests with a tremendous understanding of animal welfare (7), while being committed to exploring new ways to entertain them through unique attractions and shows (5).” This revised mission statement includes all nine components of an effective mission statement.
External Assessment
For any company or organization an external assessment is very important. Going over and mapping out a company’s external components from its opportunities and threats can help get a better insight on what the company needs to look out for and what they can move their focus to, which enables them to see where they stand compared to their competition within their category of business. An external assessment can also help bring the center attention on making a more goal focused and oriented company. When a company has a goal in mind, it will ensure the plans and resources are all towards that one goal and everyone involved are on the same page. One way to make sure of this is to use an External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix which takes those external factors and categorizes them into an opportunity or threat and helps rate them based off importance, which can help a company create a prioritized list of where their focus needs to be.
A Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) is a great tool companies can use to compare their firm to their industry competitors to see where they stand compared to them. This matrix displays the company’s strengths and weaknesses compared to a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses to help get an idea of where they rank within the industry. Like the EFE matrix creating the CPM can help a company become more focused on certain areas to improve their competitive fighting position.
External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix
The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) that is shown in Table 1 below goes over and summarizes some of the most important possible opportunities and threats for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Company. An EFE Matrix is a combination of multiple different external factors such as economic, social, cultural, and technology, which can all affect a company in the short-term and long-term (David & David, 2017, p. 77). On the first part of Table 1 if goes over the opportunities for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Company and on the bottom half of Table 1 it shows and goes over the company’s threats.
All opportunities and threats are given a weight from 0.0 to 1.0, 0.0 meaning not important at all to the company and 1.0 meaning very important to the company. The next column on Table 1 is the rating for each opportunity and threat, each one can be given a 1 to 4, where 1 means the companies response is mediocre and 4 represents a superior response. Once the rating has been figured out for both the companies’ opportunities and threats the weighted number and rating is then multiplied to get the weighted score. This is then added together to get an EFE Matrix score. What the total weighted score shows is if the company is responding well to both opportunities and threats. For SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment they received a score of 2.92 meaning they are around average, if they were closer to 4.0, this would mean they are very superior in their response and close to 1.0 is a poor company response. The score of 2.92 shows that SeaWorld is balancing their opportunities and threats at a good rate. SeaWorld has room to improve to however they seem to being doing a good job keeping an above average score.
Opportunities. Each opportunity that will be discussed; these are the shows and exhibits that SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment offers to their customers, the amount of different aquatic species the park offers for entertainment purposes and viewing, promotional offers that are given and frequented at the park, and finally the types of new attractions and parks that the company has where customers go to visit.
Types of shows and exhibits provided. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment offers many different shows and exhibits that keep customers coming to the park. They have shown that range from watching dolphins swim and do tricks to Sesame Street Party Parades and even a Pets Ahoy show, which offers a look at the different types of farm and household animals. In 2019, SeaWorld had 6.46 million guests visit the park to see the different shows and exhibits they offer (Bilbao, 2019, para. 11). SeaWorld has the opportunity to new and improved exhibits that include the exploration of aquatic animals, which is not readily available at any other amusement park. Disney has 3D and 4D rides such as their Avatar attraction which takes you through the world from the movie Avatar. SeaWorld could include the same type of attraction but with a twist that allows for their customers to experience the world of their aquatic animals.
Amount of different aquatic species. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has many different types of aquatic species that brings people to the park for shows, animal experiences and educational purposes. Some of these shows include Dolphins, Orcas, and Sea Lions. They have even more animal experiences they offer from exploring the Antarctica habitat where the penguins live, to dining next to the Orcas (“Animal Experiences, n.d.”). SeaWorld can use the many types of aquatic species compared to their competitors as a marketing strategy. Not only will you get to see many different aquatic species when you visit, but you also get to have entertainment while riding rollercoaster and different types of shows as well.
Promotional offers. Promotional offers are important to a lot of customers. On the company website there are offers for hotel packages, annual passes discount, group event discounts, and military discounted tickets (“Animal Experiences, n.d.”). When you by an annual pass from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment there are 4 different options bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, with each coming with different benefits. For example, the silver annual pass comes with unlimited visits for 12 months, popular events, free general parking, 10% off dining, shopping, and tours, 1 free guest ticket, and 50% off for up to 3 guests (“Annual Pass, n.d.”). SeaWorld can use promotional offers to keep customers coming to visit their parks, and as a marketing strategy towards their competitors who are much more expensive.
New Attractions and Parks. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has been updating its parks and rides. They are introducing a new roller coaster this year in 2020 called the Ice Breaker also in 2020 they are opening a new ride in their aquatic section of the theme park called Riptide Race. Every year, SeaWorld also puts on events such as concerts and shows to keep customers coming for more, and to help grow their theme park.
Threats. On the second half of Table 1 it goes over threats that could affect SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The threats that will be discussed are the recent views on animal torture, similar theme parks as competition, not providing as many new attractions as the competition, and only having local customers.
Animal cruelty. Headlines started talking about animal cruelty at SeaWorld Parks when the documentary Blackfish came out in 2013, it “exposed the dark side of orca shows at the marine park franchise SeaWorld” (Belanger & Hargrove, 2015, para. 1). Once the movie Blackfish came out SeaWorld’s net second quarter income dropped 84% from $37.4 million in 2014 to $5.8 million in 2015 (Rhodan, 2015). Animal cruelty speculations and individuals protesting the rights for caged animals will always be a threat to SeaWorld, which they need to keep an eye on make sure all animals are being treated properly.
Similar theme park competition. SeaWorld has many competitors from other theme parks, to regular aquariums. Right now, the top competitors are Disneyland Parks and Resort, Universal Theme Parks and Discovery Cove. To get an idea of the difference in the year 2018 Disney had 20,859,000 customers just at their Magic Kingdom Park (“Disney World Statistics – The Truly Fascinating Numbers Behind Disney,” 2020). Whereas, SeaWorld in the year 2018 had 4.59 million customers visit their park in Orlando, Florida (Lock, 2020, para. 1).
Outdated attractions. This goes along with the opportunity above which has new attractions/parks as an opportunity for SeaWorld. However, if they decide to stop creating new attractions and updating their parks this can also be a threat that could possibly lose customers. If SeaWorld stops creating new attractions for customers to use and visit, they could possibly get bored and decide their money is worth spending at another amusement park which continually adds new attractions to their parks.
Local customer focus. SeaWorld’s business is mostly local and United States customers, they do not have a lot of international business. International tourists make up around 15% of SeaWorld’s overall customers (Pedicini, 2019). If this number gets any lower, it could cause a huge issue for SeaWorld, this huge issue could possibly be a drop in park sales and overall revenue that is contributed from SeaWorld’s amusement parks. To give some perspective Disney does around 22% of international tourists (Garcia, 2018).
| Table 1
External Factor Evaluation Matrix |
|||
| Key External Factors | Weight | Rating | Score |
| Opportunities | |||
| 1. Shows and Exhibits | 0.15 | 4 | 0.6 |
| 2. Amount of Different Species | 0.15 | 4 | 0.6 |
| 3. Promotional Offers | 0.12 | 3 | 0.36 |
| 4. New Attractions/Parks | 0.11 | 2 | 0.22 |
| Threats | Weight | Rating | Score |
| 5. Animal Cruelty | 0.15 | 2 | 0.3 |
| 6. Similar Theme Park Competition | 0.10 | 3 | 0.3 |
| 7. Outdated Attractions | 0.10 | 3 | 0.3 |
| 8. Local Customer Focus | 0.12 | 2 | 0.24 |
| Total | 1.00 | 2.92 | |
Conclusion. For SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the total score for both opportunities and threats came to 2.92. Since this number is close to a total of 3, this means SeaWorld has been responding to both their opportunities and threats at an above average rate, this is known because with an EFE matrix, scoring a 3 means the company has an above average response to external factors a score of a 2 means the company is around average. Therefore, SeaWorld’s score of a 2.92 has them close to a score of 3 which means they are closer to an above average score. However, they do need to be careful about their threats and make sure their ratings do not change to lower their score.
Competitive Profile (CPM) Matrix
The Competitive Profile (CPM) Matrix helps a company or organization with its competitors and their critical success factors by comparing a company to its industry competitors which will help a company understand its strengths and weakness. While using the CPM Matrix, it looks at how the company compares on industry critical success factors. Like the EFE Matrix the rating is similar, therefore 0.0 means it is not important and 1.0 means it is very important. With the total weighted score, a company score close to a 1 show that the company is considered to have a severe weakness and a weighted score close to or at a 4 means the company is high in strength (David & David, 2017, p. 78). Table 2 below shows the weight, ratings, and weighted score for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
Advertising. When it comes to advertising, Universal and Disney both received a weighted score of 0.9 and SeaWorld has a score of 0.6. In 2018, SeaWorld’s attendance increased to 15 percent most likely due to its new advertising message the company started to show that spoke about what they are starting to do about the Orca captivity (Weisber, 2018). In the same year, Universal had a 14.5 percent increase in their customer business, which they believe had to do with the rising attention to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Hollywood (Lawton, 2019). For advertising this category received a rating of 2 because they do not advertise much and mainly rely on their brand recognition.
Price competitiveness. SeaWorld’s annual pass, without any discounts added on to it, only cost a fifth of Disney’s annual pass, and Universals annual pass is more expensive than SeaWorld, but it is still cheaper than Disney’s (Munarriz, 2019). The rating of 4 came from the competitiveness SeaWorld hold compared to Disney and Universal, SeaWorld in comparison is significantly lower in cost.
Customer loyalty. Disney is much more well-known than Universal and SeaWorld. They also have a much larger customer base, a lot of which are loyal customers who have bought annual passes, go to see every Disney movie new and old remakes. Even to the point of buying the latest item created by Disney, Disney+, 10 million people subscribed to Disney+ on its first day of launch (Alexander, 2019, para. 1). Whereas Universal Studios and SeaWorld are less likely to have customer loyalty since they are both mainly only known for their amusement parks and nothing else. Disney also has a strong responsibility towards customer satisfaction compared to SeaWorld, “SeaWorld is not that strong in creating an emotional relationship with its customers and thus has a lower brand equity than Disney” (Kohler, 2013, para 22). Which is why Disney received a rating of a 3 compared to Universal and SeaWorld which scored a 2.
Global expansion. For global expansion, SeaWorld received a score of 0.3 since as of 2019 they announced their first international expansion into Abu Dhabi, however it will not open until 2022 (Concio, 2019). Disney, however, started their global expansion in the 1980’s, when its Tokyo location opened. From there, they began to open its theme parks in Europe during the 1990s, and from Europe, it moved to more Asian theme park openings (Robbins & Polite, 2014, p.18. Therefore, it received a score of 0.6 compared to SeaWorld’s 0.3 weighed score. Universal Studios is also currently working on their global expansion in Asia, but it will not be ready until 2023, these expansions include Osaka, Japan and Beijing, China, this is the reason for the rating of a 0.45 compared to SeaWorld.
Market share. Market Share is a part of a market that is controlled by another part of the company or by a product, for SeaWorld, Disney and Universal the theme park revenue is what was captured on the CPM Matrix. Disney’s theme parks, in 2018, brought in $20.29 billion dollars of revenue, whereas Universal is at $1.5 billion, and SeaWorld was at $1.37 billion dollars. SeaWorld and Universal are close in revenue brought in, in the year 2018, whereas Disney was significantly more (Lock, 2019).
| Table 2
Competitive Profile Matrix |
|||||||
| SeaWorld | Disney | Universal | |||||
| Critical Success Factors | Weight | Rating | Score | Rating | Score | Rating | Score |
| 1. Advertising | 0.3 | 2 | 0.6 | 3 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.9 |
| 2. Price Competitiveness | 0.2 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.4 |
| 3. Customer Loyalty | 0.2 | 2 | 0.4 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.4 |
| 4. Global Expansion | 0.15 | 2 | 0.3 | 4 | 0.6 | 3 | 0.45 |
| 5. Market Share | 0.15 | 2 | 0.3 | 4 | 0.45 | 2 | 0.3 |
| Total | 1.0 | 2.2 | 2.95 | 2.45 | |||
Conclusion. In all, SeaWorld compared to its competitors Disney and Universal, is much weaker than Disney and slightly weaker than Universal. However, SeaWorld does show that they are a strong competitor for being much smaller than Disney and Universal, shows based off of its weighted scoring on the CPM, even though SeaWorld’s score is low it is still within 0.25 of Universals score and 0.75 of Disney. The most significant place on the CPM Matrix where SeaWorld has a higher rating score compared to its competitors is price competitiveness. With the amount of entertainment customers can get from visiting SeaWorld for a fifth of the price of Disney and a lower price than Universal, it may be work it to customers who cannot afford the more expensive competitors.
Internal Assessment
(Completely Revised)
Internal Assessment involves the strategic auditing and evaluation of the key strengths and weaknesses of the business or functional area. Identification and evaluation of the relationships between internal factors and their impact on business performance forms the basis of internal assessments. Financial ratio analysis involves evaluating the financial condition of a business in order to determine measure of the business’s competitive position and general investment performance. Ratio analysis leads enables the determination of general financial strength.
Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix
The identified strengths and weaknesses are then assigned with weights ranging from 0.00 to 1.00 according to the relative significance of each factor with 0.00 being signified as not significant and 1.00 indicating a factor as excessively significant. Factor having the greatest significance for the organization’s performance are assigned with the highest weights irrespective of whether the key factor is an internal strength or an internal weakness, with the sum of all the weights being equal to 1.00.
The weight that is assigned to each SeaWorld key internal factor indicates the relative significance of each factor in enabling SeaWorld to be successful in its business performance. A rating is additionally assigned to each key internal factor according to whether each factor under consideration represents a major weakness rated 1, a minor weakness rated 2, a minor strength rated 3, or a major strength rated 4. A scale of 1 to 4 is used with weaknesses being either minor or major and receiving a 1 or a 2, whereas strengths can be either major or minor receiving a 4 or a 3 rating.
Strengths. Each of the core strengths that are identified from the SeaWorld internal environmental analysis are individually discussed in this section. These strengths are evaluated in terms of their respective potential impact on SeaWorld’s performance and long-term business survival.
Well-Developed and Diversified Revenue Stream. For SeaWorld, the well-developed and efficiently managed service revenue streams that include conservation, education, entertainment, theme parks, and water parks in combination with their knowledge of market trends are a major strength for the business. This well-developed revenue stream is supported by high service quality that has created strong brand loyalty, which improves the strength of SeaWorld’s revenue stream performance. (Pan, Bahja & Cobanoglu, 2018). The well-developed Sear world revenue stream is a major strength because it remains the basis of all the organization’s revenue and is rated at 4 while being highly significant for the organizations performance due to the fact that the organization depends solely on service revenues for its main source of income, hence weighted at 0.4.
High Quality Services. The quality of the animal-themed amusement park services offered by SeaWorld remains unique and highly valued as a family-friendly entertainment, scientific, and educational attraction. The services at SeaWorld theme parks including performing animals, animal saving activities, as well as themed media and commodities extends beyond ordinary park services to create relationships between customers and many SeaWorld services. (Torres et al., 2018). The quality of services that are offered at SeaWorld enables both customer attraction and retention, hence its major strength is rated 4. SeaWorld service quality is weighted at 0.2, with being highly significant because it determines whether the business will continue to survive by ensuring adequate and loyal customers for the business
Offer of Unique Experiences. SeaWorld is widely recognized and accepted by its customers as a leading marine-life theme park globally. SeaWorld theme park customers have become highly dedicated to the SeaWorld brand and continue with high attendance numbers mainly because of the wide array of unique, entertainment and educational experiences as well as wide variety of rides, shows and marine-life attractions. (Grahame, 2016). SeaWorld unique experiences offers the organization significant revenue opportunities by attracting as well as retaining customers and is hence a major strength rated 4. For SeaWorld, the unique theme park experiences have a weighting of 0.3 because the offered unique experience additionally represents an excessively significant internal factor that supports business by facilitating public support for the idea of visiting SeaWorld themed parks.
Geographic Diversification. Geographic diversification refers to the fact that SeaWorld has a well-diversified portfolio of theme parks across key markets in the United States and Middle East. The broad demographic diversification represents a major strength that is rated at 4 due to supporting value proposition to a large audience that is located in different regions. (Torres et al., 2019). The diversification of the SeaWorld brand is relatively significant for revenue growth and business survival because it reduces business as well as operational risks and has been weighted at 0.1.
Weakness. The SeaWorld weaknesses that are identified from the internal environmental analysis are each discussed separately in this section. The evaluation of these weaknesses is based on their perceived potential impact on the business performance and future revenues of SeaWorld.
Low Product Segmentation. More visitors are not becoming continuous customers due to low product segmentation that prevents fulfilling the needs and wants of wide variety of customers. (Tasci & Milman, 2019). The fact that the lack of adequate product segmentation determines customer numbers and leads to low customer volume in this case, which signifies it is a major weakness rated 2. Low product segmentation is weighted at 0.3 due to the highly significant impact that it has on revenue generation for SeaWorld because low product segmentation can provide competitors with a foothold in the market.
Poor Marketing Strategy. Poor marketing strategies represent a major internal weakness for SeaWorld rated at 2 because marketing can lead to business success in terms of sales. The marketing strategy factor is weighted at 0.3 due to the potential for enabling SeaWorld in order to attain a strong market position that is superior to competitors.
Inadequate Financial Planning. SeaWorld has not executed financial planning adequately as demonstrated by the by the weak quick ratio and current ratio from the results of its latest annual reports with this factor rated 2 as a major weakness. (SeaWorld Entertainment, 2020). Poor financial planning is suggesting that SeaWorld is not operating excessively efficiently to maintain from a current asset and liquidity perspective; hence, it is weighted 0.2.
Poor Growth Strategy. The organizational strategy of SeaWorld is not promoting rapid growth and market expansion hence limiting expansion in other customer and geographic segments. This is a minor weakness rated 1 and has a weight of 0.2 because organizational strategy has significant impact on performance of the business.
Conclusion. The capabilities and factors that represent SeaWorld’s strengths have an excessively strong potential to direct the business forward and increase revenues significantly because they represent excessively significant points of strategic competitiveness, such as established industry experience as compared with competitors. (Lewison, 2017). The weaknesses that are although significant additionally represent limitations that can easily be improved to the advantage of the organization by leveraging the organization’s long industry experience and market insight. (Milman & Tasci, 2018). Hence, SeaWorld can concomitantly develop both the strengths and weaknesses in order to become more competitive, develop better products and services, attract and retain more customers, and expand geographically.
| Table 3
Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix |
||||
| Key Internal Factors | Weight | Rating | Score | |
| Strengths | ||||
| 1. | Well-Developed and Diversified Revenue Stream. | 0.2 | 4 | 0.8 |
| 2. | High Quality Services | 0.1 | 4 | 0.4 |
| 3. | Offer of Unique Experiences | 0.15 | 4 | 0.6 |
| 4. | Geographic Diversification | 0.05 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Weakness | Weight | Rating | Score | |
| 7. | Low Product Segmentation | 0.15 | 2 | 0.3 |
| 8. | Poor Marketing Strategy | 0.15 | 2 | 0.3 |
| 9. | Inadequate Financial Planning | 0.1 | 2 | 0.2 |
| 10. | Slow Growth Strategy | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| Total | 1.00 | 23 | 2.9 | |
Financial Ratio Analysis
Financial ratios represent comparisons and relationships between the organization’s financial metrics as reported in accounting statements. The analysis of financial ratios enables the understanding of how well the business may be performing while revealing areas that may need improvement. The financial ratio analysis for SeaWorld represents comparisons with industry benchmarks to determine the firm’s financial position and performance.
Liquidity ratios. Liquidity ratios provide analysis of the SeaWorld’s ability to pay its current and long-term liabilities. An average current ratio of 0.5 and a lowest ratio of 0.47 for the three years demonstrate difficulty in repayment of current liabilities. The declining current and quick ratios additionally demonstrate low cash levels of SeaWorld, thus diminishing ability of turning assets into cash for payment of liabilities and weak short-term solvency.
| Table 4
Financial Ratio Analysis |
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| Ratio Category | Fiscal Years | ||
| Liquidity Ratios | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Current Ratios | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.58 |
| Quick Ratios | 0.36 | 0.35 | 0.47 |
| Leverage Ratios | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Debt to Capital Ratio | 0.85 | 0.84 | 0.77 |
| Debt Equity Ratios | 5.64 | 5.23 | 3.32 |
| Activity Ratios | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Asset Turnover Ratio | 0.65 | 0.61 | 0.57 |
| Return on Equity | 16.9 | -70.4 | -2.7 |
| Profitability Ratios | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Return on Assets | 2.1 | -9.7 | -0.5 |
| Operating Profit Margin | 11.1 | -15.9 | 4.4 |
| Growth Ratios | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Return on Investments | 2.5 | -11.3 | -0.6 |
| Inventory turnover | 22.7 | 25.8 | 29.2 |
| Note. SeaWorld financial data and computations were obtained from (Macrotrends, 2020). | |||
Leverage Ratios. Both the debt capital ratio and the debt equity ratio increased marginally over the three-year analysis period, especially with other factors being constantly maintained. Higher the debt-to-capital and debt to equity ratios indicate more risk for the company. However, the generally lower debt-to-capital ratio of below 1 is a positive indicator for SeaWorld debt financing flexibility, whereas the debt to equity ratio of 5 indicates hitherto high debt levels and that more debt will be risky.
Activity Ratios. The average asset turnover ratio of 0.6 over the three-year period is excessively low, and value above 3 would be desirable for a company such as SeaWorld considering the value of its assets. SeaWorld is not being efficient in generating revenue from assets. In addition, the return on equity ratio has additionally demonstrated an excessively poor trend, with the exception of 2018 when the ROE ratio was positive at 16 percent, thus indicating improved ability of generating profits from investments of shareholders in that year.
Profitability ratios. The return on assets ratio additionally demonstrates an excessively poor trend. By having erratic and weak increases, it signifies that SeaWorld is not effective in using assets to generate income from which a company can earn a return on its investment in assets. A positive return on asset ratio of 5% would indicate a positive profit trend. Furthermore, the operating profit margin ratio has not demonstrated any particular trend and moved erratically, thus indicating a lack of control on variable costs and how much profit is made. However, SeaWorld demonstrated an excessively positive operating profit margin ratio in 2018, which reveals the positive potential of the company for producing positive profit.
Growth Ratios. The irregular trend of the SeaWorld return on investment ratio (ROI) indicates ineffective profitability measures over the three years that were evaluated. Nevertheless, the positive ROI in 2018 demonstrates the positive performance potential for returns from the business or investment. The inventory turnover ratio had a decreasing trend, thus signifying that the business was decelerating in sales and indicating possible issues with marketing.
Conclusion. SeaWorld has the potential of developing into a highly competitive organization, but it has to optimize its business and operations. The financial results and indicators are disconcerting for the three years under analysis between 2016 and 2018 as compared to competitors such as The Walt Disney Company, Universal Parks and Resorts, and Six flags, among others. The financial results can improve with growth in attendance, which is the main driver of revenue. Additionally, SeaWorld can improve through focusing on cost and efficiency initiatives in order to be more competitive and attractive to customers.
External and Internal Assessment Implications
Below is the summarization of both the external and internal assessments for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The first part will go over a brief summary of the external assessment implications, which will be followed by the internal assessment implications.
External Assessment Implications
The EFE matrix for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and the theme park industry is that customer mostly look for new attractions in each park so they can stay entertained and the price it takes to go to these theme parks. “Today’s guests want more than attractions that are loosely tied together, consumers want a fully immersive experience, which stems from the complete integration of the facility” (Winmore, 2019, para. 6). If the price is affordable, it will increase the park revenue. Also increasing the revenue of theme parks would be how entertaining the theme park is, does the park regularly update their attractions? Another category that plays a huge part in park revenue the type of customers the company is targeting and attracting. For a theme park such as SeaWorld most of their customers are non-foreign and local citizens of the United States. Understanding what types of customer frequently visit the theme park can help with pinpointing the types of attractions and promotions should be offered.
The CPM matrix shows that SeaWorld Park & Entertainment’s close competitors are Disney and Universal. For SeaWorld to be able to increase their overall CPM score compared to their competitors, they would need to increase their advertising, customer loyalty, global expansion, and market share. As of right now, SeaWorld has a total CPM weighted score of 2.2, which compared to Disney’s score of 2.95 and Universal’s score of 2.45 is not very high. However, this score could change in the next couple of years, since SeaWorld is starting their global expansion, which would increase their revenue from foreign customers, which could also improve and expand their advertising abilities and outreach.
Internal Assessment Implications (Completely Revised)
The offer of unique experiences and geographic diversification demonstrate established industry experience for SeaWorld where it has reached the mature stage of business and has resource maturity as compared with competitors. The weaknesses of low product segmentation and poor marketing strategy are market facing internal weaknesses that are driven by product diversity and good advertising respectively. Although representing significant, limitations product segmentation and marketing strategies can easily be improved by leveraging the SeaWorld brand value, market research, long industry experience, and market insight to the advantage of the organization. Hence, SeaWorld can concomitantly develop both the strengths and weaknesses in order to become more competitive develop better products and services, attract and retain more customers, as well as expand geographically.
Park attendance, conservation, education, and entertainment can be improved by improving on the weaknesses of product segmentation, marketing strategy and implementing a strong growth strategy. Additionally, SeaWorld can improve through focusing on improving the weakness of poor financial planning by implementing cost and efficiency initiatives such as green strategies, energy consumption reduction strategies, administrative and transactional process costs in order to become more competitive and attractive to customers. SeaWorld should also improve on their financial planning in order to improve debt capital and equity capital ratios by consolidating debt financing, relying on equity financing, and reducing of overhead costs.
Current Strategy
For all companies, strategic management is critical as it is used to gain competitive advantages in order to achieve superior market share and to act as a guide on how the company should respond to ever growing changes in its business environment (Business Jargons, 2017). Most companies usually implement a combination of two or more strategies (David & David, 2017, p. 132). The current strategies used by SeaWorld are shown in Table 5.
| Table 5
Current Company Strategies |
|
| Current Strategy | Current Firm Actions/Behavior |
| 1. Market Development | 1. SeaWorld will open its first overseas park in Abu Dhabi in 2022. |
| 2. Product Development | 2. SeaWorld plans to open two new attractions and a new killer whale show in their Orlando park in 2020 |
| 3. Market Penetration | 3. SeaWorld offers unique benefits tied to its annual passes |
Market Development
SeaWorld is in the process of expanding into its first international market, as it announced that in partnership with the company Miral, SeaWorld is developing SeaWorld Abu Dhabi on Yas Island to be in open in 2022 (Concio, 2019). Unlike other SeaWorld parks, Abu Dhabi will exclude orca shows, however it will still retain up-close animal experiences, aquariums, and attractions (Concio, 2019). The UAE is considered one of the premier international tourist destinations, with year over year revenues generated from theme parks in the UAE growing from 2014 to 2016 (ReportBuyer, 2017). This strategy should allow SeaWorld to grow its brand with guests who have had no ability to travel to the United States to visit a SeaWorld property.
Product Development
The purpose of a product development strategy is to seek increased sales by improving a company’s current products or services or by creating new ones (David & David, 2017, p. 134). In the theme park industry, this usually means introducing new rides or shows to help drive in more customers, as current attractions may feel stale or repetitive. In 2020, SeaWorld is opening two major attractions in their Orlando parks. The first being SeaWorld’s first launch roller coaster, Ice Breaker, which features a 93-foot tall spike with a 100-degree angle (SeaWorld, 2020). The second major attraction Riptide Race is located in Aquatica Orlando, and will be Florida’s first dueling water slide (Aquatica, 2020).
In addition to these new attractions, SeaWorld also launched a new killer whale show in their Orlando park at the beginning of 2020. The new show titled “Orca Encounter” replaced “One Ocean” and refocuses the killer whale show on the education of the species instead of on spectacle (Arkin, 2019). Guests of the show will learn about killer whale’s role in the ocean ecosystem and the importance of their conservation (Arkin, 2019). The transition of the show comes less than a decade after animal cruelty against orca at SeaWorld was exposed to the public. Through the introduction of these new attractions, SeaWorld Orlando is able to market new experiences to guests who are also being presented new attractions from Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.
Market Penetration
SeaWorld is implementing a market penetration strategy with the unique benefits being offered to its annual passholders. Market penetration is when a company seeks increase market share for current services in its current markets through greater marketing efforts (David & David, 2017, p. 134). By offering benefits such as unlimited visits, free parking and discounts on dining, SeaWorld is looking to create returning visitors who will ultimately lead to greater sales and an increase in market share for SeaWorld. The annual cost of passes ranges from $138 to $336 (“Annual Pass”, n.d.).
Current Technology Use
Like most theme parks, technology is a crucial part of a guests experience at SeaWorld. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, SeaWorld’s technology team is developing a ride reservation system and mobile ordering platform to accommodate health and safety guidelines (The Associated Press, 2020). This technology could allow for better guest experiences, as traditional wait times would be reduced or removed all together, allowing guests more time to enjoy attractions and dining.
SeaWorld has also explored the mobile app space by releasing interactive educational apps aimed at preschool and elementary-aged children (SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., 2014). The apps have been released under SeaWorld’s, SeaWorld Kids brand. The goal of these apps is to entertain, while also teaching kids about the in-park mission of SeaWorld, conservation. It should also attract more young families to the parks, as these young children will be made aware of SeaWorld’s in-person locations.
Another new technology that should bring in more young families to SeaWorld Orlando are the new interactive elements in the Sesame Street area of the park. With the use of Elmo bubble wands, guests are able to make things like moving objects, and hearing fun noises and messages from Sesame Street characters happen (Tatham, 2019). This is similar to a technology that is currently being used in Universal theme parks for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter with wands, however this addition at SeaWorld is aimed at a much younger audience.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Matrix
“The Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) Matrix is an important matching tool that helps mangers develop four types of strategies” (David & David, 2017, p. 171). Below will be the breakdown of SO strategies, which matches the company’s internal strengths with its external opportunities. WO strategies, which goes over the company’s internal weaknesses with its external opportunities. ST strategies, which takes the company’s strengths to try and reduce the company’s reaction to external threats. Lastly, WT strategies goes over internal weaknesses and external threats. Table 6 show the SWOT matrix for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
SO Strategies
The first SO strategy is to improve marketing strategies to bring in more customers. If SeaWorld’s marketing were more defined and developed, they would be able to identify what aspects of the industry they need to meet or replicate to bring in more customers. For SeaWorld to create a better marketing strategy they first need to identify what their business goal is and focus on that singular goal. Having a focused goal can create a more defined market strategy. When it comes to improving SeaWorld’s development of marketing strategy, SeaWorld can discover their target audience which will help them develop marketing strategies around this audience. The second SO strategy is to develop and use their social media platforms as a marketing tool. SeaWorld has social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, where they have 2,895,674 people that have checked in on their Facebook page (“SeaWorld”, n.d.). If SeaWorld used this to their advantage more, they would be able to use it to bring in more customers. SeaWorld could use their social media platform to increase their website traffic by attaching a website or landing page to their post. For example, if SeaWorld had a post of one of their animal experiences, they could attach the exact URL for purchasing animal experience tickets to the post to bring in more traffic to that specific part of their website. Lastly, the third SO strategy to increase sales, off discounts to customers to try and expand to new customers. If SeaWorld offered daily discounts that lowered the price compared to most of their competition it may bring in more customers who are wanting a vacation but cannot afford a trip such as Disney.
| Table 6
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment SWOT Matrix with SO, WO, ST, and WT Strategies |
||
| Strengths
1. Large number of outlets with a well-built distribution network. 2. Low cost structure, provide advantage over competition. 3. Skilled labor force, that is diversified helps with new ideas. 4.Social Media, they have a large platform on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 5. Recognizable brand, many people of and what SeaWorld is. |
Weaknesses
1. A lot of SeaWorld’s property is not owned, it is rented. 2. There has not been much development in newer technologies. 3. High employee turnover rate. 4. Competition with other similar parks. 5. Market research has not been top priority; therefore, they are using old data. |
|
| Opportunities
1. Increase in internet users and e-commerce purchases. 2. Social media usage increase around the world. 3. Technology developments, operations could be 4. Tourism growth, could provide new potential customers. 5. Employee benefit programs and incentives. |
SO Strategies
1. Improve marketing strategies, to bring in more customers. (S1, O3) (Market Development) 2. Develop and use its social media platforms as a marketing tool. (S4, O2). (Market Penetration) 3. To increase sales, offer discounts to customers to try and expand to new customers. (S2, O4). (Market Development) |
WO Strategies
1.Increase customer sales so create higher revenue to pay for ownership of rented spaces. (W1, O1, O4). (Market Development) 2. Provide employees with better incentives and bonus programs to keep employees. (W3, O5). 3. Increase market research to understand what customers are looking for when they visit a park. Could use social media platform. (W5, O2). (Market Development) |
| Threats
1. Competition increases 2. Customers wants are constantly changing. 3. Technology changes make it different to keep up with upgrade. 4. Competitors increasing globalization. 5. Competitors marketing strategies and social media presence increasing. |
ST Strategies
1. Create a team to develop different marketing strategies to keep up with the competition. (S4, T5) (Market Development) 2. Use the low-cost structure to compete with the new competition. (S2, T1). (Related Diversification) 3. Increase marketing and use the recognizable brand to keep customers even without changes. (S5, T2). (Related Diversification) |
WT Strategies
1. Increase spending on developing a research team for new rising technology (W2, T3). (Forward Integration) 2. Create a better incentive program for employees so they do not leave and join a competitor (W3, T4, T5). 3. Develop a globalization department to strategize opening additional international parks (W4, T4). (Forward Integration) |
WO Strategies
The first WO strategy is to increase customers sales to create higher revenue to pay for ownership of rented spaces. In this instance a lot of SeaWorld’s properties are not owned by the company they are rented, if customer sales increased it could open an opportunity for SeaWorld to buy the property instead of renting. The second WO strategy is to provide employees with better incentives and bonus programs to keep them from leaving. SeaWorld has different categories of employees from seasonal, part time, and full-time employees. If they provided a better incentive plan to try and balance out the pay that is received, they may be able to keep most of their employees (Lock, 2020). The third WO strategy is to increase market research to understand what customers are looking for when they visit one of their parks, could use social media platforms. If market research is not done properly and within a certain amount of years, the data is useless. Making sure SeaWorld’s market research is up to date can help with determining what customers are looking for when they go to an amusement park, it is possible to use their social media platforms to get this intel by creating online customer survey’s through their account.
ST Strategies
The first ST strategy is to create a team to develop different marketing strategies to keep up with the competition. If a team is created specifically for researching the competitions marketing strategy it can give SeaWorld a leg up on figuring out what they need to do to increase their sales and compare more to the competition. One way to do this research is by looking at what marketing strategies the competition is using on their social media account. The second ST strategy is to use SeaWorld’s low-cost structure to compete with newly developed competition. There are always new attractions arising within the amusement park industry, however if SeaWorld plays to its advantage and uses their low cost and advertises that more compared to their competitors pricing, it could have a beneficial outcome. Lastly, the third ST strategy is to increase marketing and use the recognizable SeaWorld brand to keep customer even without changes. When new competition comes along so does change and new customer interests. If SeaWorld uses their brand recognition to their advantage it could keep them from losing customer to old and new competitors. Brand recognition can help make it easier for SeaWorld to introduce new products to their customers. If you have a strong brand and a large number of loyal customers it makes it easier to introduce, because SeaWorld will most likely have customers who are interested and anticipating the new product release.
WT Strategies
The first WT strategy is to increase spending on developing a research team for new rising technology. Theme parks such as Disney are always coming up with new and innovative rides and technology to have in their theme parks. For example, “radio frequency (RF) located in MagicBands interacts with touch points located in places such as resort room doors, theme park and water park entrances” (Disney Blends Imagination and Technology to Deliver Landmarks in Theme Park Innovation”). With an increase in spending when it comes to technology development SeaWorld could attract more customers. The second WT strategy is to create a better incentive program for employees so the turnover rate decreases and they do not go to the competition. If employees have more to stay for and have a happy and heathy work environment, they are more likely to stay. An example of an incentive SeaWorld could give is by providing loyal customers with an upgrade every once and a while to show their appreciation. They could do this by offering them special discounts on certain experiences and rides. Lastly, the third WT strategy is to develop a globalization department to strategize opening more international SeaWorld parks. One of SeaWorld’s top competitors, Disney, has as of right now eleven (11) worldwide theme parks (Bricker, 2018). Whereas SeaWorld has parks only in Florida, California, Texas, and one opening in Abu Dhabi in 2022.
The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix
“The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix indicates whether aggressive, conservative, defensive, or competitive strategies are most appropriate for a given organization” (David & David, 2017, p. 174). Shown below on Table 7 there will are axes that represent internal dimensions, these dimensions include financial position and competitive position. There are also external dimensions that are represented on Table 7 these dimensions are stability position and industry position.
Within each of the quadrants on Table 7 that have a rate from -7 to +7, these rates are defined as financial position and competitive position being rated from +1 (lowest) to +7 (highest). Whereas stability position and industry position are rated from -1 (highest) to -7 (lowest). Understanding how Table 7 is read, financial position and competitive position are rated by how they compare to their competition, stability position and industry position are rated by them company compares to other companies within the industry. Once scores have been figured out based on the rates the score is then taken and plotted onto the SPACE matrix. After plotting each of the internal and external dimensions onto the SPACE matrix you then add both points plotted on the x-axis and put the total as a point on the x-axis, you repeat the same method but on the y-axis. The middle of the two new points together will be what quadrant of the SPACE matrix the company belongs under.
| FP
+7
+6
+5
+4
+3
+2
+1 0 |
0 |
| CP -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 | 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 IP |
| -1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
|
|
| SP |
Figure 1 SPACE Matrix
Figure 1 above shows the SPACE matrix for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, it shows the arrow falling in the lower right quadrant which is the competitive quadrant. SeaWorld falling within this quadrant means they are competing well within their industry. The competitive quadrant indicates that the company has competitive strategies, such as backward, forward, and horizontal integration (David & David, 2017, p. 177). Some of these strategies are also within the SWOT analysis such as customer loyalty and price range of competition. In all SeaWorld does have a steady group of loyal customers, which is why they received a score of -2, and the same score for price range of competition because they are relatively lower in price compared to Disney and Universal.
| Table 7
SPACE Matrix Factors |
|||
| Internal Strategic Position | External Strategic Position | ||
| Financial Position (+1 to +7) | Rating | Stability Position (-1 to -7) | Rating |
| 1. Leverage
2. Liquidity 3. Cash Flow 4. Earnings per share 5. Price earnings ratio |
4
3 3 2 3 |
1. Competitive pressure
2. Technology changes 3. Price range of competition 4. Risk involved 5. Rate of inflation |
-6
-5 -2
-3 |
| -2 | |||
| Average Rating = | 3 | Average Rating = | -3.6 |
| Competitive Position (-1 to -7) | Industry Position (+1 to+7) | ||
| 1. Customer loyalty
2. Market Share 3. Technology know-how 4. Product quality 5. Capacity Utilization |
-2
-2 -4 -2 -2 |
1. Growth potential
2. Profit potential 3. Financial stability 4. Resource utilization 5. Ease of entry into market |
6
5 4 5 2 |
| Average Rating = | -2.4 | Average Rating = | 4.4 |
| CP + IP = x-axis coordinate | 2 | FP +SP = y-axis coordinate | -0.6 |
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix
The BCG (Boston Consulting Group) Matrix, also known as the Growth-Share matrix was created to help firms determine which services or products are investment priorities. The matrix uses the current market share and the market’s growth potential which are broken into four quadrants that show the high and low market share and growth potential. The quadrants are represented by cash cows, dogs, question marks, and stars.
Relative Market Share Position in the Industry
Cash Cows
SeaWorld’s attendance levels (admissions tickets) in the theme parks consists of several factors. Affordability, opening and closings of new shows and attractions, competitive offering, weather, global and regional economic, among other factors. Attendance patterns of the parks are significantly influenced by holidays, school closures, and weather conditions. Admission tickets generate the most revenue for SeaWorld. The end of 2016, theme park accumulated 61% of its revenue from admissions (SEC, 2019). Of the 61%, approximately 44% came from online ticket purchases. As you can see from the data, SeaWorld’s attendance has increased each year. This can be credited to their promotion and campaign offerings, seasonal and annual passes, as well as a Fun Card which is offered at select theme parks. This card allows multiple visits throughout the year; hence, encouraging greater attendance levels (SeaWorld Entertainment, 2020). SeaWorld is reopening, but only on certain days. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, SeaWorld will close each Tuesday and Thursday, Aquatica will be closed on Mondays and Wednesdays for the rest of the year, and Discover Cove will close on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The year-end numbers for 2020 will be interesting to review because of the current changes effecting the economy.
Question Marks
Merchandise and culinary offerings are question marks for SeaWorld. The relative market share position as shown in Table 8 is .08, which is a very low number for SeaWorld. In comparison, one of their main competitors Disney, had $54.7 billion in retail merchandise sales alone (Vlessing, 2019). The culinary operations are organized into five categories to increase in-park per capita spending. These categories consist of: restaurants, catering, carts and kiosks, specialty snacks and vending. SeaWorld offers dining programs, such as all-season dining passes and all-day dining services, for incremental revenues. Merchandise at SeaWorld includes over 300 retail and photo shops; it is not limited to arcades and game venues.
Table 8 is the framework used to evaluate strategic position. The relative market share position is used to evaluate the business portfolio based on the amount of profit obtained. Simply put, the higher the market share, the higher the cash returns will be. In sales and profits data, you will notice that the information is the same. This is because SeaWorld does not report each park separately. Accordingly, based on these economic and operational similarities and the way the CODM monitors and makes decisions affecting the operations, the Company has concluded that its operating segments may be aggregated and that it has one reportable segment (SeaWorld Entertainment, 2020).
| Table 8
Boston Consulting Group Matrix Information |
||||||
| Division | Sales | % Sales | Profits | % Profits | RMSP | IG Rate % |
| 1.Attendance/Admissions | $802,834 | 57.4% | $802,834 | 57.4% | .94 | -12.92% |
| 2. Food, merchandise and other | $595,410 | 42.6% | $595,410 | 42.6% | .08 | +4.17% |
| Total | $1,398,244 | 100% | $1,398,244 | 100% | – | – |
| Note. Dollar amounts in millions (SeaWorld Entertainment, 2020). | ||||||
Possible Strategic Alternatives
Table 9 lists alternative strategies that will help SeaWorld increase profits and remain competitive in its industry. SeaWorld has already began seeking alternatives to reinvent its brand. The theme park has transitioned from the animal shows and moved towards diverse entertainment with action rides and shows. New products have brought increased admissions over the past three years. If they continue to bring new attractions, the guests will continue to come. We suggest the theme park incorporate their mission of promoting and nurturing sea life, education, and conservation work through diversification.
Table 9
Possible Alternative Strategies
| Possible Strategy | Corresponding Firm Actions/Behaviors |
| 1.Diversification | 1.Improve marketing and advertising through social media platforms and paid advertising. |
| 2.Market Penetration | 2.Increase traffic to SeaWorld’s online pages to increase e-commerce sales. |
| 3.Market Development | 3. Develop a globalization department to strategize opening more international SeaWorld park |
Diversification
SeaWorld has a very large following on its social media platforms. With over a million followers on Facebook, approximately 108,000 on Instagram, and over 140,000 on Twitter, it is obvious that people are interested in SeaWorld’s social presence. Improving marketing via social media could do two things: increase exposure and website traffic. SeaWorld should focus on consumer and potential consumer engagement, which would improve communication and increase interactions with its key audience. Twitter and Instagram would be a great platform for consumer engagement through the use of polls and consumer generated content. Social media challenges are very popular and could help with marketing campaigns. Another useful marketing tool is paid social media advertising through photo and video ads. Looking back to the EFE matrix, one of SeaWorld’s key opportunities are its new attractions. A paid social media advertising campaign could promote the opening of Ice Breaker and Riptide Race, which has the ability to drive up attendance to these parks.
Market penetration
Social media marketing comes with many benefits, which include an increase in e-commerce sales. Ecommerce marketing is used to drive internet traffic which leads to new sales and new customers (Palmer, 2020). Now would be a great opportunity for SeaWorld to maximize ecommerce sales as the US market has increased by 25% since March 2020. The ecommerce market is also more cost effective. With the BCM matrix indicating that SeaWorld’s food and merchandise division being a question mark, the company can either not continue with this division, or as suggested can use an intensive strategy such as market penetration to compete in this high growth industry (David & David, 2017, p. 179). SeaWorld will need to be aggressive in driving traffic to their online store, which could be done with promoted discounts or giveaways.
Market development
International marketing and expansion are a very complex market to branch into. The global market structure is based on the needs of the company, shareholders, and products or services. As previously shown in the IFE matrix, SeaWorld’s geographic diversification is already a strength for the company as they have begun expanding into the Middle East. In order to be successful in market it requires a strong business plan and global market structure. SeaWorld could become a stronger competitor in the global market if it creates a strong globalization department to analyze the development of more international parks. The globalization department would be responsible for deciding what operational factors are necessary for success. The factors would include an analysis of which geographic areas to pursue, which parks would flourish better internationally, and of course teaming with other departments to assist with cost assessments. A globalization department would be a strategic investment that could increase revenue and a greater brand reputation.
Current Organizational Structure Evaluation
SeaWorld utilizes the divisional organizational structure (Orgio Inc, 2020). The fabric is primarily based on differentiating various corporate functions to achieve efficiency. A divisional organizational structure consists of parallel divisions which are formed based on functions or geographical locations. The company has been to a greater extent goal-oriented in realizing the best practices of business. It, therefore, has developed various strategies to ensure that the current structure is successful. Using a divisional organizational structure is advantageous to SeaWorld in that it has helped in market development and penetration by having each department concentrate on how best to ensure that they serve the market better. Consequently, the company has been able to develop the market in a way that it can have a well-diversified revenue stream. The revenue sources are mostly service-based, and these services include conservation, education, entertainment, water parks, as well as theme parks (SeaWorld Entertainment, 2020). The services are also offered in combination to ensure more benefits and are strategic, thus ensuring returns on the investments made.
Another major strength of the company is the quality of services thus assuring market penetration (SeaWorld Entertainment, 2020). Considering that every division concentrates on the specific needs of the people it serves, it is easy to achieve quality. The firm ensures that clients are treated with the highest quality possible to ensure that they promote customer satisfaction. Through customer satisfaction, the entity has, in turn, been able to encourage customer loyalty which ensures that the revenue stream is maintained (Ramanadham, 2019). The company’s services also provide clients with a unique experience which will create the urge to come back. Customers are also likely to refer their family and friends due to the experiences that they obtain at the company facilities. Finally, the firm also has diversified its services geographically to have different services at various locations, thus attracting a more significant population.
Several weaknesses can be noted in the company’s structure, thus reducing its efficiency to some level. For instance, the firm has a low product and service segmentation. Low segmentation prevents further market penetration and development. Product segmentation is also a key strategy in ensuring product development. Currently, the company misses much on low-income earners. While they may not need to lower the quality of services, they can creatively come up with a way of facilitating packages for low-income earners (Ramanadham, 2019). A company would need an effective marketing strategy to ensure effective penetration to the market. Currently, the company also has a poor marketing strategy, with most of the current clients being returnees or referrals. However, more results can be achieved if it intensifies marketing measures. While recommending segmentation, the company can develop a way of segmenting its services to cater to different people within the population. For instance, they can have services for clients with different financial capabilities. The organizational structure at SeaWorld is represented in Figure 3 SeaWorld Organizational Structure underneath.
Organization Recommendations
Organizational Culture
Market culture dwells significantly in the processes that influence the income of the company. In a market culture, the main drivers are the aspects of market share, as well as the level of profitability (McGrath, 2016). Consequently, internal factors may be missed in the process, considering that the interest is basically on increasing profitability. For instance, the company does not concentrate on issues such as collaboration and values that the employees provide as they ought too. It is vital to realize that employees are key to ensuring the sustainability of the profitability achieved. The employees’ collaboration can promote better results if handled better (McGrath, 2016). The company should incorporate strategies for promoting collaboration as a strategy for improving profitability.
The firm should ensure that employees work together to achieve better results on aspects of serving the market better borrowing from the clan organizational culture method. Secondly, the entity should promote employee satisfaction as they endeavor to encourage customer satisfaction (Norberg, 2017). In many cases, using a market-centered culture reduces employee turnover and develops a high quality of services as the employees become more experienced with time. A high turnover of employees gives the company a bad reputation which would prevent acceptability with the market as in the strategies. Consequently, the organization should ensure that it is losing very few or, if possible, none, to ensure that the skills are retained, promoting efficiency in the company’s operations. The aspect of employee satisfaction is currently quite low in the firm.
Besides market development, collaboration promotes product development in that when employees work together, they can improve the products to meet the customers’ expectations. If employees work together collaboratively, they can work on areas that the customers complain about and, therefore, make their product better (Norberg, 2017). Also, when the product or service satisfies the customers, it is possible to penetrate the market through referrals easily. Consequently, collaboration is a key approach to promoting the current and possible alternative strategies at SeaWorld. SeaWorld will need to ensure that the employees are supportive of facilitating the opening of the new Abu Dhabi park in 2022. It is vital that the new park gives clients the same experience they were having at the other parks to maintain the loyalty already witnessed by clients. Consequently, they must foster collaboration in the company to establish new encounters across their current parks and potential international parks which would involve the suggested globalization department.
When improving marketing and advertising through social media platforms, collaboration across multiple departments and parks will be needed. For example, if the company would like to implement deals across all of their parks, they will need to discuss this among park presidents before anything is promoted across these channels. If this is not done, incorrect information could be shared with consumers.
Business Process
The company should make significant improvements in the business process to ensure that it supports its strategies. Firstly, it has a poor marketing strategy that prevents sufficient market development and penetration. Consequently, new approaches must be incorporated to promote both penetration and market development (Norberg, 2017). While the company’s culture is based on aspects of the market such as market share and profitability it has not explored all marketing opportunities to increase profitability. The social media presence of the firm is quite low. Social media provides a wide platform through which it can increase its current level of market penetration. Therefore, the entity should take advantage of the broad audience on social media through online marketing (Scott et al., 2018). It can promote its current services on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. In such platforms, the company can showcase the array of services that it provides while denoting the quality, hence attracting more people. In marketing, one must present the best possible product to the target group. The product must be improved so that it can gain a competitive edge. Therefore, enhancing the business process must target market penetration and development as well as product development.
The company has also been noted to have inadequate financial planning. A company must plan its finances sufficiently so that it can fund projects such as those of product differentiation as well as marketing yet remaining profitable. SeaWorld has not been effectively balancing the liquidity and assets perspective. It, therefore, showed a weak quick ratio and current ratio. The aspect of inadequacy in financial planning was rated as the second most significant weakness in the company. Failure to plan finances adequately contributes to the poor growth strategy (Scott et al., 2018). While the company may have grown since it started, it might have been even at a better place if it was well planned financially. Consequently, the company should outsource advice on financial planning through professional consulting. Further, it should not have rigid financial plans, though should allow flexibility to be guided by consults with specific contexts (Scott et al., 2018). For instance, if there are significant market changes, the company should adjust plans to avoid losses.
Business processes such as marketing are critical in implementing strategies such as setting up the new Abu Dhabi park in 2022 along with potential expansion into new markets, the new attractions in Orlando park, and a new killer whale show in 2020. Also, while they seek to achieve more benefits with their annual park, maximum profitability can only be achieved if the company reaches more people through marketing. If the company’s efforts for market penetration for its food and merchandise division does not meet desired growth goals, the company may need to outsource this division to lower its costs, or may need to not continue with the division entirely.
Rewards Structure
As earlier indicated, the company level of employee satisfaction is, to some extent, quite low. The entity can do better by creating a more functional reward system. Having a reward system helps increase performance which in a service business promotes customer satisfaction thus assuring market development. In this system, SeaWorld can have its employees contribute more to the growth of the company. A reward system can work well when the firm has planned various targets to motivate the workers to meet them. The targets should, however, be realistic to ensure that the employees do not feel overly stretched (Scott et al., 2018). While the current growth rate has been steady, it has been quite low and requires more effort to increase the growth rate. Consequently, the employees need a way to motivate them to work yet in a satisfied manner, thus making the work of the management easier.
A reward structure should strategically target all current and possible strategy that can aid in growing the business. The company should, therefore, seek to encourage the employees to be innovative in making sure their products and services are the best, thus giving them a competitive edge. Also, the workers should be motivated through a reward system to come up with new ways to penetrate new markets, hence increasing the profitability of the business. Market development can only be achieved when the penetrations are sustained (Scott et al., 2018). Consequently, the firm should seek to go into new grounds and also use the reward system to nurture expansion, thus achieving market development.
Once the new park in Abu Dhabi is set up, the company will need to layout efforts to ensure that it breaks even soon enough. For instance, the firm can set targets on marketers as well as the general team working on this project and reward those who meet the set targets to create a sense of motivation in the park. If successful, SeaWorld could use this structure for its
globalization department for the opening of more international SeaWorld park Similarly, the company can implement a similar plan on the new killer whale show of Orlando to ensure that the team is motivated to achieve the best possible results (Scott et al., 2018). Finally, the annual pass program can also be improved by rewarding the groups involved depending on the number of clients participating in the program.
Technology
SeaWorld has not invested much in technology. Innovation is not part of its primary strategies, although it is used where necessary to improve operations. Technological innovations can be used to support the current and possible strategies effectively. For instance, through technology, products and services can be improved significantly, giving the company an edge in marketing. Technology is a way of increasing efficiency in the workplace and thus assuring profitability in the long run. The company should therefore set aside some resources for technological advances to ensure that the company makes the best possible outcomes from these opportunities. Therefore, this is part of the reason why the company has recorded a low growth rate. However, the firm can incorporate technology to enhance the customers’ experience at its facilities (Norberg, 2017). The clients’ technological experience should begin right from booking to when they are leaving the facilities (Scott et al., 2018). The company should ensure that there is a reduction in paperwork as much as possible. In the accommodation facilities, ordering or booking for all services can be made through technology. The company can have an online portal where it enrolls all its customers and updates them on the improvements in the entertainment areas and the new experiences that they should look forward to (Scott et al., 2018). Through the use of this platform, loyalty is likely to increase. Loyalty promotion is an effective way of ensuring market development. The entity can also use information technology to have a platform where clients can refer new customers and through which they can gain points that they can be rewarded. Through such a strategy, the company can achieve effective market penetration.to (Scott et al., 2018). Through the use of this platform, loyalty is likely to increase.
The recommendations on technological improvement support the strategies of the company and can ensure successful implementation. For instance, having a new technological experience at the new park in Abu Dhabi such as booking and ordering would attract more clients to the park, thus making it profitable. Similarly, as the firm begins the new killer whale show, it can ensure that it has the best possible technological devices to give clients a pleasant experience. People watching a show would expect the best possible picture and sound quality to promote loyalty. The online portal can assist in improving the efficiency of the annual passes by reaching more regular customers. Finally, unless SeaWorld does invest more into technology, they may struggle to be successful in utilizing social media platforms effectively or increasing e-commerce sales as these will require the company staying at the forefront of web and social media innovations.
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