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SWOT Analysis of Bell: Canada’s Largest Telecom Company

Updated on: Jan 12, 2022

In our previous blog, we did a comprehensive study on the SWOT Analysis of the largest broadband communication company in the United States, Spectrum. Here we will understand the SWOT Analysis of Bell.

Bell is one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, leading its way in broadband and media communication. Bell provides industry-leading communications solutions backed by experienced professionals throughout Canada. Established in 1880 Bell Canada has a rich history of innovation, transformation, and success that has established it as Canada’s largest and most trusted communication provider.

Due to digitalisation in every part of the world, companies are adapting to online modes of doing business, and Bell’s success story can be hindered if online practices are not adopted in their organization. 

Thus every business needs to implement digital marketing. If you are anxious about learning what digital marketing is and how to use it to your advantage – check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.

In this case study, we will learn about the SWOT analysis of Bell. But first, let us know about the company and the product better.

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About Bell

SWOT Analysis of Bell - Bell Canada Store

Bell has been one of Canada’s considerably important and most strong companies and, once it was also listed as the fifth-largest telecommunications company in the country in 1975 and today it is the 22nd on the list by total revenue. The company is named after the originator of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, who was also the co-founder of Bell Telephone Company in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Bell Canada functioned as the subsidiary of the Canadian’s Bell System from 1880 to 1975. Yet, unlike the other regional Bell serving businesses, Bell Canada had its R&D labs.

Bell provides many different types of telecommunications services to consumers, businesses and government across Canada including advanced wireless, Internet, TV, smart home, and business services over their world-class LTE and fibre networks.

Quick Stats on Bell
Founder Charles Fleetford Sise
Year Founded 1880
Origin Canada
No. of Employees 52,100+
Company Type Public
Market Cap C$59.645 Billion (2021)
Annual Revenue C$23.96 Billion (2019)
Net Income/ Profit C$3.253 Billion (2019)

 

SWOT Analysis of Bell - Inside Bell Canada Store


Products of Bell

Bell Canada since its establishment provides many different types of telecommunications products which are as follows:

  • Fixed-line and mobile telephony
  • Internet services
  • Digital television
  • Radio broadcasting


Competitors of Bell

Bell Canada is one of the largest communications companies in Canada and below are the top 5 competitors of BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises):

  • Roger Communications
  • Telus
  • MTS
  • Shaw Communications
  • Cogeco


Now, we have a clear picture of the company’s core business let’s talk about the SWOT Analysis of Bell.


SWOT Analysis of Bell 

SWOT analysis examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that a firm faces. SWOT Analysis is a tried-and-true tool that enables a company like BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) to compare its business and performance to that of its competitors.

It will give us a strategic analysis of its internal and external environment, which is crucial for understanding the SWOT Analysis of Bell.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Bell, refer to the infographics below:

SWOT Analysis of Bell - SWOT Infographics of Bell

Below is an explicit guide to the SWOT analysis of Bell.

Strengths of Bell

Bell, being one of the leading companies in its industry, has several benefits that help it flourish in the marketplace. These strengths not only help it retain market share in existing areas but also help it break into new ones.

  • Wide Spread Distribution Network: Bell has created a reliable distribution network over its 142 years of journey that allows it to reach the majority of its potential market through innovation.
  • Leading Market Position: Bell holds a leading market position because of its inception as the first supplier of telephones in Canada. Since its inception the growth enabled the company to create a new revenue stream and diversify the economic cycle risk in the markets it serves, propelling Bell to the top of the Canadian market.
  • Highly Qualified Workforce: Through training and learning initiatives, Bell has been able to develop a highly qualified staff. Bell devotes significant resources to employee training and development, resulting in a team that is not just highly competent but also driven to attain greater success.
  • Good Capital Expenditure Returns: Bell has a solid track record of completing new projects and generating good returns on capital expenditure by establishing new revenue sources.
  • Customer Satisfaction is Just High: Bell has been able to achieve high customer satisfaction among current customers and strong brand equity among potential customers due to its dedicated customer relationship management department.


Weaknesses of Bell

Bell’s weakness is an area where he can improve. Strategy is about making important decisions, and weaknesses are areas where a company could improve with the help of a SWOT analysis.

  • Moderate Success Beyond its Core Business: Even though Bell is one of the leading organizations in its industry it has faced challenges in moving to other product segments with its present culture.
  • High Prices for Small Plans: Bell struggles when it comes to the pricing of its budgeted devices. Its pricing seems to fall slightly on a higher side in small data plans ranging between 1 – 5 GB.  Bell’s competitors seemed to have an upper hand when it comes to small budgeted plans.
  • Competition with Brands Affecting the Market: Although Bell has a unique marketing strategy the new brands and other existing brands are also coming up with new strategies. But to maintain the position of best telecom services they need constant advertising, improvement in their products and this causes the majority of the expenses of the brand.
  • Reliance on Canadian Market for Major Revenue: As Bell has its main headquarters in Canada and it is providing the services more efficiently and gets major revenue from Canada. It is mostly dependent on the Canadian market and hence lacks revenue from worldwide.
  • Limited International Presence: Bell currently operates in only eight markets around the world. It should consider operating in other countries, to expand its business and create strong brand recognition and awareness in the market.
  •  


Opportunities for Bell

Opportunities are possible areas for a company to consider to improve results, sales, and, ultimately, profit. Bell includes the following opportunities:

  • Internet Users: According to Statista.com, there are over 4.66 billion active internet users in the world. Bell has a huge opportunity to increase its customer base by providing affordable data plans. 
  • New Environmental Policies: The new opportunities will open doors to a level playing field for all the players in the industry. It provides a good opportunity for Bell to drive the advantage home buying new technology and gain market share for new product categories. Also to sustain the potential customers as well as loyal ones.
  • Stable Free Cash Flow: The stable cash flow provides opportunities to invest in adjacent products. Hence when more cash is with the company can think of some new technologies and product segments to increase the market share. 
  • Technological Advancements: The new technology provides an opportunity for Bell to practice a differentiated pricing strategy in the new market. It enables the firm to maintain its loyal customers with great service and lure new customers through other value oriented propositions.
  • Improvement in the Customers: These days we see a very dynamic lifestyle of the people and hence lifestyle and standards mean more consumption of the products and services, and in turn more opportunities to encourage the purchase. This will eventually increase the market share of Bell.


Threats to Bell

External environmental factors that can harm a Bell’s growth are known as threats. Bell’s threats include the following:

  • Strong Rivalry from other Communication Providers: There is a lot of competition in the industry these days. This affects prices, resulting in a drop in revenue or income for Bell.
  • Threat from Local Distributors: Growing strengths of local distributors also presents a threat in some markets as the competition is paying higher margins to the local distributors.
  • Controversies: Bell has faced controversy and scandal such as not stopping  bandwidth throttling of BitTorrent traffic across its network when it declared it would stop. Such false promises can lead to a poor brand image in front of the government.


This ends our detailed SWOT analysis of Bell. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

Bell is a well-established telecommunications company with a good number of subsidiaries. In the SWOT analysis of Bell, we came to know about their strengths as well as their weak points. The company has a good brand profile as well as manages its consumer base quite effectively. But, suffers from some finance management issues that need to be addressed soon.

One of their greatest opportunities is that they are moving more and more towards the online mode. Which is a necessity in today’s scenario. To stand in the market and to expand globally one needs to focus more on the online part.

Hence, improving marketing skills is very paramount for digital marketing enthusiasts. If you are intrigued with the above piece of information in learning more and upskilling, check out the 3 Months Advanced Digital Marketing Course by IIDE to know more.

We hope this blog on the SWOT Analysis of Bell has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

If you enjoy in-depth company research just like the SWOT analysis of Bell, check out our IIDE Knowledge portal for more fascinating case studies.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and do share your thoughts on this case study of the SWOT analysis of Bell in the comments section below.

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Author's Note:

My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis.

Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience.

If you found this case study helpful, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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