Extensive SWOT Analysis of Plum – Detailed Explanation

Updated on: Nov 24, 2021

Previously we saw the SWOT analysis of Allianz – a multinational company that specializes in insurance and financial services, today let’s look at the SWOT analysis of Plum.

Originally, Plum was a link between MLC Limited and Vanguard Australia, it later became a part of the National Australia Bank Group of Companies. Plum now is administered by NULIS nominees (Australia), a part of the IOOF Group of Companies. 

They also become well-known among people because it runs a successful marketing campaign successfully. Plum has assessed to one million customers. To find out more about the way to be successful in marketing like Plum, check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.

In this blog, we will look at the SWOT analysis of Plum but before that let’s know some facts about the company.

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About Plum

SWOT Analysis of Plum - Plum Logo

            (Plum Financial Services, Source: Wikipedia)

Founded in 1998 by MLC, Plum Financial Services Limited is an Australian corporate administrator and provider of financial products and services. 

Plum is based in Melbourne and Sydney. It was a joint venture between MLC and Vanguard Australia, it later becomes a fully-owned part of the National Australia Bank.

Plum is аmоng the leаding financial providers within its industry, аnd it needs tо retаin this роsitiоn. Plum is carefully reviewing its SWOT analysis аnd using it to make strategic decisions.

 

Quick Stats on Plum
Founder MLC
Year Founded 1998
Origin Australia
No. of Employees 160
Company Type Public


Services by Plum

  • Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds
  • Pension, health, and welfare insurance


Competitors of Plum

  • Allianz Australia Insurance Limited
  • MHIA Insurance
  • NobleOak Life Insurance


SWOT Analysis of Plum

SWOT analysis is a useful tool that helps Plum, a financial advisor, to have a 360-degree view about their customer, their business environment, and also many things that their business are being engulfed in. SWOT analysis of Plum will help its managers with a foundation for further decisions and a metric for all of their customers or investors to take into account before they have any engagement.

SWOT Analysis of Plum - SWOT Infographics of Plum
Below is an extensive guide to the SWOT analysis of Plum.

Strengths of Plum

  • Reputation: Plum has a high reputation in the field of providing financial advice, investment, and superannuation. They have been making a great effort to help Australians with their financial issues and are on the path of becoming a big provider of financial products and services.
  • Services Line: Generally, their service includes superannuation and investment educations programs, flexible investment options, personal superannuation plans, and secure online access to manage customers’ requirements. 
  • Great Fund: As a member of IOOF, Plum has great support from the big fund of IOOF. For that reason, Plum has made a great belief among its customers. Its customers can feel more secure when they choose Plum to protect their future.
  • Staff: Plum has staff that is experienced in financial issues and insurance. Besides that, the company of Renato Mota, which has over 20 years of experience in financial services, will help Plum to strive in the future.


Weaknesses of Plum

  • Information: Information about Plum and its services is not adaptable to all devices. For large-screen devices like laptops or desktops, it is easy but for those who use smartphones, it will be more difficult to find information.
  • Language: Plum does have its services and products mainly supplied for English-speaking people. Therefore the number of potential customers will be limited.
  • Popularity: Plum has its reputation, but it is mainly popular in its location. It needs to pay more attention to the new market. They can invest to explore new markets by marketing and advertising. So they can have a new amount of a potential customer.
  • Fee Products and Services: Their services and products are costly. They need to develop a product that focuses on people who do not have good financial conditions. It is also a way to help them become more popular with people.


Opportunities for Plum

    • Population: The population of the world, nowadays, is the ageing population. They have a large source of customers that needs to be paid attention to. The old-age population is in high demand for the help of tackling financial issues. It promisingly will bring a big profit if Plum can make full use of that opportunity.
    • Awareness: People often focus on earning money, they do not have a specific plan for their future. And the final result is that they have to struggle to pay for their living expenses when they can not work anymore. In situations like that, Plum play a pivotal role in helping them to plan their future. 
    • Corporation: IOOF is one of Australia’s largest financial companies and now It currently services approximately one million customers. That situation demands Plum have an oriented plan to not to be left behind and take it as a great chance to make great progress. 
    • Taking Business Digitally: Digitalization can help Plum to stand a good chance to be widely noticed. Plum can be advertised via social media platforms. The amount of users on social media has been increasing every day. If Plum can take advantage of it, Plum can receive an accredited award.

Talking about Social Media, explore the insightful presentation on Plum’s Social Media Marketing Strategy crafted by the learners at IIDE. Developed as part of their assignments in the Post Graduation in Digital Marketing programme, it showcases their strategic thinking and creativity, reflecting the practical, hands-on learning approach of the course.

Bonus Tip: If financial institutes like Plum have a chance to achieve success using digital marketing opportunities then you must understand how important it is to learn digital skills in today’s era. To not lose out on this opportunity timely enrol in IIDE 13+ short term courses in digital marketing to get prior benefits of future digital opportunities.   


Threats to Plum

  • Saturated Market: It is not a new industry, so there are a lot of existing competitors and also potential competitors. As a result, Plum needs to have its strategy to reduce competition.
  • Difference of Market: The company can face lawsuits in various markets given – different laws and continuous fluctuations regarding product standards in those markets.
  • Dishonesty: People try to find ways to get money from insurance by pretending to die or be disabled.
  • Disreputable Events: There are a lot of disreputable events that happened to them in the past that can make customers more worried when they rely on the business.


This ends our extensive SWOT analysis of Plum. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

Plum is doing well with its services and has a lot of outlets. It has a strong financial position and cost structure. The company needs to work on its R&D and invest more funds in this direction to yield long-term results. It has multiple competitors so it needs to make relevant decisions to have a competitive advantage. 

The company can shift to the digital presence and use digital marketing for advertising and increasing its reach. If you are interested in learning digital marketing, don’t forget to check out IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Digital Marketing Course.

We hope this blog on the SWOT Analysis of Plum 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 Plum, 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 Plum 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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