Detailed SWOT Analysis of Telus – A Canadian National Telecommunications Company

Updated on: Feb 20, 2022
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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.

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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 Telus.

Telus Corporation is the parent company of Telus telecommunication, Telus Health, Telus Mobility and Telus International. It is a telecommunication company based in Canada providing a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, healthcare, video, and IPTV television.

Telus Corporation has built a name for itself through its services and its adaptive marketing strategy like digital marketing for the new tech-savvy era. 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 Telus. But first, let us know about the company and the product better.

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About Telus

SWOT Analysis of Telus - Telus

Telus Corporation is a publicly listed Canadian multinational holding company and conglomerate that owns the Telus Communications, Telus Mobility, Telus Health, and Telus International businesses. Telus was established as a holding corporation by the Alberta government in 1990. After acquiring Edmonton Telephones Corporation in 1995, it became the sole provider of telephone services in Alberta. It announced a merger with BCTel in 1998, and the two companies joined in 1999. Telus became Canada’s second-largest telecom service provider after Bell as a result of this merger. Currently, Telus holds a 22% market share in Canada.

Quick Stats on Telus
Founder Alberta Government
Year Founded 1990
Origin Canada
No. of Employees 65,600+
Company Type Public
Market Cap $34.36 Billion (2021)
Annual Revenue C$15.34 billion (2020)
Net Income/ Profit C$1.75 billion (2019)

 

SWOT Analysis of Telus - Telus Smart Home Secruity


Products of Telus

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

  • Internet Services and TV under Telus Communications
  • Medical clinics under Telus Health
  • Financial services under Telus International
  • Wireless carrier services under Telus Mobility
  • Security Accessories


Competitors of Telus

Telus Canada is one of the largest communications companies in Canada and below are the top 5 competitors of Telus:

  • Roger Communications
  • Bell Canada Enterprises
  • MTS


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


SWOT Analysis of Telus 

A 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 Telus 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 Telus.

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

SWOT Analysis of Telus - SWOT Infographics of Telus

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

Strengths of Telus

Telus, 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: Telus has created a reliable distribution network over its 32 years of journey that allows it to reach the majority of its potential market through innovation.
  • Leading Market Position: Telus holds a leading market position because of its inception as the sole provider of telephone service in Alberta. 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 Telus to the top of the Canadian market.
  • Highly Qualified Workforce: Through training and learning initiatives, Telus has been able to develop a highly qualified staff. Telus 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: Telus 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: Telus 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 Telus

Telus’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 Telus 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: Telus 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.  Telus’s competitors seemed to have an upper hand when it comes to small budgeted plans.
  • Competition with Brands Affecting the Market: Although Telus 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 Telus 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: Telus 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.
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Opportunities for Telus

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

  • Internet Users: According to Statista.com, there are over 4.66 billion active internet users in the world. Telus 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 Telus 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 Telus 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 Telus.


Threats to Telus

External environmental factors that can harm Telus’s growth are known as threats. Telus’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 Telus.
  • 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.
  • Labour Dispute: Telus has been caught in disputes with its labour and the union also went on strike against the company in the year 2005. The company should look after its employees, if not then it can affect the operations of the company.


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

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To Conclude

Telus is a well-established telecommunications company with a good number of subsidiaries. In the SWOT analysis of Telus, 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 Telus 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 Telus, 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 Telus in the comments section 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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