1
Assignment: Situation Analysis
Karanpreet Singh
Chiu School of Business, Bow Valley College
MKTG1101: Introduction to Marketing
Steven Trottier
February 13,2022
2
Table of Contents
Assignment: Situation Analysis ................................................................................................... 3
Summary of Benevity – Software / Technology Industry ......................................................... 3
History of Benevity .................................................................................................................... 4
Value Proposition .......................................................................................................................... 5
Spark by Benevity ..................................................................................................................... 6
Company Orientation of Benevity............................................................................................... 8
SWOT Analysis and Summary .................................................................................................... 9
Target Market Analysis and Positioning .................................................................................. 11
Demographic Description ....................................................................................................... 12
Geographic Description .......................................................................................................... 12
Psychographic Description ..................................................................................................... 12
Behavioral Description ........................................................................................................... 12
Competitor Analysis................................................................................................................ 13
Perceptual Map ....................................................................................................................... 13
Conclusion and Recommendation ............................................................................................. 14
References .................................................................................................................................... 15
3
Assignment: Situation Analysis
Situational Analysis is the overview of a business conducted methodologically. This
method allows evaluating the internal and external factors of the business and analyzing the
factors that may influence the decision-making of the company. The company that will be
evaluated in this report is Benevity. This company operates in the software and technology
industry and has prospered with dynamic growth over the years.
Summary of Benevity – Software / Technology Industry
Benevity is a company that is located in Calgary, Canada, and operates as charitable
donation management and grant management platform. Benevity is one of the largest startups of
Western Canada that has expanded its portfolio significantly over the years. The major customers
of Benevity are Nike, Coca-Cola, Google and Apple along with various other Fortune 1000
companies. The products of Benevity are destined to support companies in managing and
tracking their employee’s charitable giving (Benevity, 2022). The objective of the company is to
promote charitable giving and motivate people to volunteer in charitable causes through
generous contributions. The products of Benevity help the customer companies to process their
donations in a cost-effective manner that reduces the primary costs of the organization.
Benevity believes in providing purpose to businesses by transforming how businesses
engage with their employees, customers and communities. The objective of the company is to
enable the customer companies to create a deeper connection with their employees and establish
an internal culture that has the potential of creating an impact on the world. The foundations of
the company were laid in Canada where it committed to hybrid goals of purpose and profit. The
company delivers a culture to the clients and allows them to invest their time, money and talent
towards corporate social responsibility that has the potential of transforming the world. The
4
company believes that the future of work lies in collaborating in new ways (Benevity, 2022). The
methods that are adopted by Benevity aim at setting the cultures apart and focus on
underestimating the power of the individuals. There are 7.9 Billion people on the planet and the
company tries to induce the motivation of doing well in all the people by trying to catalyze
goodness in the individuals from a corporate level.
The legal structure of the company is a privately held company operating in the industry
of computer software, cloud software and software as a service. The foundations of the company
were laid in 2008 by founder Bryan de Lottinville in Calgary, Alberta. Benevity serves
worldwide under the supervision of the Executive Chairperson and CEO of the company. The
estimated revenue of Benevity is $100 Million plus annually employing more than 650
employees (Benevity, 2022). The ownership of the company lies with HG Capital Trust, The
Rise Fund, Generation Investment Management, JMI Equity and General Atlantic.
History of Benevity
The founder of Benevity Bryan de Lottinville has previously worked as the COO of
iStockphoto that was sold to Getty Images in 2006. The company started in 2008 with a team of
four software developers that pursued their journey and goals towards social good. In 2010
Benevity received certification and became one of the only 15 B corporations in Canada. This
signified the company’s commitment towards Corporate Social Responsibility making Benevity
the third-fastest growing start-up in Canada as ranked by Deloitte. The revenue growth of the
company increased by 5800% increasing substantially. The significant growth of the company
allowed it to generate $40 million in Series C in 2019 from existing investors and this raised the
value of the company to US$400 Million. In the year 2020 Benevity received the Unicorn status
5
when Hg Capital purchased a majority stake in the company for US$1.1 Billion (Benevity,
2022).
The major headquarters of Benevity are located in Calgary, Alberta. The initial journey
of the company started in 2008 as a small company with a small office above a shawarma shop.
The company progressively moved to its fifth office in 2017 located in Bridgeland near
downtown Calgary. The company has offices in Victoria BC, Toronto ON, San Mateo
California, and Gloucestershire UK (Benevity, 2022).
Value Proposition
Benevity as a company has established multiple streams of projects that are equipped to
provide solutions and products to corporate clients that benefit their businesses in the long run.
The major solutions that are offered by Benevity are through the following:

Corporate Purpose

Employee Engagement

Community Investment

Customer Engagement

Disaster and Crisis Relief

International Programs
The above-listed solutions are provided by the company to align the organizations with
the goals of the business. The methods of Corporate Social Responsibility are provided by
Benevity to the corporate clients for engaging their workforce towards social good (Westwood,
2013). The company has established a strong foundation with a variety of products that are
responsible for employee engagement, community investment and customer engagement. The
products that are provided by the company are named Spark, Giving & Matching, Volunteering,
6
Missions, Alaya by Benevity, Grants and API Integration (Terpstra, Foley & Sarathy, 2012). The
most attractive offering of Benevity is for the nonprofit organizations that are provided with
Cause Portal Login, Nonprofit Solution, Register your Nonprofit and Benevity Community
Impact Fund.
Spark by Benevity
The product of Benevity that derives the most value is Spark which is one platform
equipped to power purpose at work. The objective of this platform is to allow people to donate,
volunteer and take action on social issues they care about. The basic fundamental is to provide
the people with a platform to connect and take considerable actions towards the social issues
they care about. The Spark is a platform that seeks to deliver social impact with less effort that
allows building and growing a successful CSR program (Doole & Lowe, 2012). Spark is
equipped to provide one platform that easily manages the social impact initiatives of the
employees and promotes their motivation towards doing the social good.
The Spark program is designed to make the employees of a company feel connected with
the CSR Program. The company has designed and developed this product offering in a manner
that the employees of a corporate organization will have more ways of doing well for society.
The product enhances the scope of CSR and provides support for creating a sense of purpose that
boosts engagement for the businesses. The basic fundamental of spark is to deliver the following:

Social Impact

Employee Choice

Global Accessibility
The social impact is an initiative that promotes giving, volunteering, and positive actions
that support the mechanism of corporate matching. Employee choice is important for supporting
7
the nonprofits globally that can be linked with global accessibility allowing platforms to connect
with the most convenient and accessible methods. The most important aspect of connection is
through offering a variety of languages, currency and accessibility to the customers on their
mobile devices that allow them to track their contributions of social good (Ferrell & Hartline,
2013). The Spark program was formally launched in January 2019 to increase employee
participation as being unprecedented.
The Spark program by Benevity proposes that the employees working in the corporate
organizations contribute more with fewer efforts as the time of the workforce is important. The
people are busy and they need a management tool to focus on strategy and results saving time as
a priority. The automation and admin tools, ready-made campaigns and leading integrations are
tools that integrate the existing tools and systems for the convenience of the customers (Berman,
Evans & Chatterjee, 2018). The program is highly engaging and participative for the workforce
as it empowers the employees towards doing well for the world. Making a difference can be easy
at times and in a world filled with remote work Spark connects employees through shared
passions that give the people a sense of ownership in the program building a culture of doing
well.
The other most important attribute of the program is participation which allows the
employees to volunteer in the initiatives and participate to contribute to the society by peer
matching and gamified goodness that allows the employee to rank their actions. Measuring and
reporting about the contributions motivates the employees around to contribute more and this
starts a chain of contributions in the people (Clow, 2013). The contribution of good allows
aligning the real-time data, comprehensive reports and industry benchmarking that is integral for
8
purpose drive companies. All these attributes of the Spark program make it unique and beneficial
for engaging the workforce within the organization.
Company Orientation of Benevity
The businesses develop their strategy and approach based on the goals that are sought to
be achieved. The orientation of the business aligns with the strength, goals and target market
demands that enables the business to develop their strategic direction accordingly. It is integral
for businesses to achieve their goals by determining the orientation of the business (Grewal,
Levy & Lichti, 2021). The business orientation of Benevity is a Value-Based Orientation that
aims at benefitting society through its initiatives. The company aims at channelizing CSR
activities and ensuring that all the employees of a company participate in contributing towards
the social causes (Mullins, Walker, Boyd & Larréché, 2013). This consolidates the people
together and deepens the pool of contribution from the people towards the social good. The
entire burden of social responsibility is also not levied on the company and the staff members
collaboratively work towards the goals of the organization.
The Spark program of Benevity is destined to accomplish this goal and align the
workforce of the companies to work collaboratively towards a larger goal. The activities of the
Spark program not only connect the workforce but also aligns the organizations with their
employees to meet the targets of social good (Grewal, Levy & Lichti, 2021). Some companies
work at maximizing the internal benefits whereas the other models work at maximizing the
external benefits. The product-centric organization work for internal goals whereas value-based
organization work for accomplishing external goals. The value-based companies work for
determining a business approach strategy that aligns with the goals of human welfare. Benevity
has developed a business model that is inclined towards promoting CSR activities in the private
9
sectors and public sector organizations (Pride & Ferrell, 2021). The objective is to enhance
profitability and engage the workforce towards accomplishing the desired goals of the
organization. The burden of charity is dispersed with the workforce and the client company does
not have to bear the burden of Corporate Social Responsibility.
SWOT Analysis and Summary
The company structure of Benevity can be evaluated through conducting a SWOT
Analysis that provides an understanding of the internal and external factors. The internal factors
are assessed through strengths and weaknesses and the external factors are assessed through the
opportunities and threats that are available for the company (Grewal, Levy & Lichti, 2021). The
analysis of Benevity as a company shows that the company has progressed at a dynamic pace
through its innovation and strategic alignment with the goals of the customers (Proctor, 2014).
The company provides dynamic Corporate Social Responsibility solutions to the clients that
enable them to contribute and profit from the social actions in the long run.
SWOT Analysis

The company has a strong and vast portfolio of
customers.
Internal Factors

The company generates a substantial annual revenue
generated by the company.
Strengths

Offerings include vast options of products and
solutions for the customers.

Serving the global market through the generation of
funds.
10

Providing CSR solutions to the organizations and
motivating them to contribute on the tracks of social
responsiveness.

The solutions that are offered by the company are
innovative and uniquely designed to meet the
competition of the industry.

The company is accessible for the clients through its
modern and equipped solutions that allow connecting
the workforce of the organization.

The company has very few weaknesses that are
connected with marketing initiatives.

Competition in the industry is becoming fiercer.

Sustainability initiatives of the businesses are
Weaknesses
becoming challenging due to the significant
management of change over the years.

The company benefits from this strategy and the
employees have to contribute towards charity from
External Factors
their income generated in the company.

Social challenges for the world are increasing.

The need for making generous contributions is
Opportunities
increasing requiring businesses to contribute
significantly.
11

The need for doing good for society must be increased
in the people.

The turmoil in the global economy due to the
pandemic requires businesses to contribute more
diligently.

More businesses can be approached by the company
for proposing the need for doing good.

Competition is the biggest threat that may be faced by
Benevity.

Threats
The business model of Benevity is unique and gives
margin to new entrants to replicate the business
initiatives.

Innovation is essential for introducing new products
and offerings in the industry.
Benevity aims to attain a position that is sustainable for the business and its customers.
The need for conducting CSR activities is increasing rapidly and this is increasing the
momentum of the business. The motivation of the companies to engage towards social good is a
beneficial initiative for the company and this is creating new opportunities of serving the needy
communities of underdeveloped countries (Wilson & Gilligan, 2012).
Target Market Analysis and Positioning
The determination of the target market for the business is extremely integral for the
company as it is the basis of deriving services to the customers. Benevity as a company works
with corporate organizations assisting them with employee management solutions. The target
12
market analysis of the company will be done by evaluating the demographic, geographic,
psychographic and behavioral description of the customers.
Demographic Description
The customers of Benevity are mainly the employees working for corporate
organizations. The age bracket of the customers can be of any age segment based on the
condition that the employees shall be working for the organization. The limitation of
demographics is based on the employment of the workforce with the organizations that are
clients of Benevity (Schoemaker, Krupp & Howland, 2013).
Geographic Description
The geographic location of the customers does not matter as Benevity is a global business
with operations spread globally. The company provides services to corporate clients irrespective
of where they are located. The software-based solutions of the company are suitable and
equipped to meet different language requirements (Baker, 2014).
Psychographic Description
The psychographic environment of the customer’s needs to be focused on charity. The
CSR activities can only be completed when the employees of the organization are focused on
donating money for the welfare of people from third-world countries (Grant & McCutcheon,
2014).
Behavioral Description
The behavioral attributes of the employees of the organizations must be equipped to serve
for social good and work hand in hand towards accomplishing the goals of the competitor
organization. The behavioral description of the workforce must be aligned with the goals of the
13
organization that will assist the employees towards contributing to the social wellbeing of the
people (Financial, Lines & Holdings, 2021).
Competitor Analysis
The major competitors of Benevity based on its positioning in the industry includes the
following companies:

Blackbaud

Submittable

Bright Funds

CyberGrants

Goodera

Funraise
Benevity is a company that provides specific solutions to the corporate customers for
handling their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and provides solutions for employee
engagement through software.
Perceptual Map
The perceptual map for Benevity measuring the performance of competitors is shown
below:
14
1
Blackbaud
Green
2
Submittable
Blue
3
Bright Funds
Red
4
CyberGrants
Yellow
5
Goodera
Purple
6
Funraise
Maroon
Conclusion and Recommendation
The strategic alignment of Benevity with the goals of the corporate organizations is
extremely important. The goals of employee engagement must be addressed by the company so
that the desired outcomes can be accomplished (Bernardino, 2021). The assessment of the
SWOT Analysis and the target market analysis shows that Benevity has a strong portfolio of
customers in the industry. The company is focused to provide CSR solutions to the companies
that are seeking to conduct well and benefit the employees of the company. The innovation and
creativity of the businesses for conducting social good are integrally important as it offers
personalized solutions to the customers (Bernardino, 2021). The assessment of the SWOT of the
company shows that the business is highly sustainable and has a huge customer profile that
strengthens the future development of Benevity as an employee engagement company.
15
References
https://benevity.com/
Grewal, D., Levy, M., & Lichti, S. (2021). Marketing. Fifth Canadian Edition.
Baker, M. J. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Berman, B., Evans, J. R., & Chatterjee, P. (2018). Retail management: a strategic approach.
Pearson Education Limited.
Bernardino, P. (2021). Engaging Employees Through Corporate Social Responsibility Programs:
Aligning Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement. Journal of
Organizational Psychology, 21(1), 105-113.
Bernardino, P. (2021). Responsible CSR Communications: Avoid" Washing" Your Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) Reports and Messages. Journal of Leadership,
Accountability & Ethics, 18(1).
Clow, K. E. (2013). Integrated advertising, promotion and marketing communications, 4/e.
Pearson Education India.
Doole, I., & Lowe, R. (2012). International marketing strategy. Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. (2013). Marketing strategy, text and cases. Cengage Learning.
Financial, C., Lines, D. A., & Holdings, L. (2021). Comcast doubles down on flagship initiative
to address digital divide. Hospital, 4(1), 9.
Grant, R., & McCutcheon, D. (2014). Benevity Social Ventures, Inc.: Making a Profit and a
Difference. Online Journal of International Case Analysis, 5(2), 0_1.
Mullins, J. W., Walker, O. C., Boyd, H. W., & Larréché, J. C. (2013). Marketing management: A
strategic decision-making approach (Vol. 151). New York: McGraw-Hill.
16
Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2021). Foundations of marketing. Cengage Learning.
Proctor, T. (2014). Strategic marketing: an introduction. Routledge.
Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., & Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential
skills. Harvard business review, 91(1), 131-134.
Terpstra, V., Foley, J., & Sarathy, R. (2012). International marketing. Naper Press.
Westwood, J. (2013). How to write a marketing plan. Kogan Page Publishers.
Wilson, R. M., & Gilligan, C. (2012). Strategic marketing management. Routledge.