What are the Company's Strengths and Weaknesses?
Mrs. Bowing was very open about the company's strengths and weaknesses. She states that women who use Gynofem are increasingly loyal about the product and as a result, a referral system has been established based on word of mouth. RelEVE's product design addresses many of the flaws in the traditional products like tampons and pads. RelEVE also has excellent store and geographical coverage for such a small business and an excellent safety record that meets or exceeds that of tampon manufacturers. A weakness, however of RelEVE is that their product costs more per unit compared to their competition's product yet, their product can be used twice as long. In addition, some women are not aware of their own bodies and may be afraid or deterred by the idea of having to touch themselves in that manner. There is also an "ick" factor because it can get rather messy when women remove the product from their bodies. One of the biggest disadvantage is RelEVE's obscurity. Majority of their new customers are obtained by word of mouth and by the internet. In addition, doctors are grossly unaware of the product and they are not able to provide any legitimate information about the product to their patients.
