Dance SWOT Windfall Dancers: Marketing and SWOT Analyses

Mission and Vision

The mission statement of Windfall Dancers, In., is "to ignite a passion for dance in the community by providing quality instruction, engaging performances, innovative community outreach, and an environment for creative expression" (Facebook 2011). Essentially, the company exists to make modern dance and other modes of physical and performance expression available to audiences and participants in the Bloomington, Indiana area, and its mission consists of fulfilling this purpose of existence. The company's vision is guided by the belief that everyone can enjoy and benefit from exposure to dance and the arts, so the company strives to make such opportunities available, affordable, and truly accessible in all conceivable ways (Windfall 2011; Facebook 2011).

PEEST Analysis

The political forces facing Windfall Dance, Inc. are relatively minimal. The company is registered as a 501©3 not-for-profit organization, giving it certain legal constraints but also imbuing it with certain financial freedoms (Windfall 2011; IRS 2011). Due to the limited scope of operations as well as the non-profit status of the company and its operations, there is very little if any meaningful government pressure or contact, and the company receives the support of the local government in much the same manner as most local arts organizations receive such support -- with some recognition, but little funding or control (Windfall 2011; BAAC 2011). There is no discernable non-governmental political pressure exerted on the group.

Economically, the Windfall dance company is doing fairly well, managing to operate with a budget surplus even during the economic downturn -- something that is not easily done for a small, non-profit arts organization (Windfall 990EZ 2009). The economic situation as a whole appears to be improving, which should be a good thing for dance studios as the services they provide are definitely a part of discretionary spending (DSO 2011). Windfall Dancers, Inc., provides both lessons to dancers of varying ages and...

As the economy improves, it is likely that more and more people will feel that they have the time and money both to attend dance shows put on by the company and to take lessons themselves, and this will of course lead to increases in revenue and operating budget (DSO 2011).
Although Windfall Dancers, Inc., operates as a licensed not-for-profit organization, it does have several employees -- primarily instructors, but also a clerical position and several other miscellaneous and irregular employment costs (Windfall 2011; Windfall 990EZ 2009). Still, these employment costs and needs are not really significant enough for macroeconomic features to have an impact on the company, and the dance instructors that make up the bulk of the company's employment costs are paid based on the classes taught -- when there aren't enough students to make the class profitable, there are no employment costs incurred (Windfall 2011). Interest rates and inflation thus have little influence on the company.

The community in Bloomington, Indiana is overwhelmingly white, and with almost half of the population falling between the ages of fifteen and thirty-four (Bloomington 2011). This should provide strong audiences and interest levels in the specific style of dance and expression that the company specializes in -- that is, modern dance -- which is especially popular in these demographics (DSO 2011). As a fairly typical town located in the Midwest of the United States, the social and cultural forces at work in the community represent rather moderate political sensibilities, with a slight emphasis on certain conservative views regarding family values (Bloomington 2011). This could have some degree backlash for an art form that is expressed purely physically and might be considered "immodest."

Technological forces have very little to do with the day-to-day operations of Windfall Dancers, Inc., yet they can be very important features in the company's ultimate success.…