Marketing: Strategy, Planning and other concepts

Marketing Strategy concepts, questions, projects. Strategic marketing is what is being carried out by a business that has clearly documented marketing strategy that is guiding all its marketing activity. It covers things like Mission, Vision and Values, Objectives, Target audience, Competitive Positioning. Strategic marketing helps an organisation differentiates itself from the competition so that it can provide better service and value to its customers. Marketing management is the process of planning and making strategies to promote a business.

What is Marketing?

Marketing is a tool that companies use to sell their products and services. It refers to the various techniques and strategies that companies use to make a product more appealing to a prospective buyer.

Over the years, these strategies have undergone changes, based on the change in the business environment, based on knowledge acquired about the consumer decision making process, and based on other factors/drivers such as technology, concern for the environment and so on.

Marketing is all about placing the right product in the right place, at the right time, and of course the right price. In order to achieve this, marketers use various tools and techniques, marketing mix being the most commonly used tool.

The marketing mix is commonly executed through the 4P’s of marketing (Price, Product, Promotion and Price), buy may include additional Ps such as packaging, positioning and people depending on what is being marketed. The point is that smart marketers adapt to changing business scenarios and come up with effective solutions to the problems they face.

So while business have been using traditional marketing techniques for a long time to sell their products, modern business scenarios are complex and fragmented, and marketers will need to use integrated marketing practices to provide a consistent and coherent message to the audience.

Marketing refers to the various activities that businesses undertake in order to promote its own brand name and its products by using various forms of communication with potential customers. Businesses spend significant amount of money on marketing and branding in order to improve their sales and form a good image in public, and the good thing is that these efforts also benefits the consumer as well as the society in several ways.

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

Marketing Strategy is an explanation of the goals you need to achieve with your marketing efforts. Your marketing strategy is shaped by your business goals. It consists of the “what” has to be done.

Marketing plan is how you are going to achieve those marketing goals, a roadmap that will guide you from one point to another. It consists of the “how” has to be done.

Here’s an example:

Business Objective: To gain broader market adoption.
Marketing Strategy: Introduce into new market segments.
Marketing Plan: Develop a marketing campaign that reaches out, identifies with and focuses on that specific segment.

Questions on Marketing Mix (4P and 7P)

Marketing mix includes the marketing tools that a firm uses to meet its marketing objectives in the target segment.

Question: Marketing Content – Facebook or LinkedIn posts / Blog post / Newsletter / Infographic using Canva.com/ MailChimp etc. (Content to be included in the report and as separate files) ( 400 words)
This part is the practical element of your assessment whereby you will need to create marketing content, this can be a Twitter, a LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram post that you create. You can use Canva,dot com, MailChimp, Photoshop. Please create a blog post or a newsletter, infographics- the choice is yours and you need to include it within the report for 1 Month to 6 Months.

• Utilising the 7Ps Marketing Mix, analyse the marketing activities of the business and its relation to the customer. Focus on Green Marketing Mix
• Outline key competitive strategies- offensive/ defensive that could be employed by the business to support its marketing strategy
• Using Canva.com, MailChimp, Adobe in-design or Adobe Photoshop applications develop marketing content that can be used by the case business
• Consider the tone of voice, existing marketing content and competitor content
• Be strategic in the type of content created i.e. Facebook or LinkedIn image posts / Blog post / Newsletter / Infographic
• Make sure to attach the content into your report and as a supporting jpeg or pdf file.
• Make sure to use supporting market research and academic references.

Question: Tesla Model 3 is planning to launch in December 2021 in India. As a Marketing Consultant explain the steps that you will suggest for the New Product Launch?

Question: Parle Agro makes its entry into the dairy segment with a premium and high-quality range of flavored milk products, ‘SMOODH’. With disruption inborn in the brand’s philosophy, SMOODH becomes the only flavored milk beverage in the global market to be available in 85 ml Tetra Paks and priced at only ₹10. Suggest a suitable promotion mix for the new launch.

Q) Nannytracker.com is the new kid on the block; a new mobile-app based service which helps you keep a tab on your children and their nanny while you’re out of the house. The Nannytracker, a new service for working parents, allows them the facility of home care viewing on their smartphones. The subscriber can view real-time video through a smartphone that is capable of showing video clips of footage of the home’s interior space. The app gives the user a comprehensive view of what their kids are up to while they are away.
Besides the clandestine video clips of the home, that get captured periodically through a hidden camera and are posted to the parents, the smartphone app can be installed at both the parents and nanny’s end, and can work as a vital communication tool between them. The app provides easy messaging between parents, nannies, or any other caretaker, all within the account. Hence, any important information such as medication dosages, nappy changing frequency, food and play instructions don’t get missed out.
The app also allows the Nanny to click pictures of the baby and post them so that they remain in one location/ account. The Daily News Feed provides an overview of their activities, as well as all the data that was tracked, messages that were exchanged, and photos that were shared.
The service is being targeted to working women living in urban metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai; many of whom have domestic helpers to take care of their children during working hours.
Although the service intends to provide parents with peace of mind, it could work equally well for pet owners.
The app is compatible both the iOS and android platforms. Priced at Rs. 999 on Playstore and App store, as one-time download charges, each member of the caretaker team needs to download the app by paying the installation charge. The charge includes installation of the camera, all app-related services and unlimited data storage.
As if this is not enough, the app also allows you to add another child to the same account. And this one’s completely free of charge. You will receive separate notification for both the kids; however, you have to ensure that they are in the same location.
Now this is what you call women’s empowerment!!

a. Discuss and evaluate the marketing mix for Nannytracker.com
b. What is the core service being offered by Nannytracker.com? Compare the facilitating and enhancing supplementary services being offered by Nannytracker.com

Q) “With marketers transitioning from mass communication to highly customized and personalized communication targeted at the individual, the limelight clearly being on direct marketing, and digital marketing, the traditional marketing communication tools such as advertising, sales promotion, publicity, personal selling – may be dying a natural death. The Marketing Communication Mix is all set for a metamorphosis”
Discuss this statement. Justify your answers with appropriate reasoning.

Q) Mr. Hari has joined as a marketing head in a startup that deals with online sale of Groceries. The online store is named as www.baniyakidukaan.com. The store will start its operation in 4 cities namely Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore. The company faces tough competition from various online stores. The company’s major focus is to make the items available at lowest possible price. You have been asked to prepare the 7P’s of marketing mix for the online store.

Questions on Marketing Research

Question: Proposed Objectives (REAN) – 400 Words
Focus on the objectives, based on what you know about the organisation and the research that you’ve undertaken. You need to suggest based on your report findings
at what should the organisation now focus on in terms of recommendations, in terms of objectives. These can be the smart or green objectives. Refer Canvas on how to put together smart or green objective).

Assessment:
Develop REAN objectives for the case business
Provide clear recommendations for implementation, drawing on your opportunities from the SWOT.
Discuss the proposed marketing & branding & sales strategy and identify future developments available for the business.

Q. 40 years back, Sita Travels was a renowned brand in Delhi, in the travel and tourism industry. The company boasted of a loyal clientele, competitive travel packages, efficient and motivated employees and a vision to become the No. 1 player pan India. In those days, the industry comprised few players hence there wasn’t too much competition to be faced. However, in recent times, with the online platform and players emerging such as Makemytrip, Trivago, Yatra etc. offering packages at throwaway prices and reaching out at minimal costs to the mobile savvy, internet savvy consumer, it is indeed giving the traditional companies a run for their money. Loss of clientele, revenue and market shares have made Sita Travels sit up and wonder as to what needs to be done to address this issue. Towards this management problem, state the research objective(s) and propose a research design for this study; describing the secondary and primary sources of data, research design, research method, target respondent, contact method etc.

Q) 3. A national chain of casual and formal men’s wear is interested to understand the preferences of men when it comes to the purchase of clothing. The objectives of the research are:

To understand the preferences of clothing by occasion
To understand differences in preferences by income group and geographical area
To understand satisfaction of customers with their brand vis-à-vis other competitor brands

In particular, the management wants to understand the as to how the buying behaviour or preferences of men for clothing are influenced by variables such as (1) occasion of use (2) geography of the customer (3) income group of the customer and (4) competition

A list of customers has been procured from internal company records. Their personal records also include information on their personal income and geography.

a. Assuming that the management has entrusted you with this research, if a sample has to be drawn from this sampling frame, which sample selection method would you choose and why? Suggest any two methods and justify your answer.
b. If you have to prepare an Analysis Plan for this research, which simple and advanced analytical tools will you recommend for analyzing the data ? Suggest at least three tools and support with a justification.

Q) The Distance Education Council (DEC) wants to conduct a research among the various distance learners across different colleges, universities and courses across India. Since the population of distance learners is widely dispersed, the research team at DEC feels that it may be effective to conduct an online or telephonic survey. However, these methods have their own drawbacks. Besides, the information to be collected is quite detailed which is prompting the researchers to consider other approaches such as a face-to-face survey.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various data collection methods available to the researchers at DEC and recommend an approach.

Q) Nestle wanted to understand the key challenges that their brand Maggi is likely to face in its comeback; in the wake of more aggressive competition from competitors such as Sunfeast Yippee noodles and Patanjali Atta noodles. The research agency took this brief from Nestle and gave instructions to its team to find out the customer satisfaction with Maggi and its arch rivals. “Specifying the research objective in the most clear and precise form, is the most crucial step involved in the research process”. Evaluate this statement in the light of this case and discuss how the steps involved in this research process (as proposed by the research agency) will turn out to be different from what Nestle expects as the research outcome.

Q) Scene 1: Nivedita, an interviewer for a data collection agency, approached a couple at the mall seeming to be hailing from a rural background and asked the woman, if she would like to participate in a marketing research survey. The couple quickly walked away. A group of teenage girls overheard Nivedita and asked her if they could participate. They were from rural areas, and they would like to answer Nivedita’s questions. Nivedita was ecstatic! She could fill a good portion of her sample with these helpful girls! Scene 2: Nivedita had a list of names and contact details of 100 women in Faisapur in U.P. She started with the top 5 names. In 4 out of 5 cases, the women either didn’t respond to her request or refused to participate. Only one woman took the survey. How will she reach out to these 100 shortlisted women in one week? It seemed to be a daunting task as of now. Nivedita was confused.

The reason was simple: The “normal” rules for conducting a marketing research survey do not apply when the target sample is a Rural population. Nivedita was one of the women researchers who had been appointed by an NGO for conducting a research on the sanitation and personal hygiene methods being used by women in rural areas. The objective was to capture the aftermath of the awareness campaigns been done on account of the Indian Household Latrines (IHHL), School Sanitation and Hygiene Education and Anganwadi toilets. After a whole lot of debate and discussion, it had been decided that the respondents for this survey shall be rural girls / women ranging from a broad age group of 12-60 years. For conducting a survey among this wide audience, two things were done:  A list of women was procured from secondary sources of data  The women were segregated on the basis of age into the following categories: 12-17, 18-25, 26-35, 36 – 45, 46-60 The sampling method had also been very scientifically decided. However, reaching out to these women unknown to the researcher, unrelated to each other, was not working out, no matter how scientific the approach may be. With this very first experience shared by Nivedita as a part of the pilot, the team was a bit confused on whether their understanding of the rural research methods is correct. Anxiety was creeping in as to what should be the ideal method to choose this sample of rural girls / women?

a. To choose this sample of rural girls / women, which sampling methods will you consider most appropriate and why? Suggest any two methods and justify your answer.
b. Suggest some innovative interview methods to reach out to the target audience

Marketing planning is about defining activities, based on a detailed analysis of the company and its environment, which will support the various business goals. It also involves setting up a timeline for the work.

Question: Classify the following as either internal or external factors: Marketing expertise & knowledge, Financial position, Changes in business tax, Product range, A fewer competitors, Change in government, Brand name, Service quality, Customer base, Rapid technology change, Good relationship with stakeholders, Distribution system.

Question: Carry out situation analysis on your selected business organisation by doing the following:

• Research market sources for information on each element of SWOT. Try to collect as many factors as you can and list them under each element.
• Construct TOWS strategy matrix using SWOT factors.
• List all PEST (PESTLE) factors that might impact on your business organisation.
• Find out two main competitors and identify their strengths and weaknesses
• Reference all sources according to the Harvard Referencing style.
• Your draft report should be completed in about a week to show your

Question: Irish multinational fast fashion retailer Primark, with headquarters in Dublin, has various stores spread across Europe and in the United States. Primark sells a very wide range of products across various product lines: Women, Men, Kids, Home and Beauty. There are a number of products within each of these product line.

Use the above information and any information you might have on Primark and the retail clothing market, conduct a situation analysis for Primark by answering the following questions: 1. Conduct a SWOT analysis for Primark by listing the main factors for each of the four elements; (S) Strengths, (W) Weaknesses, (O) Opportunities and (T) Threats. Then prepare a TOWS matrix to assess the business attractiveness of the company. 2. Conduct a PLEST or PESTEL analysis for Primark. 3. In a memo to your class tutor outline your recommendations for the company’s potential market development.

Question: Marketing Planning Report of 2500 words.

The Task:

1. Write a report which evaluates The Spice Kitchen’s marketing activities and approach. Your report should draw on relevant marketing theory and provide a critical commentary of the organisation and its key findings. Make sure to define key terms used i.e. Marketing Mix, STP etc. You should ensure you reference your work using Cite them right/ Harvard.

Definitions and theoretical models should be from textbooks. ( Baines, Wood and Kotler)

Section 1: Introduction to your report

Introduce the Spice Kitchen. You should briefly explain how you went about collecting evidence for your report. You should also set the scene theoretically by summarising changing conceptions of marketing in recent years. What should you write:

Company Introduction (include the fact how they went from offline to online due to pandemic and they met success. How did you go about collecting evidence for your report. (eg website., spice kitchen videos, blogs, passport, Mintel etc- you can create a smart art.)

Section 2: External analysis of the sector using a PESTEL framework

Task: Using a PESTEL framework, conduct an external analysis of the sector (business context), highlighting key factors which may be a threat or an opportunity for the organisation going forward. This part of your report should summarise your understanding of key concepts relating to the sector. You should then explain how you undertook the analysis and identify the key factors that emerged from it. The completed PESTEL itself should be placed as an appendix item.

What should you write : Define PESTEL analysis and why it is done. Define the factors and mention one or two key things that impact the business sector positively or negatively. Also mention a couple of lines about how you undertook the analysis and the final take away from this PESTLE analysis.

Section 3: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Strategy (500 words)

Task: Using the STP framework, describe the organisation’s Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning approach, identifying one target consumer and the specific needs and wants of that segment. You should clearly apply Kotler’s (1984) DAMP model to your targeting strategy, you must also include a perceptual map for your organisation and its competitors. This part of your report should show your understanding of key concepts relating to consumers and end-users. You should then briefly discuss theories of market segmentation, targeting and positioning before applying the STP framework to the Spice Kitchen.

What should you write :

Define Segmentation. Discuss broadly and conceptually the 4 variables used for segmentation geographic, demographic, behavioural and psychographics.

Define Targeting. Define the segment which SK is targeting (above segment) and discuss the needs and wants of this segment. Also discuss why they targeted this segment with the help of Kotler’s (1984) DAMP model. ( Justify why this target segment is Distinct, Accessible, Measurable and Profitable ( DAMP)

Define positioning and positioning strategies. Discuss which positioning strategies have they (SK) adopted and why? Draw a perceptual Map based on the positioning strategy, explaining the perceptual Map.

Also mention a couple of lines about how you undertook the analysis and the key lessons and final take away from this STPs analysis

Section 4: The marketing mix

Task: Marketing Mix Analysis: Using the 7P Marketing Mix framework, detail how marketing tactics could be employed to attract one key consumer segment. Your report should include the discussion and application of theoretical concepts e.g ‘customer segmentation’

This part of your report should show your understanding of key concepts relating to marketing activities. You should explain how you used the 7P Marketing Mix framework to analyse the Spice Kitchen’s marketing activities and summarise the key findings.

Define Marketing Mix. Define each of the P’s and discuss theoretical concepts around each P. For Spice Kitchen, under each P, analyse and evaluate Spice kitchen’s marketing activities, discussing how they are meeting the needs of the target customers.

Section 5: Provide an internal analysis using a SWOT

Task: Using the SWOT framework, provide an internal analysis of the organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in successfully meeting the needs and wants of the target consumer segment. Review the implications of your findings for the Spice Kitchen. As appropriate, you should summarise the effectiveness of current marketing arrangements and indicate areas for further development.

This part of the report should bring together the findings from the previous analysis and, using the SWOT framework, provide an internal analysis of the Spice Kitchen’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in successfully meeting the needs and wants of the target consumer segment. As appropriate, you should summarise the effectiveness of current marketing arrangements and indicate areas for further development.

Define SWOT analysis. Do a SWOT analysis for Spicekitchen. You will need to bring in factors from your PESTLE analysis / External analysis for the SWOT. Based on the SWOT analysis, evaluate and summarise the effectiveness of current marketing arrangements of SK. Also indicate areas for further development. ( Do this from the perspective of Marketing activities mainly).

Section 6: Recommendations

Finally, you should summarise the key findings from your analyses and make some recommendations in terms of the Spice Kitchen’s marketing approach. Based on the analysis that you have done till now, you need to give in recommendations with justifications. Your Recommendations should be linked back to the issues analysed/ gap that you have indicated earlier. You should also comment on your conduct of the evaluation, identifying any limitations in the evidence gathered and techniques used.

Section 7: Conclusions

Build a final conclusion ( a summary) on the report about how you went about doing the reports, data sources, your findings and conclusions.

Sources of Information for Market related data:

a) Passport – for Industry and sector related data b) Marketline Advantage-– for Industry and sector related data c) Mintel- for Consumer related Data on habits, preferences etc

Sources of Information for the company:(Company websites, blogs and social sites

Hush Puppies: Marketing Planning

The Hush Puppies is a lifestyle brand that provides shoes, eyewear, watches, and clothing for both men and women.

Question: PROJECT BACKGROUND (Campaign Context)

Hush Puppies history is rooted in innovation from inventing the first truly casual shoes to developing technologies that make the shoes more comfortable, lightweight and worry-free. The brand strives to constantly evolve Hush Puppies – make it world-renowned, comfort, bringing customers the most advanced technologies available in footwear today. The project consists of developing an advertising marketing campaign for Hush Puppies shoes that provide comfort and relaxation just by wearing them because these characteristics are invaluable and enable them to find one more reason to relax.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Audience demographics & psychographics.

Males and Females between 20-40 years where the audience should be belonging to ClassA, CiassB, and chunk of ClassC who requires: comfort, functionality, and style. People wearing these shoes should need to feel natural, relaxed, authentic, with a young spirit, free, simple and healthy.

ADVERTISING OBJECTIVE (Campaign Goals)

New campaign to increase brand awareness and demand of the Hush Puppies shoes.

CONSUMER MESSAGE (Driving Idea)

Shoes made as per your Restyle and choices.

KEY CONSUMER BENEFIT (Message)

It provides comfort, functionality, and style that touches the lives and imaginations.

BENEFIT SUPPORT (Product Details)

• Whether it is water, stain, and scuff resistant WorryFreeSuede, or the newest exclusive technology. WaveReflex featuring extreme flexibility and technologies like Zero G, Bounce, etc. Hush Puppies strives to provide benefits that enables to find one more reason to relax.
• Dual-density foam footbed wth contoured arch for better grip and elegant shoe designs.
• Handstitched and Ermronmental aware products.

COMPETITION

AllenCooper, LeeCooper. Bianca, NavyFont, RedTape. Adidas, Nike, Puma and others (as well as other premium Bata product lines too is a setback).

ADVERTISING TONE

Trustworthy, Comfortable, Durable, Modern, Innovative

ADVERTISING MEDIUM

In-store and Outdoor Advertising, Magazines Advertisement, and Social Network Advertisements.

ADVERTISING tone & Medium is about Brand voice and communication channels.

More Management (BBA / MBA) question / Case study on this topic:

Question: Identify TWO country markets that are culturally different. You are required to conduct an evaluation of the international marketing undertaken by this company in these two countries of your choice (include both macro and micro criteria ). You will be required to research and identify the marketing strategies made and competitive landscape in each country amongst others in your review. Through the use of theory you will be required to evaluate what the company has done internationally in terms of their market offering, for example, product, price, promotion, distribution and people and how it differs across the chosen international markets (two countries). The end product of this assignment is an evaluation of your assigned company in your chosen international markets. Your assignment should demonstrate how market offerings for the chosen company can differ based on the international market (country) they occupy and the competitor landscape they face.
Proposed Structure: Introduction. Identify TWO country markets (not their home country). A detailed summary of Macro and Micro analysis (SCLEPT, competitor and market analysis. Discuss the Orientation adopted by the organisation. Identify their targeting and positioning strategies in each of the countries. Critically analyse how they used the Marketing Mix to address the differences between country markets (Standardisation/Adaptation/ Glocalisation). Conclusion and presentation.

Q. As a newly appointed Product Manager by Balaji wafers, you are asked to develop New Product Planning for new flavor of potato wafer. How would you develop new product planning process?

Q. Health and Nutrition Start-Up, Habbit makes consumer debut with a range of innovative & delicious Products. Habbit Wise Creams are the lowest calorie ice creams in the world. Every serving has less than 50 calories, which is less than half an apple. Available in 6 gourmet flavours such as Blueberry Crumble, Salted Caramel, Lychee Blush, etc. Wise Creams contain zero added sugar and are keto + diabetic friendly. Prepare an appropriate Segmentation Strategy for the new launch. Considering that they have entered in consumer market for the first time, how should the brand be positioned in the market?

Q. Read the following Case & solve the questions given:

Mr. Ramesh of Unique Industries is contemplating to enter the men’s top end shirts category. The company already has a brand “CLINGERS” in the middle segment (Rs.350-700). The brand is very popular amongst the target audience. Having got the volumes, Mr. Ramesh now wants to play the value game and enter the top end (Rs700+) category. He knows there are some formidable brands like Farow etc. that will make life extremely difficult for Unique Industries. But there are certain advantages which Unique Industries enjoys. It has one of the best retail networks in the country. They have their own factory, which ensures regular quality supply. They are the pioneers of branded shirts in India.
Mr. Ramesh has decided to keep the brand name as “Clingers Gold”. He has decided to allocate Rs10 crores for sales promotion and advertising budget. Unique Industries is simultaneously entering the readymade trousers market and shoes market. Mr. Ramesh has decided to keep the same brand name “CLINGERS” to leverage the success of the brand name to the two new categories.

a. Do you think the brand name “Clingers Gold” is right for the top end segment? Justify your answer. (5 Marks)
b. Which factors you think needs to be studied before making such entry in the market?

Q. Case: M/s Tikhalal sells pickle and spices across the country and wants to enter into the international market. The company is known for their quality ingredients. The company sells the product at higher price but customers don’t hesitate to pay the price as the quality is premium. Their brands Mr. Tikha, Mr. Hara, Mr. Laal, which are various pickles and spices are a hit brand in the Indian Market. The company has decided to enter in US Market as it has a major market for Indian pickles and spices.

Q. Explain various Micro and Macro environment factors that the company should
analyze before entering into the international market. Explain the points with reason.

Q. The company is planning to take Mr. Tikhalal online in India. Explain various ways
to promote the brands of pickles and spice on Social Media Platforms.

Q. M/s Tikhalal is also planning to sell paapads with the brand name Mr. Crisp. The
company is planning to sell papads at a price higher than its competitors. The company
also plans to launch various variety of papads with different shapes and sizes.
a. How should company segment the consumer market for Paapads?
b. To introduce the product in the market what are the various sales promotion techniques
that should be used for the brand Mr. Crisp?

Q) The beginning of the video-on-demand (VOD) revolution in India started with Star Tv’s Hotstar, way back in 2015. It coincided with the time when India witnessed a huge rise in the number of smartphone users. In a country which was used to a one-TV household tradition, smartphones acted as additional screens for consumers to source entertainment from. In January 2016, Netflix, an international platform that offers a library of TV series, Bollywood flicks etc. made waves in India with its launch. It led to a series of debates on what is already on the Indian consumer’s palate on TV– family dramas, saas-bahu serials, cheesy love stories. The real debate was on whether Netflix India’s launch will mark the end of TV. Will the audience progress from the melodramatic saas-bahu sagas to Netflix for its sharp, realistic international content. Netflix opened the doors for alternate entertainment platforms. In the months that followed, mainstream Indian TV channels launched their own VOD platforms – Voot , Arre etc. And then came the giant Amazon with its Prime Videos spanning across International TV shows, films and new Bollywood releases. The most recent entry has been Balaji Telefilms VOD platform ALTBalaji. With the internet content users, number of smartphone users on the rise, the consumption of online video content has also been on the rise, quite naturally.

a. Conduct a SWOT Analysis of Netflix in India
b. Keeping in view the issues, challenges and competition, evaluate and discuss the strategic and tactical components of Netflix’s market planning and make suggestions

Q) Founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, USA, Starbucks is a well-known international brand with presence in more than 20,000 locations. It has been over 23 years since Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in Seattle, Washington, USA. Suppose, Amazon.com is planning to acquire Starbucks, and Jeff has hired you as an advisor. Should Amazon.com acquire Starbucks? Why?

Q) Suppose, you are working as a Brand Building and Brand Management Specialist and have been hired by a competitor of Mercedes, the popular car brand. Help your client by explaining the Marketing Strategy of Mercedes in India.

Q) Founded in 1976, Brompton (www.brompton.com) is a well-known brand in the international folding bicycle market. Madhav, a young Indian and a first generation entrepreneur, incorporated XYZ Pvt. Ltd. in the year 2018 with a vision to build the first Indian brand to feature among top 3 international folding bicycle brands by 2025. Madhav has hired you as a consultant.

a: Explain the various points that you would consider in order to assess the attractiveness of the market for XYZ
b: What will be your recommendations to Madhav regarding Marketing Strategy for XYZ?

Question: Developing a Marketing and branding strategy for launching a product into new market.

Title of the Project: Developing a Marketing and branding strategy for launching a product into new market.

Brief Description of the Project:

BobBuilder Properties is a real estate company developing approx. 22 mn sqft with landmark projects in 12 different cities across India. BobBuilder has the aspiration to move from 10 % to 20 % ROE and targets to develop 55 million sqft by 2020.

Mumbai although, already being identified as one of the growth regions, there are still many challenges faced such as land availability, price of land hitting everyone and increasing population density.

BobBuilder established in Mumbai, now has decided to venture into peripheral areas of Navi-Mumbai-Panvel, which is the new micro-market in focus. Considering such an entry in the competitive environment, we require to devise a completely new marketing and branding strategy.

The source of data will be primarily through surveys, questionnaires, analysis and secondarily through newspapers, magazines etc.

The proposed methodology to be adopted is the study of current marketing practices employed and to capture the lacuna, risks(if any ) for better sales in Navi Mumbai focused on Panvel.

Objective:
To formulate a marketing strategy using STP( Segmentation , Targeting & Positioning), Marketing mix, SWOT analysis and to build tie-ups company, brand and product to targeted customers.

To create brand awareness, positioning, and recall it through P-A-S-P model within an emerging market.

Forecasted Benefits:
1. New revenue streams
2. Emergence of further newer opportunities in the newer market.

Question: Case Study

You have been accepted onto a Future Leaders Development Programme (FLDP) within a large organisation. It is a yearlong programme and involves developing and presenting specific projects to other programme delegates; all the projects are viewed by the CEO. The delegates come from across the organisation and you are the sole representative from the Marketing Department.

This is an excellent opportunity for ambitious staff to make an impression on senior managers and leaders. In the past graduates from the programme have been promoted within the company. The introductory session of the programme is personally led and overseen by the CEO.

The company is currently successful but is going through a period of intense change. There are new competitors entering the market, whilst new technologies are changing both production capabilities and consumer preferences.

All the work from the FLDP should be retained in a personal file which will be reviewed at the end of the programme.

Task 1 – Understand the principles of strategic marketing.

Your first task of the programme is to prepare a presentation, with accompanying notes. The presentation will be viewed by the CEO, other senior managers and programme delegates. The content of the presentation and notes should:

• analyse the relationship between corporate strategy and marketing strategy.
• analyse the development of marketing strategies.
• explain, using examples, how different marketing strategies contribute to competitive advantage.
• evaluates the relationship between: strategic intent, strategic assessment, strategic choice and their impact on the formulation of marketing strategy.

Task 2 – Understand how to carry out strategic environmental analysis

The participants in the FLDP are taking part in a training day and each member of the programme has been given a task to complete. You must prepare a set of briefing notes for the other programme delegates.

The briefing notes should:

• evaluate different approaches to conducting an internal environmental analysis.
• evaluate different approaches to conducting an external environmental analysis.
• assess the integration of internal and external analyses.

Task 3 – Understand the role of customer behaviour in marketing strategies.

Your next task is to prepare a section of an information file to be used by future participants in the FLDP. You are responsible for the section on Strategic Marketing; the finished section will be reviewed by the CEO.

The information file should:

• analyse the role of marketing research process and its relationship to consumer behaviour
• explain the different types of consumers and their behaviour in B2B and B2C markets and factors underpinning customer loyalty.
• evaluate the role of relationship marketing in customer behaviour analysis.
• analyse the influences on and the psychology of consumer behaviour.

Task 4 – Understand how to develop an implementable strategic marketing plan.

This is a major element of the development programme. You are required to develop a realistic and workable strategic marketing plan for a given organisation. The choice of organisation is important to ensure successful completion of this task.

For the selected and named organisation you must:

• analyse the factors to be taken into account in the development of a marketing plan
• develop an implementable plan for your named organisation: you should select the most appropriate format for the plan
• design monitoring systems that are capable of identifying performance deviations from the plan’s original objectives
• anticipate the need for contingency plans.
• develop alternative marketing mix related action plans that address selected objectives and selected strategies.

Task 5 – Understand how to create a marketing strategy to meet business objectives

This is the final task of the development programme and on its completion your file will be ready to submit to your line manager. You must:

• evaluate the requirements of a marketing strategy
• explain the relationship between a marketing strategy and a corporate strategy
• explain how the marketing strategy should address competitive forces and their likely impact
• design a dissemination process to ensure internal stakeholders are informed and committed to the marketing strategy.
• create monitoring systems to ensure the successful implementation of a marketing strategy.
• construct a marketing strategy for a named organisation.

Demonstrate clear understanding of marketing and corporate strategy and include a detailed analysis of how they interrelate, examining points in turn.
Consider a range of marketing strategies and provide a clear explanation of how different approaches contribute to competitive advantage. (This should include examples of different forms of competitive advantage).
Identify and evaluate different approaches to conducting internal and external environmental analysis. Use examples to examine how internal and external environmental analyses can be integrated together.

Demonstrate understanding of different aspects of a market research process and how these relate to consumer behaviour. The learner must identify and explain different types of consumers plus the differences between B2C and B2B markets and show how consumer behaviour differs in the different markets. The file should specifically address the issue of customer loyalty in the different markets. The learner must explain the principles of relationship marketing and through the use of examples evaluate its impact on customer behaviour.

Analyse a range of marketing audit tools in detail. It should include an analysis of different aspects of strategy formulation. The monitoring systems presented by the learner must include different approaches to monitoring and identifying performance deviations. Show why and when contingency plans are required.

Provide an evaluation of the processes, stages and techniques required for a marketing strategy. Provide full explanation of how corporate strategy and marketing strategy relate to each other. The learner must show a good understanding of different competitive forces and show how the marketing strategy can deal with their potential impact.

The dissemination process must be clearly presented. It should demonstrate an awareness of the needs of internal stakeholders and the approaches to communicating and securing commitment from the internal stakeholders for the marketing strategy.

Academic Questions on Marketing/Business in a Global Context

Question: “Think Globally, Act Locally.” – Critically reflect on this statement.
Include the following:
What is a global marketing strategy? How is it different from an international marketing strategy?
What is glocalization? And what does it mean to pursue a glocal approach in global marketing?
Discuss the benefits of using a glocal approach in global marketing. Illustrate this with a company example.

Question: The business organisation you work for would like to see: a critical comparison of two companies in each of the mobile phone industry (four companies in total) in both countries between 2010 and 2019. This includes a comparison of their market share within each country and the potential reasons behind the different performances (from two of the PESTL aspects). You then need to compare the impact of the business environment on their performance between these two countries. Based on this, you will make recommendations with regard to whether or not that the client should expand in one, both or either of the two countries.

More Questions:

• How many companies should you include?
• Should they be the same companies in both countries?
• Which two companies should you choose?
• How many factors should you include?
• Should they be the same?
• How do you see these factors responded at the firm level?

What should you include?

Company level analysis

Select two companies which experienced very different (opposite) performance (data, graphs) in each country over the specified period. For example one company ‘s market share has gone up, the other has declined.

Explore potential causes of such different performance based on the PESTLE framework (two factors at the industrial or national level).

If it is economic factor, how have firms responded differently? Such as pricing, packaging or market positioning.

If it is technological factor, what have firms done which attributed to their performance? Such as the new feature of product for older or young people; use YouTube to advertising, etc.

Compare and contrast

The different results and causes within the same country; the differences between two

Question: As a Marketing Trainer, can you explain McKinsey’s Consumer Decision Journey with the help of an example to the new joiners of your organization?

Questions on Customer Acquisition & Retention

Question: As a consultant you are required to create a Consumer Acquisition and Retention plan for Fortnocks Health Club. The plan should consider the issues stated below:

Analyse the organisation and identify the areas they may create value for customers in order to attract and retain customers to enhance customer experience.

Company Introduction and discuss that they are facing challenges. Analyse the organisation and identify the areas they may create value for customers in order to attract and retain customers to enhance customer experience.

What is Value? Value Creation activities (for the case company in view of the challenges they face and how will it help them) Focus on Value Creation activities only. (Link to Buttle or Payne’s Model where you think you can).

Discuss the importance of data management and how this can effectively underpin the success of the acquisition and retention for the organisation. Identify and recommend appropriate techniques for the organisation to capture data and understand their target market.

Discuss data/ data management, its Importance of data in CRM and why data management is important for Fortnocks (note that though they have a database, they are not using this optimally).

Customer Data Integration ( CDI). Mention data capturing, data management and customer data integration from the perspective of the touchpoints and it improves Customer engagement and Customer experience. For example, Why does the case company need to use touchpoints to collect customer data, which touch points can be used and how will it help them? (Walk-in/ Face to Face Interaction, Phone calls, email, website, flyers, events like “ Fitness fest”, WoM, E-CRM, Social CRM.) ( For example, you can talk about understanding purchase/ usage behaviour, predicting preferences, maintaining relationships to retain their customers, advantages of cloud based CRM software for easy access and smooth integration. other software and technology solutions, giving the company an opportunity to leverage their CRM data in more strategic ways to target customers).
a) Can they use Social Customer Relationship Marketing as a strategy to acquire customers’ data? If so, how can they collect this data and how will they use it to acquire and retain customers? What ethical issues do you think they have to acknowledge as they collect this data? b) How can they effectively use e-CRM to retain their customers? Is this an appropriate strategy that can be used by this organisation? – Please justify your answer.)

Analyze and identify appropriate approaches to customer acquisition and retention for Fortnocks Health Club and justify how these approaches can enhance customer experiences. Acquisition, Retention and Win-back Strategies.

Acquisition Strategies: Define Acquisition; discuss why Acquisition strategies are needed for Fortnocks (ref that they need to go from 250 members per month to 400 members per month to break even. And then suggest minimum3 Customer Acquisition strategies.

Retention Strategies. Define Retention; discuss why Retention strategies are needed for Fortnocks (ref that they are averaging at 30- 40 new members per month, but also losing about 30 members per month- high churn and low retention rate. And then suggest minimum 3 Customer Retention strategies that will help them to retain customers/ members.

Win-back Strategies. Define Win-back ; discuss why Win-back strategies are needed for Fortnocks (ref that pre covid they had 1250 customers at the peak, which they have lost to Pure Gym and Fitness first. They need to go from 250 members per month to 400 members per month to break even. And then suggest minimum 3 Win back strategies. for Win back, look at strategies of Pure gym and Fitness first (its main competitors ) are doing and suggest strategies better than them (also see links down for help for writing various startegies).

Compare and contrast various effective measuring techniques appropriate for the customer acquisition and retention strategies. Recommend and justify techniques appropriate for this plan.

Measuring Performance: Start with why is measuring performance necessary, how is it measured ( metrics), define, metrics. Then say that Fortnocks strategies will be successful if they measure these through metrics as down: Acquisition Metrics, Retention Metrics, Win-back Metrics – min 2 to 3 – you can compare and contrast within. (You need to Compare and contrast the metrics and then Recommend 3 to 4 metrics that Fortnocks should follow, justifying why. Recommend CLV, CAC/ COCA, Churn Rate, Retention rate etc.)

Metrices that can be referred to are: Member retention, Churn rate, Attendance rates, Employee satisfaction, Customer reviews

Examples of metrics: LTV, Conversion Rate, CVR, Customer Acquisition Cost/ COCA/CAC, Customer Retention Rate. Churn Rate. Existing Customer Revenue Growth Rate. Net Incremental Revenue. Repeat Purchase Ratio. Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Active Users (DAU, WAU, MAU). Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Lifetime value ( LTV). Product Return Rate. Repeat Purchase Rate. Conversion rate. Time for Conversion. Lead Generation by Channel. Click Through rate ( CTR). Net Promoter score (NPS). Return on marketing Investment ( ROMI). Return on Investment ( ROI)

Q) Zenstar Technologies has the task of collating feedback from its customers before the launch of its new product next fortnight. They need their customers to participate and be forthright in the opinions they present to improvise and make any last minute course corrections to garner the best response for the product launch.

a. Which computer tool for collecting information will be most suitable for the requirements of Zenstar Technologies and why?
b. Advice on how they should conduct the whole exercise of gathering feedback from their customers?

Questions on CRM

Question: What is CRM? What are the reasons for its growing importance in Modern business? Explain with industry examples? Do you agree with the statement that “ the focus in marketing is shifting from transaction to relationship?”

Question: What is the importance of the study of customer service profile for taking decisions related to CRM (customer relationship management)? Discuss the shape of customer service profile with examples.

Question: Explain in details by taking one example of any company, what do you understand by Operational and Analytical Customer relationship Management?

Question: What are the various components of sales force automation software solutions? Pick any company of your choice and show where and how all these components can or are being used ?

Question: Write detailed noted on the following: 1. Recovery paradox 2. Service marketing triangle 3. Customer Life Time Value.

Q. At a six-monthly review meet, the management of a Private sector bank in India realized they had lost a lot of customers to their competitors. An analysis of the reports indicated that bank has been unable to cultivate more profitable relationships with the customers’ which impacted its growth. Customers have expressed dissatisfaction at various levels right from delays in obtaining account related information to understanding their needs, preferences, and interaction history. The management has decided to invest in information systems to help them out. How do you think CRM system will help the bank? How will it create lasting relationships with the customers? How would creating these relationships help your bank?

Q) 10 Street Café is a chain you have started from scratch a few years ago. After breaking even, recently your cafés are gaining popularity and you are expanding your business. The growth is rapid and your staff seems unprepared for the increase in volume of customers and managing the interactions smoothly. On hiring a consultant to help you improve your customer experience, he recommends to invest in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. As a consultant, how would you point out the benefits of CRM system to the client and highlight points to ponder before and during the implementation of such a system?

Q) What are the various different approaches to CRM? Which one do you find most pertinent in your career?

Q) You are the Chief Marketing Officer of a Branded Toy store in South Mumbai. Lately, it has been reported to you that your brand is making losses in comparison to a newly opened competitor Toy Store operating in your area. What can you do to reverse the losses & bring back your brand to profitability from a CRM perspective?

Q) You are the Head of a Private Hospital, namely ‘WeCare Hospital’ & lately, it has been reported to you that your hospital’s customer attrition is steadily increasing on a Year on Year basis. What would you do to arrest customer attrition & turnaround the fortunes of your Hospital? How will CRM help you in this effort?

Q) As the newly appointed CRM Head for Hero Motocorp, you have been tasked to implement a brand new CRM program in your organization.
a. What would be the best CRM implementation strategies that you will follow for your business?
b. What aspects of application architecture would you consider while implementing CRM at Hero?

Q) Navneet Motors showroom does a lot of business. The salespeople are always running from customer to customer, scrambling to meet the customer expectations and make them feel important. In this chaos, a salesperson could miss an opportunity to take note on a customer and the product he may be interested in. To address this issue, the general manager of the showroom has recently implemented a dealership performance CRM solution which his sales staff can use even on the go with the help of their mobile devices. This allows the members of the sales team to leave their desks and sell products to the customers face-to-face without losing any minute details of the customer. The salespeople can enter customer details into the CRM system because it is quick tool to use and convenient a sit is accessible through their phones. They are reminded later to go back in and edit each prospect on their computer. Identify three benefits and challenges Navneet Motors will face using the CRM module from any vendor. Justify your answer.

Q. PantMax Retail, through its subsidiaries, operates approximately 1000 departmental stores pan India. These stores hold a variety of merchandise including adult and children apparel, cosmetics, accessories, home furnishing etc. The management feels in order to increase their sales, PantMax needs to tailor its merchandise more to the local tastes, colors, sizes, brands which should be according to the sales pattern in each of the PantMax stores. For example, the stores in Mumbai might stock clothing in smaller sizes and brighter colors than those in Chennai, or the stores in Delhi may stock more makeup shades to attract trendier shoppers. How will information systems help PantMax implement this new strategy? Is this a suitable choice for the management to implement?

Q. The goal of service companies is to develop services that attract, keep customers satisfied, loyal and speak well of them. They use information and communication technology to get closer to the customer, create long-term relationships, and gain more knowledge from and about the customers to serve them better. As a major element of business strategy, firms are embracing CRM, because technological applications permit precise segmentation, profiling and targeting of customers. To deal with competitive pressures a customer-centric culture is required. The airline industry is no exception to this. Give an example of how an airline company has successfully implemented CRM to increase their profits and keep customers happy.

Question on Customer Lifecycle Management

Trends in every field keep on evolving. The only constant in today’s world is change. Just as it is true for all aspects of business, customer lifecycle management (CLM) is no exception.
a. Discuss 5 key trends that would help marketers in rolling out their CLM strategies?
b. Why is CRM believed to be a new way of thinking?

Questions and case studies on Customer Service

Q) You are the customer service manager for OmYoga.com, an online store selling Yoga
apparel. A customer has written an angry email complaining that the Yoga leggings
she purchased a month ago have shrunk and the colour has faded. She mentioned that
she machine-washed her leggings and dried them in a drier. Your website clearly
mentions that the leggings can only be hand-washed and should not be put in the drier.
She is asking for a replacement or a complete refund of Rs. 3000. How would you
respond to this complaint? Draft an email.

Rural marketing involves developing, planning, pricing, and distributing goods and services for the rural people wherein those living in the rural regions can access these products and services at fair prices.

Questions and Answers on Rural Marketing

Question: Explain – a) Hub and Spoke distribution Network . b)ITC – e choupal c) E-medicine d) Distribution network of HUL in rural market.

Question: P&G is facing a problem of fakes in rural markets. Develop a strategy for them to fight fakes.

Question: Explain the factors which have made rural markets attractive.

Question: Compare and contrast rural and urban marketing.

Question: Lot of companies have their digital marketing strategy based on the AIDA (acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) model.

As a Marketing consultant, help Pilot pens to use AIDA concept for the launch of their new Sanitized pens in India?

Consumer behavior refers to the study of how people buy, use and dispose goods and services. It refers to study how the emotions, attitudes and preferences of consumers affect their buying behaviour.

Question:

Increases in real GDP per capita have lead to corresponding increases in levels of global consumption. Choose one category of consumption practice (defined any way you choose) and the do the following:

1. List and critically evaluate what you consider to be the major internal and external factors that motivate consumers to engage in this consumption practice.

2. List and critically evaluate the positive and the negative effects on environmental sustainability, individual well-being and social cohesion of your chosen consumption practice.

3. Discuss the possible influence of government policy, consumer lobbyists and individual consumers on the way this category of consumption practice will develop in the next twenty years.

Begin the report by writing a brief introduction that outlines the category of consumption practices you have chosen and why, and then devote roughly the same words to each to each of the three sections. Finally, devote no more than 500 words to your conclusion.

Good submissions would be expected to have the title at the beginning, an introduction, a main body (including the response to each of the three sub-questions), a brief conclusion, a list of references (Harvard style), and if necessary, appendices (but there is no requirement for appendices).

Candidates should clearly explicate a chosen category of consumption practice. This term has been used deliberately to allow students to choose a focus that interests them. They could look into fashion or luxury consumption, specifying particular goods or services. Or they could look broadly at transport, with a focus on cars, air travel or sea travel. Tourism could be another broad category of consumption practice, or sports spectatorship, consumption of processed foods, alcohol, cigarettes or indeed any other form of consumption, however the candidate wishes to define it. Candidates must address all the components of the question, and may use sub-headings if they wish to do so.

The submissions should where possible make use of relevant examples and references to relevant academic research. There are many published studies available in the academic journal fields of consumer research, sustainability, sociology and anthropology of consumption, and marketing. Where submissions discuss the possible internal and external consumer motivations, the best work will ensure that these points are not subjective or speculative but are supported by relevant citations to published academic work.

Consumer buying process

Various stages in the Consumer buying process

Problem Recognition: Consumer realizes that they are facing some issue. For example, computer slows down drastically.

Information Search: Once a consumer realizes that they have a problem, they start researching to find a solution to the issue. So, one who is experiencing a slow computer might start looking for software improvements to speed the slow computer.

Evaluation of Alternatives: For example, someone who’s experiencing a slow computer might decide to consult an IT expert, or buy a new computer altogether.

Purchase Decision: This is the stage where the customer is ready to buy a product (ready to pay).

However, a company can still lose the customer if they do not provide a smooth checkout experience.

Post-Purchase Evaluation: Once the purchase is done, it’s time to gather feedback from the customer. You also want to ensure shoppers remain customers for ever.

Practical considerations in any advertising campaign

What are various advertising methods that are going to be used – Print advertising, broadcast advertising (TV/Video), Digital marketing.

Where will the advertisements appear? Which newspapers, magazines, radio and television channels.

Need well defined goals (what would success mean) and strategies in place for the various methods (target audience, demographics, geographical targets). It’s important to think how to measure success of the marketing campaigns. Giordano needs to think of KPIs and metrics for analyzing and determining the impact of their marketing campaigns (Laura Lake, 2019).

Need to develop eye-catching and captivating content for the various medium. Should keep the target audience in mind and should be relevant to them.

For the digital medium, the advertising content needs to have CTAs (Calls to Action) – what should the readers and viewers do after reading/viewing the advertisement.

Controls to measure effectiveness of marketing campaigns

Here are some controls that businesses can use to measure success / effectiveness of their campaigns.

Measure customer satisfaction. If customers are satisfied, they will buy again from your business. Customers feedback, reviews are some of the ways to know what the customer expects.

Return on Investment measures the sales revenue a campaign brings on every dollar spent. For example, if a company spent $1,000 on a campaign that generated $5,000 in sales, the company’s ROI is $4,000 or 400%.

Incremental Sales is another measure that reveals the effectiveness of marketing campaigns in generating sales, and are a great way to compare your marketing efforts. It measures the contribution of marketing efforts toward the sales numbers. So, if the company’s sales for the month were $500,000, the campaign from above (that generated $5,000 in sales) would result in 1% of Giordano’s total sales.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) measures the lifetime value of customers. It can be calculated using the formula: “average sale per customer” multiplied by “average number of times a customer buys per year” multiplied by “average retention time in years for a typical customer. While gathering this data is time-consuming, by calculating the CLV, a business can see which of their marketing efforts generate their best customers.

Example of controls to measure effectiveness of their campaigns.

Quantified objectives (State each quantified objective and its time period), Means of measuring (Sales analysis; number of responses; surveys), Frequency of measurement (Daily; weekly; monthly; quarterly; annually?), Accountability (Who does it?), Cost (How much does it cost to measure?), Action (Who needs be alerted to if significant variances are found?).

• Increase ROI by 200@ over the next 3 months, Sales analysis, Monthly, Marketing team, Need to know amount spent and sales generated due to the amount spent, Management
• Increase Sales by 1% over the next 3 months, Sales analysis, Monthly, Marketing team, Need to know amount spent and increase in sales due to the amount spent, Management
• Increase Social media engagement by 10 percent over the next 3 months, number of responses, Weekly, Digital Marketing team, Need to know Total Followers and the number of likes, comments and shares generated by them, Management
• Reduce the Poor rating to under 2% in Customer Satisfaction score over the next 3 months, surveys, Weekly, Customer support, Need to know the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) of customers, Management

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)

Integrated marketing communication refers to integrating all the methods of brand promotion to promote a particular product or service among target customers.

In integrated marketing communication, all aspects of marketing communication work together for increased sales and maximum cost effectiveness.

The various components of IMC are as follows:-

1. The Foundation
2. The Corporate Culture
3. Brand Focus.
4. Consumer Experience
5. Communication Tools
6. Promotional Tools
7. Integration Tools

Integrated marketing communication has successfully been used by many corporations to formulate an advertising approach that reaches to consumers and also resonates with them.

Academic Questions, Projects, Assignments on Integrated Marketing

Management (MBA) questions on Integrated Marketing:

Question: This assignment is an individual assignment that requires research, critical thinking, and creativity. You are an event organizer for a Conestoga College student event. Your role in the event is to determine the primary target market, the best advertising medium to use and ad creation.

The Event: Food Truck Event in College Campus

This event will be held in the college campus. The goal of the event is to bring people together with good food and great music. There will be different food trucks and local entertainment. The event is being organized by College’s official student association. The event is free.

Part 1: Primary Target Market Profile (1 page)

Research the student population as Conestoga College using the links provided.
Create a detailed one-page target market profile for the primary attendee for this event 

Part 2: Ad Creation (1 page)

• A. Using the information in Part 1, research what the best medium would be to advertise this event to the primary target market and explain your reasoning.
• B. Create a name for the event that would create interest.
• C. Create an ad using PPT, Word, Canva, social platform and paste it into your assignment.

Ad suggestions could include a social media ad, social media page, poster, direct mail postcard, website ad, website banner, flyer, landing page, a script for the college radio station etc.

Include all pertinent information for the event – Creative liberty is encouraged, and you can add information to the event to make it your own.

Content – The profile should include specific information about the primary target audience. The assignment should show that the content is specific and shows a good grasp of the information that is being communicated. Content should be supported with research

Research – The topic was well-researched and discussed. The individual has qualified their research and demonstrates engagement with the topic and their understanding of it. Research sources are appropriate. There is evidence of depth of research and planning.

Creativity – The ad shows evidence of creative and original thinking in presenting the information. Visuals, titles and additional details are included to make the ad dynamic and encourage people to attend the event.

Technical – Citation and sources properly noted (APA style).

Q) You are a young entrepreneur and have just opened your own Digital Advertising agency. How would you go about acquiring new Clients?

Q) You are a young entrepreneur who has launched an app for parents of toddlers to help kids learn and develop cognitive skills through various interactive activities between parents and children. Explain the Integrated Marketing process you will use to launch the product?

Q) Case Study
Ranveer Singh – Brand Ambassador Kellogg’s Oats
Assume you are a Brand Manager for Kellogg’s oats and you have tied up with Ranveer Singh as the Brand ambassador.
a. Think of an interesting active integration of Kellogg’s oats in the next Ranveer film.
b. How would you leverage Ranveer Singh to promote your brand?

Services Marketing

Questions, assignments on Services Marketing.

Q. A woman entrepreneur is planning to set up an e-shop for a range of costume jewelry made of silver and semi precious stones. Saira’s is the jewelry brand which is being targeted at girls and women aged 13-50 years. Since she doesn’t have lavish budgets to promote Saira’s, she is evaluating the following routes:

• Home shopping networks offered by cable operators and digital TV operators.
• Word-of-web through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, consumer blogs etc.
• Online stores such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra and also setting up company’s website
• Home-parties or kitty parties of women; an option based on word-of-mouth and consumer referrals
• Exclusive outlets in prime locations of the city
• What are the various strategic, tactical and locational considerations / factors that she should keep in mind for deciding the most appropriate channel (s)?

Q. V4kids.com is a recently launched online / e-tailing store which sells a wide variety of kids products for the age-group 2-12 years, ranging from stationery and school supplies, clothes, shoes, toys, board games, gaming apps, sports equipment, books, magazines, e-book readers, tablets, notebooks / mini-laptops, ipods, etc. Currently, V4kids.com faces competition from online stores such as Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Babyoye, Firstcry etc. besides the traditional retail brands such as ShopperStop, Hamleys, The Toy Store, Child Junction etc. and also the retail counterparts of online stores such as FirstCry store – which offer a wide range of children’s products.
To reach out to the market, V4kids.com is planning to create awareness about its online store, the range of products, membership programs and its weekly hot deals – all in one go. For this purpose, V4kids.com is planning a slew of advertising campaigns across different media. Discuss the 5W’s of the Integrated Service Communication Model for V4kids.

Q. One classic advertising and service recovery strategy used by companies involves turning a disadvantage into an advantage. For example, a small car rental company who did not meet customer expectations, ran a campaign “we are trying harder”. Recently, the Domino’s pizza chain took such an approach to the extreme. Marketers developed an advertising program to address the problem of slowing sales in a declining economy. The first wave of television commercials featured clips of consumers in focus groups, discussing Domino’s, providing statements such as “Worst pizza I ever had; totally devoid of flavor”, “Domino’s pizza crust is to me like cardboard” and “The sauce tastes like ketchup”. Domino’s had been able to maintain its market share during the economic downturn. At the same time, employees and company managers were concerned about the quality of the products being offered. The advertising program was created to apologize for poor quality pizza with the promise to do better by creating pies with improved ingredients and better recipes, which lead to a complete menu overhaul during a 4-year period beginning in 2008. “We think that going out there and being this honest really breaks through to people in a way that most advertising does not” explained the CEO Patrcik Doyle. Some marketing experts expressed concern that consumers would not listen carefully to the message. They would hear the part about poor quality but not the part about
improving. Doyle believed that the risk was worth taking.

When the roll-out of new and improved pizzas at bargain prices commenced, a new advertising campaign was launched, featuring the comment, “We are only as good as our last pizza. So tell us how yours was” followed. Domino’s had already introduced the pizza tracker feature to its website, which allows customers placing an online order at the Domino’s website to follow the progress of the order from the shop to the front door. Users receive an email directing them to the order tracking page within seconds of placing an order and without having to refresh the page, are told precisely when their pie is placed in the oven, checked for quality assurance and dispatched to their home. The pizza tracker informs the customer who was responsible for an individual pizza during
preparations and delivery. Following the completion of the transaction, the customer can provide feedback directly to the store where the pizza was made, which opens lines of communication with individual stores and managers rather than the larger corporation. The pizza tracker program insists that individual store owners will listen when customers are dissatisfied. By naming the actual individual responsible for any service failure, the store manager can improve operations on an employee- by- employee basis. Over the course of the next apology campaign and new emphasis on customer feedback, sales increased dramatically during the next two quarters. The company once again was willing to risk customer backlash, even mildly taunting the pubic with the “Oh yes, we did” tag line. Time will tell if these two maneuvers will generate long-lasting, positive effects for the company.

PLEASE CHECK BELOW

a. Evaluate the Service Recovery System of Domino’s and suggest few other
innovative methods to recover the customers (5 Marks)
b. Create a Service Blueprint for Domino’s home delivery operations covering all the
various methods of placing an order

B2B marketing involves techniques and best practices used by companies to sell its products and services to other businesses.

Questions on B2B marketing.

Q) Read the following Case & solve the questions given:
It is customary in almost every Business Organization, from large to small, to serve popular beverages like tea and coffee to its employees and visitors as a daily routine. In many organizations, it is served free, whereas in many others, on cost basis or subsidized-price basis. In a survey conducted by Coffee Board, in recent past, it is found that coffee is more regularly consumed in South Indian states and tea in most other parts is preferred as a routine beverage.
In business organizations, coffee consumption, more or less, follows the geographic pattern of consumption. However, with entry of many coffee- speciality suppliers, the coffee is gaining popularity as a beverage, and its demand is growing rapidly. There is a variety of coffee-serving facilities prevalent in companies for their employees, ranging from a typical instant coffee in a kitchen managed by a vendor to departmentalized self-service vending machines.

CoffeeBeans is a multinational coffee bars chain and has 220 outlets in major cities of India. In a bid to expand its market, CoffeeBeans is entering in business market in a big way. For its target B2B customers, it has designed a product-package consisting of a hightech coffee-making robot, named ‘CoffeeCup’, bundled with bulk packs of coffee making ingredients. This machine can serve variety of customized coffee to suit different tastes of employees at very fast rate of 50 cups per minute.
Vivek Lal, the CoffeeCup product manager, with his team 2 PTO ET_IB_B2B_3012 Business-to-Business Marketing End-Term Examination, December, 2016- January, 2017 zeroed on Hero Motors at Delhi NCR as its first large business customer, where he forecasts an initial sale of 200 CoffeeCup Robots and bulk ingredient-packs to serve 5000 cups per day.

Assuming any other relevant information as required, you are required to answer the following questions:
a. How will you identify individuals in the Hero’s Buying Centre, for the different roles being played by them?
b. Comment on the expectations of each role in the buying centre, and the strategies to be adopted by Vivek’s team to meet each of these expectations to persuade a favorable decision.

Distribution Channels in Marketing. B2B and B2C companies use Distribution channels to sell their products, and to expand their reach and to grow revenue.

They may use a single distribution channel or use multiple channels that may include:

• Wholesaler/Distributor
• Direct/Internet
• Direct/Catalog
• Direct/Sales Team
• Value-Added Reseller (VAR)
• Consultant
• Dealer
• Retail
• Sales Agent/Manufacturer’s Rep

Academic Questions on Distribution Channels

Management (MBA) questions on Distribution Channels in Marketing:

Q: What are the challenges in developing a successful distribution strategy for a global brand (with a broad product/brand portfolio)? What factors are influential in shaping Pepsi’s distribution strategy?

Q. Mr. Amish has written a self-help book “Happy Happy” which can be read by people from all walks of life. The book revolves around a core idea of being happy in all stages of life. The publisher doesn’t have any distribution network of its own.

Mr. Amish delivers session in many management schools on the topic “Happiness”. He is very popular among students and corporate. He also delivers session as a key note speaker in many management conclaves and seminars.

Mr. Amish has no online and social media presence. He doesn’t write blogs or articles. Mr. Amish is a good author but has no idea about marketing and distribution of books. He hires you as a Marketing consultant for overall marketing and distribution of books.

1. What are the distribution channels that you will use to distribute the product across Indian market? Explain the same with reason.
2. Suggest the Geographic, Demographic and behavioural segmentation for the book “Happy Happy”

3. a. Explain five online social media platform through which you will promote the book.

3. b. Explain the buyer decision making process for purchasing a self-help book.

Q) Voltas also makes commercial refrigerators which are used by Hotels, Commercial Kitchens, restaurants etc in addition to the air-conditioners it makes for B2C markets. These are customized according to customer requirements and the prices start from 5 lacs onwards. The marketing manager has to decide whether Voltas should direct distribution or indirect distribution. Please recommend the method Voltas should use giving reasons for the same. Also what communication tools can Voltas use for promoting in B2B segments for these new air-conditioners?

Q) Bookworm’s World is a U.K based Book Store chain planning to launch in the Indian market, specifically catering to children’s books, workbooks and educational toys. Initially the Book store chain will begin its operations with 6 major cities which are being seen as potential markets and then slowly it shall expand to other big cities in India as well. With this vision, the management, now wants to explore the various options for service delivery. Since it is a new chain, the delivery options need to be cost effective, atleast to begin with.

The management is open to all sorts of technology tie-ups to explore the self-service or remote options along with the traditional delivery models. Suggest all the possible delivery options that you consider appropriate. Justify with an argument.

Standardization vs. Adaptation

Standardization takes advantage of similarities in markets and involves using similar marketing mix and strategies in all markets.

Adaptation, on the other hand, adapts the strategies to country specific markets in order to consider differences in the marketing environment.

Management (MBA) question on this topic:

Q. Discuss how McDonald illustrate the blend of product standardization and Product adaptation strategy in international business.

Product Development

In business, product is anything that can be offered to the market to satisfy a need or want.

It often takes very long for a new product to be developed, evaluated, tested, manufactured and marketed. New product development (NPD), therefore, is about transformation of market opportunity into a new product. It is regarded as the part of research and development where research is defined as scholarly and scientific investigation which can be either basic or applied and development is also known as experimental development that involves systematic but non-routine technical work.

Hence, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market. However, successful product and service development is much more than application of tools and techniques and requires appropriate organisation to support innovation and explicit process to manage development.

With this, companies need to reach out to future by developing new products that will enable them to compete with rivals over decades. Therefore, a central aspect of NPD is product design, along with various business considerations. For many, new products are just outputs of innovation process but the process of NPD is the sub process of innovation. Also, the actual development of new products is the transformation of business opportunity into tangible product.

NPD requires an understanding of customer needs and wants, the competitive environment, and the nature of the market. Aiming at cost, time and quality, companies develop continuous practices and strategies to better satisfy customer requirements and to increase their own market share by a regular development of new products.

Questions on New product development (NPD)

Question: New product development is a key activity for most firms and the traditional linear or stage-gate view has been joined in the past few decades by one termed simultaneous engineering. Critically assess the differences between both approaches and also examine the types of situations when each is most suitable.

Question: New product development has recently been transformed from the linear, stage-gate process to one often termed simultaneous engineering. Exactly how do these differ, and are there any instances to which the stage-gate approach is most suited?

MBA Question on this topic:

Q) M/s Joy Corporation wants to enter into the production, marketing and distribution of Mobile Phones. The company is a market leader in Washing Machines and Refrigerators. The company wants to penetrate into the ever increasing Mobile Market. It plans to sell mid-range mobile phones where the major competitors are Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi.
a. Explain various steps involved in the new product development of Joy Mobile Phones.
b. Explain various marketing strategies that Joy mobile phones should undertake during the time of launch i.e. introduction phase of Joy Mobile Phones.

Question: [MBA Case Study]: Product life cycle (NMIMS Marketing_Management).

Briefly discuss the various stages of a Product’s life cycle, giving examples of products which are currently in each of these stages and the marketing strategies adopted by them.

Question: NMIMS [MBA Case Study]: Diversify product range (Marketing_Management).

‘Zeal’ is a cosmetic brand that has products ranging from suncare to facial moisturisers, deodorant and shower products for men as well as women. While the women’s range comprises beauty and skincare products such as sunblocks, moisturizers, day creams, night creams, shower gels and deodorants, the men’s range comprises grooming and skincare products such as shaving cream / gel, aftershave balm, day cream, moisturizer and deodorant. For its range of products, the company targets the youth ranging from an age bracket of 15 – 30 years. Having gained significant popularity with consumers and being a trusted brand for the past decade, the company is now planning to diversify its product range to the next level and venture into health care products such as honey, energy drinks, immunity-building beverages etc.

a. Which of the following strategies will you choose:
– Extend the existing Zeal brand to the energy drink segment or
– Launch a new brand with a completely new brand identity
Justify with a suitable argument discussing the pros and cons of the strategy.

b. Accordingly suggest the most suitable target audience and an appropriate positioning for the brand; given the competition in the health care products

Product Pricing

Pricing is an important element of the marketing mix, as it determines the value of the product. Businesses adopt various pricing strategies depending on its goals / objectives.

How to become a “Market Leader” in a particular industry is always a challenge for the companies who are “Market Challengers” or “Market Followers” or those who work in niche markets.

Introduction to Product Pricing

• Stages of setting the Product Price
• Price sensitivity – what type of buyer my product has?
• Price and Costs
• Dimensions of the quality of the product/service and its impact on the price
• Breakeven Analysis
• Introduction to the Product Pricing Strategies
• Understanding Price and Quality Matrix –Premium Pricing, Penetration Pricing, Economy Pricing & Price Skimming
• Price and Distribution Matrix – Market Leader, Market Challenger, Niche Marketer & Market Follower
• Strategy to become a Market Leader
• Strategies to initiate Price Cuts
• Strategies to Price Increase

Pricing is what marketing is all about. The whole point of the practice of marketing is to ensure the long-term survival of the company and survival will only be assured if the company is profitable in the long-term. However, pricing is more than a scorecard, the better the company’s marketing, the higher the profit (in the long-term at least). Pricing is also a dynamic element of the marketing mix. Price can affect the way customers behave and because “price” is perceived as being the single largest indicator of value, it will impact on their perceptions of the company’s offering versus that of the competition.

Setting the right price is always a challenge. If the product is sold at a premium price, profitability increases but its volume of sale decreases. If the product is sold economically, it might result in a higher sale but the margins shrink. Therefore, setting the right price is a perennial challenge. This programme will help the participants to address this challenge.

• Various stages in setting a price of the product, advantages and disadvantages of different pricing methods;
• Calculate prices using different approaches;
• How to choose the correct pricing strategy to fit a firm’s overall objectives;
• Economic theories underlying the marketer’s view of price and value.

Commonly used pricing strategies:

Demand Based Pricing
Cost Based Pricing
Competition Based Pricing
Value pricing
Target return pricing
Going rate pricing

Projects & Assignment Questions on Pricing Strategies

Management (MBA) questions on pricing strategies.

Question: Explore your chosen country’s macro & micro environment to propose a Marketing Mix strategy for the company. Start working on your country-level analysis for pricing strategy. Spot costs, market & environmental factors important for devleoping your pricing strategy for the chosen market. Some factors to consider are:
Cost: Any prominent transportation/shipping/manufacturing costs to sell your products in the chosen host country? Any tariffs or other taxes to consider?
Market: Purchasing power of local consumers? Any customs/cultural specificities influential for price perception? Main competitors’ prices? Environment: Country-level indicators – inflation, currency rates, etc.? Legal constraints & price controls?
Reflect on the current domestic Marketing Mix strategy of your company/product. How should you align the core company strategies with the local considerations you highlighted above?

Q) As the Product Head for Hodrej you have been entrusted with the task to devise pricing strategy for your products to maximize sales and profits. Describe some of the commonly used international pricing strategies which could be used to achieve your marketing goal and objectives.

Q) Discuss your pricing strategies for each of the following B2B situations of MRF for its Tyres:

Indian Army requires to buy about 50,000 tyres for periodic replacement in its trucks, as and when required in year 2019-20
Ashok Leyland needs 5000 tyres, customized for its export order trucks for sub-zero cold conditions.
Golden Transport Company urgently needs 200 truck-tyres for its transport fleet.

Q) Don’s Lumber Company on the Hudson River feature a large selection of materials for flooring, decks, moldings, windows, siding, and roofing. The prices of lumber and other building materials are constantly changing. When a customer asks about the price on pre-finished wood flooring, sales representatives consult a manual price sheet and then call the supplier for the most recent price. The supplier in turn uses a manual price sheet, which has been updated each day. Often, the supplier must call back Don’s sales reps because the company does not have the newest pricing information immediately on hand.

1. Assess the business impact of this situation.
Don’s Lumber Company is operating the business less efficiently. They have to call the supplier for price and get response some time later. The supplier manages the price list daily but the way is inefficient. The task is prone to error occurrence. Time of customer, Lumber Company and Supplier is spending for less business revenue generating tasks. There need to seem some efficient technology or improvement.

2. Describe how this process could be improved with information technology.
The company could improve its operation by following technology capable of synchronizing price information. They would rather follow online mechanism to regulate the price. If the information kept is accessible from customers and Lumber Company, then time of both customers and Lumber company staff is saved. The customer can themselves see the price online rather than visiting Lumber company, wait for response from supplier. When information are kept digitized then they would enjoy the technology that keeps history, analyze the price change trend. The initial investment seems high, but on long go it becomes cheaper and efficient.

3. Identify the decisions that would have to be made to implement a solution.
Don’s Lumber and supplier can make an understanding on what will be the efficient way to conduct the boring task creatively. Business can get more revenue if the customers are happy. Moreover the implementation of technical solution doesn’t mean cost necessity, there are many Freeware solution for Enterprise Resource Planning. But there arises question of customer support of the Freeware providers. Such solution may not fit the requirement so they might need tailored application. There are options to use cloud based service or internal reporting system. They have to decide on how they would wish to train the staffs too.

Visual merchandising is about presenting a product to grab the customer’s attention. It encompasses:

• Specific promotional displays that introduce a new product or talks about a specific brand
• Way in which a product is placed on the shelves
  Visual Merchandising Strategies involve creating effective visual marketing displays to maximize the impact of retail floor space.

Visual Merchandising Strategies involve creating effective visual marketing displays to maximize the impact of retail floor space.

Impact on consumer:

• Display elements, such as mannequins, colour, lighting and props can trigger responses in consumers which finally affect purchase intentions
• Factors—like color psychology, emerging digital trends, and emotional design—can all play a part in the shopping experience.
• While color psychology is not a perfect science, colors do influence customer perception of products and brands.
• Impulse shopping is largely driven by visual influencers

Question: Based on Research Portfolio Assignment: Conduct a visual merchandising analysis on a fashion or luxury store anywhere in London. This can be the same store as your portfolio assignment although it is strongly suggested that you visit another (different) company/brand. Answer this question in your presentation: How do these visual merchandising strategies affect the psychology of the consumer?

Retail Store Design, Planning & Location

A retail store layout (be it physical or digital) is the strategic use of space so as to influence customer experience. The manner in which customers interact with your merchandise has an impact on their their purchase behavior.

Besides store design and customer flow, store layout also includes factors such as location of the retail store, use of furniture , paint color, design of entrance.

Planning the layout of your store requires creativity, psychological insights, and lots of testing.

Academic Questions on Retail Store Design

1. As an official for the MINISTRY OF HANDLOOMS – GOVT. OF INDIA, whilst planning a visibility and expansion initiative for an Indian Weavers Collective, what are the type/s of outlets/stores you can opt for?

2. DISNEY INDIA has collaborated with BYJU’S recently. From the perspective of their Franchise Manager, what could be a list of principles that may have been included in the Franchise Brief, under Store Location. Present your thoughts.

3. The INDIA PAVILLION at the GLOBAL VILLAGE, DUBAI has asked you to work on optimizing their displays catering to tourists and visitors, before the DSF (Dubai Shopping Festival) 2020.
a. What presentation strategies can you offer?
b. Based on suggestions received for a Planogram, what types of display fixtures would you suggest?

Experience Centres / Stores

Brands pitch experiences, hope for millennial buy – in. From furniture and mobile phones to fashion and lifestyle, experience stores are opening up new paths to customer engagement and retention.

What does it take to sell clothes, mobile phones, furniture, bikes, cars and all else to millennial customers? Engaging them with the right experience say brand custodians at Fab India, Royal Enfield, Pepperfry, One Plus, RedMi and many others.

Over the past year and more several brands have experimented with their retail outlets or opened up new ones to serve up a range of experiences–café, wellness centers, children’s playrooms, reading corners and what have you-apart from their core offerings. The brand promise, they say, is increasingly about values and emotional connections as much as it is about a product or a service to meet a need.

Ajay Kapoor, President-Retail at Fab India that has opened 11 centers over the past year or so said that experience centers mark a shift from transactional exchanges to a more experiential and interactive retail experience. Fab India plans to go for 30 more centers in the coming months. “As per the industry norm re-developing a store leads to 6-7% sales growth whereas with experience centers we are experiencing a jump of up to 30%” said Kapoor.

Brands are interpreting the millennial rush for experience in different ways. Some see it as a need to entertain the customer, others look to align the brand to specific tastes and expectations. Royal Enfield stores for instance are built to push the feeling of camaraderie among bikers, to create an ambience where enthusiasts can share their passion about riding, said its spokesperson. The centers offer a glimpse into the brand’s history and its position within the shared heritage of the world of biking and adventure. The Royal Enfield Garage Café in Goa, for instance, hosts a motorcycle museum, customization area, a café and a retail store.

Brands such as Pepperfry, born and bred in the digital universe, look at experience centers as physical outposts that help bring customers into the fold. Customers want to touch, feel and interact with furniture, said its spokesperson. Pepperfry Studios helps the consumer choose the right type of furniture and have a conversion (customers to footfalls) ratio of over 50 per cent. Pepperfry will help its customers with the choice of materials designs, textures, fabrics etc. They would help the customer with the choice of tapestry, upholstery and many other products. If I was the store manager, I would increase the footfall by adopting these strategies. I would improve on the display, ambience, out of the box customer experience inside the store. I would then look at the layout and there would be spaces inside the store where there would be interior designers who would sit with the customer and help them with the selection of furniture, fabrics and give them an overall fantastic experience. Also helping with the designing of the house and making it the best place to live in. There are different technologies like 3D floors, different technologies for the wall and so on.

“The average ticket size of a studio order is three times that of an online order. Studios contribute 30% to our topline and we have seen catchment sales go up by 90-100% in areas where we have launched a studio.” the spokesperson added. The company has ramped up its offline strategy significantly, going from 29 studios at the end of FY 2018 to 52, end of FY2019. The company said that it was targeting an increase in their contribution to the topline from 30% to 45%.

One plus that started with an online-only presence and set up its first experience store in Bengaluru has now expanded to Chennai and Delhi. Vikas Agarwal general manager, One Plus India says Indian consumer prefer to touch and feel the product before making their purchase. Besides premium buyers look for a value added experience woven around their core purchase. Hence Agarwal added, One plus serves gourmet coffee and creates an ambience of exclusivity in its centers.

Rival brand Xiaomi has five ‘Mi home’ stores across Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. The centers are a way for the brand to reach out to customers directly thereby removing multiple operational costs and inefficiencies said the company’s spokesperson.

For home décor and lifestyle brands experience centers are a long tradition K E Ranganathan, managing director, Roca Bathroom products said that they help provide a seamless retail experience. For some it is a way to showcase the diverse set of products in its fold and establish an umbrella brand,Vasanth Kumar. managing director, Lifestyle International said they are setting up large (50,000 square feet) centers where its products will be retailed.

However, experience centers are much more than retail showrooms. They are not about products or pricing, but a place where one can relax and enjoy the entire shopping experience says the brands that are working on creating such centers. For bike brand Jawa, experience stores create a warm brand experience, said Ashish Joshi chief executive Classic Legends. Here buyers can walk in, read about bike Czechoslovakian origin, dig into motorcycle folklore or buy T-shirts and accessories or browse around the small library of books located in the space. The art of retail it would appear is all about the art of mastering the subtle sales pitch.

1. What is your take on the strategic routes that the brands have taken to position their products?

2. How do you think that pepperfry can improve its footfall in its stores If you were to head a store as store manager how would you increase and improve the footfall after pepper fry has taken the steps in this case?

3. a) What experience do you get in Royal Enfield garage café in Goa?
b) What do you understand by experience centers? Give examples

Channel Management (the term is widely used in sales marketing parlance) is a process where the company develops various marketing techniques as well as sales strategies to reach the widest possible customer base. The channels are various ways or outlets to market and sell products.

MBA question / Case study on this topic:

To maximize profits, companies need to develop a marketing channel management strategy. What are your recommendations for a successful channel strategy decisions? Explain with examples.