3.

00% 0

8.40% 1.0000 0.9225 0.8510 0.7851 0.7242 0.6681 0.6163

(3,020) (514) 144 536 392 390 388 3

7,150
24%
9

2.37

 CLEAN EDGE RAZOR

o Mkting decisions require systematic analytical approach; IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT
NUMBERS (financial analysis is still a key component)
o FRAMEWORK was useful for this case
o Best analysis rooted in deep understanding of consumer behaviour & decision
making
o Different segments may: 1) have different relative point of comparison, 2)
require different value proposition
 For each customer segment, the coffee machine had different value
proposition
o Failure resulted from:
 Inconsistent marketing tactics
 Insufficient incremental value to get customs to switch
o TARGET SEGMENT, OFFERING, BRAND triangle  alignment = value creation
 NEED TO CREATE A LOT OF VALUE FOR HABITUAL PROCESS CHANGES

 STRUGGLING TO MAKE THE BEST BUY

o Buying:
 Is process; not a single act
 Involves info seeking & evaluation
 Decisions include spectrum of influencers
  Involves risks
o NEED TO UNDERSTAND BUYING CRITERA & INFLUENCES
o Qualifying criteria gets you into the consideration set; SELECTION criteria gets
you chosen
o Low vs high involvement; some products, we put a lot of effort into
o High vs low risk
o What happens when differences between competing products are high or low?
 of profitability
o ” business calculation

 SAMSUNG
o Differentiation is only an advantage if customers value it
o Attractive vs Uniqueness scale
o Clear understanding is necessary to understand difference bw loss of mkt share
vs declining market???
o Markets differ bw developing & developed economies

 TESCO
o Mkt strategy rooted in comprehensive mkt & consumer research
o Retailing requires deep understanding of consumer behaviour & preferences
o Breaking consumer habitual behaviour is significant barrier to growth
o Copy&Paste strategies from other markets are RISKY
 They used UK strategy in US… didn’t work
o Not all markets have opportunity; markets could be saturated

 RED LOBSTER
o Key ideas:
 What is positioning? What is that distinctive place in the customers’
minds that you want to own? What opinion do you want them to have
when they think about you? Who will customers compare us to?
 WE WANT TO BE THE PREFERRED CHOICE OF OUR TARGET SEGMENT
o Price-Value Curve
 It can also shift over time but moving around might mean losing some
segments
 We can compete in many different areas, BUT we don’t want to be above
or below the curve
o The more specific we are with our targeting, the better our message will
resonate with target customers
 Although, broad target provides more volume

 DOVE REAL BEAUTY

o Started way back; advertising has changed with time
o Function benefits (expert care) … to … Sensory benefits (fragrance)
o Social image (real beauty) … to … awareness?
 o Brand value ladder
 Incorporate emotional benefits to a strong foundation functional benefit
 Functional  Emotional  Social
 Emotional or social position doesn’t fit in every market
 BUT IF WE ARE GENUINCE, then we can get it
 Result: there is opportunity to help brand & society

 COLGATE
o Share-point value
o Understanding competitor behaviour at individual product manager level can
product important insight
o No-win positions require foresight (prisoner’s dilemma)
o Ultimate goal is driving profitability; not demise of competition

 SOREN POOL CHEMICALS

o Need to create value at every stage
 Partners at each stage have options
 Even if one stage is missed, we lose
o Economic vs non-economic value

 Union Pearson Express

o Customers will evaluate differentiated value created, compared to the relevant
competitive alternative, and evaluate price vs. the differentiated value
 Basically, customers decide how much they’re going to pay for each value
point, which limits how we can price
o Pricing: think about customers, partners, competitive limits (how competitors
will react), corporate goals

 British Columbia Box

o Lots of people (decision making unit -DMU) have input in organization decisions;
they all have diff perspectives & criteria
o Purchases follow predictable path
o Buyers feel risk & will try to share to minimize it
o Company sales rep is IMPORTANT in B2B
o Low price doesn’t always win
EXAM DETAILS
 Past exam cases: clean edge razor, voss, kraft coffee, starbucks, mountain man, red
lobster, colgate, soren
 USE MAIN FRAMEWORK TO STRUCTURE THINKING  allows you to look at all aspects
 Marketing analysis planning process:
o Context
 What are we dealing?
 What problem are we facing?
  What are our goals?
 What alternatives do we have?
 What kinds of things do you want to know? (ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS)
o Situation Analysis (Size up)
 Answer questions generated above
 Ask “why does this matter” for every situation (implications of decisions)
o Evaluation of Alternatives
 Qualitative & quantitative
 Analyze every alternative on every criteria
 Strategy will drive tactical decisions
o The Decisions and The Plan
 Best Alternative & why?
 Summarized strategy
 Execution plan
 Case exam
o Management report
o Use Examplify & hand-written stuff; will be graded in conjunction
 Can do the whole thing by hand too
o Open book; will have access to computer files
o Can use excel or bring actual calculator
o What is a good approach to the report:
 Use the 4 sections: context, situation analysis, evaluation of alternatives,
decisions & plan; EXEC SUMMARY IS USEFUL BUT NOT MANDATORY
o Make small notes if using notes from other cases

 Exam Tips
o Headings & subheadings help
o Bullet points okay; but sentence fragment doesn’t make sense to reader
o MAKE SURE HAND-WRITTEN PORTIONS ARE LEGIBLE
o Read first paragraph & last paragraph, read headings & exhibit titles, THEN read
case
o Write questions as they pop in your head; some may be answered, but some
may not and the ones not answered may be key
o What numbers should you do? Enough to make a good decision & possible make
some projections

- Past Exam
o Clean Edge Razor
o Voss Water
o Kraft Coffee Pod
o Starbucks
o Mountain Mna
o Red lobster
 o Colgate
o Soren

2010 2011 2012 2013

Revenue 0 6,000 14,360
Revenue Growth 139.3%
Production Costs
Fixed Production Expense (excl
depreciation) 0 1,650 1,683
Additional development costs (IT
personnel) 435
Variable Production Costs 0 2,250 7,651
Depreciation 0 310 310
Total Production Costs 435 4,210 9,644
Selling, General & Administrative 1,201 0 1,240 2,922
Total Operating Expenses 1,201 435 5,450 12,566

Operating Profit -1,201 -435 550 1,794

Operating Profit/Sales 0.092 0.125
SG&A/Sales 0.207 0.203

2010 2011 2012 2013

Revenue 0 6,000 14,360
Revenue Growth 139.3%
Production Costs
Fixed Production Expense (excl
depreciation) 0 1,650 1,683
Additional development costs (IT
personnel) 435
Variable Production Costs 0 2,250 7,651
Depreciation 0 310 310
Total Production Costs 435 4,210 9,644
Selling, General & Administrative 1,201 0 1,240 2,922
Total Operating Expenses 1,201 435 5,450 12,566

Operating Profit -1,201 -435 550 1,794

Operating Profit/Sales 0.092 0.125
SG&A/Sales 0.207 0.203