Marketing Management
Today, more than half of Japanese people carry smartphones.
Case Studies
Case Study (20 Marks)
Today, more than half of Japanese people carry smartphones.1 As a result, consumer behavior has forever changed. When consumers want to know, do, buy, or go, they turn to their phones and expect brands to provide immediate answers. At Google, we call these micro moments: crucial moments in which decisions are made and preferences are shaped. Many of these micro moments happen on mobile. According to Google research, 49% of Japanese consumers take search results into consideration when making purchase decisions.2 For initial searches, consumers use mobile more than any other device;3 and 40% of consumers say they’ve used a mobile device to compare products.2 Car Sensor, a used car information service, and its operator, Recruit Marketing Partners, saw the opportunity to embrace micro moment sand followed three steps: 1. Identify consumers’ micro moments Recruit Marketing Partners knew that consumers looking to purchase cars have many I want to know and I want to buy moments throughout their journeys. In fact, 70% of searches for popular vehicle models are made from a smartphone.4 Research conducted by Recruit Marketing Partners also revealed that people’s tendency to look for information on their smart phones and mobile apps is likely to increase. Knowing this, the company invested in its mobile app with the goal of increasing conversions and winning loyal users. 2. Deliver the right information at the right time To make its mobile app convenient and helpful to car buyers, Recruit Marketing Partners took two approaches. First, it outfitted the mobile app with deep links. Users who had already installed the app would see a link to a specific section of the app when searching for vehicle images on Google. This made it possible for users to navigate to the corresponding image of the vehicle model in the mobile app with just one click. Second, the company displayed ads tailored to each user by leveraging its in app behavior log. It could show the most relevant creative content to each user based on brand and price preferences. 3. Measure the results Since searches and conversions within the mobile app may occur several months after its installation, Recruit Marketing Partners determined ROI based on Life Time Value CPA (LTVCPA), which considers a six month period from the time of installation instead of just relying on the app’s CPI. As a result of the company’s efforts, the number of conversions from the mobile app has gradually risen and now accounts for roughly 15% of total conversions. As they move forward, Car Sensor and Recruit Marketing Services are going to continue delivering on consumers’ micro moments. Recruit Marketing Partners’ Operating Office of Internet Business, Sakurai Kohei said, “In the future, I want to focus on the idea of micro moments that Google advocates. When we conducted ethnographic research through a different medium to closely analyze the behavior of a large number of consumers, we found a certain amount of mobile usage during those in between moments, like when waiting for an elevator. I think it will become more important in the future to understand and respond to the specific behavior of consumers.”
Answer the following question.
Q1. Give an overview of the case.
Q2. Give the objectives, in detail, for developing a mobile app for the loyal consumers
Case Study (20 Marks)
This case study’s primary objective is to debate and discuss on: Does it make sense for a single business firm from an emerging country like India, to transform itself into a conglomerate when the reverse trend is witnessed in other countries – both developed as well as developing? With the inception of Bharti Telecom (Bharti) in 1985, Sunil Bharti Mittal laid the foundations of an
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organisation that would emerge as India’s ‘telecom conglomerate giant’. The company made a humble beginning with the manufacture of push button handsets. However, 1992 marked the turn of events for Bharti. The liberalization of the Indian telecom sector in that year unleashed numerous opportunities for domestic and international players to tap the lucrative Indian telecom market Notwithstanding its small size, Bharti plunged into the bidding war for cellular licenses, successfully capturing the license for providing cellular network service in New Delhi (Delhi). Making a mark with its brand, Airtel, in the Delhi market, Bharti was confident of a triumphant journey. Contradictory to its aspirations, this early victory was followed by a string of downturns. The company lost most of the subsequent cellular bids and found itself in troubled waters. Nevertheless, competitors’ inability to exploit their winning cellular bids proved a boon to Bharti. The eagerness of these companies to sell their cellular licenses to Bharti brought the company back into limelight. Bnking on the opportunity, the company spread its cellular service to new regions in the country. From being a handset manufacturer, Bharti transformed itself into a full cellular service provider with a whopping 4.5 million customers in March 2003. However, the company is not content with being only a ‘telecom conglomerate’. In 2008, to gratify its growing aspirations, Bharti declared its intentions of becoming India’s ‘finest conglomerate by 2020’. Equipped with a youthful logo and new brand identity, Bharti is determined to unveil another success story. However, many challenges lie ahead.
Answer the following question.
Q1. Analyze the critical success factors in building conglomerates and to understand the role of brand building in a conglomerate
Q2. Examine the challenges that Bharti would face in operating as a conglomerate when a reverse trend is being witnessed all across the globe
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
CocaCola Company was universally recognized as a market leader in soft drinks with worldwide revenue of $23.1 billion and presence in over 200 countries (2006). The Company manufactured beverage concentrates and syrups. The CocaCola Company owned four of the world’s top five soft drink brands, which included CocaCola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. In America, sales of carbonated drinks declined a little in 2005 as government campaigns and media coverage raised concerns over obesity. Bottled teas
and nutrition enhancers were big opportunities for CocaCola. Sales of bottled teas were growing steadily and nutrient drinks had a market of about $1 billion by 2006. According to a study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, Americans opted for a healthy alternative to their daily dose of energy instead of carbonated drinks. The study prompted CocaCola to go in for the calorie burning Enviga. On 6th November, 2006, CocaCola along with Nestlé launched Enviga, a Nestea carbonated canned green tea drink. Enviga burnt 60 to 100 calories per three 12ounce cans in healthy adults aged between 1835 years. For overweight Americans, the release of Enviga was meant to bring good news. According to CocaCola, Enviga helped in reducing obesity. But according to doctors green tea was unlikely to make anyone shrink, so the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an organization that focuses on health and nutrition issues in US sued CocaCola and Nestle for their ad campaign of Enviga but the company had no plans to change its claims. In the recent past CocaCola had already faced two softdrink flops out of their four releases in the form of CocaCola C2 and Vanilla Coke. What would CocaCola’s strategy be with the new drink? Would it be able to make it a success despite the initial controversy that surrounded it? Would consumers take to Enviga?
Answer the following question.
Q1. Discuss the trouble faced by CocaCola in 2005.
Q2. Debate CocaCola’s marketing strategies for Enviga and discuss whether ColcaCola
will succeed in its new product.
Case (20 Marks)
A Case Study on Classic Airlines: Classic Airlines is facing an organizational issue. External and internal marketing programs have not been able to satisfy the needs and wants of the stakeholders. Target customers are looking at the services offered by other airlines to satisfy their wants and needs. This has resulted in poor sales and reduced profits for the company. The marketing plan of a firm “helps the firm connect with its customers” (Kerin et al., 2006). Therefore, Classic Airlines wants to develop an effective plan of action that will not only help attract and retain customers, but also boost sales and profits. The Situation Issue and Opportunity Identification Classic Airlines is a 25 year old company that commands a fleet of more than 375 jets that serve 240 cities with more than 2300 daily flights. The company is facing numerous challenges because of rising costs and lack of innovation. Customers are not satisfied with the service they are receiving and management cannot agree on how to correct the issues. A manager at Classic Airlines expresses, “Your challenge is going to be rising above our competition without discounting airfare” (Case Study, 2008). The company will have to figure out strategies to overcome the challenges. Challenges Identification Classic Airlines must address the challenges the company is facing. The company is experiencing a decrease in stock prices. Employee morale is low because of finger pointing and lack of unity. The case study states that “loyal customers were jumping ship and the ones still aboard seemed to be flying less frequently” (Case Study, 2008). The senior vice president of customer service explains that “customers have no voice” which is a major challenge for the company. Classic Airlines and many of its rivals expanded too quickly (Case Study, 2008). The case study mentions that the CEO and CFO focus on numbers and less on marketing. Membership in classic rewards is down nearly 20% and the average number of flights per member is down more than 20%. The company recently mandated a 15%
across the board cost reduction over the next 18 months which is also a major challenge for all departments. “Changesin the marketing environment are a source of opportunities and threats to be managed. The process of continually acquiring information on 3/2/2017 Aeren Foundation 3/3 events occurring outside the organization to identify and interpret potential trends is called environmental scanning” (Kerin et al., 2006).Environmental scanning will help the company progress A technique for marketing research is to utilize the 5step marketing research approach which encompasses the following steps: Define the problem Develop the research plan Collect relevant information by specifying Develop findings Take marketing actions The final objective of the company is to become the largest airline provider. A SWOT analysis identified several opportunities
Answer the following question.
Q1. Discuss different opportunity for Classic Airlines
Q2. When deciding the optimum solution, Classic Airlines must understand what their goals are, what their end state vision is, and also what challenges they have faced with product development. Discuss
Today, more than half of Japanese people carry smartphones.
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