Before switching to sales planning by objectives, General Electric

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Marketing Management

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

Before switching to sales planning by objectives, General Electric (GE) planned its strategies by asking sales personal to prepare their plans in the form of action programs. The reactions of customers to their plans were assumed. This method did not yield expected results because it is difficult to assess customers’ reaction patterns beforehand. Owing to this deficiency in the planning approach, newly recruited sales personnel in General electric’s service division had greater difficulty in planning compared to new sales personnel in other product divisions. The reason was that the service division was involved in industrial maintenance and repair, requiring sales personnel to react quickly when there was failure of equipment in the customers plant. Sales personnel were unable to identify beforehand customers’ confidence by identifying and preventing failures. This led to loss of revenue and accounts.GE T then implemented planning by objectives. Sales personnel were able to identify and keep track of probable service problems and service contracts lost competitors from major accounts. They could also undertake and review major account planning on a monthly or bimonthly basis and approach these accounts with clear cut objectives.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss the reasons behind the customer’s dissatisfaction, In detail.

Q2. Explain your views on “Sales Planning by objectives”



CASE STUDY (20 Marks)

This case analyses the distribution strategy of Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), the 51.6% subsidiary of Unilever and the largest FMCG Company in India. Traditionally HLL's distribution network consisted of wholesalers and retailers. HLL had presence in 80 lakhs retail outlets and there was 'one size fit for all' distribution strategy to serve all those outlets. But due to change in consumer demography, consumer behavior and market structure, the traditional distribution system failed to deliver the results. Urban customers wanted products with unique, value added and customized offerings with convenient shopping. Apart from this, emergence of rural market also forced HLL to change its distribution system. HLL dealt with these two issues differently. For urban market it developed different distribution system cater to different type of customers. Along with this, it provided value added service, convenience and customized offering to urban customers. On the other hand, in rural markets, to increase brand awareness and product availability, it introduced alternative distribution systems. Through these changes, HLL brought its brands closer to customers. HLL's approach to distribution was holistic and developed a three way convergence of product availability, brand communication and brand experience.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Discuss about the supply chain management and logistics system in FMCG market

Q2. Explain the effectiveness of logistics system in rural market.

Q3. Debate the evolution of market logistics system.

Q4. Discuss how effective implementation of information technology helps a company to make its supply chain an efficient one


CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
In 1975, HLL launched its first fairness cream under the F&L brand. With the launch of F&L, the market, which was dominated by Ponds (Vanishing Cream and Cold Cream) and Lakme (Sunscreen Lotion), lost their dominant position. The dominance of HLL's F&L continued till 1998, when CavinKare launched its Fairever cream in direct competition with F&L. In June 1999, the FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) announced that it would offer 50% extra volume on its Fair & Lovely (F&L) fairness cream at the same price to the consumers. This was seen by industry analysts as a combative initiative to prevent CavinKare's Fairever from gaining popularity in retail markets. HLL's scheme led to increased sales of F&L and encouraged consumers to stay with F&L and not shift to the rival brand. In December 1999, Godrej Soaps created a new product category fairness soaps by launching its Fair Glow Fairness Soap. The product was successful and reported sales of more than Rs. 700 million in the first year of its launch. Godrej extended the brand to fairness cream by launching FairGlow Fairness Cream in July 2000. By 2001, CavinKare's Fairever fairness cream, with the USP of 'a fairness cream with saffron' acquired a 15% share, and F&L's share fell from 93% (in 1998) to 76%. Within a year of its launch, Godrej's Fair Glow cream became the third largest fairness cream brand, with a 4% share in the Rs. 6 billion fairness cream market in India. he other players, including J.L. Morrison's Nivea Visage fairness cream and Emami Group's Emami Naturally Fair cream, had the remaining 5% share. Clearly, the fairness cream and soaps market was witnessing a fierce battle among the three major players HLL, CavinKare, and Godrej each trying to woo the consumer with their attractive schemes.

Answer the following question.

Q1. Give reasons for the loss of the dominant position of Ponds (Vanishing Cream and Cold Cream) and Lakme (Sunscreen Lotion) in the market.

Q2. Who were the major players of fairness ream? Describe the marketing strategy adopted by by Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) to gain popularity in retail market.

CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
"Segmenting, targeting and positioning" (STP) formed the base for marketing strategies of any firm. Global organizations used to segment the market either continent wise or according to the economic development (i.e. developed, developing and under developed). But in alcohol industry, that might not be the proper criteria, as climate and tradition played an important role in consumer preference. The industry was subdivided into three major categories: beer, wine and spirit; and every market had their unique characteristics. As branded beer sales accounted for around 76 percent of total branded alcohol sales, the global players were primarily concentrated in marketing beer products. Eight out of the top nine global alcohol companies were primarily breweries. The only exception was Diageo, which was the leader in the global spirit market, and had presence in all three categories throughout the world. Thus, Diageo's global business strategies were quite different from the others. Diageo had followed a unique STP strategy so as to succeed in such complicated and competitive environment. Diageo's geographic segmentation was quite different from the usual continent wise segmentation. Diageo intended to have complete category participation, rather than solely focusing on  individual brands within categories. Accordingly, Diego's marketing and investment strategies also differed in different geographical segments.


Answer the following question.

Q1. Give the trends and structure of global Alcoholic Industry in detail.

Q2. Explain the concept of "Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning" (STP) with respect to alcoholic beverage industry.

Q3. Analyze the possible threats for a differentiating marketing strategy



Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets
Project Report and Thesis contact

ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224

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