Instructor: Narasimhan Rajkumar

Course Objective:

In the Term-1 course of Marketing Management-I, the focus was on the strategic aspects of
Marketing Management i.e. Market Analysis, Consumer Behaviour, Segmentation, Targeting and
Positioning. In continuation of this, Marketing Management-II (MM-II) will focus on the formulation
of marketing activities, viz., designing Product, Brand, Promotion, Distribution, and Price to help the
company communicate the Position to the customers.

At the end of the course, the participants will be able to

1. Understand the links between marketing corporate strategy of Segmentation, Targeting and
Positioning with the Marketing Operational Strategy of designing the 4 Ps
2. Conceptualize the role of Product, price Place and Promotion in creating value for
customers.
3. Conceptualize the process and create the “go to market” strategy for New Products.

Pedagogy

Pedagogic mix may include standard standalone sessions, case studies, games, simulations,
exercises, assignments and presentations. Emphasis will be on discussion and active exchange of
ideas. The course is intended to be a vehicle for self-learning and group learning. Carefully thinking
out your position and displaying tenacity in defending it from attack by skeptics are both important
requirements. A willingness to share your perspectives, knowledge, and experience is another
important factor for a satisfactory classroom experience in this course. The learning process will be
inductive i.e. we will understand the concepts as applied to a real life company. To ensure that
learning occurs and doubts are clarified it is imperative that all designated pre-class preparatory
work is done and we are all prepared to spend time in class in clarification of doubts / issues.

Evaluation

Assessment Logic

The learning objectives enunciated at the beginning of this course outline seek to ensure that your
learning in this course can be used to design solutions, from a marketing management perspective,
for business problems. The assessment of this learning has been designed on the premise that this
learning, in turn, requires that you remember and understand concepts and ideas, know how to
apply them and be comfortable in being able to use them to analyse (deconstruct) situations and
design (evaluate and construct) solutions. The table below outlines a rough mapping of the
evaluation components to the dimensions of learning
Components Remembering Application of Analysis Evaluation and
and Understanding Synthesis
Understanding

Quizzes To assess To assess To assess ability to

ability to ability to apply/ analyse case
discuss and use concepts situations
explain and theories to
concepts given data/
situations
(Minor)
(Major)

Assignments To assess To assess ability to To assess ability

ability to apply/ analyse case to design
use concepts situations solutions and
and theories to build up
given data/ arguments to
situations justify the
decision

Project To assess ability to To assess ability

critically analyse to design, plan
real life situations solutions for real
life situations; to
assess ability to
build up
arguments to
justify the
solution using
concepts and
theories

End Term To assess To assess To assess ability to To assess ability

ability to ability to apply/ analyze case to design, plan
discuss and use concepts situations solutions for real
explain and theories to life situations; to
(Major)
concepts given data/ assess ability to
situations build up
(Minor)
arguments to
(Minor)
justify the
solution using
concepts and
theories (major)
 Component Weight ages Description
Project 20% This is a group effort.
Quizzes 25% 2 mega quizzes of 12.5 marks each
Assignments 20% Groups will have to submit a written write
up of the cases before the case is discussed.
The discussion questions are given in the
outline. Each group will have to submit 4
assignments.
End Term Exam (after end of 35% Briefing will be given later
course)

Grading

Components (other than quiz) will be graded on the following scale

Grade A+ A B+ B C+ C D+ D F

Con. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 0

The grading scale for the final marks will be

% > 80 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 <45

Marks

Grade A+ A B+ B C+ C D+ D F

Marks will be rounded off to the nearest whole number.

What do grades mean?

Grade Points (out of 10) Meaning

A+ 10 Considerable grasp of the material, with original thinking and
thereby offering a unique insight into the issue at hand. Such a
test/assignment/project is a pleasure to read…it “sings”! The paper
is clear without grammatical and punctuation errors, supporting
evidence is presented in a coherent and logical manner. The paper
should reflect the participants’ true engagement with the subject.
A 9 All that A+ means except writing style.
B+ 8 All that A+ means except writing style and coherency. A paper that
contains all that A+ means except that the paper does not have the
elegance of an A+ paper.
B 7 The paper shows a command over the subject, but lacks clarity, and
a lack of care. It also lacks comprehensiveness. The evidence is not
presented coherently, or fully. Also indicates an inability to look at
all implications.
C+ 6 Demonstrates an understanding of the subject, but lacks the larger
implications. Generally incomplete and sloppy in presentation. Has
grammatical and punctuation errors.
 C 5 Barely addresses the issues involved. Repeats the facts without
adequate discussion, deviates from the topics and is not
comprehensive. The analysis is general without evidence. However,
has some knowledge of the subject matter.
D+ 4 All of what C means, expect the paper has serious flaws interms of
logic, coherence, writing style. Also the context is not mentioned
and evidence is “Created” to suit one’s analysis.
D 3 Very little subject matter grasp. No evidence provided. Incoherent.
Substantial errors in presentation rendering the writing
incomprehensible. Quoting out of context and lazy!
F 0 No clue about the subject.

Estimated effort required to be expended on the course (other than the class time)

Average reading of 2 hours per session x 20 sessions 40 hours

Preparatory Work for Mega Quizzes and End Term 5 hours x 3 15 hours

Effort required, per person, for group tasks 10-20 hours

Total 65-75 hours

Textbook

1. Marketing Management (online resource) from McGraw Hill. (ONLINE)

2. Marketing Management By Phillip Kotlar et al. (the book has already been provided with
term 1 (PK)

Additional Readings

1. The Marketing Imagination: Theodore Levitt, Free Press

2. Marketing Management by Rajan Saxena, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited
3. Marketing and Branding by S Ramesh Kumar, Pearson Education
4. What’s in a Brand by Jones John Philip, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited
5. Marketing as Strategy by Kumar Nirmalya, HBS Press
6. Marketing Warfare by Al Ries and Jack Trout, Plume Book
7. Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout, Warner Books

Session-wise plan
1. Understanding the Context of Marketing Decision Variables: The Attribute-Benefit-Value
ladder
a. Readings: Note on Marketing Strategy
b. Case: Saxonville Sausage Company
2. Segmentation, Targeting Positioning and Marketing Decision Variables.
a. Reading: Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
b. Case: Birth of Swatch
3. Product Management-1: Product Mix Decisions: Managing the Product Line; Width and
Depth.
a. Note on Product Policy
b. Note on Product Variety
c. Note on Price Discrimination
d. Case: Cambridge Software Corporation
4. Product Management-2: Strategic Product Management: Interrelations between other
Marketing Decision Variables and the Product Decision.
a. Case: Pintura Corporation: The Lena Launch Decision
5. Brand Management: Strategic Brand Management; Role of Brands; The Brand Adoption
Cycle; Brand Architecture
a. Reading: Brands and Branding
b. Case: Mahindra “Rise”: A Brand Architecture Decision
6. Pricing Management-1: Nature of Price: Demand/Supply versus Value. Types of Pricing
Strategies: Cost Plus; Skimming; Penetration; Target Return; PLC pricing; Yield Management
a. Note on Pricing Policy
7. Pricing Management-2: Strategic Pricing Management
a. Case: Signode Industries Ltd.
8. Distribution Management-1: Decisions regarding channels of distribution; Managing the
Company-Customer Flows;
a. Note on “Go to Market” Strategy
9. Distribution Management -2: Economics and Evaluating the Channel performance: Managing
the Distributor
a. Case: An Irate Distributor
10. Distribution Management-3: Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Inventory and
Transportation and Storage issues and costs.
a. Case: Dakota Office Products
11. Retail Management: Role and Classification of retailers; Retail Positioning Decision; Retailer
Performance Management
a. Note on Retail Positioning
12. Integrated Marketing Communications-1: Understanding the Components of Marketing
Communication; their roles and decisions
a. Note on Integrated Marketing Communication
13. Integrated Marketing Communication-2: Resource Allocation between the various
components of IMC; pros and cons and how to manage the performance
a. Case: Reliance Baking Soda: Resource Allocation
14. Integrated Marketing Communication: Role of Personal Selling and management of sales
force
a. Note on Personal Selling
b. Case: Sales Force Integration at Fed Ex. -A
15. Integrating the 4 Ps: How does each Marketing Decision variables interact with each other
 a. Integrated Case: Eco7: Launching a new Motor Oil
16. New Product Launch and Management: Managing Innovation in an organisation; the
challenge of new product development and go to market strategy
a. Case: Optical Distortion, Inc.
17. Marketing of Services: The nature of Service; Additional Marketing Decision Variables;
creating and sustaining competitive advantages and services.
a. Reading: The Services Imperative
b. Case: Housing.com
18. Digital Marketing Concepts: Introduction to Digital Marketing; Types of Digital Marketing;
The Digital Marketing Strategy and Plan
a. Social Strategies That Work
b. Case: Tech Talk: Creating a Social Media Strategy
19. Business to Business Marketing
a. Value Proposition is Business to Business Markets
b. PV Technologies: Were they Sleeping at the Switch?
20. Customer Centricity: The Customer Journey Map and Relationship Marketing
a. The Customer Centred Innovation Map
b. Customer Journey Map
c. EMC2: Delivering Customer Centricity

Attendance Norms: As per Manual of Policies