Case study questions:

For questions 1 to 4, you have to answer the questions within the limitations of data
available in the case study.
Assume you will get no additional data, and make reasonable assumptions in the absence of
data.
Q5 is about ‘what additional data’ you would like to have in an ideal situation.

1.Assuming you are Atul, what would you hypothesize as to the problem?
Answer :- Analysis of the issue will lead us to the root cause of the problem. Normally lowered
sales are the symptom of a deeper problem ( Case 1 :- Intermittent Problem, Case 2 :- Regular
problem) , and what we need to identify and address is the root cause. So while we may start
with Lower sales to be the issue that needs to be addressed, once we find the root cause, our
issue/problem will be redefined (it will be solving the root cause)

2.How would you propose to fix the problem you have identified?
Answer :-

South Region >> Where my sales are down :-

a) Either Sales reps join us
b) I join hands with my competitor - (Taking Orders from the Competition)
c) Stock Clearance Schemes
d) Trainings to the Sales Manager from Senior Leadership

Other regions :- In Delhi already good sales or at par with competatior

Having identified the causes for lowered sales, I conclude that the solution lies in matching or
bettering our competitors dealer schemes. So I propose a solution to:

 Match the dealer discounts offered by competitor

 Increase campaign spend on Digital marketing

If you notice I am not offering a better discount than the competition but just matching it, and am
trying to drive up demand by increasing advertising expenditure on Digital. It is my inference that
this move would cancel out loss of sales due to discounts.
3.What assumptions have you made in proposing your solution?
Answer :-
While arriving at this solution, there are a few assumptions I am making

 Company is performing at par except the South Region

 Local Competitor joining hands with me will only serve Local Region ( South Region).
 Discounts appllicable will be given in all the regions.
 The Distributors and retailers will play neutral between our competitor and us since they
do not have any special financial benefit in promoting one over the other
 Competitor will not react to my discount schemes by increasing the discounts offered to
the channel. Any further discounting would not be acceptable to my management,
marketing department, and will also lower our profitability significantly enough to be a
cause for worry for the brand itself.
 That the increased spend in Digital marketing will drive up demand at the retail level
resulting in an increase in offtake by the consumer and more orders from retailer for our
brand.

4.Do you think the Marketing Head and CEO would be agreeable to your proposed solution?
Answer :-

Both will agree to the solutions, however their area of concerns will be

1) CEO :- Since the margins will decrease, CEO will be concerned to the solution,
2) Marketing head :- He will be concerned with the collaboration with competitors

5.If you had time, is there any additional data you would like to have?
Answer :-

 Is the lowered sales compared to previous quarters peculiar only to this year, or do sales
drop every year in this quarter ? So I pull out data of say last five years to see if there is a
pattern of lowered sales
 Have there been any supply problems - there is demand, but we haven't been able to
supply
 Retails and Distributors profiles and previous data
 Are there any new competitors in the market?
 Is there any change in leadership of performing teams - new Regional Manager, or new
Area Sales Managers or some high performance Sales Reps have left and new ones are
not performing at the same level