Advanced Marketing

MA/BA level course.

The main aim of the course is to develop a better understanding of key marketing issues and problems that companies face in the real world. This is achieved through a thorough and detailed analysis of Harvard Business School case studies of companies with different strategies and resources doing business in a variety of industries. The case study method is used, supplemented with explanation of applicable theoretical constructs and concepts. The following cases are discussed:

1/D.Purkayastha: Note on the Motorcycle Industry.

This case describes the evolution of the US motorcycle market from the pre-Japanese entry stage (1960) to the time when Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki collectively held over 85% of the US market. The case presents the entry strategies of Japanese competitors (both marketing and manufacturing aspects), the reaction of incumbent firms in the US and key demographic information to show evolution from a narrow niche to a mass market. The analysis draws on and develops student knowledge and understanding of key concepts such as forces of market evolution, market definition, product life cycle, experience curve productivity effects, interface of marketing and manufacturing strategies. Two contrasting views of the process of strategy making are shown: a top-down a priori vision versus an adaptive, flexible process where the firm learns by doing through experimentation.

J.A.Quelch, T.Kosnik: Xerox Corporation: The Customer Satisfaction Program.

The case presents Xerox’s ambitious programs to improve the quality of its products and services. Xerox quality and customer satisfaction programs are implemented to regain market share lost to Japanese competitors. The firm’s reorientation results in substantial increase in market share. This case is used to accomplish the following teaching objectives:

A/Show how a company can implement a continuous improvement quality program in its sales, service and field operations.

B/Show the objectives and obstacles to the implementation of customer satisfaction programs.

C/Explore the meaning of customer satisfaction.

D/Illustrate the importance of market research activities in the implementation of a successful customer satisfaction program.

E/Explore how different types of guarantees can be used to send different signals to customers and employees about a company’s commitment to product quality.

C.W.L. Hart: Club Med (A).

This case examines the strategy of an international chain of all-inclusive vacation resorts. It outlines the forces that shape the industry’s structure and presents the particular factors that contribute to Club Med’s success. Of critical concern are the potential areas where the firm can establish a defensible competitive advantage. Case topics include:

A/The sources of competitive advantage – including where corporate culture, team spirit and motivation fit into the five forces structural analysis model.

B/Operating skills and corporate culture as barriers to entry.

C/The process characteristics of the service being rendered and the implications of these process characteristics for quality.

D/Value added through tangible and intangible service elements

E/The impact of service staff morale on service performance and customer satisfaction

D.Wylie: Calyx & Corolla.

The case investigates problems and challenges facing a direct mail company offering a new distribution channel consisting of delivering fresh flowers by courier mail. Analysis focuses on the following issues:

A/The role of relationship marketing between the firm and the growers, the firm and the distributor (the courier firm), and between the firm and its final customers.

B/Attaining competitive advantage through a service delivery system that is difficult to copy.

C/The problems of attracting new customers. The role of promotional tie-ins, PR campaigns and test advertising.

R.J.Dolan: Sealed Air Corporation.

The case is about a firm holding a dominating position in the marketing of protective packaging products. Its main product line faces new competition from small regional competitors, manufacturing inferior quality, cheaper products. The main problem is how the firm should react to those competitors. Major objectives of the case are to:

A/Expose students to the issue of deciding to add an item to an existing product line. Cannibalization of current products is thus a key problem.

B/Raise the dilemma posed by the firm’s culture of market and technological leadership.

C/Show the wide variety of data sources useful in assessing the magnitude of the threat posed by competitors, e.g. entrant’s early performance, distributor reaction, experience in foreign markets and competitor’s resources.

D/Offer the opportunity to design a complete marketing program for a new product introduction, including adjustment of the plan for current products.

K. McQuade: Barco Projection Systems. Worldwide Niche Marketing. (A), (B), (C), (D).

This complex case reveals the issues in product policy, segmentation strategy and price dynamics of a technology-based industry. It gives the opportunity to develop student skills in evaluating alternative R&D investments, in anticipating competitive actions and in retaining market leadership. Competition is on a worldwide scale among competitors with fundamentally different skills and strategies.

E.J. Hoff: Motofabrikwerk S.A. (A).

This is a challenging marketing strategy case. It involves major market selection/product policy decisions in a high-technology industry of numerical controls for machine tools.

V.K. Rangan, E.R. Corey: Ingersoll-Rand (A). Managing Multiple Channels.

This case is about managing multiple distribution channels by a leading firm in the stationary air compressor industry. The case covers in depth the factors that affect channel design, how products and markets are allocated among the different channels and how conflicts between these channels are resolved. The main teaching objectives are to:

A/Highlight the factors that influence the choice of distribution channels. Besides product-market considerations organizational and competitive factors become important determinants.

B/Consider ways of delineating the domains of the direct sales force, independent distributors and the captive distributor network for the purposes of allocating selling responsibility.

C/Illustrate how a distribution system may be effectively managed for building market share.

G.W. Gorden: Baby Wally.

This case is about the issues of prolonging the life cycle of a product in the entertainment industry. Teaching objectives include:

A/Demonstrating the value of research findings in identifying and profiling different segments within the marketplace.

B/Showing that different segments may very not only in their level of usage of a product but also in their preference for various product features, their planning horizons, their susceptibility to advertising and their price sensitivity.

C/Highlighting the need for changing marketing strategies over time (including targeting of different segments) as a new product moves through its life cycle.

D/Illustrating opportunities for packaging an intangible service with tangible mementos of that service.

E.R.Corey: Dominion Motors & Controls, Ltd.

The case deals with issues of industrial marketing as applied to the market for oil well pumping motors in northern Canadian oil fields. The teaching objectives are to:

A/Show how industrial markets can be segmented and what are the main characteristics of industrial buying behavior.

B/Show how market growth may lead to product line proliferation as competitors seek to segment markets by end-use application and tailor product specifications accordingly.

C/Demonstrate the involvement of several functional areas in industrial market selection and product planning decisions.

D/Create awareness of the potential interests and concerns of external constituencies with regard to industrial product planning decisions.

For supplementary reading the suggested text is: P. Kotler: Marketing Management. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River 2003 or later editions.