Addressing Various Target Groups in “the Classroom”: My Experiences - By Arun Bhattacharyya for IIMB Latitude

1. Bhattacharyya , Arun
“Addressing Various Target
Groups in “the Classroom”:
My Experiences”

2. Opening Thoughts: The theory-practice divide
The academic tree metaphor (Levy 2002)
abstractions used to form
theories of strategy & practice
carries leadership & direction
to the world of application
Where will the seeds for the “roots” come from- practice
or thoughts (conception)?
Target groups with
work experience (e.g.,
in ExMBA programs)
Target groups with no
(or little) work
experience (e.g., in
MBA programs)

3. The KGFs (Key General Factors) (1/2)
1. Be THOROUGHLY prepared for each session
• preempt queries (“if I were the student, then….”)
• be selfish & inward focused (need a stranglehold on key concepts)
• E.g.: Delivering customer value through marketing (Session 2)
Costs and profits in customer acquisition and retention (Rajan 53-54)
Marketing/Customer value (Koshy 34-39, Pride 36-38, Rajan 45-54)
Customer Satisfaction (Koshy 120-125, 131-132, Hart 280-287)
Maximizing customer lifetime value (Koshy 125-128)
Building customer equity (Arms 21-22)
Managing customer relationships (Hart 267-272)
Quality and value (Hart 272-280)
2. Get them involved (need to connect)
• get “the other” view points and perspectives (“I might be wrong”)
• have an element of drama (If, then….)
Food Specialities Ltd. launches MAGGI noodles in India in 1983- BIG SUCCESS
Lipton launches macaroni & noodles SuperMum almost the same time- FAILURE
If HUL says, “From tomorrow ‘LUX’ is being rebranded as ‘LUV’ “, then……

4. The KGFs (Key General Factors)(2/2)
3. Focus on “needs” and not “wants”
• just think…why they have chosen the combo of “the course and you”
• remember, rigor and discipline is (in general) appreciated…
• choose to be “unpopular”
4. Don’t always focus on success stories; failures do stimulate
• have a healthy mix of Indian and foreign contexts and examples
• remember, cases are not meant to be “presented” but “discussed”
5. Striking a balance between theory and application is crucial
• there is no such thing as “one style fits all”
• aim at getting the concepts through
And if you are feeling nervous prior to each session, you are on
the RIGHT TRACK
6. Having a (subtle) sense of humor is a big bonus

5. Addressing the “wannabe” managers (roots to trunk)
1. Do not begin sessions with concepts/frameworks/models
• involve them in building the frameworks; they will own it then
2. Use cases/caselets/examples to build & reinforce concepts
• have a mix of Indian and foreign contexts and examples
• co-develop alternative scenarios (Can CocaCola enter the milk market?)
REL
RATE
REL
RATE

6. Addressing the “already” managers (foliage to roots)
1. Sessions must stress on concepts frameworks/models
• give them insights into how the concept/framework came into being
2. Use cases/caselets/examples to exemplify validity of concepts
• better to ask the audience for examples
• co-develop alternative scenarios
RATE
REL

7. Addressing the managers’ “gurus” (the entire tree)
1. Provide linkages between current & other concepts
• remember, they aim at knowledge enhancement (sometimes maybe
unlearn current knowledge)
• you have to demonstrate your perceived expertise on the subject
2. Use cases/caselets/examples only to the extent required
• can be used to reinforce your propositions
E.g., How do we differentiate between a brand and a BRAND?
E.g., FMCG brands have to convince an individual, B2B brands have to convince
the whole company. This calls for creative selling, not branding
“Nobody gets fired for buying IBM,” …..means commercial buyers buy on more
than product performance- there is also the question of job security
“Hewlett Packard ink cartridges-they will work and it won’t wreck those
expensive printers you’ve just had installed,”….. assures the buyer that their
decision to buy cartridges is justified

8. Bringing in the other concept: The Product Life Cycle
• New Product
Development
• ‘Time to market’
Gestation
• Customer inertia
• Capacity expansion
• Technical ‘bugs’
• Distribution problems
Introduction
Demand (pull) vs.
Supply (push)
Growth
• Little scope of further
physical dev of product
• To retain market share?
• Design of effective
marketing mix
Maturity
• Market settled down with
3-4 major players (80/20
principle)
• Fairly stable prices
• Entry barrier exists
Saturation
Decommission
Decline
• Resist change OR
Voluntary elimination?
TIME
SALES

9. Managerial implications of The PLC Concept
• Given a new product, how & to what extent can shape & duration of each stage
be predicted?
• Given an existing product, how can one determine what stage it is in?
• Given all these knowledge, how can it be effectively used?
R & D COSTS MARKETING COSTS
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Saturation
Decline
Decommission
TIME
Gestation
SALES
PROFITS
Various products in a firm’s portfolio would be at certain stages in the PLC
• need to know the market growth rate for each product and its
corresponding relative market share

10. Connecting the PLC concept with the current
concept -The BCG Growth-Share Matrix
High
High
Low
Low
Question mark
or problem child
(Introduction stage)
Star
(Growth stage)
Cash Cow
(Maturity/
Saturation stage)
Dog
(Decline stage/
Decommission)
Let’s take the case of APPLE

11. Something to tickle your minds
Given a need, does a brand come to your mind first or the
product category? How will a firm then make people aware?
Should a company focus on…
•Preventing customer
dissatisfaction
• OR Increasing customer
satisfaction

12. Thank you for
Participating