Case -Condominium Design and Pricing: A Case Study In Consumer Trade-Off Analysis

Study Questions for "Condominium Design & Pricing"

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the studies?

2. What would you do differently to minimize the weaknesses?

Case -Strategic Industry Model: Emergent Technologies

Question 1. Based on the perceptual map, define the bases for competition in the market. Are there any "strategic groups?"

Question 2. How "well-positioned" is Emergent with its proposed attribute levels?

Question 3. In general, assess the utility of perceptual mapping by comparing the insights available from examining Figure 1 to those obtainable from examining the raw data of Exhibit 2.

Question 4. Based on the Factor Level Sensitivity, what attributes are most important to consumers? Does the factor level sensitivity report give any insight into the segmentation of the marketplace?

Question 5. What are the key leverage points for Emergent?

Question 6. Emergent does not have the resources required to improve its product line breadth in the short term. Second, it believes its margins are just barely adequate now so it would not look too favorably on anything like a price cut unless it gave big return. Nevertheless, it would like to improve its market share position. Without any cost data, you can't get too precise on this but what general directions would you suggest Emergent pursue? What market share gain could they expect?

Question 7. If Emergent follows your strategy and gains share, who would they hurt? Can you tell anything about this from either the perceptual map or the factor level sensitivity?

Question 8. How does this "hands-on" capability help Emergent? What insights do you get from Exhibit 5?

Question 9. What other scenarios would you like to simulate?

Question 10. For what types of products and situations do you see this type of analysis exemplified by the Strategic Industry Model most useful?

Case - Truearth Healthy Foods: Market Research For a New Product Introduction

Study Questions

Focus on the Pizza part of the case, but study Exhibit 5 for the pasta

1. Using the forecast model for pasta shown in Exhibit 5, forecast with a spreadsheet the first year TruEarth pizza factory sales volume ( = 65% of retail sales volume) in millions of dollars. The necessary data are contained in Table B and Exhibit 7. Note that there is a significant difference in the "likelihood to buy" results for current customers (i.e., TruEarth Cucina Fresca pasta customers) and non-customers. In making the forecast assume that current customers constitute 11% of target households and that the product quality is "excellent." There is a typographical error in Table B in the line "Units per purchase": The very last number in this line should be 1 (not 1.25). The numbers given in Table B for "Units per purchase" and "Average spend per purchase (retail)" apply to both trial and repeat purchases. This means that the repeat transaction amount is one unit (= 1 pizza kit + 1.25 toppings).

2. The penetration of the TruEarth Cucina Fresca parent brand may range from 5% to 15%. Likewise the product quality may be "mediocre," "average," or "excellent." Do a sensitivity analysis at 5%, 10%, and 15% parent brand penetration and the three product quality levels, i.e., create a 3 x 3 table of forecasted sales in millions of dollars.

3. Would you launch the pizza? Why or why not?