CaseStudy.co.in » Consumer Behaviour

The Apple iPhone: Successes and Challenges for the Mobile Industry

Mehul — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:40:04 +0000

The survey showed that most iPhone users are relatively youthful technophiles; half are under age 30, and a third of them even carry more than one mobile phone. This group of customers is great for launching a product, but there aren't enough of them to create sustained growth. The biggest question about the future of the iPhone is whether Apple can reach beyond the early adopters to generate substantial amounts of mainstream demand for the iPhone. Apple has a history of doing that successfully with products like the iPod, but that was much more narrowly focused on a single usage -- it was a mobile appliance rather than a mobile computer. The iPhone's multiple features make it very appealing to technophiles, but potentially confusing to mainstream customers. The history of the mobile industry is littered with products that sold well at first but then fizzled out. Although the iPhone's future looks very promising today, its long-term success is not guaranteed...click for details

Case Study on Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Global Fast- Food Industry

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:22:11 +0000

KFC is also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was founded in 1930 at North Corbin by Harland Sander. KFC's specialty is fried chicken served in various forms, burgers or sandwiches, chicken strips or roasted chicken and many more. How would KFC maintain a market leadership in the global fast-food industry???? For info with regard to Kentucky Fried Chicken, swing in this web page directly.

They Sell Suits with Soul: Now that's customer delight

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:35:50 +0000

The only thing worse than a pushy salesman in a slick suit is a salesman pushing a slick suit. In 1973, that insight led George Zimmer to open a store that would sell suits differently from how they'd been sold before. Much has changed since he opened that first store in Houston: The Men's Wearhouse Inc. is now the country's leading discount retailer of men's clothing, with 6,000 employees, more than 400 stores, and annual revenues of $630 million. But Zimmer's basic idea remains the same. "The average man enjoys shopping for clothes about as much as going to the dentist," says Zimmer, 49, the company's CEO.

How do you build a company around customers who hate buying what you sell? By building a company that reinvents the shopping experience. "Most business practices repress our natural tendency to have fun and to socialize," Zimmer says. "The idea seems to be that in order to succeed, you have to suffer. But I believe that you do your best work when you are feeling enthusiastic about things. Our business is based on faith in the value of human potential."

The result: Men's Wearhouse is on a tear. The company, which went public in 1992, has a market value of about $1 billion. Since the IPO, it has expanded by an average of one new store per week.

But the company's unrivaled record in turning reluctant shoppers into loyal customers is also based on being smart about recruiting and motivating its staff. Zimmer and his colleagues have tossed out conventional hiring rituals and evaluation criteria. "We don't look for people with specific levels of education and experience," says Shlomo Maor, 48, associate vice president of training. "We have one criterion for hiring: optimism. We look for passion, excitement, energy. We want people who enjoy life."

What does optimism have to do with selling suits? Everything, argues Maor. "Optimistic people do not prejudge or pressure customers," he says. "You have to sell the right product to the right customer for the right reason - which often means delaying gratification and taking rejection in stride. That's emotional intelligence, and it's what makes great salespeople great."

Being clear about the kind of people it wants to hire lets Men's Wearhouse streamline the process of finding them: The company simply encourages its managers to hire people like themselves. And once it recruits its "sales associates" and "wardrobe consultants," it begins the process of training them in the Men's Wearhouse way of selling.

New wardrobe consultants attend a regional "Suits High" facility for a two-day course on the company's selling philosophy. That course is a prerequisite for attending "Suits University" - five days of intense seminars and socializing at the company's training headquarters in Fremont, California. The Suits U. curriculum is less about understanding how to sell suits than about understanding people. "The most important skill we teach is the ability to move beyond the initial customer request and to satisfy a true need," says Maor.

Zimmer is tireless when it comes to evangelizing that message. Every summer, he and his top executives conduct a six-to eight-week road show on which they lead training sessions. "I spend most of my time trying to ensure not only that the experience of our workforce is positive but also that it improves year by year," says Zimmer. "When you get down to what really happens in the retail world, it's all about customers interacting with employees. The question is, What kind of energy do you sense in the stores? When you interact with salespeople who seem content as well as professional, you know that you've found a company that's doing something right."

You can visit The Men's Wearhouse on the Web www.menswearhouse.com

Managing Customer Loyalty through Direct Marketing

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:06:10 +0000

LF is active in three markets: Property & casualty insurance, pension and banking. The main objective for such a strategy is to differentiate by offering all the services to the customer who can enjoy the benefits of having their whole personal economy at one place. LF’s market requires great customer loyalty as the high fixed costs of acquiring a new customer does not make the customer profitable until several years later. If the company then can achieve excellent customer loyalty, there are great reasons to invest in this field. Direct marketing is a method known to be focusing on long term aspects by establishing a relationship which increases the customer loyalty. Read more...

Consumer perceptions on the incorporation of established brands : The acquisition of Body Shop by L’Oréal

maddy — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:47:06 +0000

This thesis aims at investigating consumers’ perceptions on the incorporation of an established brand and how the general attitude and buying behaviour is altered in the course of an acquisition. The combination of two or more brands in a newly formed conglomerate implies a combination of values, principles and associations that might affect a company’s appeal. Therefore, underlying reasons for M&As will be elaborated upon as well as branding concepts based on brand image, loyalty and reputation in order to bridge the two theoretical areas with a case study. The acquisition of Body Shop International by L’Oréal represents the practical case, which will be analysed in reference to consumers’ reactions towards it. Quantitative consumer questionnaires will be conducted in order to collect representative data on consumers’ perceptions and associations of the brand Body Shop. Moreover, an expert interview with a Body Shop representative will be executed in order to add the company’s perspective. By analysing the results of the questionnaire, the thesis reveals an observable trend towards a correlation of the awareness of the acquisition and a negative shift in customer perception. The buying behaviour is however not found to be influenced by the combination of the two firms. In conclusion, it can be stated that the need for pre-acquisition analysis regarding strategic fit and compatibility of values and associations is assured. The study clearly identifies that brand dilution is a possible threat for established brands and implies the risk of lost credibility and loyalty. Read more....

Marketing Strategies by PearlPet

newuser — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:59:37 +0000

Pearlpet is a highly successful brand. So successful that the brand has become generic to the category. This is a brand that transformed the Indian kitchenware market. I still remember times where my mother used to store those curry powders in the Horlicks Glass bottles. Now a look the row of plastic containers in the kitchen speaks about the change that this brand has made to the Indian households...click here to refer the marketing strategy of Peralpet

Re-branding Case Study : Skoda

newuser — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:03:22 +0000

The re-branding of Skoda provides a useful case study of the challenges faced by brands wishing to reposition themselves. Critics of the Skoda would be surprised to hear the Skoda is now one of the fastest-growing car brands in the UK motor industry. The Czech car company boosted its sales in the UK in 2001 by 24% as opposed to the average market growth of 10.7%. This built on growth of 34% in 2000. How has this been achieved?..click here to read the re-branding story

Stick with It : The Band-Aid Case Study

newuser — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:25:21 +0000

Band-Aid has been iconic brand in India and indeed has always been a favorite of moms and kids. This makes it all the more important for Band-Aid to stay relevant and develop communications programs that are uniquely "own-able" by the company. Steps in - Ogilvy PR to develop a communications platform that would contemporize the brand without abandoning its core equity...click here to read ahead

Creating a Brand Value

newuser — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:26:42 +0000

A very interesting read dicussing the creation of a Brand Value with an Indian perspective. It says that the most important change in India has been the demographic one. By this time, almost all know that we are a nation with a very young population. Brand owners or creators have to invest more time, effort and money in trying to forecast impending changes in consumer behavior and expectation...click here to read ahead

CaseStudy on Consumer Behavior

Strategic Marketing : success story of Bajaj Fans

newuser — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:55:19 +0000

Bajaj is beyond doubt one of the giants in the business. The case study covers one of the verticals of this corporate i.e. the electrical fan segment. The vision was to make Bajaj Fans a leading player in the fans market in India, by understanding and effectively meeting the consumers stated and unstated needs, so as to achieve a sustained competitive advantage, while pursuing the path of profitable growth for the Fans BU and its brands...click here to read the success story of Bajaj Fans