Management Questions

The following six questions are helpful in evaluating the opportunity presented by the new distribution channel:

• How attractive is the value proposition that the new distribution channel gives our target segments?
• Is the proportion of our target segment attracted to the new channel large enough to demand our attention?
• Do we have a differentiated value proposition or an operational advantage in serving customers through the new channel?
• Is our cost structure and value network optimized to serve customers through the new channel?
• What can and will competition do with the new channel?
• How will the new distribution channel change consumer channel preferences and strategies of existing channel members?

Source:
The Strategic Role of Marketing
by Manda Salls
HBS Working Knowledge, May 31, 2004
Note: From the book Marketing as Strategy by Nirmalya Kumar

152No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/31/evaluating-a-new-distribution-channel/Evaluating+a+New+Distribution+Channel2007-08-31+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Marketing Questions

To cultivate discount awareness and discipline, managers should start by asking themselves the following questions:

• Are discount dollars being invested in the customer segments and product categories that provide the greatest strategic value to the company? For that to be so, discount guidelines for each segment and category need to be established in advance of negotiations.
• Do discount levels associated with a particular customer segment or product category vary widely, beyond what can be attributed to differences in deal size? If so, guidelines for determining discount size need to be set and enforced, and additional sales training may be appropriate.
• Are discounts fairly consistent over time, or do they rise sharply at the end of the quarter? Higher discounts at quarter’s end are expected, as the sales team strives to hit targets. If these spikes are excessive, though, sales incentives may need to change, so that reps are rewarded for keeping their discounts in line.
• Is excessive discounting a widespread, relatively uniform problem in the company? Such a pattern calls for a broad review of discount policies and a fresh look at price lists, which could require downward adjustment.

Source:
A Case for Discount Discipline
by Jim Geisman
Harvard Business Review

151No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/30/discounting-questions/Discounting+Questions2007-08-30+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Marketing Questions

Many companies are not ready for the changes conversational marketing brings. They face three critical issues.

• What types of dialogues and other customer interactions must be created to support true customer conversations?
• How can the company determine and implement a conversational style that is aligned with the customer’s needs and based on a cost-effective set of new technologies?
• Who inside and outside the company must participate in customer conversations to sustain them, and how can these participants be included?

Source:
What Color is Snow White?
by Andrea Bargsley
BlabberMouth

150No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/29/conversational-marketing/Conversational+Marketing2007-08-29+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Marketing Questions

• Why do customers choose you over competing brands?
  Knowing this enables you to focus on the skills that help you make and keep your promise to the customer.
• Are you competing in the right category?
  To be clear, an example of a category is laptop computers. A brand in that category is Dell. Knowing in which category you compete in the mind of your most profitable customer enables you to strengthen your position in that category. You can strengthen that position by better delivering the benefits your customer receives when they choose you.
• What specific new products and services can you offer?
  Old Coke will not travel to new coke. Yet Virgin can travel from the entertainment industry to the travel industry to the soft drink industry. Brand research will identify the current state of your brand in the minds of your customers and what specific steps are required to move your brand to the desired future state.
• What are the sources of trust employed by a customer when choosing a company like yours?
  When making a buying decision, customers seek out trusted sources, such as colleagues, experts, the Internet or advertising. Brand research can identify those sources and the ways in which your customer prefers to interact with these sources.
• What are the key messages that resonate with your most profitable customers?
  Brand research will provide the specific messages that influence customers. These messages should create differentiation and describe the benefits of ownership.

Source:
Use Market Research to Understand Your Markets. Use Brand Research to Understand Your Customers
by Joseph Benson
The CEO Refresher, October 2005

149No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/28/what-you-should-learn-by-conducting-brand-research/What+You+Should+Learn+by+Conducting+Brand+Research2007-08-28+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Brand Questions

• Can everyone define what the brand stands for?
• Is there consistency in what everyone says the brand stands for?
• Is there consistency between what insiders and outsiders are saying?
• Are the words people use to describe what the brand stands for likely to inspire advocacy?
• Do the things that they say support your brand promise really support it?

Source:
Keeping the Brand Healthy: The Annual Brand Checkup
by Mark Shipley
MarketingProfs.com, March 13, 2007

148No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/27/brand-checkup-questions/Brand+Checkup+Questions2007-08-27+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Brand Questions

Do you have a strong brand? Here are some revealing questions that we put our own clients through as we work to understand who they are, and who their customers are, before building a direct marketing strategy.

• If you masked your logo, would customers be able to tell you from the competition by the experience you, your product or your service creates? Could customers tell they were in your facility by the feel, the décor and the way they were treated? A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you have work to do.
• Would your customers readily jilt you for a lower-priced look-alike? A no indicates a strong brand. A yes indicates you have work to do.
• Does your brand pass the “oh come on” test–that is, do people believe your claims, or do they pass them off as empty corporate boasting? A yes, they believe, indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you have work to do.
• If you wrote and framed a summary of your values as you see them, could competitors get away with hanging the same document in their own halls? A no indicates a strong brand. A yes indicates you have work to do.
• Do your employees know, get behind, and help deliver what you stand for? (For that matter, do you?) Don’t let yourself off easy by reassuring yourself that they’ve read the mission statement and can recite your slogan. The question is whether your values have become part of their behavior on the job. A yes indicates a strong brand. A no indicates you have work to do.

Source:
A Direct Marketer Looks at Branding
by Steve Cuno
MarketingProfs.com, November 2, 2004

147No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/26/how-strong-is-your-brand/How+Strong+Is+Your+Brand%3F2007-08-26+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Brand Questions

• Who are our IDEAL customers?
• How do we REACH them?
• How do we ENGAGE them?
• How do we PERSUADE them?
• How do we deliver VALUE to them?
• How do we KEEP doing this?

Source:
7 Strategy Challenges for Effective Online Marketers
by Jeffrey Eisenberg
GrokDotCom
Note: posted in the comments section of the article

146No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/25/basic-marketing-questions/Basic+Marketing+Questions2007-08-25+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Marketing Questions

• How large are the differences in our company’s A&P investments, as a percentage of sales, for each brand, market segment, and region or country?
• Is there a clearly defined strategic rationale for these differences (or for the lack of differences)?
• Are the differences in intensity and sensitivity of advertising and promotions among the various market segments and countries adequately acknowledged?
• Are the differences in our competitive position (relative market share) properly translated into a maintenance level for the brand?
• Have we made a clear choice among maintenance, harvest and growth approaches for each brand, segment, and region or country? Does this choice reflect the level of A&P investments?
• How does our company decide on its total A&P budget for each brand, segment, region or country? Is the decision based on sound logic or does the process of negotiation result in incremental adjustments to the previous year’s budget?

Source:
To Spend or Not to Spend: A New Approach to Advertising and Promotions
by Emile Gostelie
Boston Consulting Group

145No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/23/advertising-and-promotions-questions/Advertising+and+Promotions+Questions2007-08-23+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Advertising Questions

• What if I don’t do this now?
• What if I don’t do this at all?
• Is this my project or priority or is it someone else’s?
• Is this activity critical to get me from where I am to where I want to be?
• Can anyone accomplish this task other than me?

Source:
Winners’ Wisdom
by Jim Stovall
The CEO Refresher

144No Comments »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/22/task-management-questions/Task+Management+Questions2007-08-22+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Management Questions

• Why do we continue in this business?
• Why should anyone buy this product?
• What will prevent competitors from matching us? What will we do then?
• Why are we making so much money? Why won’t it eventually come to an end? What must we do now to prepare for or moderate that change?

Source:
Probing
by Jonathan Isaacs
Boston Consulting Group

1431 Comment »http://www.mgmtquestions.com/2007/08/21/questioning-success-important-why-questions/Questioning+Success+%26ndash%3B+Important+%27Why%27+Questions2007-08-21+18%3A15%3A00Administrator Posted by Administrator / Management Questions