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Back to Newsletter Vol 2, Issue 04, Nov 2020
Marketing
The case study describes how iD Fresh Food (India) Pvt. Ltd. (iD Fresh), a relatively new entrant in the Indian food & beverages market, forayed into the Indian coffee market by addressing the unmet demand for ready-to-make authentic filter coffee. The case study provides a brief note on the Indian ready-to-drink (RTD) market and explains the reasons for iD Fresh finding a potential market for iD Filter Coffee Decoction, especially with the lifestyle of many Indians becoming more hectic due to the rise in urbanization, increase in the number of nuclear families, and growth in the number of dual-income households.

iD Fresh Enters the Traditional Beverage Segment through its Filter Coffee Decoction
The case describes how sales compensation plans that were at the heart of HubSpot’s sales strategy, powered its growth from US$0 to US$100 million in just seven years of its founding. The case looks into the way HubSpot created the pay structure for its sales team and the timely alterations that it made in the structure to align with its strategic objectives. HubSpot believed that its sales compensation plan had to be simple and clear for sales representatives. It believed that greater impact could be realized only through properly aligning the compensation plan with revenue. The company also believed that it was important to immediately reward the sales team.

Sales Force Compensation Best Practices at HubSpot
The case describes how ‘Kirkland Signature,’ the private label brand of Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), a US-based membership warehouse club, became the leading private label accounting for nearly 30% of all the private-label grocery business in the US, and how it enabled Costco, in the process, to emerge as the leading retailer in the US. The case ends with a note on the future plans of Costco for the ‘Kirkland Signature’ product range as well as the need for it to further innovate and differentiate itself owing to the rising competition in the private label space from other retailers like Walmart and Target.

Kirkland Signature Private Label – Powering Costco
The case talks about the efforts of India-based restaurant technology company Dineout Services Pvt. Ltd. (Dineout) to provide innovative technology solutions in the restaurant industry. The case also explains how the rising prospects of the Indian restaurant industry were expected to create a strong future for Dineout. However, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the restaurant industry, plunging it into losses. Responding to the changed environment, Dineout came out with a slew of new technology offerings. It remained to be seen if Dineout’s re-imagining of restaurant technology would work out in its favour.

Dineout – Constantly Re-Imagining Restaurant Technology
The case is about the success of the Indian dairy cooperative society Amul during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Compared to pre-COVID-19 times, the lockdown period saw a 5-7% increase in demand for Amul’s liquid packaged milk as consumers trusted the Amul brand over rather than loose milk. While several businesses including small vendors, ice-cream manufacturers, hotels, and restaurants stopped procuring milk from farmers during the lockdown, Amul collected an additional 3.5 million liters of milk daily from the farmers and paid them well. The pandemic affected several businesses that either curtailed or stopped their operations. Amul, however, ensured an uninterrupted supply of milk and milk products across the country during the lockdown.

Unlocking in The Lockdown: Amul’s Surge During Testing Times
The case study sheds light on the inbound marketing concept conceptualized by Dharmesh Shah (Dharmesh) and Brian Halligan (Brian) in 2004. The two, founders of HubSpot, a US-based software company, developed a cloud-based marketing, sales, and customer service platform called ‘Growth Platform,’ which enabled clients to expand their businesses using the inbound marketing concept through a platform called the ‘Growth Platform’. The case study also talks about the inbound marketing and sales strategies applied by HubSpot to sell the ‘Growth Platform’ as an apt marketing strategy in the information age for e-commerce firms, specifically SaaS businesses.

HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Strategy for SaaS Businesses
The case study describes how Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. (Mercedes-Benz India) regained its leadership position in the luxury car segment in India. The case looks at how the company took various initiatives to attract the younger demographic audience and reinvented its brand image to regain and consolidate its leadership position. The case study details the various targeting strategies that Mercedes-Benz India adopted including revamping its product portfolio with compact and sporty models, introducing customer-friendly in-house finance schemes to prospective younger customers, and using an omni-channel approach to promotion.

Mercedes-Benz India – Targeting a Younger Segment without Diluting the Brand
The case describes the various technology-based initiatives taken by Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris (Taj Hotels) to offer personalized services to its guests in India and abroad. The case discusses the various digital and non-digital strategies adopted by Taj Hotels at individual properties as well as across its chain to provide personalized services and experiences to millennials. Taj Hotels also altered its properties to cater to the needs of millennials, the largest consumer group in India. The case covers a brief note on the ‘Zero-Touch Service Transformation’ created and implemented by the brand to ensure business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic and Taj Hotels’ future plans to adopt high-end technology like IoT tools to create a more hyper-personalized environment for guests.

Taj Hotels: Using Technology to Offer Personalized Services
The case talks about the rebranding exercise undertaken by Vodafone Idea Ltd. (VIL) in 2020. The case starts out with a brief history of both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (Idea) and about their merger. It then describes the reasons behind VIL’s rebranding exercise. The case touches upon the various elements involved in the rebranding exercise. It also describes the challenges that VIL could face in the future and the steps it could take to mitigate those challenges.

The Journey from Vodafone Idea to Vi
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