Marketing Interviews: Case & Questions

4 Ps and Types of 4P Framework Questions

-Product (Quality, design, features, variety, brand name, packaging, services, sizes) -Price -Place -Promotion 1. How would you market... 2. Competitor claim on your product & response 3. New product launch 4. Declining market share

5 Cs and Types of 5Cs framework questions?

-Company (Production, Supply Chain, Operations) -Competition (Pricing, launches, new indirect competitor) -Customer (remember, customer is your buyer, consumer is the end purchaser/user) -Context (Changes in preferences, communication, regulation, etc) -Collaborators -Use these to explain what is happening and if you SHOULD (not so much the how would you) 1. Should you launch a new product? 2. Why are sales declining? 3. Should you target a new market?

Why are you interested in marketing/brand management?

-I wanted strategic project management in which I get to work with a team across functions on a long term basis -My core strength is storytelling - collecting and analyzing very diverse data points and turning that into a coherent, actionable plan. -Understand people and using that understanding to drive solutions.

Product/Market Expansion Mix (Types of expansion)

-Market penetration: sell more of current products to current market -Product development: sell new products to your current market -Market development: sell your current product to a new market -Diversification: sell a new product to a new market

Types of Pricing Models

1. Cost-plus: mark up from your costs 2. Share-driven: price to achieve the market share you want 3. Strategic or value-based: determine the reference value (best alternative to solve the customer problem), and add/subtract the net differentiated value of your product

Product Life Cycle

1. Introduction: build awareness 2. Growth: differentiate and gain share 3. Maturity: build brand loyalty and defend against competitors 4. Decline: harvest profitability and determine exit strategy

Name the 3 most unique brands you can think of, and explain why they are unique.

1. LEGO 2. Tesla (Battery company more known for cars and space endeavors than batteries) 3. Trader Joe's (Have become perceived as a quality product AND a low cost leader. Have done it by simplifying operations significantly i.e. .low product diversity but very high service - delivered directly to old man during Pennsylvania snow storm.

What to include in case closing statement

1. Make short-term and long-term recs. Divide them up. 2. Make a decision, take a position, and defend it. Can note you would like to learn more about something else as an addendum. 3. Summarize: In the next six months we will price aggressively to get share. We are going to do promotions in Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Long-term, we need to go to retailers and get eye-level shelf space and get adjacent to competitor at price premium.

Pricing Question Approach

1. Objective: Understand the objective: Profit? Market share? Branding? 2. Company Strengths: Understand the company's key products, segments, and channels. 3. Competition: Understand the competitive set. Are they a market leader, or reacting? 4. Cost: Conduct cost/break-even analysis.

Purchase Decision Funnel

1. Problem recognition: perceive need 2. Information search: seek value from internal and external sources 3. Evaluate alternatives: assess relative value 4. Purchase decision 5. Post-purchase behavior

What keeps a brand manager up at night?

1. Sustain: What are the changing trends? How do we keep the product relevant, appealing, and distinct when it is so easy to imitate and the market changes so quickly? 2. Growth: Where can we grow? Is it more sales in an existing segment? Is there another segment? Can we do it through promotion? Extension?

If your R&D developer develops a new product and the sales team doesn't embrace it, how would you go about convincing them?

1. Talk to the sales team: Find out what their concerns are and what their experiences are. Not only are you showing that you aren't imposing something on them that you don't yet understand, you may have an opportunity to further improve the product. Maybe even sit in on sales meetings to understand their perspective. DON'T TRY HARD PUSH SALES TACTICS ON SALES EXPERTS WITHOUT LISTENING TO THEM FIRST. 2. Find a way to respond to those concerns - ideally with data. Obviously, that is going to be situation - dependent. But can you show data that indicates that it is congruent with long term growth and opportunities for them? Can you show them that it addresses a current customer concern? Get prototypes in customer's hands and get a positive response to show sales there is an opportunity there. 3. Invite them to inform the marketing strategy and build out the value proposition for the product so they feel ownership of the innovation and the strategy. 4. If necessary, lobby leadership for incentives to sales for the new product if the product is a long-term win for the company but does not align with current sales incentives.

Market Entry Question Approach

1. Understand the company: what are their goals, product mix, cost structure, and what constitutes success. 2. Understand the current market: size, growth, life-cycle stage, customers, competition, pricing, barriers to entry/exit, risks, technology. 3. Evaluate options of how to enter: build organically, acquire, or enter a joint venture.

What are the questions you would ask to find out about a brand on your first day?

1. Who are our customers? What do we know about them? (Segmentation) 2. What is our industry? (Context) Is it in growth? Maturity? Decline? Will it be appealing to imitators? Are we market leaders or reacting? 3. Who are our competitors? what are they doing? (Competition) 3. What is our goal next: Profit? Market share? Branding? (Positioning) 4. Premium or value strategy/placement? (Positioning) 5. Is this brand and industry growing, declining, mature, etc? (Context) 6. Where do we sell successfully? (Place)

Approach: What must you consider as you launch a new product?

4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Use 4Ps for new product strategy. 1. Product: Make sure all aspects of the product match what the consumer wants. 2. Price: If competitors exist, may start lower to incentivize purchase. Need to check with Finance & Ops. 3. Place: Salesforce and consumer research. 4. Promotion: Print & television (good for awareness), and coupons (incentivize trials)

Approach: How would you market a new fruit juice?

4 Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Use 4Ps for "How would..." questions. -Product: Who will it appeal to? Who are the primary competitors? -Price: What is our positioning? Cost Structure? -Place: What is our segmentation? Who will we be trying to reach. Where do our channels already exist? What distribution advantages do we have? -Promotion: We want to generate awareness, especially with target segments. Awareness advertising. Trade promotion for aisle displays or favorable shelf space. Consumer promotion to encourage trials.

Approach: Why is our market share declining?

4 Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Use 4Ps for declining market share. -Product - Has the quality of my product changed? Any competitive product upgrades/new products? -Price - Has my price changed relative to competition? -Promotion - Have my promotions/advertising changed or decreased? Any new competitive promotions/advertising? -Place/Placement - Have I lost any distribution? Have competitors gained distribution?

Approach: Your nearest competitor just added a taste superiority claim on their product. What do you do?

4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). Use 4Ps for competitive claims. 1. Understand risk. How strong is claim? 2. Assess Response: 4 Ps (match claim? Upgrade? Change value equation? Other channels?) 3. Respond: Consider Ops, Supply Chain, and Finance implications of recommendation.

Approach: Should you launch a product in China?

5 Cs (Company, Competition, Customer, Context, Collaborators). Use 5Cs for "Should you" Company: SWOT analysis Context: political, economic, social, technology Competition: SWOT analysis; market share Collaborators: distributors, suppliers, gov't, media Customers: needs, segments, channels, buyer behavior

Approach: Your sales are declining, why could that be?

5 Cs (Company, Competition, Customer, Context, Collaborators). Use 5Cs to explain "Why" things are happening. 1. Company: Production problems? 2. Competition: New product? New promotion? New pricing? 3. Customer: Can't find product? Changes in store line-up? Changes in preferences? 4. Context: Trends away from that product space? 5. Collaborators (maybe): Did anything change?

Approach: Should you launch a new product?

5 Cs (Company, Competition, Customer, Context, Collaborators). Use 5Cs to explain if you "should." 1. Company: What are your strengths? SWOT 2. Competition: Who's in that space? How do we win? 3. Customer: What do we know? What do they want? 4. Context: Is it an appealing market? Five Forces (Buyer Power, Supplier Power, Competitive Rivalry, Entry Barriers, Substitutes) 5. Collaborators: Do we have opportunity for unique synergies?

How do you determine whether or not to do a line extension?

Benefits: -Can help win shelf space battle -Can address additional segments outside of your core -Respond to competitor advantage Risks: -Dilutes your brand -Can undermine brand loyalty Go: -Extension is consistent with brand strategy/positioning -Gets you new segments (minimal cannibalization) -Long-term -Addresses changing climate or consumer preferences No Go: -Not consistent with current brand. -Likely will not increase customers - may compete with your own brands -Short-term

What is your favorite campaign?

Coke's "Share a Coke" -Here's why: 1. It sold Coke as an experience, which is something they do well. They have become ubiquitous enough that their brand image is more about a lifestyle than the actual product. This was congruent with that image and strategy which allowed them to pull it off. 2. Coke's challenge is what would ever increase sales without getting new customers at this point? This addressed that by making Coke something you would actually GIVE someone or making new collectors. 3. It easily pivoted to descriptors instead of just names. Made Coke about relationships. 4. Social media friendly: "Let consumers drive your success" - campaign that was likely to generate its own buzz without it having to be orchestrated. 5. It was creative, but extremely simple and inexpensive.

How to identify pricing strategy for your brand?

Consider these: 1. Positioning: Always choose a price that reflects your brand's positioning. 2. Elasticity: Always choose a price that reflects your brand's positioning. 3. Cost Structure: Always consider costs when analyzing pricing. Clearly, a brand must ensure revenues exceed costs and the brand is profitable (an obvious point, but often forgotten).

Tell me about a product or service that you can't live without. OR Tell me about a brand to which you are loyal.

Daycare? Turbotax. -My wife and I have both been PhD students, so we've been eligible for lots of credits, but have lots of different pay, and have had little time to do taxes and little money/time to hire someone to do them for us. -The value of Turbotax specifically, is that it captures 90% of what I did the previous year, and that is how they've created high switching costs. -Additionally, that and Mint are both Intuit products, and those are products that I use consistently for budgeting and taxes. It saves me time and costs me nothing extra to use both. -Finally, they've done well. They've had no data incidents. They've priced competitively. And they've performed what I expected consistently and responsively.

Sales Increase Tactics

Expand distribution channels Diversify products Expand to new customer segments Increase marketing efforts Acquire a competitor or tangential player Adjust pricing Ensure seasonal balance of offerings

What is the most important part of the P&L, in your opinion? (Schwanns)

It's hard not to just say net profit/earnings, since that gets the closest to telling the whole picture. But all of it matters, and the only real answer to that question would have to factor in the brand strategy. You could have a high net profit but if you have a short-term goal of market share and you are getting the profit by charging a ton and selling a little, it may not be the best outcome. I would highlight: 1. Operating Profit Margin - How much are you making before taxes, interest, depreciation, etc. How much shareholder growth are you really driving 2. Sales and Revenue - Topline growth - need to know you are selling and generating income from that 3. ***Gross Profit: I may not control the costs that are indirectly related to the sale of my brand/product, so I'm particularly interested in the gross profit I really care about Gross Profit, because that's the piece that I have the most control over in a major company. I need to generate sufficient revenue to cover the SG&A (selling, general, and admin costs) which are going to be harder for me to change.

What is your favorite brand or a brand that is marketed well

Lego (indication of where I am in life right now) -As a parent, you become aware of how fleeting/ephemeral children's toys are. You buy them and use them for 2 months and that's it. -Ideal toy: LEGO is amazing, because they've existed since I was a kid, they are small, easy to store, unbreakable, and contribute to creativity. -Lasting appeal/repeat purchase: Additionally, I've started buying my son LEGO because in 10 years, he's going to be able to play with the same toys he's using now at 3 (both because they last that long and they have cumulative appeal) - so I also have every incentive to keep buying them. -Inimitable & Adaptive: And as an aspiring marketer, I just think its amazing that they found the perfect toy formula, have been able to charge a premium, and no one has been able to beat them out by undercutting price. First they maintained that with quality - other blocks didn't work as well and have the same build quality. But instead of letting others catch up, they realized in the late 90s that they would eventually face competition, and so they created really engaging customized website platforms and started the effort to get exclusive licenses with the most compelling intellectual property (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc). So now they are a media company and they lead for two reasons. *Fun fact: they claim there are 86 bricks for every human on Earth

Identify two competing brands where one is doing well and one isn't and why.

Marvel Studios vs. DC Entertainment -In revenue, both are in good shape. In critical reception and long-term outlook, Marvel is beating DC. -Marvel: What Marvel did was take the time to build an infrastructure that makes all of their films successful. Created a coherent film universe, gave filmmakers license to explore (play in different genres - scifi, western, comedy, etc), and did it over several years making it difficult to imitate. Marvel defined what they were as part of a long-term plan for success and stuck to it. -DC: Saw Marvel's success and changed course to try to imitate it with its own established universe. But to catch up, they did it very quickly and haphazardly, and the executives who were not filmmakers became VERY involved in the details to try to control the environment and the outcome. DC changed what they were to try to jump on someone else's successes, and so their value proposition has been muddled.

What is a product innovation you have seen in the past year that you think is smart? What would you do if you were the marketing manager for a competing product?

Peloton - internet-connected livestream biking. Can take bike classes and do community in your home (tripled revenue to 170 Million in 2017). Well, it's going to be hard to beat them at what they do because they already have 100k in subscribers, have the learning curve advantage of having set up the software and the courses. The pain points are going to be excessive expense ($40 dollar subscription), the bike investment (2k), some people don't prefer biking, etc. I'd create interconnected platforms that allow people to compete together, complete exercise together, hold each other accountable, track progress, etc. without the need for the upfront purchase. So if I'm a gym, I'm partnering with platforms, making various membership levels based on use, creating a community that can work remotely OR in person. OR: Pick-a-size paper towels Smart: -Addresses shifting consumer concern about environmental factors -No additional costs, does not sacrifice current consumer preferences -Can be implemented almost immediately Competitor: -Imitate it. -Double down on the environmental factor - advertise recyclability, or use recycled sources, or do additional brand commitment to the environment -Go heavy on consumer promotion to get your product preferred shelf-space -Over advertise the change in your product so that your's becomes the standard (their mistake was not owning that innovation as part of the brand)

Tell me about a bad example of marketing?

The Pepsi Black Lives Matter ad stands out. As does the Starbucks "Race Together" campaign. 1. It is an odd mix of trying to sell your product by tapping into social upheaval. Misaligned strategies. 2. You are targeting a generation that: a. Is skeptical of overt advertising and cynical about it b. Focused on social issues 3. So you combined the two. Those have to be kept separate. Actually do something and count on the PR to deliver, don't actually deliver the message yourself. Its cynical and offputting and it doesn't have any connection to what your brand actually does or stands for. 4. Don't do the social purpose through advertising, do it through company initiatives and let others promote it. 5. Do it through something actually aligned with your core competencies and products.

When would you use a trade vs. consumer promotion?

Trade: Target retailers (Trade allowances - discounts or incentives, trade contests to encourage sales, point of purchase display). Get them to stock and display item. -Trade promotions help companies differentiate a product, increase product visibility, and increase the product purchase rate. Consumer: Target consumers (rebates, coupons, premiums, contests, kids eat free programs,reward programs, and free samples.). Get consumers to buy them. -Increase brand awareness, market acceptance, and sales.

What is a badly managed brand and what would you do to fix it?

Uber. I would argue they've been successful despite their brand and marketing instead of because of it. They created a disruptive product/service that meets a greatly unfulfilled need, so they've been able to ride that thus far. But: 1. They've consistently had PR crises they haven't responded well to: -Video of CEO condescendingly yelling at his own Uber driver -Sexual assault and sexism jokes - repeatedly. Uber Exec. obtained records of a woman claiming a driver raped her. 2. It is a company who's long term success is going to be based on how well they serve their customers and whose primary contact with the customer are contracted employees. They consistently mistreat both: -They charged surge pricing during hurricane and taxi driver strikes -Yelled at drivers and misled them about earnings -Openly using "God View" with consumers with concerns about data privacy. Need to recraft their image to make it clear it is the ideal option for drivers to work, where they have happy drivers who will represent them well, and which will create positive vibes for a primarily millennial base concerned with ethics, privacy, and diversity. 1. Improve driver experience: Help use their leverage to get drivers discounts on gas, negotiate reduced insurance, etc. Do something to build employee culture and value. 2. Develop admirable reputation: Provide free rides during an emergency. Make a public gesture about fighting sexual assault and harassment - zero tolerance policy. 3. Acknowledge missteps so far, rebrand, and start new campaigns for goodwill, particularly in its major cities. Give people control of the data. Give them discounts to use it, but give them an option.

STP Framework

Use as part of new product strategy - more granular focus - how are you actually selling it! 1. Segmentation: Demographics, Psychographics, Behavioral 2. Targeting: Segments with greatest opportunities 3. Positioning: Marketing mix. How to promote to each of the identified targets

Choose __________ brand and tell me how you would change the way it is marketed (Ecolab)

Wendys. -They aren't making choices. -"Fresh not frozen" implies quality differentiation, but they get into price wars with McDonald's, so their pricing strategy doesn't match their advertising strategy. Nor does the signature square shape - somehow the argument is that this is a superior quality material that is more memorable for being sort of an unnatural shape. -Lots of positive attention for funny social media, but that is mostly aimed at a population that has been moving away from their industry and making things like Chipotle, Five Guys, Noodles & Company more successful. Also misaligned with their traditional logo, image, and perception. Change: -Pick something distinct and pursue it. Up the price and double-down on quality while maintaining the drive-thru model to distinguish yourself from Five Guys or wherever. OR -Identify a gap and pursue it. Maybe it is the custom-made, made-fresh model. You can still compete in the fast food industry, but be Subway with burgers or something instead of McDonald's lite. They've tried to find differentiators, but they haven't resonated. -Placement: Get into different channels. Try to get into sports stadiums, events, etc. Make food truck versions. -Price: Up the price. -Promotion: One ad campaign. Not two different mascots.