Lesson 1: Marketing

At the end of the lesson, the learner will be able to:

Understand that products do not sell on their own if they are just introduced in the market
Understand marketing as a dynamic process
Know the components of marketing
Understand where sales fits in marketing
Understand how to leverage marketing function

Session Plan
Topic
Session 1
Case Study

Total

Lesson 1 Marketing1

Scope

30 minutes to read the material in the SG

45 minutes to prepare the case study
45 minutes to present for feedback.

Instruments

Duration
(mins)
120

120

Topic: Marketing A Case Study

Objective
This topic will help you to practice all that you have read on marketing, by way of a case study.

Handling Strategy

Divide the class into four teams. Tell them to study the reading material in the SG.Tell them to study the
case study, discuss in your teams, and prepare your marketing strategy for this case.
Present to the large group. Here other teams can question you, be prepared to defend your strategy.

CASE STUDY:
Rahul looked out of the 18th floor of his office as the traffic below went by noiselessly. He wondered how he was going
to live up to his promises. After 20 years in ABC finance Limited, he had recently got a break to join CBP Finance
Limited and this was his chance to show that he knew what he spoke. The promoters of CBP were CBP Properties
Limited, a name everyone knew when it came to good quality housing across India. But this was different. Here the
promoters wanted to set up a finance company and sell personal loans to people. Selling loans he knew was not the
difficult part. If you decide to give money, there are millions waiting to take it. He also had to ensure that the processes
were robust to collect the money!! His challenge lay in ensuring that the money lent was returned at the right time thus
making profit for the organization.
He remembered his marketing professor talk of various Ps in marketing. That time the famous Kotler of Marketing
talked of 4 Ps viz. Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Offer the right product at the correct price, give adequate
publicity or promotion and ensure that the product was in the shelf of a shop or available to be bought. Over the years
many other Ps had got added like People, Process, Profit and many more Ps each new consultant created!!
At the end of the day it was simple: Create a Product which was required, find a way to distribute it or make it
available to the public at large, price it right or for the right segment and promote the same to ensure that people knew
of it. This was common sense, which was most uncommon!!
How was Rahul to go about creating his organization? He and his core team had found a superb product, a housing
loan product which no one was offering except for Citibank. And he had an advantage of a great captive base,
something which the bank lacked. He could ride on the distribution of CBP properties, which were present currently in
20 cities and expanding to another 20 by the end of the year.
Rahul was faced with a question of priorities:
Should he go about opening all the offices at the same time or test the product in select cities?
Should he advertise only in the place where the properties were or should he go for mass media?
Should he use Direct Sales Associate and outsource the marketing or should he use his own team of sales employees?
Should he price the product differently for customers of CBP and other housing companies or should be create a
differentiation later based on service and product features?
Should he spend money on creating offices which were swanky and looked better than Citibank or should he focus on
first creating the business?
Should he invest in Process back up with a sophisticated IT system or should he first hire a system which was OK and
reliable but not very long lasting and later upgrade to a better system?
Rahul struggled with many such questions. He had never thought of the whole companys problems when he was a
sales head in his earlier job. His only job was to get business. He now faced the entire organizations challenges as his
own. There was no one to go to. He had to decide what was best for the company. What was best? He himself was in
4.2

Lesson 1 Marketing

a dilemma. He now remembered the case studies he went thorough in his MBA classes and the little amount of time
he actually spent to read them carefully. He was tempted to call up his Prof and ask him what he should do.
He dialed Prof Murthys number finally and was relieved to hear the familiar voice at the other end.
Sir; I need your help.
What does Prof Murthy tell him?
How does Rahul juggle with the 4 Ps?
What are the key elements of marketing mix which are critical?
How does one decide which element was most critical?
What are the elements which are critical in different stages of a life cycle of a company?
Discuss

Lesson 1 Marketing3

Solution to Practice Questions

1. One of the shortest good definitions of marketing is meeting needs profitably
2. List the four Ps of traditional Marketing
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
3. What are the best ways to leverage Marketing? List five ways.

Gathering and Analyzing Market Information

Marketing Planning
Product Designing and Development
Standardization and Grading
Packaging and Labeling

4.4

Lesson 1 Marketing

Slides

Lesson 1 Marketing5

Session 1
Selling Skills
Session 1

Session 1

Slide 1 of 4

Selling Skills
Objectives
In this session, you will learn:
That products do not sell on their own if they are just
introduced in the market
Marketing as a dynamic process
Components of marketing
Where does sales fit in marketing
How to leverage marketing function

Session 1

4.6

Slide 2 of 4

Lesson 1 Marketing

Selling Skills

One of the shortest good definitions of marketing is meeting

needs profitably.

Session 1

Slide 3 of 4

Selling Skills

Product: Anything that can be offered to a market for

attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy
a want or need. In includes physical objects, services,
persons, places, organizations and ideas.
Price: The amount of money charged for a product or
service, or the sum of the values that consumers exchange
for the benefits of having or using the product or service.
Promotion: Activities that communicate the product or
service and its merits to target customers with a view to
persuading them to buy.
Place: All the companys activities that make the product or
service available to target customers.

Session 1

Lesson 1 Marketing7

Slide 4 of 4