Sunder Engineering Industries (Sunder Engineering), a family-run business for over 50 years established by Malinder Singh, had earned a reputation for producing high-quality heating elements and terminal pins. With cutting-edge engineering and a loyal industrial customer base, the company had grown steadily. Gursidak Singh (Malinder’s grandson), took over the company management at a young age following the sudden death of his father. Singh had recently received an email from one of his longest-standing customers, Arora Components, regarding the latter’s shift to a more cost-effective supplier. New competitors had entered the market in recent years, offering similar products at lower prices. Singh was facing a challenge in keeping his customers loyal to Sunder Engineering, despite the mounting pressure from competitors. His father and grandfather had believed in delivering superior quality, but Singh knew that quality alone may no longer be enough. He had to respond immediately to Arora Components’ email and simultaneously outline a strategy to quickly adapt to changing customer preferences. Should Singh shift to cost-effective solutions by reducing prices or offer discounts? Or should he develop customer loyalty programs to retain his customers?
At Dax Water Tech Industries Pvt. Ltd (Dax), a multinational enterprise specializing in high-performance desalination equipment, the future appeared positive but challenging. Chief financial officer (CFO), Amol Paranjpe, was pondering the challenge of investing ₹200 million to meet the recent surge in demand that called for an immediate scaling up of operations, the purchase of new machinery, staff recruitment, and enhancing the logistics system. Paranjpe had to decide between bank loans, long-term bonds, and venture equity. The numbers were clear, but the decision was not; each option was promising but came with risks.
Ashish and Ranu Surana, a husband and wife team and co-owners of Go Pure Ice Cream (“Go Pure”), had managed to turn their passion for developing and selling fruit-based ice cream into a successful business. Having crossed the milestone figure of INR 10 million in sales with their network of 20 franchisees, mostly in Tier 2 and 3 cities, they dreamed of taking the Go Pure brand to the national level, which would require them to launch in metro and Tier 1 cities. However, they knew that this was not going to be easy. Managing existing franchisees in terms of their adherence to standard operating procedures was proving a challenge, as some franchisees were neglecting to wear headgear or gloves or not using branded cups. The founders were worried that these small but significant lapses were diluting the brand. Their current franchise model involved charging franchisees a once-off franchisee fee and billing them on an ongoing basis for the products they delivered. The Suranas wanted to identify the correct strategy to make Go Pure a national brand, but were having trouble selecting the right approach.<br><br>The first option they considered was trying to get the right franchisees on board. If they could achieve this, those franchisees could act as influencers for them in prime locations in metro and Tier 1 cities, making their brand look fantastic at the national level. The second option they considered was to continue to expand in Tier 2 and 3 cities and to try to become an aspirational brand for the majority of urban and rural Indians. The other option they were looking at was getting an infusion of venture equity and opening professionally managed, company-owned, company-operated outlets in metro and Tier 1 cities. They engaged the services of a brand consultant to help them understand how their brand was perceived and valued in the minds of their target audience and to advise them on how to leverage this information to fulfill their dreams.