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This case depicts a managerial problem faced by Tradition and Trust, a traditional sweet and snack manufacturer, which is 100-year old family business manufacturing, retailing and exporting sweets, snacks and other confectionery products. Like other traditional sweet and snack manufactures, the company is facing the challenge of consumers' shift towards 'healthy snacking'. Moreover, brands like Haldiram's and Bikanerwala are posing a tough competition to the traditional sweet manufacturing brands. In recent years, the brand has witnessed a decline in sales. In view of the challenges posed to brand, the Chief Marketing Officer, wants to understand the various factors influencing decline of sales and find ways to redesign the strategy for sustaining its current position in the market. The case is written to illustrate how six fundamental steps of conducting a marketing research can be used to address a given managerial problem.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC), a government-owned enterprise in India, was responsible for building, operating, and managing the metro rail network in the National Capital Region of India. Delhi’s reliable, punctual, clean, and green metro services began operation in 2002. By 2016, DMRC had transformed peoples’ lives and become an essential form of transit for an average of 2.5 million commuters per day. In terms of customer satisfaction, DMRC was ranked in a global online survey as the second-best metro system in the world. But management at DMRC knew that to maintain that level of customer satisfaction, it had to be conscious of the gap between performance and customer expectations, which were increasing with demands from DMRC's assertive and ambitious millennial commuters. In addition, the government was embarking on strategies to induce commuters to switch from private to public transit. DMRC needed to evaluate its strategic service priorities while continuing to deliver value to its stakeholders. Should DMRC focus on enhancing customer experience with augmented services or invest in measures to reduce operational costs? Was DMRC's culture of customer delight sustainable?

Supplement for product 9B16A049.

Reckitt Benckiser was the world's largest manufacturer of household products and a major marketer of health-care and personal-care products. The company was at a threshold of opportunities provided by a growing market of Indian consumers who were becoming health conscious and buying antibacterial products to make their homes germ-free. At a time when more and more Indians were looking for antibacterial products to protect their health, the company wondered if it should launch an antibacterial laundry detergent powder as part of its brand expansion strategy. Would the company benefit from a first-mover advantage by launching the first antibacterial laundry detergent in India? If the company were to consider entering this market, what strategic and branding objectives should it adopt? Should this new detergent be an extension of the company's famous Dettol brand or a new brand name?

Jade eServices Pvt. Limited (Jabong), an e-retailer of fashion products in India, regularly had to balance conflicting expectations from its supplier brands and consumers. The discounts that e-retailers had to offer to consumers to generate sufficient sales resulted in brand dilution, which compelled these brands to avoid the online channel. After allowing large discounts on Jabong's website for two years, Puma, a major international sports shoe brand, decided to stop discounting product lines that were contributing to 14 per cent of Jabong's footwear sales. Puma products helped to attract new customers, and Puma's decision had the potential to affect the commercial terms offered by other footwear brands, which would have even more impact on Jabong. Jabong's director of sports apparel knew that he was unlikely to meet the required growth figures without discounts on Puma's products. He needed a new strategy to compensate for Puma's withdrawal of discounting options, and he needed it immediately.

Jade eServices Pvt. Limited (Jabong), an e-retailer of fashion products in India, regularly had to balance conflicting expectations from its supplier brands and consumers. The discounts that e-retailers had to offer to consumers to generate sufficient sales resulted in brand dilution, which compelled these brands to avoid the online channel. After allowing large discounts on Jabong’s website for two years, Puma, a major international sports shoe brand, decided to stop discounting product lines that were contributing to 14 per cent of Jabong’s footwear sales. Puma products helped to attract new customers, and Puma’s decision had the potential to affect the commercial terms offered by other footwear brands, which would have even more impact on Jabong. Jabong’s director of sports apparel knew that he was unlikely to meet the required growth figures without discounts on Puma’s products. He needed a new strategy to compensate for Puma’s withdrawal of discounting options, and he needed it immediately.

The Vibrance Kegel Device (VKD) was an intra-vaginal device that helped women correctly identify and strengthen their pelvic floor muscles to prevent and improve health issues related to urinary incontinence, back pain, and sexual dysfunction. The VKD was owned and marketed by Bioinfinity, a three-person, start-up company based in Malaysia. Despite being an innovative and award-winning product, its marketing strategy was challenging as its target market was Malaysian women, the majority of whom were conservative and uncomfortable with discussing these types of medical issues. As a result, educating women and developing product awareness had been a struggle. Bioinfinity’s market development director needed to think of ways to grow the business. He was also contemplating whether the VKD was ready to compete in established markets such as Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The Vibrance Kegel Device (VKD) was an intra-vaginal device that helped women correctly identify and strengthen their pelvic floor muscles to prevent and improve health issues related to urinary incontinence, back pain, and sexual dysfunction. The VKD was owned and marketed by Bioinfinity, a three-person, start-up company based in Malaysia. Despite being an innovative and award-winning product, its marketing strategy was challenging as its target market was Malaysian women, the majority of whom were conservative and uncomfortable with discussing these types of medical issues. As a result, educating women and developing product awareness had been a struggle. Bioinfinity's market development director needed to think of ways to grow the business. He was also contemplating whether the VKD was ready to compete in established markets such as Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

In October 2015, WestJet, Canada's second largest airline, needed to expand its social media presence. The vice-president of marketing and communications and the manager of social media were excited about the prospects of continuing to grow their customer base and reach even more guests through social media. WestJet had developed a highly successful approach to managing social media, and now the two executives were faced with two new possible social platforms: Snapchat and Pinterest. With an economy in decline and a flat marketing budget for 2016, they had a decision to make. Should the company pursue either of these platforms for the coming year, and if so, how? Which one would be best for the growth and evolution of WestJet's social media presence?

Longchamp's Le Pliage is one of the fashion world's most successful products, a cultural icon across the globe. But managing the low priced, nylon handbag is challenging as Longchamp tries to move its brand upmarket into higher priced, luxury leather goods. How much should Longchamp focus on Le Pliage versus its leather handbags? How should the subbrand be distributed, merchandised, priced, and promoted? How does Le Pliage both contribute to and detract from Longchamp's brand equity?

The case describes the Maggi debacle faced by Nestle in India. On May 21, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered Nestle India to recall Maggi after confirming presence of high levels of lead and Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG) in the product. The case traces the events in the Maggi crisis and deliberates on the reputational loss as evidenced in the boycott of the product, sagging top and bottom line of the company, mounting consumer hostility and loss of faith and trust in leadership. As the events unfold the reader is able to discern the challenges that confront organisations in a crisis situation, and reflect on Nestle's crisis management strategies. The case provokes the reader to deliberate on the aftermath of the recall. Will Nestle be able to get Maggi back on the shelves? Will the Indian market be willing to forgive and forget? Would the company be able to regain consumer faith, change public perceptions and recapture mind space? If yes, how?

It is 2014 and AnswerDash, a startup backed by venture capital, has not seen the widespread adoption of their online self-service customer support solution that they were expecting based on early success in helping clients save and generate substantial amounts of money. Dr. Jacob O. Wobbrock and Dr. Andrew J. Ko are revisiting their go to market strategy to determine how to build a viable business out of their groundbreaking technology. The case raises issues in entrepreneurship and B2B marketing such as analyzing economic value to the customer, designing optimal price metrics, aligning pricing with marketing strategy, customer life-time value, organizational selling, and influencing innovation adoption.

In June 2013, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) launched Coke Life, a naturally sweetened but sugar-reduced carbonated soft drink. Coke Life complemented TCCC's established product line consisting of Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. Coke Life substituted a portion of the sugar component with stevia leaf extract and contained 35 per cent less sugar than Coca-Cola Classic. TCCC claimed that "Coke Life is for adults looking for a great tasting Coke but [one with] fewer kilojoules and [that is] sweetened from natural sources." Affected by governmental interventions, such as the implementation of special taxes and warning labels, the consumption of soft drinks had slowed down significantly, which had caused leading soft drink manufacturers to introduce "green" product modifications of their traditional beverages. When TCCC launched Coke Life, the market for carbonated soft drinks was highly competitive and was shrinking in part due to concerns over soft drinks contributing to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Was Coke Life likely to be successful? Or was it simply a "greenwashed" product in a highly segmented market?

Hector Beverages reinvented the ethnic drinks category in the Indian market with its beverage brand Paper Boat. The brand had been successful since its launch in 2013, posting triple-digit growth in 2015. By the end of December 2015, Hector Beverages' future seemed to be heavily dependent upon Paper Boat. With Paper Boat constituting 90 per cent of the company's total sales, 2016 would be a critical year for Hector Beverages. Should the company add more variety to its line of products, or should it focus on a few best-selling variants? Would the Paper Boat brand remain strong despite the launch of a similar product by a major competitor? Could Hector Beverages maintain its hold on the Indian ethnic drinks market?

Hector Beverages reinvented the ethnic drinks category in the Indian market with its beverage brand Paper Boat. The brand had been successful since its launch in 2013, posting triple-digit growth in 2015. By the end of December 2015, Hector Beverages’ future seemed to be heavily dependent upon Paper Boat. With Paper Boat constituting 90 per cent of the company’s total sales, 2016 would be a critical year for Hector Beverages. Should the company add more variety to its line of products, or should it focus on a few best-selling variants? Would the Paper Boat brand remain strong despite the launch of a similar product by a major competitor? Could Hector Beverages maintain its hold on the Indian ethnic drinks market?

In January 2006, the general manager of sales at Castrol India Limited was concerned. Sales of Castrol motorcycle oil for four-stroke engines was far less than it should be, especially when considering the five million motorcycles being added to Indian roads each year. Most motorcycle oil changes took place in franchised workshops during the warranty period and in non-franchised workshops after the warranty period. The general manager wanted to increase the sales of Castrol oil in the spare parts shops and non-franchised workshops that serviced India’s growing after-market. Castrol India’s existing distributors were reluctant to sell to those segments, which they viewed as low-volume, high-cost, and risky distribution channels. The general manager needed a distribution strategy that would appeal to the existing distributors and boost Castrol Oil India’s sales without increasing costs to the company.

In 2016, the founder and sole owner of Mobiado, a Canadian line of luxury mobile phones, was evaluating his company's marketing strategy. Proud of what he had achieved and passionate about his role as designer of one of the most unique and distinctive product lines in the category, he reflected on how he might need to adjust his company's strategies to fit current trends and to remain competitive. Could the Mobiado product line continue to succeed by offering exclusive precision-engineered mobile instruments without the latest smartphone features? Would the new breed of luxury consumers continue to value form over function?

In June 2015, the Indian food regulatory body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, declared Nestlé's brand of noodles, Maggi, unsafe for human consumption. Tested samples showed excess levels of lead and added monosodium glutamate. To retain the trust of consumers, Nestlé recalled Maggi from all store shelves in the country. Management was then grappling with an improved re-positioning strategy to help Nestlé retain its considerable market share in India. The other issue that Nestlé needed to resolve was what role pricing would play in influencing consumer purchase decisions during the proposed product relaunch.

By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable two-sided platforms in terms of their tremendous early growth were Airbnb, Etsy and Uber. They offered short-term property rentals, handcrafted goods, and car rides, respectively. As two-sided markets grew to scale, network effects kicked in as more consumers bred more suppliers and vice versa. But how did these platforms ride the second wave of growth? How did they grow from one thousand to one million customers?

In 2014, Kraft Foods Canada was working on an action plan for Kraft Singles, the company's brand of processed cheese slices. Although the product had been targeted at Canadian families for decades, Kraft Singles needed to be repositioned toward Canadian millennial moms (those born between 1980 and 2000). The company faced three dilemmas. How should Kraft Canada make the brand messaging of Kraft Singles compelling to Canadian millennial moms? What product innovations should coincide with the new messaging? How should Kraft Canada ensure that it would not alienate its traditional customer group?