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Student spreadsheet for case 916507.

A young analyst decides to collect Twitter data to better understand who is promoting the Net Promoter matrix on the social media site in late July 2015. How widely is the metric mentioned and how much of the dialogue involves conversations rather than tweets being sent as general broadcast messages? He considers the social network of these users, their relationships and the network as a whole to create a network graph and wonders what he can do to improve the way it can be viewed and understood.

In 2009, Lee O'Rourke was promoted to District Vice President in charge of Macy's newly created North Florida district. This district consisted of 11 stores located in the greater Orlando area and in the east coast towns of Daytona, Melbourne, Merritt Island, and Vero Beach. The performance of these stores had lagged in recent years, and O'Rourke was charged with building a cross-functional district team to support these stores and with improving their overall performance. O'Rourke and her team were able to drive almost immediate improvement in the district's sales growth and profitability and in other key areas such as customer service scores. How can O'Rourke ensure that these stores continue to perform well going forward?

A young analyst decides to collect Twitter data to better understand who is promoting the Net Promoter matrix on the social media site in late July 2015. How widely is the metric mentioned and how much of the dialogue involves conversations rather than tweets being sent as general broadcast messages? He considers the social network of these users, their relationships and the network as a whole to create a network graph and wonders what he can do to improve the way it can be viewed and understood.

The prospect of online grocery (e-grocery) shopping has generated a substantial amount of interest. Many fast-moving consumer goods companies have entered this potential market, and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is contemplating building its own e-grocery platform. However, e-grocery firms have yet to develop a business model that can consistently deliver profits while also creating value for customers. HUL needs to assess the potential barriers to success, including challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and customer skepticism. If the company decides to launch its e-grocery store, which model should it follow? Should HUL enter the e-grocery arena with a full range of products or only a select few? What technical and physical capabilities would the company need to succeed in the online retailing business? HUL has always been at the forefront of using technology to reach consumers, but is e-commerce the best way forward?

Core Curriculum Readings in Marketing cover fundamental concepts, theories, and frameworks in marketing. For classroom use in higher education, this Reading is accompanied by a Teaching Note, test bank, and exhibit slides. Digital technology has changed how consumers search for information, buy products and services, and interact with companies and each other. These technologies also have made it possible for companies to have a better understanding of their customers' decision journey and subsequent word-of-mouth recommendations. Digital marketing requires new approaches to reach and engage consumers. This reading highlights four key elements of digital marketing: outbound marketing (search advertising, display ads, and video ads), inbound marketing, social media networks, and mobile technology. The Reading explores each element, explaining relevant tools and how to assess their effectiveness.It also covers advanced topics such as online-offline interaction, managing search ads and bidding for keywords, assessing the effectiveness of digital campaigns, and linking measurements to customer lifetime value (CLV). This Reading contains an Interactive Illustration, "Search and Display Advertising ROI," which helps students understand the relationships among measures of efficiency of search and display advertising, as well as the dependence of advertising campaign profit and ROI (return on investment) on its measures of efficiency. The Reading also contains links to four video clips on the implementation of digital marketing techniques, including "Coca Cola Hong Kong Multiscreen Ad Campaign," a creative combination of TV and mobile marketing; "HubSpot CEO Interview on Inbound Marketing," about the importance of creating noteworthy content that will attract customers; "United Breaks Guitars," an example of negative word of mouth via social media; and "Advertising Symbiosis: The Key to Viral Videos," describing why certain customers are likely to share ads.

On March 31, 2014, the vice-president of Sales & Marketing at Xiamen Airlines Co. Ltd. (XiamenAir) was reviewing the minutes of the month-end meeting with his team. The meeting had focused mainly on the rapid spread of high-speed rail in China, especially along the popular and profitable routes served by his company. The new train service might become an indirect, albeit potent source of competition, redirecting existing passenger volume from airlines to a much cheaper travel option. How would its growth affect the positioning of XiamenAir as a premium service, high-priced airline? How should the company respond to this development?

Kelsey, a newly minted MBA hired by a firm that provides analysis of companies, has been given a task to present an assessment of six very different firms described by her manager as "retailers." She has been given the performance details of these companies and is expected to quickly analyze the metrics related to the firms' performance, such as return on assets, inventory turns and staff productivity. Her manager also wants her to assess and compare the six firms more broadly. Which firm should Kelsey recommend investing in?

Excel spreadsheet for students.

Beijing has a huge second-hand housing rental market, while the tenants are often unable to get satisfactory properties. Because the real estate brokerage companies only assist with handling procedures, the tenants' requirements for quality, furnishing and services of properties are inadequately considered. Therefore, traditional modes of leasing have been significantly out of date. In this context, Homelink launched Ziroom business in May 2011, beginning its new exploration in the rental industry. Under the leadership of Mr. Xiong Lin, general manager of Ziroom, who had rich experience in this field, Ziroom created Ziroom Friendly Home and Ziroom Apartment under the same brand of Ziroom and operated them in a B2C mode. Ziroom owns the properties and processes them into standard products before selling online at Ziroom.com and providing various follow-up services during the lease term. Ziroom focuses on product, service and O2O, covering all the key links of tenants' rental experience. By the end of 2013, Ziroom had collected a total of over 20,000 properties, including over 60,000 Ziroom Friendly Home rooms and 6 stand-alone buildings of Ziroom apartments that are distributed in more than 2,000 real estates in Beijing. With the cumulative occupancy rate remaining at 90% and the renewal rate at over 60%, Ziroom provides rental services to 10 million Ziroomers. At present, Xiong Lin is faced with a number of challenges. For example, Ziroom's rent is a little bit high for a portion of young people in need of shared leasing; the future development of Ziroom may be affected by the changes in rents, real estate purchase restrictions, and the increase of Ziroom properties. Ziroom aims to establish a super-large enterprise based on O2O platforms that integrate asset management, housing and extension services, as well as information and data services, managing tens of thousands of properties in China. Today, Ziroom is continuing its entrepreneurial efforts.

Cookie Man, an Australian bakery chain, ventured into India in 2000 with the unique promise of providing "freshly baked premium cookies" on the spot. Opening with a manufacturing unit and its first outlet in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it bought raw materials and most of its packaging locally and used a local refrigerated trucking firm to distribute its goods. By 2015, it was operating 70 company-owned and franchised stores in newly designed malls and high fashion streets in 25 cities across the country. Increasing competition, a move by competitors towards Internet distribution, and the changing tastes of consumers have hurt the financial health of the brand, and some drastic and quick strategic choices need to be made. Should the company grow horizontally and open more stores in India and/or expand into neighbouring countries? Should it look at new channels of delivery or new offerings? What is the right path for survival and growth?

In 2015, Nissan was third place in the Japanese auto market, behind Toyota and Honda. The challenge of increasing market share was that 80% of car shoppers who were non-Nissan owners did not consider Nissan during their purchase process. This process involved three main consumer touchpoints: mass media advertising, internet auto websites and the physical dealerships. In the last 5 years, the importance of the dealers in influencing car sales had greatly diminished as consumers researched and chose which make and brand of car to buy online, going to the dealer only to negotiate price, purchase and receive the car. Given this trend, how should Nissan's top marketer make changes in how Nissan manages these three key consumer touchpoints? And how to better integrate them to maximize sales.

Handout for case UV7031.

Handout for case UV7031.

Spreadsheet supplement for case UV7031.

The head of marketing and sales at National Dairy, a quasi-government co-operative enterprise in the Indian state of Odisha, is hounded by the threat from private milk marketing firms that are attempting to overtake the monopoly position enjoyed by National Dairy for close to three decades. The title company’s field salesforce provides intelligence reports from the market, indicating that National Dairy’s authorized retailers and bulk customers (e.g., tea stall owners and restaurants) were slowly switching to competing brands, lured by attractive schemes and better earnings. National Dairy faced the dilemma of wanting to defend its leadership position and build a sustainable competitive advantage while at the same time continuing to uphold its social obligations towards the farming community in Odisha.

In June 2015, FC Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu sees his team lift the UEFA Champions League trophy, completing an impressive trophy haul in the 2014-2015 season. Unique for a club of its caliber, five of the starting eleven are products of FC Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia. Yet none of the trophies and accolades guarantee future success. Bartomeu faces pressing questions about the club's business model-and in particular about the tensions between local and global activities-as well as decisions about the ongoing investment in the youth academy, funding for the club's Foundation and other sports, and its relatively low ticket prices. How could Barça continue to win on and off the field in the increasingly competitive and global world of European football, while still protecting its local focus and traditions?

Certainty profoundly shapes our behavior. The more certain we are of a belief--regardless of its objective correctness--the greater its influence will be on what we do. People who are certain of their opinions are more likely to buy, buy sooner, and spend more; more willing to recommend products; and more apt to resist challenges to their beliefs. Certainty is the catalyst that turns attitudes into action. Imagine that two customers flying Virgin America give the carrier the same high rating--a 9 out of 10--on a satisfaction survey. Most marketers, seeing that the customers are both highly satisfied, assume they'll behave similarly--that they're equally likely to fly Virgin America again, recommend it to friends, and so on. But their behavior depends less on their stated opinion than on how firmly they hold it. Suppose that one of the Virgin customers is a frequent flier and has had reliably good experiences. She is likely to be very certain of her favorable attitude and to remain a loyal customer. The other may have flown just once on the carrier. She's probably less certain of her opinion--wondering whether future experiences would be different--and therefore less likely than the frequent flier to choose Virgin again. They may hold the same view, but if one of them is more certain of that view than the other, she'll be the better customer. Despite the voluminous body of research on the influence of certainty on behavior, it is poorly understood in business and rarely measured or put to use.