1.

Founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, USA, Starbucks is a well-known international

brand with presence in more than 20,000 locations. Tata Starbucks is a 50:50 joint venture
between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) in India. Tata Starbucks opened its
first store in India in Oct-2012, and as of Feb-2019 had c. 135 stores in India. “We look at
activating more stores roll out in the next few years” – L Krishnakumar, Group CFO, TGBL
(source: Business Today, 10-Feb-2019). Recently, the brand has started accepting orders
via food delivery firms (e.g. Swiggy). Chaayos – founded by Nitin Saluja – an IIT Bombay
alumnus – opened its first store in India in NCR region in Nov-2012. Nitin refers to Chaayos
as ‘one of the finest Chai cafe chain in India’ on his LinkedIn profile (accessed May-2019).
You work as a Marketing Strategy consultant, and have been hired by Nitin to develop the
Marketing Strategy for Chaayos, which would help Chaayos increase the sales 10 times by
2025 (relative to sales in financial year ending Mar-2018). Provide your recommendations
regarding the Marketing Strategy and Marketing. Mix along with explanations.
Marketing strategy is a well-formed plan to achieve the goals of any organization. It gives
us a road map to achieve our short term and long-term objectives. It is like a formula which
acts as the layout for achieving the marketing objectives and the achieving the
organizational goals. It helps you effectively plan according to the limited resources
available to the organization and to utilize them in the best possible manner. It involves
detailed research’s and intense planning to formalize an effective strategy which will be
best suited for the organization. Any marketing strategy may involve various aspects like
understanding the target audience, which would mean to understand the end customers
effectively to understand their needs and aspirations from your product and accordingly.
There could be segments which would have great potential and can yield quick profits and
on the other hand there can be areas where there is a lot of scope but will have high entry
standards. A choice will have to be made by the organization and that can be done only if
there has been an in-depth marketing research methodology in place. Another factor in
formulating marketing strategy can be to gather a mix audience to which the organization
wants to sell their product. It is always important to have an effective marketing strategy
in place as then you will have the advantage over your competitors, it will also help in
developing the product with the maximum profit margins without compromising on the
product quality. It will help you understand where you would want to structure the price
of the product as at the end of the day price is the main factor. An effective strategy in
place is very important to have an effective co-ordination within all the departments. This
would also help plan the budgeting of all the areas such as advertisement or any other
means where in the organization wants to invest. There can be various strategies which
can be used:
 Using the social media to reach out to the customers.
 Using various blogs to educate people.
 Search engine optimization is also a very important area which needs some
expertise.
 Ideas such as referral programs to attract more people.
 Re-targeting ads is also an important area where in organizations should focus.
 Social media platforms like Facebook, twitter and to effectively use LinkedIn.
 Emailing campaigns is still a very effective strategy.
A choice needs to be made by the organization amongst the available and very effective
marketing strategy which will depend on various geographical and other factors as well.
A marketing strategy is one which is created to promote goods or services of any
organization to achieve maximum profits. A well formulated marketing strategy would
always focus on the correct product mix which would not just help us achieve the
maximum profit but also to sustain our business for a longer duration. You should always
think it as a long-term thing and not to achieve short term goals, the main goal here is to
achieve and advantage over the competitors and to effectively understand the difference
in what is required versus what is being delivered.
Companies do not achieve a competitive advantage over others overnight, neither are they
this lucky. It is a well formed, documented long term strategy plan which involves intense
amount of research. To document your own business plan for a company like “Chaayoos”
where in we can increase the sales by 10 times in the coming 5 years would involve a lot
of research and planning. Let us start with documenting the compony goals
Company goals for the next 5 years.

 To have the maximum market capture in the tea selling business.

 To identify the potential areas where in there sales can be maximized.
 Continue expansion across borders.
 To promote healthy living.
 All these will lead to sales increase monetarily.

To have a clear picture in mind on what needs to be achieved is very important, to

understand what your ultimate mission is and then to work in that direction is of utmost
importance. After having the goals defined it is also Important to document the objectives.
Objectives which needs to be achieved before 2025.

 To have a Chaayos branch established in all the major office areas across all
metropolitan areas.
 To have a branch in all the hub’s such as areas having IT organizations.
 To open a branch in each colony by identifying the maximum sale opportunities.
 Expand in the neighborhood areas.
 To have a quality check amongst all the branches.
 To sell out studies which tells us about the medicinal benefits of having various tea
from Chaayos.

To achieve all of this it is very important to pay lot of focus on your advantages and
disadvantages.
Advantages can be

 Tea is consumed throughout India.

 It is a local favorite and is consumed almost everywhere.
 It suits the environmental conditions.
 Chaayos has a very effective feedback system and works on feedbacks effectively.
 They have specialist skills to deliver what they are best at.
 Features and advantages of there products.
 An ambience where in people can enjoy their tea and have important discussions
as well.
 Increase demand of people preferring such hangout areas.
 A go to place to meet and have business discussions
Disadvantages
 Limited resources available
  Their products are readily available almost everywhere.
 The price at alternate places is much cheaper than at Chaayos.
 Chaayos has not been able to establish a reputation as of now.
 Cheap alternatives are available almost everywhere.
 The emergence of competitors almost every day.
 Cheaper and more effective versions of products available readily.

These can be few threats which can cause lot of issues in long term and it is very important
for any organization to address all such issues in there marketing strategy and effectively
lay a blue print which can guide you throughout the process and to uniformly have people
understand their roles and responsibilities.

2. Customer buying behaviour plays an important role in Marketing Strategy, and is affected
by four key factors/influences/characteristics. Identify and explain the major influences
on buying behaviour, for application in brand communication/ promotion, for the
following products/brands: (1) Raj Comics, (2) Pizza Hut India, (3) Amazon India, and (4)
LinkedIn India.

Customer buying behavior plays an important role in Marketing Strategy or it can also be said that
it is the key to define a successful marketing strategy. If you market your product to an audience
or your customers who you do not understand will never go very far. The only way to an effective
marketing strategy or as a matter of fact to survive long term in any business it is very important
to influence your customers buying behavior. The basis of buying a product or the decision to buy
a product is basically based on 2 forms of reasoning, this may be rational reasoning or emotional
reasoning.
The reason to buy a product or the reason to not buy a product will basically be because
of one of the above reasoning. Now you need to consider your product and make it fit in
one of the reasoning to have an effective marketing strategy. Emotional reasoning usually
holds more weight than rational reasoning as you would always prefer returning to the
same Pizza hut store rather than going to any other store which may be cheaper. This is
because you have previously tried, and you feel a trust towards pizza hut which may not
be there for others.
Another question which arises here is how often the product is required and how often
would there be a demand of that product. If the product is a daily based product or
something which is needed on a regular basis, this information can be very useful to
understand and time your marketing efforts in the right direction and to maximum.
The various campaigns run by Amazon India, such as super saving weeks etc. are a prime
example of this being used effectively by organizations and encouraging them to buy more
and more by attracting them with discounts and schemes, which is a prime example of
effecting the customers buying behavior.
The four key factors/influences/characteristics which affect the customer buying behavior
can be classified as:
 What are the customers buying?
o It can be classified into various areas on what are the buying which can be
a daily use product, if a brand offers a variety of products and services, you
need to determine which are the most popular ones among them and how
frequently are these bought by the customers. This information can be
used to make decisions for your marketing strategy.
 Where do the customers prefer buying a product from?
o Sites such as Amazon have really planned good market strategies as they
have come out to be a one stop shop for all the customers needs. As in now
the customers who are purchasing the products online have increased
tremendously. Through these third-party sites which offer great customer
experience and are trustworthy as well. But still there are few customers
which prefer it the old-fashioned way such as to visit there near by stores
and have the physical feel of the product before having to buy it
 Where do the customers go to find the information required?
o From the various available sources of information, where do your customer
visit to collect there information, this can be both online and offline modes
of data collection. This is very important to understand as to understand
who the customers listen to and what is there trust source.
o Social media usually is a source of information for the customers, they look
for information and also feedback for there products on social media
websites, LinkedIn is one example where customers do look for
information.
 Who are these customers buying the products for
o There are various occasions when these customers are not the actual
buyers and they are looking to buy products for others, as an example a
toy is often purchased by a child but they are not the ones taking the
decision.
 3. Founded in 1939, Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com) is a well-known brand – in comic
books and related media – owned by The Walt Disney Company. Dhruv, a first generation
entrepreneur founded ‘Ossum Comics’ in 2019 with a vision to launch and build the first
Indian billion-dollar brand in comic books and related media, and feature among top 3
international brands in the same category by 2030. Dhruv wants to launch the company
by Oct-2019 and has hired you as a consultant.

A) Explain various stages and their characteristics in an industry life cycle, with specific
comments regarding the current stage of comic books and related media
industry in India.
Industry life cycle tells us about the evolution of any industry from the start based on various
business-related characteristics, which are commonly displayed in various phases. Industries start
with new products or services being developed, although there is a lot of uncertainty regarding
the market, how will they accept the new product the size which it involves, and the number of
competitors present in the market. The industry lifecycle can be broken down into various phases,
there is no specific definition of the available stages it is organized based on growth and the pace.
The difference in the length of all these phases can be entirely different based on the nature of
business. The phases can be classified as:

a. The startup or planning phase of the industry lifecycle

i. This is the phase which we are currently in where in Dhruv wants to launch
the company in the coming future, is making his plans. Usually during this
phase all the research involved is complete and a plan is in place which is to
be executed to launch the company. This phase involves early marketing,
promotion of the new product or service. Consumers need to learn the
capabilities of the new product, while Dhruv needs to understand the needs
of the consumers by collecting feedbacks and working on them.
b. The growth phase of the industrial lifecycle
i. This is the phase after the startup phase of industry lifecycle wherein now
all the consumers understand and accept the newly developed product or
service, in this phase you also identify your real competitors and then have
a healthy competition where in both the industries can have a steady
growth. Usually if an industry has to be eliminated if the product is not
accepted by the customers that happens before this phase in the startup
phase itself.
c. Maturity phase of the industry lifecycle
 i. This usually happens when there is a slow down period, the market focus
shifts to other alternatives the industry starts looking to reduce their costs.
In this phase the focus is around how much market is covered by the
product and industries lay there focus on the amount of money in and out
flow. The products available in the market from all the competitors do not
have much difference left as all of them have reached a certain amount of
maturity till this phase so it is mainly about the price now, during this phase
it is about how the industries are able to lower the cost without affecting
the profit margin.
d. Final phase
i. This is the phase where in the industries loose there ability to grow and this
marks usually the end of any industries wherein all there supplies dry out,
there is no new demand of the product the market This can only be delayed
by having a proper research strategy in place for a long term and major
improvements are done in the product.

b. There are 5 key themes/ ways to identify competitive advantages for a brand/
differentiate from other brands, as a part of differentiation and positioning strategy;
explain these with suggestions/examples in context of ‘Ossum Comics’, and (2)
suggest a positioning strategy for ‘Ossum Comics’

Markets these days are very competitive, these days it is very easy to start a business, any 1 with
a good idea in mind can look out for funding’s and set up a new industry. With technology being
present everywhere it is much cheaper to reach a large number of audiences today, with no
boundaries at all. An industry can be entertaining international customers from the very 1st day of
their existence. All the online ecommerce websites are a big example of this, you do not need a
lot of funding you need not have products available, just few tie ups with sellers and postings on
your website can get you started, sellers get an advantage of having there customers wide spread
is beneficial for both seller and the buyer. But the biggest challenge here is to stand out from
others, why would the customers select you from the thousand other available options in the
market. To be able to cross the huddle and to have that competitive advantage is the key to
successful business. This will enable the business to have more focus on there product and will
multiply the profits and reduce the cost. A good response in the early stages is very important to
keep it going. There can be advantages like being the first to have something like this in the market
‘Ossum Comics’ is unique and there isn’t really something similar present in the Indian market
today, but being the first doesn’t really guarantee success, if you take the example of google they
weren’t the first in there stream line business but they survived by making the right move at the
right time. There are five steps for being able to have the competitive advantage over all others
e. To have a detail research of the market segment you are planning to target and
also understand the issues which the customers might be facing with the available
products in the market and then grow your product accordingly.
f. To try and understand what will make the customers leave the products which they
have been using for quite some time now and switch to your product now. What
would be the added advantage of your product over the once already available in
the market.
g. Delivering product doesn’t complete the job, it is very important to have an after
sales support and service team to be in place to help the customers with any sorts
of issue which they might come across.
h. You need to understand all your strength areas and focus on the them to find out
ways to provide better product into the market.
i. Your product should be a good balance between cost and value of the product
being delivered into the market.

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