Author(s):Jaydeep Mukherjee
Title – HCL Care: harnessing the out of warranty ICT service market. Subject area – Marketing strategy, Decision making, After sales servicing. Study level/applicability – As part of a core marketing course; at post graduate level; marketing strategy courses where competition and co-operation business models are explored. Case overview – The case focuses on HCL Care, which had the service competence and reach, but no marketing set up for attracting customers to its ICT products service facilities. The case explores the decision choices faced by the company in deciding its market strategy. The main challenge was the out of warranty offer planned by HCL Care. It was aimed at providing a one stop solution for consumers who owned various ICT devices of different brands that could not be serviced at one point. There was no specific validation of whether this proposed, more convenient and comprehensive offer was compelling enough for the consumer to switch from the service offered by the original equipment manufacturer or from the plethora of low priced offers from independent service providers in the Indian marketplace. Expected learning outcomes – These include: how to organize the different types of market and company information available to segment the market and selecting the target market; developing a positioning platform and developing the market strategy; and choosing between competition versus cooperative business models. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available. Consult the librarian for access. Close

Author(s):Nükhet Vardar
Title – Bank Z's communication dilemma during Turkey's 2001 crisis. Subject area – Marketing. Study level/applicability – The primary target for this case study is marketing and communications undergraduate students, especially those from emerging countries; the secondary target is MBA students studying principles of marketing, integrated marketing communications. Case overview – Turkey probably faced the most severe economic crisis after the Second World War in February 21, 2001, when the Turkish Lira was devalued by 94 percent against US dollar just overnight. Against this volatile business environment, Bank Z as one of the major banks in Turkey, was preparing for the launch of a major new marketing and communication plan. In April 2000 Bank Z had set itself the target of “changing the banking concept in Turkey, accomplishing no other bank was able to realize”. So Bank Z was ready to communicate its new consumer banking products when the country started to face rough times. Especially financial institutions and banks were encountering serious trust issues. Bank Z on the other hand, had grouped its products according to their line of financial expertise in five groups with the aim of having specialized personnel in these different areas, serving clients in the best possible way. Furthermore, the bank was aiming to realize 80 percent of its transactions via telephone and internet banking. Therefore, Bank Z had undertaken major technological investments in order to be able to deliver these services. But under these volatile economic conditions, should they go ahead with the campaign? Or should they postpone the campaign? Or should they realize it with a reduced frequency and budget? What if they postpone and one of the competitors start a new advertising campaign with similar propositions? The case tries to answer these critical questions with the help of market data, showing the likely course of business decisions can take in an emerging country just under 24 hours. Expected learning outcomes – There are two main outcomes: first, to show the importance of consistent, continuous and sustainable communication for brand's marketing activities, especially during times of economic instability. The second outcome is to simulate difficulties of decision making under highly volatile market conditions and in high-risk environments, especially when the business environments can change abruptly. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available. Close

Author(s):Amalia E. Maulana, Lexi Z. Hikmah, Yudha Andriyanto
Title – Prayer rooms: an augmented or expected benefit? Senayan City Mall Jakarta. Subject area – Services marketing, Market segmentation, Ethnography. Study level/applicability – Postgraduate programs, Master in Strategic Marketing and Master in Business Administration. Case overview – One of the signs of an increase in religion awareness of Indonesian society is a high demand on Musholla in public area. While other shopping malls just provide a normal standard room for prayer, Senayan City has become a pioneer in introducing an excellent facility of a prayer room. In services marketing, one of the substantial matters to consider is physical evidence, or in other words service setting or servicescape. Musholla is one of the intangible aspects, which depicts services in shopping malls in Indonesia. There are three variables that distinguish visitors' types, such as time spent, liturgical compliance level and concerns for cleanliness/hygiene. Expected learning outcomes – The objective of this case study is to give deeper comprehension about services marketing to students in a practical way. This case study illustrates that a company is capable of creating a strong brand by acknowledging consumer needs and providing extra benefits. Besides, students are also required to analyze diverse consumer needs as each segment has its own needs. The use of ethnography as an approach shows that such a contemporary method can capture dynamic behaviours and deeper insight on consumer needs. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes are available. Close

Author(s):Yasmin Malik
Title – Mobile marketing at Telenor Pakistan – a MAD strategy? Subject area – Mobile marketing. Study level/applicability – MBA, marketing level consultants. Case overview – This is the first documented study on the development of a mobile marketing eco-system in Pakistan. The focus of the case is Telenor Pakistan – the first local operator to implement a comprehensive mobile marketing strategy via opt-in based consumer profiling. By positioning itself as a “media company” in the mobile marketing value chain, Telenor Pakistan aims to both enable and drive the mobile marketing eco-system at a time when operators are suffering from a decline in average revenue per user and are endeavouring to put into place strategies that will open up revenue streams based on services other than voice. Expected learning outcomes – To develop a comprehensive understanding of the drivers and restrainers that affect the mobile marketing eco-system in emerging markets; and to examine to what extent operator-driven mobile marketing can create synergies within the mobile marketing value chain. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes. Close

Author(s):Soo May Cheng
Title – Sinolink Fine Wines. Subject area – International wine marketing, focusing on the emerging importance of Hong Kong as a wine business hub in the Asia Pacific region. Study level/applicability – MBA or year 3/4 undergraduate business course. Some prior knowledge of organisational structure, management decision-making, marketing principles and consumer behaviour will be helpful. Case overview – Sinolink is a small family business that successfully made the transition to become one of the largest local wine dealers in Hong Kong, trading internationally and growing phenomenally through a combination of management and marketing savvy. Its story is worth telling at a time when Hong Kong is emerging as an important wine business hub in the Asia Pacific region. It faces new opportunities and challenges in such a dynamic environment. Expected learning outcomes – Some learning points are: how vision and leadership affects business strategy; international supplier relationship and product knowledge as critical foundations for the wine business; customer relationship management and marketing as competitive strategies; and flexibility in response to operational considerations and challenges is vital to success Supplementary materials – Teaching notes. Close