Case Study

White Box Case Study 1. Introduction In white-box testing, the purpose is to ensure that the all the code has been tested and covered. There are different coverage measures depending on the level of detail of the white-box test. The coverage measures may also be applied to integration testing and system testing. 2. Learning Objectives The exercise aims at giving an understanding of white-box. The specific learning goal is to gain a detailed insight into the concept of white-box testing using coverage measures.

Assignment 1: Look at the program below. How many feasible paths are there for this program? Define a set of test cases that gives you 100% coverage of all the feasible paths. Input (score); If score < 45 then print (‘fail’); else print (‘pass’); If score > 80 then print (‘ with distinction’); End Assignment 2: In this week’s lab session you will test the NextDate program with white-box techniques. Get an understanding of how the program works, the code is available here Assignment 4: Make flowgraphs of the methods in the NextDate class.

Assignment 5: Prepare test cases based on the flowgraph. Calculate the minimum number of test cases if the goal is: • 100% Statement coverage • 100% Decision/branch covergae • 100% Condition coverage 4. Exercise (on computer) Assignment 6: Now we would like you to thoroughly test the NextDate program using white-box testing. You should implement the testcases you have prepared on paper using statement, decision,and condition coverage. Preferably implement them using JUnit. Implement more test cases if you realize that you missed any during the preparation.

Remember to specify test case ID, what is tested, description, input, expected output and other useful information while executing your test cases. You may also want to make room for pass and fail notes and perhaps for comments. Record your test results carefully for your test report. Report The purpose of the report is to discuss the result of the exercise and related topics. Following parts should be included, 1) conclusions from the lab session, 2. Describe the outcome of your tests.

Discuss the assignments and include the following: • The flowgraphs from the preparation assignment. • The test cases. Remember to specify the associated test technique to each test case. Also, specify the coverage measure of each method used. • Defects detected. • Which coverage criteria works best and why? • When is each coverage criteria most applicable? • Compare black-box test techniques (used in lab session 1) and white-box test techniques. Discuss advantages and disadvantages with each and when they are appropriate to use.

Introduction

Leadership, in traditional as well as in modern world has always been viewed in terms of character traits that a person either innately has or develops. While in the traditional world, leadership was always associated with physical superiority, bravery and a host of other similar attributes, in the present day world, the word encompasses a host of other characteristics. Experts also agree that the list of these characteristics, whether naturally possessed or developed consciously, varies as per the situation. That is to a say a person with a proven leadership quality in one field may not always be an effective leader in some other circumstance. Also, leaders can be successful by having different visions of what constitutes success for them – there is no single formula (Bryman, 1986, p. 19; Harvard Business School, 2001, p. 191). The present discussion focuses on this particular aspect of leadership – that is, people with different characteristics can be successful leaders, and that there is no single success formula. The two leader selected for analysis are Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics and Bill gates from Microsoft. Both these leaders have radically different mantras of success, extremely different business models, and both have been immensely successful in their corresponding business – both are in fact heads of the top business in United States, albeit in different areas.

LPC and situational control of each leader

Both Mary Kay and Bill gates started their business from scratch and grew them into the large conglomerates they have now. Mary Kay, whose company was public listed on the NYSE, however brought back the company under private control using a leveraged buyout after some years. On the other hand Microsoft – the largest and most well known computer software company in the world, is still public listed, with Gates being only a minority shareholder. Both the leaders faced immense challenges in their respective businesses at the time of startup. On the LPC scale Mary Kay comes scores extremely high – she was considered to be extremely friendly, pleasant, accepting, close to her employees, caring, harmonious, cheerful, trustworthy, considerate, sincere, kind and nice. This is reflected in fact in the reason why she wished to open the business in the first place, and the way she placed her priorities – god first, family second and career third. Bill Gates, however has a pragmatic view of work. While he is extremely sincere, trustworthy charming and even entertaining, he does not score high in terms of being kind, considerate, nice and supportive towards his coworker. He is hence extremely task oriented, which can be seen in the way he puts work before anything else, and like being busy, as compared to Mary Kay who has a more benevolent approach towards her employees (Sapienza, 2004, p.77).

Similarity between the two leaders

Needless to say, the immense success in their respective areas of business is perhaps one of the similarities between the two leaders. Both their companies are ranked high and have presence in over 30 countries. In addition, both employ a large workforce, both directly and indirectly. They have both started businesses from scratch and have hence seen adverse environment and passed successfully though them. They are both extremely generous towards the performing employees in their company. They are continuously in touch with their employees, who have the access to them at any point. They are both sticklers for perfection in the quality of their products and services (Crowley A, Halbig C, White cited in Nahavandi, 2006).

Differences between the two leaders

Despite the above mentioned similarities mentioned between the two leaders, they are as different as they possibly could be in terms of business, attitude towards success and priorities in life. While Bill Gates is considered by many to be the ultimate example of young entrepreneurship, Mary Kay started her first cosmetic outlet when she was almost 50 years old, and had been divorced and had a grown up son. In this way, Bill gates probably comes across to be more arrogant since he did achieve success at a pretty early age, as across to may Kay who has definitely seen lows in her life, which decided her priority and the place that money would hold in her life. Bill Gates is one, who worked extremely hard and had succeeded in achieving his ambitions probably beyond what he expected and he is hence more demanding and unforgiving towards his employees who under perform – performance is probably the only means to survive in his company. He is well known for his short tolerance towards people who make mistakes and a job well done is just compensated monetarily. While he is equally well known throughout the world for his generosity, the same does not extend to his workplace which is extremely disciplined and tightly regimented. In contrast, Mary Kay’s experiences have shown that people, especially women, despite their best intentions do compromise a lot in terms of their career. This is because of the many expectations and obligations they have towards their home, and often this is taken by many corporate executives to be a weakness – even though they do understand its importance. Having passed over for a promotion by a man for this very reason, makes her more understanding and hence her company is for women who wish to achieve success in their lives without compromising on their values and principles. She is generous with praise as well has with gifts towards performing employees (Crowley A, Halbig C, White cited in Nahavandi, 2006).

Reason for effectiveness of the two leaders

Despite the extreme difference between the two leaders, they have proven to be extremely effective in terms of leadership. The reason for this is probably because their respective organizations clearly reflect the values they endorse, and hence attract people who wish to succeed by following their values. For instance, Bill Gates’s Microsoft is the haven for young and middle aged and even older career oriented people, who have a drive to achieve success and are willing to work hard for it. The corresponding compensations they receive are the one they expect to receive as a form of appreciation. Mary Kay’s employees consist primarily of women, who wish to succeed by not giving up their home and their family values. They also work extremely hard, since they need to work at both home and work fronts, hence appreciation of the work they do is extremely important for them (Harmon, 1996, p. 116). Read about difference between behavioural theory and contingency theory of leadership

Conclusion – Which leader is more preferable?

While both the leaders are extremely successful and have their own following, May Kay is probably the one who is more preferable. Leaders like Bill Gates are good to work for at the start of someone’s careers, but the demanding work schedules is not always possible by either of the sexes, and questioning loyalty of the employee at this stage is probably tantamount asking the person to give up his/her life and work for the betterment of the company – a decidedly selfish approach. While Bill Gates has earned lots of money, he still has to specially go back and do charitable works, while for Mary Kay it is probably a way of life and doing work.

References

Bryman A, (1986), “Leadership and Organizations”, Published: Routledge, Boston

Harvard Business School, (2001), “Manager’s Toolkit: The 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed”, Published: Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts

Nahavandi A, (2006), “The Art and science of Leader ship: The Cosmetic Queen and the Software King by Crowley A, Halbig C, White R”, 4th edition, Prentiss Hall

Harmon FG, (1996), “Playing for Keeps: How the World’s Most Aggressive and Admired Companies Use Core Values to Manage, Energize, and Organize Their People, and Promote, Advance, and Achieve Their Corporate Missions”, Published: John Wiley and Sons, New York

Sapienza AMS, (2004), “Managing Scientists: Leadership Strategies in Scientific Research”, 2nd Edition, Published: Wiley-IEEE, Hoboken, New Jersey

Breezier University MBA Program Managerial Accounting BUSS 631 spring 2013 case 3 The ROR Company’s old equipment for making subassembly is worn out. The company is considering two courses of action: (a) Completely replacing the old equipment with new equipment or (b) Buying subassembly from a reliable outside supplier, who has quoted a unit price of $1 on a 7-year contract for a minimum of 50,000 units per year. Production was 60,000 units in each of the past 2 years. Future needs for the next 7 years are not expected to fluctuate beyond 50,000 to 70,000 units per year.

The president asks you to compare the alternatives on a total-annual-cost basis and on a per-unit basis for annual needs of 60,000 units. Which alternative seems more attractive? 2. Would your answer to number 1 change if the needs were 50,000 units? 70,000 units? At what volume level would ROR be indifferent between making and buying subassembly? Show your computations. 3. What factors, other than the preceding ones, should the accountant bring to the attention of management to assist them in making their decision? Include the considerations that might be applied to the outside supplier.

Assignment instructions

Write an 8 to 10 page Case Analysis of the following article (which can be found in the Ashford Online ProQuest database): Souza, M. & McCarty, B. (2007).  From bottom to top: How one provider retooled its collections [electronic version]. Healthcare Financial Management. 61(9). 67-73.

Include the following:

1. Complete summary of the case study that identifies the key problems and issues, provides background information, relevant facts, the solution employed, and the results achieved.
2. Identify and explain the accounting practices California Sutter Health used in defining and solving its collection problems.
3. Develop an alternative solution based on your own research using 3 to 5 academic sources from journals, professional organizations, and websites.
4. State your informed opinion of the approach used by California Sutter Health, and provide support using concepts from your research and personal experience.

L’Oreal is the largest cosmetic manufacturer in the world since 1992 and contributes sales to more than 100 countries. L’Oreal invested heavily in research and development with the faith: innovation was the critical success factor. L’Oreal was at a stage of making critical decision to introduce Synergie skin care line and Belle Couleur permanent hair colorants which were successfully marketed in France, to Nederland market. These two products were under the family brand name, Laboratories Garnie, the largest provision of L’Oreal.

Their introductions to the market were under pressure as Garnie was not very well known in Nederland. The failure of market these products will cause potential problems for future Garnie product introductions. To be market successfully in Nederland, the products have to offer unique, desire, and identifiable differential advantages to Dutch consumers. Dutch Market Dutch is a small but very potential market. With 15 millions of small population, there were significant increases of women working outside the home, delaying of childbirth and rising of income.

As a result, women in Nederland had more disposable income and more of them using it to buy cosmetic for use on a daily basis. In European Union, the Nederland ranked fourth in per capita income, however, only 6th in per capita was spent on cosmetics and toiletries. The main customers were those under 25 years old. However, the fastest-growing population segments were the 25 or older groups. Synergie Synergie product line is a facial skin care’s products made with natural ingredients. Synergie product positioned as reliably providing natural colors with the advertising line “Natural Colours, covers all gray”.

L’Oreal goal for developing new products was to introduce only product that had differential advantage with evidence of consumer acceptance. It did not want to gain distribution with excessive reliance on trade deals or high than normal retail gross margins. L’Oreal was perceived as offering high-quality, innovative products, supportive with good in-store merchandising. Bella Couleur Bella Couleur is a line of permanent hair colouring products. The three quarters of Dutch Woman coloured their hair by using permanent colorant. For Dutch women, colouring has become more a fashion statement then just to cover gray.

As there were more and more women working outside home, home colouring would increase since it is more convenient.

Problems of entering Nederland Market

1. Competition of medium price products: Dutch woman shopped for values of products. Synergie products are expensive and they only being sold through personal service perfumeries (custom sale).
2. Competitor .The main competitors, Guhl’s and Anderson increase market share in1986-1989. In late 1980’s Guhl changed its distribution strategy and started selling the brand on drug chains. As a result, Guhl become aggressive in its marketing through large independents.
3. Customers’ buying behavior: Dutch women tend to be loyal to their current brands to avoid problems might cause by new product. As a result of consumers’ loyalty, it increases the resistance of switching to new product. Dutch woman typically purchase a facial cream only once or twice a year and have an increasing interests in products with “natural” ingredients.  Dutch woman are not as familiar with technical product description like the French. They perceived as a technical product and believed its use was very risky. Considering the new brands, first and current customers carefully read package information and ask personal advice.
4. Advertisement The higher spending of advertisement was necessary to develop brand awareness, ideally brand preference.

Analysis of Problems

L’Oreal was a leading seller for current market entry, but the share market was declining. According to the sample test, the buying intentions increased once the market price had revealed. But it decreased after the actual uses. The actual participants, who would probably not buy the product after using it, increased from 13%-32%.

Some negative evaluation of Belle Corleur was due to the fact that Dutch woman tended towards naturally lighter hair colour, and the French towards darker shades. France Belle Couleur was formulated to give a classical conservative dark blond colour with extra reflections or lightening effects. However, the products had not been modified for the Dutch test. The brands needed to be presold since, unlike independent drugstores, there was no sale assistance. However, none of the hair colouring products had a clear advertising positioning statement describing customer benefits.

The percentage of woman was not known, nor was the trends in the usage of this method known. Dutch consumers might see the major suppliers of cosmetics and toiletries. But the worries that lied have is that the selling efforts, which is needed in selling the L’Oreal brands in Dutch market. Also at the same time introduce not just one, but two brand name product lines. Generation of alternative solutions Products As per feedback on price, products with wider price range can target on mass market/medium price product market. All the products need to break down to easy term which is easy to understand by simple wording.

Market and Advertising

Expand the market by making it into an open market, which means all the products are available to all different markets. This can be enhanced by advertising with clear statement; and prove to the customers the specifics benefits that they could get by purchasing the products. Advertise the products through woman magazines; attractive ads that can catch the consumers’ attention and also make them interest towards the products. Advertisement on media such as Tv to show the products concepts and the result of the products after the actual use and customers’ benefit.

Market Monitoring

Monitor the trends to see the changes in the market. From then all the market researches could be done to find the best solution to solve the problem. Personal advertise for better customer service To have personal presold at places for product selling in drug stores, supermarkets, etc. Customers need information whenever they purchase the new products. They all want to know what contains inside the products and the benefits that they could get after purchasing the products. So it is important that customers receive a proper guide through the product line, in order to achieve the customers’ interests towards the products.

Promote the products at professional clinics like skincare clinics, or hair salon. After the customers get their facial done, they might decide to purchase the facial products, after they have been advised and advertised by the clinic advisor. Convince customers to switch their brands into something else is hard. In this case, advertisement and unique about the products are the main keys to attract the consumers’ attention and interests. Synergie For the Synergie line, they done the concept tests, but when they reveal the price out to the market, many people have been declined the products.

It could due to the fact that the price is too high for the consumers to purchase the products. By lower the price, it could give the company the advantages of getting the interests towards the products. Consumers tend to purchase the products if the product price is at the low price. Belle Couleur When consumers purchase products, they want their product is worth the cost that they paid for. Products need to be totally valued with the quality of its products; and also all the statements about the products need to be a right fact and provide exactly what the qualities placed on the statements/outcomes.

There were some negative evaluations on Belle Couleur products line; due to the facts that the products provided fault information, which lead to mistaken by the consumers about the products’ qualities. I. e. different target market has different reaction towards the product line. They don’t have the same or even the similar reaction towards the same products. For example, those Dutch customers tended to like lighter hair colour, when the French customers prefer the darker shades. Due to the market researches of the two product lines, they all get recommended to promote two lines at once.

Instead of promote two lines at once, L’Oreal Netherlands can promote one by one; which means that they can promote each one to see how the consumers react to the products. From then, they can decide whether the second product line is necessary needed to be promote out to the market. It can save them the costs in promoting, and also their budget won’t be at waste in advertisement and promotion. It could count as monitoring the current market to see the changes under different circumstances. The product range can be sold at the different locations, such as drugs store and supermarket. Therefore, the advertisements and promotions in these places are necessary in order to catch the consumers’ attentions and interests.

Customer Service

There are numbers of consumers that afraid of purchasing new products, due to the fact that they have bad previous experiences with different products. It is important that marketers can come up with the product’s concepts that provide the trustworthy information to the customers; also it is more important that those provided information can lure away the fear that consumers have, when they purchase for new products.

Towards competitions In the global markets, it is impossible for other competitors not copy other products. Stopping it is totally outrages. But every company always have their key ingredients for their products. They always have a backup plan for what they are going to do in the future, if something bad happens. Marketing plan designed Effective monitoring and control system created

The project aims to decipher how effectively Coca Cola Company has leveraged consumer behavior in India. We have considered the challenges that India poses for the marketing of globally produced FMC (fast moving consumer goods) followed by observation of how the marketing of Coca Cola has been tailored for the Indian context and on its relative successes. Cultural Factors: Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior (Philip Kettle). India has always been known for its cultural diversity.

With a variety of cultures in India, Coca Cola faced a challenge in how to target across the cultural nines. Initially, they made the mistake of focusing on the American way of life but they realized their mistake quickly and started researching the Indian market in detail. They found that the sac’s of availability, affordability and acceptability needed to be employed. Also, affordability was the biggest driver for desirability. Culture: Coca Cola discovered that the values of kinship and togetherness were universal across all cultures in India.

So they decided to market coke as a drink for family get- together and parties. To achieve this, Coca Cola came up with a marketing campaign hat showed Cassowary Aria solving a feud between her parents with a Coke singing “Pray me kabuki kabuki assai ho Jota ha, swath me than ho settle ho Jota ha… “. Recently, Coca Cola launched “Swath Shako Sunshiny Buddha” campaign which encouraged the younger teenage group to eat with the family. These advertisements showed Coca Cola as a symbol of bringing families together.

Subcultures: Coca Cola leveraged the classic North Indian custom of asking guests “Than Way Gram” by equating than as Coca Cola – “Than mutual Coca Cola”. Gradually, Coca Cola marketed itself across all the states and subcultures in India through a racketing campaign involving Mari Khan. These ads showed Mari Khan enjoying Coke in a series of regionally inspired characters ranging from a Iambi baa to a Punjabi farmer, a Hydrazine shopkeeper, a Nepal Sharpe and a UP phobia.

All these ads used the local dialect but such that everyone could recognize it. The ads showed both a common man and a person from higher social class enjoying coke together. Thus Coke targeted all socio-economic classes. Coke targeted the rural market by introducing RSI bottle. They also introduced small lairs which gave a small glass of Coca Cola company beverages for Just RSI 2. Coca Cola has extensively used cultural symbols such as festivals; for instance, their campaigns for Navigator in Gujarat and the campaigns on Independence Day.

It has also tied up with restaurants serving regional cuisine with tastiness such as ‘Miasmal Doss tastes better with a Coke'(on a menu card of Sandals Restaurant in Metadata ). Coca Cola aimed its newspaper advertising campaign at rural India (which it called India B) through some very creative ads featuring the Desire Jugged Concept. These ads created an additional appeal to the urban youth (India A) by the way of undermining the actual Leveraging Consumer Behavior – Coca Cola Case Study By depravity conventional advertising plan.

Hence we see that Coca Cola NAS est. list b Ned itself as a brand in sync with the Indian cultural values and marketed it across all cadres of the Indian society. Social Factors: Social factors play an essential role in influencing the buying decisions of consumers. Some common influences are: Reference Groups Family Roles and Status Reference Groups Every individual has some people around him who directly or indirectly influence their attitudes and behavior. Coca Cola has used this factor extensively to leverage TTS products, particularly with brands like Thumps and Sprite.

Sprite was marketed as a soft drink for the modern urban youth who was quick-witted and street-smart. It focused on creating an aspiration group which young people would want to be associated with. Various campaigns were launched to achieve this: ‘Chalk Panic Call’: These advertisements mainly focused on the influence of aspiration groups on the self-concept, where in it was shown how someone aspires to be talented like others around him, but isn’t. However, after sipping coke, he decides to play by his own rules instead of competing with others, and thereby emerges as the real winner.

University of Freeholder: This campaign focused on applying fresh techniques to get out of everyday tricky situations that one may find himself in. It used the image of a serious, bespectacled man – the Freeholder Professor – giving lessons to people who find themselves in tricky situations. These advertisements used the concept of aspiration groups, as each person aims to slip out of such situations with ease, Just as the ‘Freeholder Professor’ preaches. Thumps used its ‘Aka Such Tiffany Karate Ha’ aiming, to portray a brand image of being different.

With its advertisements and tagging, it aimed to urge people to think differently and do things differently – for e. G. , in 1 TV, Salaam Khan hires a helicopter in order to pick up the Thumbs Up truck out of traffic, so that the stock at a shop can be replenished. This focused on attempting to alter the attitudes of consumers and bring about changed, fresh thinking, thereby positioning itself as a brand that is vastly different from others. Thumbs Up is geared towards a particular group of people who seek adventure and want to try something thrilling and exhilarating.

This is also reflected in its strong taste. By using conventionally ‘macho’ celebrities like Salaam Khan and Sashay Kumar, it means to portray an image of self-confidence and achievement-orientation, which consumers can aspire to become. Coca-Cola TV’s focus more on membership groups, particularly primary groups. For example, the idea of friendship is used in the Writhe Reason and Assyria Aria ‘Best Friends’ advertisement, professing how best friends are always together despite personal differences as they ‘always share a coke’.

Another example is a TV of school-going kids enjoying Coke together after an intense competition of eating spicy food. It portrays Coke as the medium which brings friends together and creates an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship. Family plays an important role in influencing the buying decisions of individuals. Coca- came up with various strategies to leverage this aspect in influencing consumer behavior The ‘Share-a-coke’ campaign used the concept of gifting on special occasions, wherein it gives people the chance to order personalized Coke bottles through a Faceable app.

It was tremendously successful and brought about a 7% increase in sales due to this campaign alone. Recipe for great meals’: Under this campaign, Coca-Cola published various recipes and how-to videos for various occasions, be it a picnic, a family feast or a pizza night with friends. It positioned itself as being an integral part of a great meal, along with family and good food. Along the lines of ‘Recipe for great meals’ is the ‘Swath Shako Sunshiny Buddha’ campaign, which aims to demonstrate family bonding over meals, and positions a Coke bottle as one of the many elements that show and enhance this bonding.

The Minuteman TV, which focuses on a mother and child, attempts to influence the Oman in the family, understanding that in such a situation, it is the woman who makes the buying decision. Roles and Status Each individual plays a dual role in the society depending on the group he belongs to and each rule in turn connotes to a status, which differentiates the buying needs and tendency of individuals. The products under the Coca-Cola umbrella cater to different segments based on their role in society.

For example, Amaze was mainly targeted towards kids, Sprite towards the college-going youth, Thumbs Up towards the young-adult adventure-seeking male, Minute Maid towards the mother, etc. However, it is also true that apart from the primary demographic, there is a large tertiary demographic for each of these products. For example, consumption of Sprite is not restricted to Just the youth. The product of coke comes in different packages and sizes – for example, higher social classes demand for canned coke while the lower classes demand for bottled coca cola.

Personal Factors: Age and Stage in the life cycle: Coco Cola has always tried to cater and portray itself to all the age groups. There have been campaigns like ‘Swath Shako Kinshasa Buddha’ which showed families avian dinner together. But there have been certain campaigns targeted towards youth in particular. For example Coco Cola released an ad called ‘Spicy Happiness’ which featured school and college students, thereby targeting the age segment of 15-25 years. In another example, Coco Cola also came up with an ad in which they used the backdrop of a library and showed two students.

Coco Cola has used the Indian family concept in a lot of its campaigns. To counter the negative complaints post 2009, Coca Cola adopted the “Global happiness” campaign. It experimented with different kinds of images for the year. It was projected as a beverage enjoyed by the entire family together through ad campaigns like “Swath Shako Kinshasa Bad”. Also after the pesticide incident Coco Cola used Mari Khan to re-image the brand and in one of the commercials, his character was a Bengali man who comes with his family to a restaurant.

Occupation and economic circumstances: ‘Beeswax Kinshasa lotto’ campaign in which the actors from the movie ‘Student of the year’ were shown sharing a coke with people from different economic backgrounds like a waiter, lady on rickshaw and a shoe store helper. This was to rate an image that coke is for everyone. Also the campaign ‘Than mutual Coco Cola’ showed Mari Khan play variety of roles ranging from Iambi Baa to a Nepal Sharpe. This was also targeted to reinforce coke tort everyone image. Personality Self Concept: Coco Cola has tried to create a happy and fun image.

All its marketing campaigns have been directed towards it. ‘Open happiness’ campaign is one of the major ad campaigns by Coke. It is complemented by the Jingle ‘Han Han main crazy hon.’ which features people enjoying, helping and going out of their way to bring smile to strangers. Coca Cola India campaign “Undone Wall Dope, Chaise Wall Ash” TV launched in the year 2012, sells hope for a better tomorrow. This clearly gives a message of optimism and growth and shows that any and every dream is achievable.

Similarly the brand also roped in Caching Attendant, as a “happiness brand ambassador” to support various CARS initiatives the brand is undertaking. Coca Cola India projects itself as a brand which wants to grow along with the society. In its endeavourer, the company has undertaken a variety of community development projects in rural as well as urban areas. Coca Cola Indian’s Variant Program trains local Koran store owners in good business practices. Similarly in another initiative, Coca cola has distributed Solar water cooler “cooler” to female retailers in Interior regions of Attar Pradesh.

Psychological Factors: Perception: All the product ranges available in the Coca-Cola umbrella have a different brand image which is actively developed to cater to a wider demographic. Some products like Coke and Thumbs Up, for example are very similar but have a widely different perception in the consumers’ minds due to different marketing strategies. While Coke is associated with happiness and togetherness, Thumbs Up is perceived to be more edgy and gritty and meant for adventurous people. In regards to a specific product, Coke has tried to ingratiate itself with the Indian consumer in order to increase its brand equity.

For example, it has launched marketing campaigns for Indian festivals like Dial so as to encompass the feeling of that festival, which resonate with Indian culture. By associating itself with the Indian culture, it creates a positive impression on the consumers and they remember the core ideas of the campaign, if not the entirety of it. So, selective retention works in this case to carry forward the message of the company. Emotions: The open happiness campaign has strong ties with emotions as people tend to connect more to a brand when they have a reason to feel a sense of elation and Joy.

Operant Learning: The idea of positive reinforcement is used in the concept of the Happiness Machines, Happiness Trucks and several variations of the same. The device rewards the customer with additional gifts like toys, flowers, cupcakes, etc when they get a bottle of Coke from the device. This works as an incentive to buy the product again in the future. Memory: All the above mentioned factors like attitudes, perceptions, motivations, etc. Play a role in creating top-of-the-mind recall for the company.

Minimalist Advertising: Coke has published several ads which are minimalist in nature and are thus easily imprinted in the consumers’ minds. An example is the coke hands advertisement which is simple and elegant and stays with the viewer a long time afterwards. Apart from this, in order to translate interest into revenue, the method of spreading activation is used, where one event is used to trigger a favorable action. In this regard, products in stores are tied up with festivals and occasions and tied up in a way so as to immediately capture the attention of the potential buyer.

Also, catchy nuns and Jingles are associated with the TV’s to ensure top-of -the-mind-recall. Another important factor which ties in with memory correlation is subliminal messaging. An important example is product placement in movies like Doom 2, Rang De Absentia, etc. In these movies, the brand is displayed usually as a background event which is not really pertinent to the plot of the movie, but leaves a lasting impression on the minds of the viewers. There are two ways to measure the impact of such a campaign: through explicit and implicit memory retention and how it ties up with economic benefit of the product.

Although retention is an important part of brand promotion, memory retrieval is the most important concept, as the consumer has to actually buy the product in retail outlets and other stores in order to translate all the marketing strategies into concrete gains. In this regard, products in stores are tied up with festivals and occasions and tied up in a way so as to immediately capture the attention of the potential buyer. Conclusion: We see that Coca Cola Company has leveraged consumer behavior in all ways possible and has established itself as synonymous with happiness and fun.

Best Buy specializes in a variety of products that focus on making life easier and more fun for consumers, by educating customers on the features and benefits of technology and entertainment products. While Best Buy has 1,200 retail stores across the United States it operates in a highly competitive market. To cope with this competitive market Best Buy specializes in collecting data from its stores to discover what its customers want and need. The company developed a database that incorporates information into a system that allows them to use marketing data to develop a complete picture of its customers.

Best buy uses segmentation analysis to track consumer purchase histories to study its customers which helps the company identify new customer segments, better understand existing customers, to target promotions more precisely, and to identify key locations for expansion. The company has with the help of Larry Selden a consultant from Columbia University Graduate Schools of Business determine what they call “devil” customers and “angel” customers. The angels were customers who purchases high tickets items without waiting for markdowns or rebates, and the devils applied for rebates and then return the products back only to buy them back again at returned merchandise discounts.

Best Buy has categorized its angel customers into five segments, the small business customer, the young entertainment enthusiast, the affluent professional, the busy suburban mom, and the tech savvy family man. Best Buy’s new “customer-centric” operating model focuses on these five key segments. They launched this model in 67 of its stores to analyze the market and narrow its focus on one or two of these groups. Company executives believe that this model offers customers a richer in-store experience with better shopping assistance and also provides more of the goods and services that customers want.

The model also helps employees to identify and recognize unique sets of customers that can help them build offerings and experiences to meet their needs. To bring in more angel customers Best Buy has a series of processes that cater to enhancing the shopping experience of its angel customers and other processes to discourage its devil customers. The company has already implemented this model in 85 stores and plans to convert all of its U.S. stores within three years. Those stores that have already converted have reported favorable results. Best Buy believes that the customer centered platform is the way to go and expects to perform well.

Key Marketing Issues

Marketing Research: The systematic design, collection interpretation, and reporting of information to help marketers solve specific marketing problems or take advantage of marketing opportunities.

Conclusive Research: Research designed to verify insights through objective procedures and to help marketers in making decisions.

Descriptive Research: Research conducted to clarify the characteristics of certain phenomena to solve a particular problem. Best Buy used its research to discover what kind of consumers purchased the companies products.

Primary Data: Data observed and recorded or collected directly from respondents. Best buy used data collected directly from its consumers through segmentation analysis.

Secondary Data: Data compiled both inside and outside the organizations used to divide a market into segments. With the help of consultant Best Buy used gathered information via different sources to categorize “angel” customers into five segments.

Personal Case Analysis

Best Buy has taken the time to get to know its customers in a way that has allowed them to better understand the needs and wants of their customers. By doing so the company has successfully created a model that caters to the kind of customers they target and discourage “devil” customers from costing the company any loss. Best Buy used information technology to help the company come up with a series of processes that will allow the stores to successfully cater to the kinds of customers that help the company growth.

“Becoming customer-centric means looking at an enterprise from the outside-in rather than the inside-out—that is, through the lens of the customer rather than the producer”(Gutali, 2010). By putting the company in the shoes of the customer it helps the company provide personalized experiences that help build customer relationships. Best Buy’s demographic segmentation allowed the company to create multi-dimensional customer profiles that allowed for more precision marketing messages to angel customers, and also help the company deliver context-sensitive customer experiences.

Case Questions

From what internal and secondary sources did Best Buy acquire the data that helped it develop its customer centricity initiative?

Best Buy collected data on every transaction and from mailing lists, it also gathered demographic information form local census numbers, surveys of customers, and targeted focus groups. All of the information gathered from both primary and secondary sources helped the company classify its customers into to categories “angel” and “devils”. These classifications helped the company understand the kind of customers they need to target and the kinds of customers they need to discourage from coming in to the stores. With the use of consultants they further categorized their angel customers into five segments that allowed them to determine what kind of customer centric model to apply at the stores.

How did Best Buy employ database marketing to better satisfy its customers?

The company’s retail stores were not previously configured to meet customer buying patterns and preferences. By developing a customer-centric approach to retailing they have realigned and reconfigured its stores to match the geographic and demographics of shoppers and indentify and more completely tap into customer’s value in order to better provide a personalized and catered shopping experience for their customers. The database marketing allowed the company to anticipate entire range of activities a customer might engage in, and therefore helping Best Buy fulfill a distinct set of needs (FICO.com, 2011). “By using proprietary processes for capturing data from every transaction, Best Buy can identify well over three-quarters of its customers—more than 100 million individuals” (FICO.com). By giving each customer segment a distinct profile that helps employees identifies and recognizes the needs and wants of each customer to better assist them.

How are the data gathered by Best Buy useful in customer relationship marketing?

The new customer-centric model puts customer in charge, and sales are there to help, customers do not have to be sold, they want to buy after they see all the choices and prices (Stopper, 2007). “Facilitating personalized interactions with customers is what customer centricity is all about “(FICO.com). By recognizing each client and classifying them under one of the 5 segments employees are better able to serve each customer, providing a personalized experience that customers will not forget and entice them to return.

Conclusion

Information technology can help businesses like Best Buy to grasp a better understanding of the market in which they operate. Discovering the needs and wants of their target market will help the company make decisions that will help it serve their consumers better. Best Buy better understands, entices and serves its customers who account for the bulk of the company’s revenues and future growth potential (FICO.com).

Best Buy is shifting an increasing amount of resources away from mass marketing channels and toward personalized marketing streams. The company has created a unique customer experience that is associated with its brand which differentiates them from other competitors. In order for businesses to be successful they have to have a good understanding of their target market and discover how to best entice those customers to purchase their products and build loyalty. Best Buy knows this well and has used its customer centric strategy to build a stronger customer relationship.