Strategic Brand

Management
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO
S T RAT E G I C B RA N D M A N A G E M E N T

Prof. Antra Vohra

 What is a
Product
Anything a business sells that solves a market
problem or addresses a customer’s need or
desire.
• A product could be something tangible
• Product can be digital/services eg: food delivery apps or
services, mobile apps, loans/banking etc.
• A product can be an input for another product eg: To the car
buyer, car is a product but to the manufacturer all that goes
into making the car is product.
• Another example could be: Starbucks buying inputs from
various companies like straws, cups, lids for cups but selling
a product range i.e. coffee
• A great example of this phenomenon is the inkjet printer. Years
ago, many manufacturers began selling their printers for meager
prices. Some even gave them away for free.
• The catch? Every few hundred pages, or every couple of months, these
printers ran out of ink. That meant the owners had to reorder ink cartridges
many times each year.
• As consumers, we thought the product we were buying was the printer
itself. But to the company that built and sold it, the printer was more of a
marketing tool. The real products were ink cartridges.
• An interesting example could be: home security packages, These
include several different categories of product in a single solution:
⚬ Physical (for example, a Ring doorbell camera)
⚬ Digital (the recording and online storage of your Ring camera)
⚬ Ongoing service (Ring automatically connecting your service
to local police)
 Product vs
• Products are tangible –Service
they are physical in nature such that
they can be touched, smelled, felt and even seen. Services
are intangible and they can only be felt not seen.
• Need vs. Relationship– a product is specifically designed to satisfy the needs and wants of
the customers and can be carried away. However, with a service, satisfaction is obtained
but nothing is carried away. Essentially, marketing of a service is primarily concerned with
creation of customer relationship.
• Perishability- services cannot be stored for later use or sale since they can only be used
during that particular time when they are offered. On the other hand, it can be seen that
products are perishable. For example, fresh farm and other food products are perishable
and these can also be stored for later use or sale.
 Product vs
Service
• Quantity- products can be numerically quantified and they
come in different forms, shapes and sizes. However,
services cannot be numerically quantified. Whilst you can
choose different service providers, the concept remains the
same.
• Inseparability- services cannot be separated from their providers since they can be
consumed at the same time they are offered. On the other hand, a product can be
separated from the owner once the purchase has been completed.
• Quality- quality of products can be compared since these are physical features that can be
held. However, it may be difficult to compare the quality of the services rendered by
different service providers.
 Product vs
Service
• Returnability- it is easier to return a product to the seller if
the customer is not satisfied about it. In turn, the customer
will get a replacement of the returned product. However, a
service cannot be returned to the service provider since it is
something that is intangible.
• Value perspective- the value of a service is offered by the service
provider while PRODUCT
• Shelf line- a service has a shorter shelf line compared to a
product. A product can be sold at a later date if it fails to
sell on a given period. This is different with regard to a
service that has a short shelve line and should be sold
earlier.
 Tangible Attributes
Intangible
Attributes
Exchange Value
Features of
Product Utility benefits
Differential Features
Consumer
Satisfaction
Business Need
Satisfaction
• It means that it may be touched, • Another feature from the
seen and its physical presence marketing viewpoint is that the
felt, like, cycle, book, pencil, table products should have the ability
etc. to deliver value satisfaction to
• The product may be intangible
consumers for whom they are
in the form of service, such as
banking, insurance or repairing • intended.
Another important feature from
services. the marketing point of view is
that the product should have
• Every product, whether tangible differential features, i.e., it can be
or intangible, should have an differentiated from other
exchange value and should be products.
capable of being exchanged • The last also equally important
between the buyer and seller for characteristics of a product is that
a mutually agreed consideration. in order to be a product, it should
also have the attribute to satisfy a
• Another important characteristic
business need.
of a product is that it should have
a utility like a bundle of potential
utility or benefits.
Levels of Product
 Philip Kotler, an economist, devised a model that
recognises customers have five levels of need,
ranging from functional or core needs to
emotional needs. The model also recognises that
products are merely a means to satisfy
customers' varying needs or wants. He
distinguished three drivers of how customers
attach value to a product:
Kotlers Five • Need: a lack of a basic requirement.
• Want: a specific requirement of products to satisfy a

product Level need.

• Demand: a set of wants plus the desire and ability

Model to pay for the product.

Customers will choose a product based on their
perceived value of it. Satisfaction is the degree to which
the actual use of a product matches the perceived value
at the time of the purchase. A customer is satisfied only
if the actual value is the same or exceeds the perceived
value. Kotler attributed five levels to products:
 The five product levels are:
Core benefit:
The fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by consuming the
product or service. For example, the need to process digital images.
Generic product:
A version of the product containing only those attributes or characteristics
absolutely necessary for it to function. For example, the need to process digital

Kotlers images could be satisfied by a generic, low-end, personal computer using free
image processing software or a processing laboratory.
Expected product:
Five The set of attributes or characteristics that buyers normally expect and agree to
when they purchase a product. For example, the computer is specified to

product deliver fast image processing and has a high-resolution, accurate colour screen.
Augmented product:
The inclusion of additional features, benefits, attributes or related services that
Level serve to differentiate the product from its competitors. For example, the
computer comes pre-loaded with a high-end image processing software for no

Model
extra cost or at a deeply discounted, incremental cost.
Potential product:
This includes all the augmentations and transformations a product might
undergo in the future. To ensure future customer loyalty, a business must aim to
surprise and delight customers in the future by continuing to augment products.
For example, the customer receives ongoing image processing software
upgrades with new and useful features.
 Classification of
1. Consumer Products: Products
Consumer products are those products that are bought by the final customer for
consumption.

i. Convenience Products:
Convenience Products are usually low priced, easily available products that
customer buys frequently, without any planning or search effort and with
minimum comparison and buying effort. Such products are made available to
the customers through widespread distribution channels-through every retail
outlets. This category includes fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) like soap,
toothpaste, detergents, food items like rice, wheat flour, salt, sugar, milk and
so on.
ii. Shopping Products:
Shopping products are high priced (compared to the convenience product),
less frequently purchased consumer products and services. While buying such
products or services, consumer spends much time and effort in gathering
information about the product and purchases the product after a careful
consideration of price, quality, features, style and suitability.
Such products are distributed through few selected distribution outlet.
Examples include television, air conditioners, cars, furniture, hotel and airline
 Classification of
Products
iii. Speciality Products:
Speciality Products are high priced branded product and services with unique features and the customers are convinced that

this product is superior to all other competing brands with regard to its features, quality and hence are willing to pay a high

price for the product. These goods are not purchased frequently may be once or twice in lifetime and are distributed through

one or few exclusive distribution outlets. The buyers do not compare speciality products.

iv. Unsought Products:

Unsought product is consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not normally

think of buying. In such a situation the marketer undertakes aggressive advertising, personal selling and other marketing effort.

The product remains unsought until the consumer becomes aware of them through advertising. The price of such product

varies. Examples of unsought product are cemetery plots, blood donation to Red Cross, umbilical cord stem cell banking

services.
 Classification of
Products
2. Industrial Products:
Industrial Products are purchased by business firms for further processing or for use in conducting a business .The distinction

between consumer product and industrial is based on the purpose for which the product is bought. Like a kitchen chimney

purchased by a consumer is a consumer product but a kitchen chimney purchased by a hotel is an industrial product.

i. Material and parts – Material and parts include raw material like
agricultural products, crude petroleum, iron ore, manufactured materials
include iron, yarn, cement, wires and component parts include small
motors, tires, and castings.
ii. Capital items – Capital items help in production or operation and include
installations like factories, offices, fixed equipments like generators,
computer systems, elevators and accessory equipments like tools office
equipments.
iii. Supplies – Supplies include lubricants, coal, paper, pencils and repair
maintenance like paint, nails brooms.
iv. Services – Services include maintenance and repair services like
computer repair services, legal services, consultancy services, and
advertising services.
New Product
Developmen
t Process
 • Idea
Generation
The new product development process starts
with idea generation. Idea generation refers to
the systematic search for new-product ideas.
Typically, a company generates hundreds of
ideas, maybe even thousands, to find a handful
of good ones in the end. Two sources of new
ideas can be identified:

Internal idea sources: the company finds new

ideas internally. That means R&D, but also
contributions from employees.
External idea sources: the company finds new
ideas externally. This refers to all kinds of
external sources, e.g. distributors and suppliers,
but also competitors. The most important
external source are customers, because the
new product development process should focus
on creating customer value.
 2. Idea
Screening
The next step in the new product development
process is idea screening. Idea screening means
nothing else than filtering the ideas to pick out
good ones. In other words, all ideas generated are
screened to spot good ones and drop poor ones as
soon as possible. While the purpose of idea
generation was to create a large number of ideas,
the purpose of the succeeding stages is to reduce
that number. The reason is that product
development costs rise greatly in later stages.
Therefore, the company would like to go ahead
only with those product ideas that will turn into
profitable products. Dropping the poor ideas as
soon as possible is, consequently, of crucial
importance.
 3. Concept
Development &
Testing
To go on in the new product development process,
attractive ideas must be developed into a product
concept. A product concept is a detailed version of
the new-product idea stated in meaningful
consumer terms. You should distinguish
• A product idea à an idea for a possible product

• A product concept à a detailed version of the idea stated in meaningful

consumer terms

• A product image à the way consumers perceive an actual or potential

product.
 Concept development

Imagine a car manufacturer that has developed an all-electric car.

The idea has passed the idea screening and must now be developed
into a concept. The marketer’s task is to develop this new product
into alternative product concepts. Then, the company can find out
how attractive each concept is to customers and choose the best one.
Possible product concepts for this electric car could be:

Concept 1: an affordably priced mid-size car designed as a second

family car to be used around town for visiting friends and doing
shopping.
Concept 2: a mid-priced sporty compact car appealing to young
singles and couples.
Concept 3: a high-end midsize utility vehicle appealing to those who
like the space SUVs provide but also want an economical car.
As you can see, these concepts need to be quite precise in order to
be meaningful. In the next sub-stage, each concept is tested.
 Concept testing

New product concepts, such as those given above,

need to be tested with groups of target consumers. The
concepts can be presented to consumers either
symbolically or physically. The question is always: does
the particular concept have strong consumer appeal?
For some concept tests, a word or picture description
might be sufficient. However, to increase the reliability
of the test, a more concrete and physical presentation
of the product concept may be needed. After exposing
the concept to the group of target consumers, they will
be asked to answer questions in order to find out the
consumer appeal and customer value of each concept.
4. Marketing Strategy
Development
The next step in the new product development process is
the marketing strategy development. When a promising
concept has been developed and tested, it is time to
design an initial marketing strategy for the new product
based on the product concept for introducing this new
product to the market.
The marketing strategy statement consists of three parts
and should be formulated carefully:
• A description of the target market, the planned value
proposition, and the sales, market share and profit
goals for the first few years
• An outline of the product’s planned price, distribution
and marketing budget for the first year
• The planned long-term sales, profit goals and the
marketing mix strategy.
 5. Business Analysis

Once decided upon a product concept and marketing

strategy, management can evaluate the business
attractiveness of the proposed new product. The fifth step
in the new product development process involves a review
of the sales, costs and profit projections for the new
product to find out whether these factors satisfy the
company’s objectives. If they do, the product can be
moved on to the product development stage.
In order to estimate sales, the company could look at the sales history of similar

products and conduct market surveys. Then, it should be able to estimate minimum and

maximum sales to assess the range of risk. When the sales forecast is prepared, the

firm can estimate the expected costs and profits for a product, including marketing,

R&D, operations etc. All the sales and costs figures together can eventually be used to

analyse the new product’s financial attractiveness.

 6. Product
Development
The new product development process goes on with the actual product
development. Up to this point, for many new product concepts, there may
exist only a word description, a drawing or perhaps a rough prototype.
But if the product concept passes the business test, it must be developed
into a physical product to ensure that the product idea can be turned into
a workable market offering. The problem is, though, that at this stage,
R&D and engineering costs cause a huge jump in investment.
The R&D department will develop and test one or more physical versions of the product concept. Developing a

successful prototype, however, can take days, weeks, months or even years, depending on the product and

prototype methods.

Also, products often undergo tests to make sure they perform safely and effectively. This can be done by the

firm itself or outsourced.

In many cases, marketers involve actual customers in product testing. Consumers can evaluate prototypes

and work with pre-release products. Their experiences may be very useful in the product development stage.
 7. Test Marketing

The last stage before commercialisation in the new product development

process is test marketing. In this stage of the new product development
process, the product and its proposed marketing programme are tested in
realistic market settings. Therefore, test marketing gives the marketer
experience with marketing the product before going to the great expense
of full introduction. In fact, it allows the company to test the product and
its entire marketing programme, including targeting and positioning
strategy, advertising, distributions, packaging etc. before the full
investment is made.
The amount of test marketing necessary varies with each new product. Especially when introducing a new

product requiring a large investment, when the risks are high, or when the firm is not sure of the product or its

marketing programme, a lot of test marketing may be carried out.

 8. Commercialisation
Test marketing has given management the information needed to make
the final decision: launch or do not launch the new product. The final
stage in the new product development process is commercialisation.
Commercialisation means nothing else than introducing a new product
into the market. At this point, the highest costs are incurred: the company
may need to build or rent a manufacturing facility. Large amounts may be
spent on advertising, sales promotion and other marketing efforts in the
first year.
Some factors should be considered before the product is commercialized:

• Introduction timing. For instance, if the economy is down, it might be wise to wait until the following year

to launch the product. However, if competitors are ready to introduce their own products, the company

should push to introduce the new product sooner.

• Introduction place. Where to launch the new product? Should it be launched in a single location, a region,

the national market, or the international market? Normally, companies don’t have the confidence, capital

and capacity to launch new products into full national or international distribution from the start. Instead,

they usually develop a planned market rollout over time.

 Product Portfolio Analysis

A product portfolio is the complete collection of products or services

that a business sells. The portfolio may be straightforward and consist
of a single product, or it may consist of multiple, diversified product
lines.

A business portfolio is essentially the same concept as a share portfolio

for an individual investor. Someone who invests in shares and has a mix
of different shares has what is known as a share portfolio. The same
principle applies to larger businesses (that is, a conglomerate) that
owns and operates multiple different businesses – in this case their
collection of different businesses is referred to as a business portfolio.
 Challenges of operating a Business Portfolio
Large companies that investments in multiple businesses and operate numerous different
companies under the logical structure – such as, General Electric – there are some additional
challenges for the firm. Firstly, the firm needs to have a separate corporate strategy level, as
it outlined in the discussion on the strategy hierarchy.
However, the more significant challenges include:

• Deciding which industries/markets to compete in

• Determining the top-level goals for each business
• Determining the most appropriate resourcing structure the businesses involved
• Deciding the appropriate mix of businesses to own and operate
• Deciding on an acquisition of new businesses
• Deciding when to divest a particular operation
• Determining to what extent the businesses in their portfolio should compete against each
other
• Making reinvestment decisions – which divisions/businesses (SBUs) deserve investment
and which ones need less financial support
Please note that a SBU – strategic business unit – is the term for an independent business
being run under the ownership of a large corporation. Here is a common definition for a
strategic business unit:
 Need for Portfolio Matrices
As can be seen, there is a significant array of challenges and strategic
decisions that need to be made at the corporate strategy level. These
tend to be quite significant decisions they can have a major bottom line
impact.
To help guide these particular strategic decisions, portfolio analysis can be
undertaken that allows a large company to compare its business units on some
relatively simple attributes. Although appearing quite simple at times, portfolio
models to allow for a relative comparison between the strengths and situation
analysis of the different business units within the organization.
 Main Portfolio Matrix Tools
There have been a number of methods and models developed to help
managers design a multi business strategy for different business units
operating in different industrial environments. These portfolio analysis methods
help determine the balance between a company’s strategic business units and
guide the resources allocation between them.
The most popular portfolio analysis models, both in marketing theory and
practice, are the following:

• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

• The General Electric/McKinsey Matrix
• Product Life Cycle
• SWOT
 Product Life
The product life cycle is the process a product goes through from

Cycle
when it is first introduced into the market until it declines or is
removed from the market. The life cycle has four stages -
introduction, growth, maturity and decline.
While some products may stay in a prolonged maturity state, all
products eventually phase out of the market due to several factors
including saturation, increased competition, decreased demand and
dropping sales.

Additionally, companies use PLC analysis (examining their product's

life cycle) to create strategies to sustain their product's longevity or
change it to meet with market demand or developing technologies.
Stages of
Product
Life Cycle
 • Introduc
Once a product has been developed, the first stage is its introduction

tion
stage. In this stage, the product is being released into the market.
When a new product is released, it is often a high-stakes time in the
product's life cycle - although it does not necessarily make or break
the product's eventual success.
During the introduction stage, marketing and promotion are at a
high - and the company often invests the most in promoting the
product and getting it into the hands of consumers. It is in this stage
that the company is first able to get a sense of how consumers
respond to the product, if they like it and how successful it may be.
However, it is also often a heavy-spending period for the company
with no guarantee that the product will pay for itself through sales.
Costs are generally very high and there is typically little competition.
The principle goals of the introduction stage are to build demand for
the product and get it into the hands of consumers, hoping to later
cash in on its growing popularity.
 2.
By the growth stage, consumers are already taking to the product

Growth
and increasingly buying it. The product concept is proven and is
becoming more popular - and sales are increasing.
Other companies become aware of the product and its space in the market,
which is beginning to draw attention and increasingly pull in revenue. If
competition for the product is especially high, the company may still heavily
invest in advertising and promotion of the product to beat out competitors. As a
result of the product growing, the market itself tends to expand. The product in
the growth stage is typically tweaked to improve functions and features.
As the market expands, more competition often drives prices down to make
the specific products competitive. However, sales are usually increasing in
volume and generating revenue. Marketing in this stage is aimed at increasing
the product's market share.
 3.
When a product reaches maturity, its sales tend to slow or even stop

Maturity
- signaling a largely saturated market. At this point, sales can even
start to drop. Pricing at this stage can tend to get competitive,
signaling margin shrinking as prices begin falling due to the weight
of outside pressures like competition or lower demand. Marketing at
this point is targeted at fending off competition, and companies will
often develop new or altered products to reach different market
segments.
Given the highly saturated market, it is typically in the maturity stage of a product that less successful competitors are

pushed out of competition - often called the "shake-out point."

In this stage, saturation is reached and sales volume is maxed out. Companies often begin innovating to maintain or

increase their market share, changing or developing their product to meet with new demographics or developing

technologies.

The maturity stage may last a long time or a short time depending on the product. For some brands, the maturity

stage is very drawn out, like Coca-Cola

 4.
Although companies will generally attempt to keep the product alive

Decline
in the maturity stage as long as possible, decline for every product is
inevitable.
In the decline stage, product sales drop significantly and consumer behavior changes as
there is less demand for the product. The company's product loses more and more
market share, and competition tends to cause sales to deteriorate.
Marketing in the decline stage is often minimal or targeted at already loyal
customers, and prices are reduced.
Eventually, the product will be retired out of the market unless it is able
to redesign itself to remain relevant or in-demand. For example,
products like typewriters, telegrams and muskets are deep in their
decline stages (and in fact are almost or completely retired from the
market).
 Some
VCR

examples
Many of us probably grew up watching or using VCRs (videocassette recorders for any
Gen Z readers), but you would likely be hard pressed to find one in anyone's home these
days.
With the rise of streaming services like Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report and Amazon (AMZN)
- Get Report (not to mention the interlude phase of DVDs), VCRs have been effectively
phased out and are deep in their decline stage.
Once groundbreaking technology, VCRs are now in very low demand (if any) and are
assuredly not bringing in the sales they once did.

Electric Vehicles
The rise of electric vehicles shows more of a growth stage of the product life cycle.
Companies like Tesla (TSLA) - Get Report have been capitalizing on the growing product
for years, although recent challenges may signal changes for the particular company.
Still, while the electric car isn't necessarily new, the innovations that companies like Tesla
have made in recent years are consistently adapting to new changes in the electric car
market, signaling its growth phase.
 Use of
PLC
Conducting PLC analysis can help companies determine if their
products are servicing the market they target efficiently, and when they
might need to shift focus.
By examining their product in relation to the market on the whole, their
competitors, sales and expenses, companies can better decide how to
pivot and develop their product for longevity in the marketplace.
Examining their product's life cycle, specifically paying attention to
where their products are in the cycle, can help companies determine if
they need to develop new products to continue generating sales -
especially if the majority of their products are in the maturity or decline
stages of the product life cycle.
 BCG
Matrix
The Boston Consulting group’s product portfolio matrix
(BCG matrix) is designed to help with long-term
strategic planning, to help a business consider growth
opportunities by reviewing its portfolio of products to
decide where to invest, to discontinue or develop
products. It's also known as the Growth/Share
Matrix.The Matrix is divided into 4 quadrants based on
an analysis of market growth and relative market
share, as shown in the diagram
1. Dogs: These are products with low growth or market share.
2. Question marks or Problem Child: Products in high growth
markets with low market share.
3. Stars: Products in high growth markets with high market share.
4. Cash cows: Products in low growth markets with high market
share

BCG Modelling is not a new phenomenon, but in the changing

digital landscape, its meaning for and application to your marketing
strategy will continue to develop. That's why this blog addresses
not just how to use the BCG Matrix but also the practical
application of this matrix to your strategy, as well as other
essential digital marketing matrixes.
 How to use the
To apply the BCG Matrix you can think of it as showing a

BCG Matrix
portfolio of products or services, so it tends to be more
relevant to larger businesses with multiple services and
markets. However, marketers in smaller businesses can use
similar portfolio thinking to their products or services to
boost leads and sales
Considering each of these quadrants, here are some recommendations on actions
for each:
• Dog products: The usual marketing advice here is to aim to remove any dogs
from your product portfolio as they are a drain on resources.
• However, this can be an over-simplification since it's possible to generate
ongoing revenue with little cost.
• For example, in the automotive sector, when a car line ends, there is still a need
for spare parts. As SAAB ceased trading and producing new cars, a whole
business emerged providing SAAB parts.
• Question mark products: As the name suggests, it’s not known if
they will become a star or drop into the dog quadrant. These
products often require significant investment to push them into
the star quadrant. The challenge is that a lot of investment may
be required to get a return. For example, Rovio, creators of the
very successful Angry Birds game has developed many other
games you may not have heard of. Computer games companies
often develop hundreds of games before gaining one successful
game. It’s not always easy to spot the future star and this can
result in potentially wasted funds.
• Star products: Can be the market leader though require ongoing
investment to sustain. They generate more ROI than other
product categories.
• Cash cow products: The simple rule here is to ‘Milk these
products as much as possible without killing the cow! Often
mature, well-established products. The company Procter &
Gamble which manufactures Pampers nappies to Lynx
deodorants has often been described as a ‘cash cow company’.
 1. Close Up
1. AXE Deodorant 2. Pepsodent
2. Fair & Lovely 3. Annapurna
3. Lakme Anti Ageing 4. Fair & Lovely Menz
4. Vim Active
5. Wheel
6. Surf Excel
7. Lifebuoy
BCG 5. Domex
6. Rin
7. Breeze

Matr
8. Lux 8. Taj Mahal Tea Bags
9. Kwality Walls 9. Kissan Ketchup
10. Kissan Jam 10. Knor Meal Maker
11. Knor Soup

ix
1.
2.
Clinic Plus
Sunsilk
for
HUL
3. Vaseline
4. Red Label 1. Taaza
2. Brooke Bond
Sehatmand
3. Bru
 Explanation of BCG
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India’s biggest quick moving purchaser products

Matrix for HUL

organization. The Anglo-Dutch organization Unilever claims a 52% lion’s share stake.
HUL was framed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and appeared in 1956 as
Hindustan Lever Limited through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati
Mfg. Co. Ltd. furthermore, United Traders Ltd. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India
and has employee strength of more than 15,000 representatives and contributes to
indirect livelihood of more than 52,000 individuals. The organization was renamed in
June 2007 as “Hindustan Unilever Limited”. The organization meets each day
requirements for sustenance, cleanliness, and individual care, with brands that
individuals feel great, look great and get more out of life.
HUL have a to a great degree wide market introduction with more than 35 brands
traversing crosswise over 20 particular classifications, for example, cleansers,
cleansers, shampoos, healthy skin, toothpastes, antiperspirants, beautifying agents,
tea, espresso, bundled sustenance, dessert, and water purifiers. HUL’s brands – like
Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair and Lovely, Sunsilk, Clinic, Close-up,
Pepsodent, Lakme, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr, Annapurna, Kwality-Walls – are
commonly recognized names the nation over and traverse numerous classifications –
cleansers, cleansers, individual items, tea, espresso, marked staples, dessert and
culinary items. They are fabricated in more than 35 manufacturing plants, a few of
them in reverse territories of the nation. The operations include over 2,000 suppliers
and partners. HUL’s conveyance organizes covers 6.3 million retail outlets counting
direct reach to more than 1 million. The explanation of BCG analysis of HUL is as
followed:
 Question Mark (or Problem Child) – a specialty unit that has a little
Star is a specialty unit that has a substantial piece of the pie in a high development showcase. Question marks
piece of the overall industry in a quickly are becoming quickly and in this way devour huge measures of
developing industry. Stars produce a lot of money, but since they have low pieces of the pie they don’t
money on account of their solid relative piece of produce much money. The outcome is huge net money utilization. A
the overall industry, additionally expend a lot of question mark (otherwise called an “issue kid”) can possibly pick up
money in view of their high development rate; piece of the pie and turn into a star, and in the end a money dairy
consequently the money in every bearing animals when the market development moderates.Since they are
roughly nets out. On the off chance that a star the new participants or strugglers in the market for real share
can keep up its substantial piece of the overall where the market is changing at a high pace, endeavors are being
industry, it will end up being a cash cow when made to ensure that the pick up on their piece of the pie.
the market development rate decays. All Pepsodent went into a noteworthy change of its Germ check and
products discussed are contributing maximum Whitening toothpaste by thinking of the Sensitive and Gum care
to the market share. scope of toothpastes. (ArtiVaish, 2014) Knor soups thinking of the
whole scope of soups running from tomato blend vegetable,
Chinese to chicken soups.

Cash Cow – a specialty unit that has a vast piece of Dogs – a specialty unit that has a little piece of the overall industry
the pie in develop, moderate developing industry. As in a develop industry. A dog may not require significant money since
pioneers in a develop showcase, cash cows display an they have low piece of the pie and a low development rate and in
arrival on resources that is more prominent than the this manner neither create nor expend a lot of money, and they are
market development rate, and along these lines money traps as a result of the cash tied up in a business that has
create more money than they expend. Such specialty minimal potential and the capital that could better be conveyed
units ought to be “drained”, separating the benefits somewhere else. Brooke Bond Sehatmad ought to be sold off in light
and contributing as meager money as could of the fact that the client tastes and wholesome necessities have
reasonably be expected.Sunsilk made the biggest changed from tasting vitamin B improved tea to hostile to oxidants
group for Indian young ladies which are – improved tea. With the advancement of green tea, the request by
www.sunsilkgangofgirls.com. Sunsilk inventively wellbeing cognizant people is a greater amount of against oxidants
thinks of a whole item scope of Soft and Smooth, rather vitamin b, as natural products give an abundant wellspring of
Thick and Long, Damaged Repair, Hair Fall Solution, vitamins.
Stunning Black Shine and Hostile to Dandruff. Similar
steps are taken for the other cash cows as well.
GE/McKinsey (9
Grid)Matrix
 GE/McKinsey (9
The GE McKinsey matrix is a nine-box matrix which is used as a strategy

Grid)Matrix
tool. It helps multi-business corporations evaluate business portfolios and
prioritize investments among different business units in a systematic
manner.
This technique is used in brand marketing and product management. The
analysis helps companies decide what products need to be added to a
product portfolio as well as what other opportunities should continue to
receive investments. Though similar to the BCG matrix, the GE version is
a lot more complex. The analysis begins as a two-dimensional portfolio
matrix but the dimensions are multifactorial with nine industry
attractiveness measures and twelve business strength measures.
The business world is becoming increasingly focused on its investment
decisions as resources become more and more scarce. Each decision
needs to be the best use of investments and aim to bring in the most
return on this investment. For diversified businesses, the fight for resource
allocation becomes even more complex because multiple products,
brands and portfolios need to be managed. This matrix helps companies
make these decisions in a more systematic and informed manner.
 GE/McKinsey (9
Grid)Matrix
The matrix is a 3×3 grid. The Y-axis measures market attractiveness while
the x-axis measures the business strength. The scale is high, medium and
low. A few key steps are necessary to create this matrix.
• List the entire range of products created or sold by a particular
strategic business unit.
• Identify the factors that make a specific market attractive.
• Evaluate the strategic business unit’s position in the market.
• Calculate the business strength and market attractiveness.
• Determine the strategic business unit’s category: High, Medium or low.
 • Market
This dimension helps determine the attractiveness of the market by

Attractiveness
analyzing the benefits a company is likely to get by entering and
competing within the market. A number of factors are studied within this
analysis. These include the size of the market, its rate of growth, profit
potential, and the nature, size and weaknesses of the competition within
the industry. Some factors used to determine market attractiveness
include:
• Long term growth rate
• Size of the industry
• Industry Profitability (Entry barriers, exit barriers, supplier power,
buyer power, threat of substitutes etc)
• Structure of the industry
• Product life cycle
• Demand
• Pricing trends
• Labor
• Market Segmentation
 2.
Business/Competitive
The other main dimension that makes up this grid is the competitive or business
strength of the company itself. An assessment along this dimension helps
understand whether a company has the required competence to compete in a

Strength
particular market. This can be determined by internal factors such as assets,
market share and development of this market share, brand position and loyalty,
creativity, and handling of market changes and fluctuations. This can also be
determined by external factors such as environmental concerns, government
regulations and laws, energy consumption etc. Some factors that can determine
this business/competitive strength include:
• Total market share
• Market share growth compared to competitors
• Strength of the brand
• Company profitability
• Customer loyalty
• Value chain
• Product differentiation
3. Measurement and
Plotting
After identifying and rating the factors that are needed to determine both
dimensions, these factors are given a magnitude and a calculation is
made. This calculation is:
Factor1 rating x Factor1 magnitude + Factor2 rating x Factor2 magnitude
+ …..FactorN rating x FactorN magnitude
The strategic business unit is taken as a circle when plotting on the graph.
Its size is determined by the size of the market. A pie chart within the
circle shows the brands or products within that unit and an arrow outside
it shows where the unit is expected to be in the future.
 4. Investment
Strategies
Once the chart is plotted, investment strategies can be created based on
which box within the matrix the strategic business unit appears in. The
three options are:
• Grow – Business units that fall within this category attract investment by the corporation
because they are in a position to bring high returns in the future. Investments include those in
research and development, acquisitions, advertisement and brand expansion as well as an
expansion in production capacity.
• Selectivity – These business units are in a more ambiguous position and it is unclear whether
they will grow in the future or become stagnant. Investments in this category may happen
after money has already been put into ‘grow’ units and if there is a strategic purpose for
these units.
• Harvest – Units in this category may be poor performers and in less attractive industries and
markets. Investment will be put into these if they generate revenues to equal this investment.
If this does not happen, then these units may be liquidated.
 Limitations of
McKinsey Model
As with any tool, there are some limitations to keep in mind. For the
Mckinsey matrix, these limitations include:
• The industry attractiveness and business unit strength can only be
accurately determined by a consultant or a very experienced person.
• The entire exercise can be costly to conduct for a company
• Potential synergies and dynamics between 2 or more business units
are not taken into account.
• The weight given to different factors can be very subjective as there is
no set of rules to determine this.
 SWOT Analysis
The SWOT framework helps you evaluate the internal (Strengths and
Weaknesses) and external factors (Opportunities and Threats) that impact
your business or a course of action.
 Porters five forces
Porter’s Five Forces is a framework that examines the competitive market forces in an industry or segment.

rule
It helps you evaluate an industry or market according to five elements: new entrants, buyers, suppliers,
substitutes, and competitive rivalry. According to Michael Porter’s model, these are the key forces that
directly affect how much competition a business faces in an industry.
 Presentation
Choose a company of your choice
and do a presentation with the
company's:
• SWOT Analysis
• Porter's 5 Force Rule
• PLC
• BCG Matrix
• GE 9 Cell