Project Scope and Objectives revisited

Class,

The survey count has reached 6654 at last count (of which completed surveys have crossed the 4000 mark). Hopefully data issues would not be a big constraint any more.

Latest by this time tomorrow, the final raw dataset will be with you. Hope you've scanned through the interim raw dataset provided yesterday and found it useful to better plan phase III that will soon kick off.

This then is a good time to revisit and refine the project objectives as laid out in the scope document.

Who are you?
Suppose, you are a consulting org focused on the MKTR space, perhaps as part of a larger group with complementary skills, offering solutions based on research and inhouse-knowledge to your clients.

XYZ Corp is a client and asks of you answers (in the form of a recommended option among alternative options) for 2 of the following 3 core questions:

Q1. Should XYZ enter the Indian car market?

The answer depends on 2 broad components - the demand side (some idea to help estimate how much demand over which attribute bundles) and the supply side (can we build/import/assemble these attribute bundles within certain cost parameters in order to meet the estimated demand).

This project scope is restricted to the demand side only. XYZ would have enough data and skill sets to process the supply side of the problem once they get a good handle of the demand side.

Issues like should XYZ enter India on a standalone basis or as part of a JV/alliance etc is a deeper, trickier question that is likely to involve formal analysis of "Strategy" (Yup, that conceptual stuff we did long back has a grounding in game-theory and can be analyzed formally - in your other courses perhaps).

So tread around these strategic questions and options lightly. Feel free to make suggestions (not recommendations) about possible JV partners etc only to the extent that it directly impacts the demand side scope of the project. I say 'Suggestions' because they may not be backed by formal data evidence. Recommendations would typically be supported by evidence, and those in your deliverable are expected to be so.

Q2. If yes to Q1, then in which particular submarket?

Don't just say, "Hatchback" for example, and leave it at that. The client wants to know your reasoning and see the data evidence that leads to this conclusion.

Not to mention which all attributes to include in the hatchback.

The why this segment could also refer to competition stats, perceptual maps perhaps across brands that point to a positioning opening somewhere etc.

Again, it is critical that any statement you make is well supported by either primary or secondary data with requisite confidence intervals, any assumptions you make are clearly and upfront identified as your assumptions, any estimates you make are accompanied by some logic and methodological clarity.

For academic purposes, feel free to refer to anything from the lectures of the textbook when constructing your arguments.

Q2a. If no to Q1, why not?

As adherents to the marketing philosophy, we let market facts speak. And the data may say things the client may not want to hear. Too bad. Remember, "Our allegiance is to truth not convenience."

So if you do say that its a bad idea for a firm like XYZ Corp to enter India, pls show using data -secondary or primary - how you arrived at that conclusion. Inference in action.

Deliverable Size limits:
30 slides is the size limit. Should your material go over 30 slides, include them as an appendix. There is no guarantee the appendix will be considered for evaluation. And certainly, anything over 40 slides will not be looked at, at all.

Any questions or comments, pls fire away in the comments section below. Shall remove the comment moderation settings for this thread.

Good luck, all. May the Force be with you.

Sudhir