4Ss are pertinent to every case: Scope, Structure, Solve, Synthesize.

Frameworks generally form the structure and solving part of any case. Scoping
and Synthesis more or less remains the same.

Scope: Scoping a problem statement is clarifying the and then asking relevant
questions that will narrow down the scope of the problem statement for you.
There are various aspects of scoping but 3CPOR is the most common way of
scoping. (Do not spend a lot of time here)

Structure: Structuring the problem statement by ensuring MECE ( Mutually

Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) is very relevant to make sure you are
taking the correct approach and the interviewer is following your approach
properly. There are many ways to ensure MECE structuring. (Main portion of
the case)

Solve: Solving the problem might mean drilling down to the Root Cause or
solving guesstimates. (Make sure you don’t make silly mistakes)

Synthesize: Synthesize does not mean summarize so do not go on summarizing

everything. Synthesis should be of 1 minute and crisp and to the point. (You
want to ideally cover everything in 3 points taking a tops down approach and
mentioning the hook of the case)

Scoping (3CPOR):
A. Objectives:
Clarify the objective of the case & repeat the case statement
Is there a secondary objective

B. Company
Get primitive understanding of company: What product/services does it offer? What
geography does it cater to?
Consumers (Target)- Any specific demographic
Channel of sales/ distribution

C. Product
Any substitutes available?
•Where is the product in the lifecycle?
•Is the concern due to cyclicity/ seasonality?
D. Competitors
Is it an industry wide issue?
•Market fragmented or concentrated? Our market position?

E. Context
From how long is the decline seen ?
•Any specific geography or product seeing the decline?
•Quantum of decline
F. Regulation
Any government regulation/constraint that should be considered

The major buckets of the scoping questions mostly falls under the given buckets for almost all
the framework, only the type of question changes depending on the problem at hand. E.g
Context for profitability would be to access the period of decline, but for market entry problem,
context question would be ‘why do we want to enter the market, what is our target?’

Some common frameworks to use everywhere

SWOT Matrix
Internal:
Strength: Factors providing a competitive advantage to the company against its competitors
•Ex. loyal customer base, strong brand, skilled employees, proprietary technology
Weakness: Factors resisting a company against operating at its optimum level in the market
•Ex. lack of capital, high leverage, higher than market attrition, weaker brand image
External
Opportunities: External factors favourable for the company to build a sustainable competitive
advantage
•Ex. shift in corporate taxation, falling raw material prices, market trends, emerging technology
Threats: External factors which can potentially harm the company’s profitability or operations
in general
•Ex. increasing competition, natural calamities, limited labor supply, upcoming regulations

PESTEL Analysis

Political: Govt actions –elections, fiscal policy, corporate taxation, etc

Economic: Economy –inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, unemployment, etc
Social: Societal factors –demographics, cultures, beliefs, lifestyle trends, etc.
Technological: Level of adoption, automation, tech infrastructure, R&D, latest trends, etc
Environmental: Govt regulations, carbon footprint, risks for raw materials etc
Legal: Laws -Intellectual property, industry regulations, licenses & permits, etc.
Marketing Frameworks

5C’s of Marketing

Company: Who are you?

9Understanding the company,
products, channels, value chain,
etc
Customers:
Who are you selling to?
Understanding the customers,
segments, their needs, wants, etc

Competitors:
Who is in your way? Understanding
other players in the market, their
strategies, etc.

Collaborators:
Who are you working with?
Understanding your external vendors,
suppliers, partners, etc

Content:
What are current conditions?
Understanding the business climate
using SWOT & PESTEL

4P’s of Marketing
Product: Product is the item catering to a need
Involves product design, features, quality, range,
branding, packaging, etc.

Price: Price is amount being paid for a product. Involves pricing strategy, payment methods,

discounts, allowances, etc.

Place: Place is the channel of delivery of product. Involves distribution, franchising, inventory,

transportation, logistics, etc.

Promotion: Promotion covers the marketing communications. being used for product. Involves
channel mix, messaging, etc.

4A’s of Marketing
Awareness: Product Knowledge: Customers should have sufficient knowledge to trigger a
purchase

Brand Awareness: Customers’ ability to recognize, recall and remember the brand name
Affordability: Economic Affordability: Customers should have sufficient economic resources at
disposal to purchase. Psychological Affordability: Customers’ willingness to pay for a given product
or service offered by the company

Accessibility: Customer Availability: Company should have sufficient stock to cater to market
demand
Customer Convenience: Ease of access for a potential customer to the product or service
Acceptability: Functional Acceptability: Objective in nature, based on product specification,
performance,
durability, etc.
Psychological Acceptability: Subjective in nature, based on product aesthetics, brand appeal, etc.

VRIO Framework
Used to determine whether a resource or capability can provide a sustained competitive
advantage for a company.

STP
Used to gain more insights into Big Data and
determine the value of collected data

Segmentation: Dividing market into distinct groups of customers based on their

characteristics or behaviour

Targeting: Selection of a customer group to focus marketing efforts based on segment

attractiveness

Position: Designing the product and promotional mix to appeal to the target market
segment
 AMO
Used to assess employee productivity and effectiveness in a firm. Typical applications
involve to assess effectiveness of a salesforce personnel
Ability: Hiring, Training, Learning, Skill Development, Talent Management

Motivation
Expectancy: Clarity of goals, Control over performance
Instrumentality: Incentive structure, Performance metrics & evaluation
Opportunity: Career planning, fair appraisal process, recognitions, empowerment

4Vs of Data
Used to gain more insights into Big Data and determine the value of collected data
Volume: Scale or size of the data is being generated
Velocity: Speed at which the data is being generated & processed
Variety: Number of different forms or categories of collected data
Veracity: Accuracy and truthfulness of the collected data

Porter's Five Forces

 Porter's five forces are used to identify and analyze an industry's

competitive forces.
 The five forces are competition, the threat of new entrants to the
industry, supplier bargaining power, customer bargaining power, and
the ability of customers to find substitutes for the sector's products.
 The model guides businesses in determining the intensity of
competition and potential profitability within their market, helping
them better understand where power lies in their sector.
 Porter's model was meant to critique "perfectly competitive" business
models, unlike real-world markets where competitors aren't just
rivals and firms in specific industries tend to rise and fall together.
 Criticisms mounted against the model include that it's too static,
doesn't speak to the advantages or problems of specific companies,
doesn't account enough for collaborative business models, and
doesn't apply as well to quick-changing markets.

According to Porter, there are five forces that represent the key sources of
competitive pressure within an industry and not a company: They are:
 1. Competitive Rivalry:
2. Supplier Power.
3. Buyer Power.
4. Threat of Substitution.
5. Threat of New Entry.

H
ow to Use Porter's Five Forces Model

To use the model, start by looking at each of the five forces in turn, and think
about how they apply in your industry
Porter's Five Forces Example: Buying a Farm

How Does Porter's Five Forces Differ from SWOT Analysis?

Both are strategic planning tools, but they serve different purposes. The
five-force model analyzes the competitive environment of an industry,
looking at its intensity and the bargaining power of suppliers and
customers very helpful while entering a new industry (Market Entry).
SWOT analysis, meanwhile, is broader and assesses a company's internal
strengths and weaknesses as well as its external opportunities and threats
 Profitability Framework
Profitability problems require analysis of revenues and costs of a company to zero in on the
cause of decreasing/increasing profitability.
Thorough understanding of revenue and cost heads for various industries can help bring out
key insights and reach valuable
recommendations.
Profit vs Profitability
• Profits are merely a difference of
Revenues and Cost, while
Profitability refers to profit as a
proportion of sales

Market size demand is actually revenue per customer and market

share demand is number of customers
● Costs can be also be divided as (depending on the type of problem statement & the
information available):
- Direct & Indirect Costs
- Fixed & Variable Costs
 Market Entry Framework
A market entry case (whether new product launch or entry into new geography or both)

The Five Steps to Solve a Market Entry Case Interview

Step One: Understand why the company wants to enter the market i.e the objectives
of the company
The four most common reasons are:

 The company wants to increase profit

 The company wants to increase revenues
 The company wants to invest in a fast-growing market
 The company wants to gain access to new customers

Step Two: Quantify the specific target or goal

Now that you understand whoy the company wants to enter the market, identify what
the specific target or goal is.
For example, if the company wants to increase revenues, how much of a revenue
increase are they targeting? By what time frame are they looking to achieve this
revenue increase by?

If the company wants to invest in a fast-growing market, what return on investment

are they targeting? In how many years are they hoping to achieve this level of return
by?

By quantifying the target or goal, you can more easily make the case for entering or
not entering the market. If the company can achieve their goal, you would
recommend entering the market. Conversely, If the company cannot reach their
target, you would recommend not entering the market.

Step Three: Develop a market entry framework and work through the
case
With the overall target or goal of the market entry in mind, you will now move onto
gathering data and information to build support for your recommendation.

The most efficient way to do this is by using a market entry framework to structure all
of the important questions you will need to answer.

Major things you should probably include in your framework.

a) Market or Industry attractiveness

Market size*Market share

•Growth/Lifecycle : what is market size and growth rate
Profitability: What are average profit margins in the market?
•Barriers to entry
How strong are substitute products and suppliers
Regulatory norms easy or tough
Economies of scale

Scoping /
Understand the current industry
(3CPOR) eg.
• Market size, growth
• Life cycle
• Competition
• Customer price elasticity
• Customer preferences
• Product differentiation

Review Porters 5 forces for industry attractiveness

b) Competitive landscape
The market could be attractive, but if it is extremely difficult to capture market share,
then entering the market may not be a great idea.
No. of competitors & market share : How many players are in the market?, How much
market share does each player have? . Competitor Concentration* & Structure (monopoly,
oligopoly, competitive, market share concentration)
SWOT Analysis
Barriers to entry/exit -
Regulations

c) Company capabilities

The market can be attractive and competition can be weak, but if the company does
not have the right capabilities, they will not be able to successfully compete in the
market

 Financial capability/ Feasibility: Can company meet expected costs of entering the
market, How long will it take to break even? What is the expected return on
investment?
Expected revenue, NPV/ Profit
Tip: Try to create a formula to solve this part.

 Operational capability/Feasibility: Value Chain Analysis (feasibility of setting up:

procurement -production – distribution
Cost structure (mainly fixed vs. variable - is it better to have higher fixed cost with lower
variable, or vice versa. High fixed cost = barrier to entry.... compare to industry, often
insightful) Investment cost (optional: only if case involves an investment decision)
Intangibles (e.g., brands, brand loyalty)

Does the company have the right distribution channels?

Does the company have the right relationships with suppliers?

Step Four: Consider the market entry strategy OR consider

alternatives to entering the market

Your market entry framework will help you investigate different areas in the case to
develop a hypothesis for whether the company should enter the market.

What you do next will be determined by whether you are leaning towards
recommending entering the market or recommending not entering the market.

If you are leaning towards recommending entering the market…

Think through what the right market entry strategy would be. You should think
through three different questions:

 When should the company enter the market?

 At what speed should the company enter the market?
 How should the company enter the market?
  When should the company enter the market?
 Should they enter right away to get a first-mover advantage?
 Or should they wait to see how competitors enter the market and learn from
their mistakes.

At what speed should the company enter the market? Should they target the entire
market immediately? Or should they target a smaller subgroup to test their product
first?

Finally, you should consider how the company should enter the market. There are
three different ways to enter a market:

 Developing the capabilities internally

 Partnering or forming a joint venture
 Acquiring an existing company

Each of these strategies has their own advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage of entering the market from scratch by developing capabilities
internally is that the company has full control over the strategy and operations. The
disadvantages are that this requires significant capital and investment costs, the
company may not have all of the capabilities needed to be successful, and market
entry will likely be slower than the other strategies.

The advantages of a partnership or joint venture are that there are much lower
capital and investment costs and market entry will likely be faster than entering the
market from scratch. The disadvantages of this strategy are that it requires working
with the partner effectively and that this strategy does not give the company full
control over the strategy and operations.

The advantages of acquiring an existing company are that it is a faster way of

entering the market compared to the other strategies and that the company has a
high level of control over the strategy and operations. The disadvantages are that
acquisitions are expensive and it can be challenging to fully integrate an acquired
company effectively.

If you are leaning towards recommending NOT entering the market…

Explore the other alternative options the company has. Is there another potentially
attractive market that the company should enter instead? Are there other projects or
investments that the company should pursue?

Remember that there is always an opportunity cost for each investment a company
makes. If you are recommending that the company should not enter the market,
what is the next best alternative?

Step Five: Deliver a recommendation and propose next steps

By this time in the case, you should have explored all of the major areas and
questions needed to make a firm recommendation.

State your recommendation and then provide three reasons that support it. Conclude
by proposing potential next steps.

New Product Introduction Framework

In a new product entry case, a company is likely to aim for introducing a completely new
product in a market or expand its existing product’s
reach in a new geography. An interviewee is expected to first align on the product’s viability
to succeed in the market followed by identifying
the correct price point and target market and finally recommend levers that can drive product
success in the market.