Question 1 on Sabre and Strategic Marketing Decision-Making (24 points):
The two following studies are from a hypothetical Sabre simulation in a particular round.
| Market Study 2: Purchase Intentions by Segment (%) | |||||||
| Company | Product | Alpha | Beta | Gamma | Delta | Epsilon | Overall |
| 1 Red | Baller | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 5.1 | 15.4 | 4.8 |
| Banness | 9.3 | 6.1 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 4.6 | |
| 2 Orange | Caster | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 6.2 | 10.6 | 4.8 |
| Cloudstar | 12.5 | 10 | 8.6 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 7 | |
| Camst | 14.2 | 12.5 | 8.9 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 7.8 | |
| 3 Yellow | Danil | 2.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 7.5 | 21 | 6.6 |
| Dowell | 9.8 | 8.7 | 6.9 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 6.5 | |
| Daibi | 15.2 | 27.4 | 44.6 | 7.5 | 5.1 | 19.1 | |
| 4 Green | Faldo | 3 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 8.2 | 20.7 | 6.9 |
| Fano | 19.8 | 22.2 | 14.7 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 11.7 | |
| Fighter | 7.8 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 45.1 | 12.4 | 20.2 | |
| Numbers based on units (not value). | |||||||
| Market Study 3: Market Share by Segment (%) | |||||||
| Company | Product | Alpha | Beta | Gamma | Delta | Epsilon | Overall |
| 1 Red | Baller | 3.6 | 2.2 | 2 | 12.9 | 24.8 | 9.2 |
| Banness | 14 | 9.8 | 6.4 | 8.1 | 4 | 8.4 | |
| 2 Orange | Caster | 3.3 | 2.1 | 2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 6.4 |
| Cloudstar | 5.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 3.7 | |
| Camst | 22.7 | 21.4 | 17.2 | 10.7 | 4.8 | 14.8 | |
| 3 Yellow | Danil | 4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 18.5 | 33.4 | 12.6 |
| Dowell | 12.3 | 11.6 | 9 | 8.5 | 3.4 | 8.9 | |
| Daibi | 8.9 | 16.8 | 34.8 | 8.1 | 3.9 | 14.5 | |
| 4 Green | Faldo | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 7.1 | 2.5 |
| Fano | 24.3 | 28.1 | 20.1 | 8.8 | 4.2 | 16 | |
| Fighter | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 7.6 | 1.5 | 3 | |
| Numbers based on units (not value). | |||||||
1.1. Using information from the two above studies, please discuss the nature of the performance result for product “Fighter” in this particular round. Name three major reasons why this performance situation may have occurred and briefly discuss their respective strategic marketing decision-making implications for Company 4. (7 points)
Your answer:
1.2. Furthermore, the product with the highest achieved overall market share, Camst, received one of the worst net income performances of all products by all companies (from Income Statement reports not shown here). Name two major reasons why this situation (of market leading products generating very poor financial impacts) may have occurred and briefly discuss their strategic marketing decision-making implications for Company 2. (7 points)
Your answer:
1.3. One relatively sophisticated type of analysis we could perform in competitive analysis is to specifically evaluate the net contributions (in dollar amounts) of all products by the competitors to their respective companies. Please specify which top four reports or studies, in the context of Sabre, you would most importantly use in order to best estimate the net contributions of all specific products by your competitors. Also, briefly mention the main information you would use from each of your identified reports or studies and explain how, in total, you would have enough information to generate these profit estimates. (8 points)
Your answer:
Question 2 on Sabre and Strategic Marketing Decision-Making (18 points):
Conduct a detailed SWOT analysis for your own Sabre company (for the specific team of which you were a member) at the end of Round 7.
Please list your team number here: Team – World
2.1. Specifically, please name 5 most significant, pertinent strengths (name 5Ss), weaknesses (name 5Ws), opportunities (name 5Os), and threats (name 5Ts) that your new management team must consider in making its strategic marketing decisions in Round 7 and beyond. (12 points)
Your answer:
2.2. On that basis, please identify top 5 strategic decisions that you think your new management team must make given the specific circumstances facing your own company. Please justify your answers. (6 points)
Your answer:
Question 5 on Sabre and Overall Course Materials (13 points):
Assume that upon seeing the perceptual map shown below, your company’s CEO immediately recognized the strategic opportunities to design two new products (new R&Ds) for segments 1 (Alpha) and 5 (Epsilon), respectively.
5.1. Use the general calculation rules given on page 43 of the Sabre Student Guide to determine the best attribute levels, as expressed in their original (unstandardized) scales, for both speed and complexity for both of your new R&Ds. Both attributes are highly important to the customers’ purchase decision-making. Briefly show your calculation process. Use your own best judgment to determine the ideal points on these two attributes for the two segments from reading this figure. The ranges of the original attribute levels for speed and complexity are 0 to 99 and 7 to 150, respectively. (7 points)
Your answer:
5.2. Use the ideas of the integrated (holistic) strategic marketing decisions discussed in our class (particular in the Aldi case class where this framework was drawn on the whiteboard) to suggest to your CEO TOP 5 additional conditions that must happen before your new R&Ds become highly successful products in the marketplace. (6 points)
Your answer:
Question 6 on Sabre (20 points):
Use the following information (Report 5) from one team’s Sabre experience in Period 3 to evaluate the overall performance of their Gamer and Green products in this period. Assume that the Devices market had a total of 15 products, which together, sold 1,294k units; and that the Star market had one product and a total (achieved) market size of 100k units.
6.1. While some may call Gamer a major failure, based on their high finished inventory level, others could declare it as a resounding success, based on some other pertinent indicators.
Please identify 2 key such (other) indicators that may suggest the remarkable achievements by Gamer. (7 points)
Your answer:
6.2. Use your general knowledge and experience in Sabre to calculate Gamer’s gross margin percentage in this period. Show how you calculated it. (6 points)
Your answer:
6.3. While a zero level of finished inventory may indicate a high demand for the company’s product, it may very well also suggest a poor production level decision. Use the information given in the following table (Report 5) to evaluate if company made a poor production decision on Green in the context of Sabre. (7 points)
Your answer:
End of Exam.
Best of Luck.
