The Hindu Business Line : Get out of the `dog' quadrant

Sales should normally translate to additional profits or reduced losses. But the opposite may happen, with each additional sale only adding to losses, or reducing profits. Such a situation can occur `for products in the dog quadrant of the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) matrix,' writes U. C. Mathur in Strategic Marketing Management: Text and Cases, from Macmillan (www.macmillanindia.com). Firms must decide the proper strategy to get out of the loss-making situation at the earliest, advises the author. He cautions that even in the case of distributor channels making profits, the firm could be spending too much, as for example, by giving high commissions. "Evaluate brand equity and dealers' reputation to accurately determine the level of dealer commission to be paid." Marketing innovation is the key to unlocking the mysteries entrenched in buyers' psyche, entices Mathur.

Insightful treatment.

Acronyms for automatic application

Looking for quick tools for problem analysis? How about SCAMMPERR and TRANSFORM? The first acronym stands for the operations, viz. substitute, combine, adapt, magnify or minify, modify, put to other uses, eliminate, re-arrange and reverse. Thus explains David O'Dell in Creative Problem-solving, from Jaico (www.jaicobooks.com). What is TRANSFORM? "The letters stand for the following actions to be performed on your product or problem: Twist or turn, reverse or rotate, adapt, novelise, substitute, fuse, omit, re-arrange, and magnify." If you think the acronyms tend to oversimplify, the author notes that successful senior managers count simplicity as their strength. Since the acronyms can be remembered easily, they can also be applied almost automatically in everyday situations, reasons O'Dell.

Worth a try.

Tailpiece

"He's not obeying the fundamental rule of SMS!"

"How?"

"He thinks `short' means a minimum of 3 screenfuls of text."

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali

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