Read Case: "J.Crew

Link HERE (Links to an external site.) - or see case in Coursepack from HBR Publishing

With your team, complete a case write-up with critical thoughts on the case (with slides, data analysis, graphics, notes, FRAMEWORK, & conclusions/ recommendations) for class discussion. Cases are to be thoroughly understood, and critical thought must be applied. A marketing framework will be expected to be applied to the alternative(s) - not the company, and data will be analyzed. See frameworks such as Porter's Five Forces, The 5 C's, The 7 P's, etc.

Submit through canvas for grading. Please include a dashboard of data driven conclusions, goals, and implementation KPI's. This will be part of critical thinking.

Please see rubric below for assignment expectations.

Please see this article for how to integrated data into your analysis: https://consultyasser.com/effective-tactics-marketing-analytics-strategy/Links to an external site.

How to do case work - Further Clarification

Critical Thinking:

For the case assignments, there are no right or wrong answers. The cases are designed for developing critical thinking abilities in relation to real-world marketing situations. I am interested in hearing your own unique and original thoughts about the case issues.

As the syllabus states: This [case] approach to study presents the student with the same challenges all decision-makers face today the human factors, with financial and physical resource constraints and incomplete information. The issues considered are relevant, intellectually and emotionally engaging, and highly interactive. This process creates a challenging learning environment encouraging you, as student, to share your opinions and perspectives and to learn from others in the class.

Please keep this in mind when answering the case questions. There are NO right or wrong answers, only answers that show you have read the case and thought about the issues.

Problem Statement:

At the start of every case, the character is facing a crises and needs an alternative course of action for the situation. There are usually several alternative options presented in the case, but there are also other options which could be possible even options not presented in the case, including doing nothing.

Think through the underlying problem. Is the problem "declining sales" or is declining sales a result of the underlying problem? As with all market research, it's hard to ask the right questions until you understand the real problem.

Alternative analysis:

What are the pros and cons of each alternative? How did you arrive at your choice? What data did you use? How will your chosen alternative affect the outcome?

Use the marketing framework on the alternative(s) in order to demonstrate how/why it would work (or not work) as opposed to the company in general. How would the chosen alternative affect the customers (5 C's)? The Price (7 P's)? The market reaction (5 Forces)? Etc. Those frameworks force you to look at cause/effect rather than a static assessment. Example: "Chosen alternative would affect Customers in xx way (5 C's). Chosen alternative would need be in xx Place (or multichannel) (7 P's), etc. Be sure to use a marketing framework which takes the individual factors of cases into account.

Implementation:

Good practical steps for implementing the chosen alternative. Imagine you are making a formal recommendation to the client. Why should they do it? Should their product change or stay the same? What returns could they expect? What is the possible ROI?

Show the data to support your chosen alternative and recommendation. Example: Lastly, this alternative can be implemented in xx way, with an xx data outcome.