Reflection – Learning Launch

1. Challenge:

I am working for an Automotive parts in the CIS region as Marketing Finance Head for the  past two years.

In one of the countries of CIS Region, most of our Brands have shown market leading growth over the past  few years. However, during the last one year, we have noticed some of these Brands are not performing  well or growing less than the market growth in some of the Oblasts of the country, where we have a very  good market share compared to the competitors. We have realized that the market share is sharply going  down and the sales of these Brands started to decline rapidly in those Oblasts.  I am responsible to study  and analyze the issue with the available data and initiate a new marketing strategy to these Oblasts along  with the Marketing Team.

2. Selection:

The tool that I have used is “Learning Launch” basis its underlying principle of “an experiment conducted  in the marketplace quickly and inexpensively and it forms a bridge between customer co-creation and  commercial rollout.”

I have applied this principle to understand the root cause of the existing problem and value generating  assumptions of new market strategies by conducting some prototypes to determine whether the new  marketing strategy has enough merit to implement with the commitment of all the resources like people,  time and money.

3. Application:

I have applied the tool basis the 6 principles of “Learning Launch” as appended below:

a. Set tight boundaries: - We have agreed on specific timelines, specific Oblasts, number of Doctors

with whom we must interact, Pharmacy Chains and Key opinion Leaders.

b. Design with a sharp focus on key assumptions: - We have reviewed the prototype to reflect our

key assumptions of Brand Image, Doctor’s Loyalty towards our Brands and their Prescriptions  Trend, specific metrics of the current promotion strategies of Pharmacy Chain promotion and  Doctor Promotion, generating the trends from Market data and the assumptions or data that   match with our the budget and for an affordable marketing strategy.

c. Build a team that is both disciplined and adaptive: - We have formed a 5 Member Team from

Marketing, Sales and Finance who is passionate supporters of growth and innovation of the  Company. I am part of the team with a Financial perspective and project management skills to  drive the project.

Cont..

d. Worked on fast feedback: - I have worked with real market data for the past two years, did some

trend analysis of all the growth drivers in comparison with our Pharmacy Chain and marketing  spend. I have encountered some surprises while compiling this data that, despite the marketing  & Pharmacy Chain spend is in line with other Oblasts the Market share for some of the Market  Leading Brands in these Oblasts is declining over a period. I have responded very quickly with  these observations to the other team members to have a feed-back and introspect for the reasons  of this de-growth.

e. Make it feel real: - I have tried and made it easy for all the co-participants to suspend their

disbelief that we are doing everything right in the market by arranging  some physical visits to the  Pharmacy Chains, conducting online survey with some Key Opinion Leaders to take their feed- back, advertisement  spend by the competitors and from our own Brand Managers and Marketing  Representatives to know what is going on the ground.

f. Have back-up plans for everything: - I am sure anything can go wrong on the assumptions that we

have made, I am prepared for the worst-case scenario too. Since, I have a process in place based  on the tool (Learning Launch) that I have used and the trust of the team for handling any dissent,  resolving conflicts constructively, and adaptability to take this new Marketing Strategy to a great  success in these Oblasts.

4. Insight:

Initially I have applied this tool in one of the Oblasts where we have a strong network with loyal customers.  The insights came to our surprise and the feedback that I have got by applying this tool is that our  engagement with the Key Opinion Leaders is very low, the Brand Promotion chart of MRs is not reviewed  and updated periodically, Brand Reminders are not updated to match the promotion strategy, TV  Advertisement is not as per the season, Pharmacy Chain Targets are not aligned to Sales Plan etc.,

Based on this study, I have clearly noticed that there are some gaps between the two key stakeholders  Viz: Sales and Marketing Teams in understanding the problem in detail and sharing the insights to solve  them. This exercise has helped both the teams to introspect and understand their development areas  more proactively. The approach followed gave a pivotal point for discussion, develop insights for root  cause of the problems to find solutions, quickly implement them by the respective teams in a collaborative  manner.

5. Approach:

Having, gone through the design thinking activities and the tools I believe that the “Learning Launch” tool  is appropriate in the given context. As previously explained, our Sales & Marketing Teams needs to review  the insights gained from our first prototyping of this tool to one of the Oblasts and extend these insights  to the other Oblasts go gain the Market Share and Sales Growth.    I would also like to apply the other Design Thinking tools to my future projects in my function (Finance)  and reflect the insights gained, progress made to come to a convincing solution ready for full rollout. I  have realised that the most valuable aspect is to succeed with small projects(prototyping) and implement  these shared insights and learning, next time I would use the visualization activity as a starting point for a  series of design thinking activities to the larger groups to gain the confidence and create value for money.


Reflection – Learning Launch 1 . Challenge : I am working for an Automotive parts in the CIS region as Marketing Finance Head for the past two years . In one of the countries of CIS Region , most of our Brands have shown market leading growth over the past few years . However , during the last one year , we have noticed some of these Brands are not performing well or growing less than the market growth in some of the Oblasts of the country , where we have a very good market share compared to the competitors . We have realized that the market share is sharply going down and the sales of these Brands started to decline rapidly in those Oblasts . I am responsible to study and analyze the issue with the available data and initiate a new marketing strategy to these Oblasts along with the Marketing Team . 2 . Selection : The tool that I have used is “ Learning Launch ” basis its underlying principle of “ an experiment conducted in the marketplace quickly and inexpensively and it forms a bridge between customer co - creation and commercial rollout . ” I have applied this principle to understand the root cause of the existing problem and value generating assumptions of new market strategies by conducting some prototypes to determine whether the new marketing strategy has enough merit to implement with the commitment of all the resources like people , time and money . 3 . Application : I have applied the tool basis the 6 principles of “ Learning Launch ” as appended below : a. Set tight boundaries : - We have agreed on specific timelines , specific Oblasts , number of Doctors with whom we must interact , Pharmacy Chains and Key opinion Leaders . b. Design with a sharp focus on key assumptions : - We have reviewed the prototype to reflect our key assumptions of Brand Image , Doctor ’s Loyalty towards our Brands and their Prescriptions Trend , specific metrics of the current promotion strategies of Pharmacy Chain promotion and Doctor Promotion , generating the trends from Market data and the assumptions or data that match with our the budget and for an affordable marketing strategy . c. Build a team that is both disciplined and adaptive : - We have formed a 5 Member Team from Marketing , Sales and Finance who is passionate supporters of growth and innovation of the Company . I am part of the team with a Financial perspective and project management skills to drive the project . Cont .. d. Worked on fast feedback : - I have worked with real market data for the past two years , did some trend analysis of all the growth drivers in comparison with our Pharmacy Chain and marketing spend . I have encountered some surprises while compiling this data that , despite the marketing & Pharmacy Chain spend is in line with other Oblasts the Market share for some of the Market Leading Brands in these Oblasts is declining over a period . I have responded very quickly with these observations to the other team members to have a feed - back and introspect for the reasons of this de - growth . e. Make it feel real : - I have tried and made it easy for all the co - participants to suspend their disbelief that we are doing everything right in the market by arranging some physical visits to the Pharmacy Chains , conducting online survey with some Key Opinion Leaders to take their feed- back , advertisement spend by the competitors and from our own Brand Managers and Marketing Representatives to know what is going on the ground . f. Have back - up plans for everything : - I am sure anything can go wrong on the assumptions that we have made , I am prepared for the worst - case scenario too . Since , I have a process in place based on the tool ( Learning Launch ) that I have used and the trust of the team for handling any dissent , resolving conflicts constructively , and adaptability to take this new Marketing Strategy to a great success in these Oblasts . 4 . Insight : Initially I have applied this tool in one of the Oblasts where we have a strong network with loyal customers . The insights came to our surprise and the feedback that I have got by applying this tool is that our engagement with the Key Opinion Leaders is very low , the Brand Promotion chart of MRs is not reviewed and updated periodically , Brand Reminders are not updated to match the promotion strategy , TV Advertisement is not as per the season , Pharmacy Chain Targets are not aligned to Sales Plan etc . , Based on this study , I have clearly noticed that there are some gaps between the two key stakeholders Viz : Sales and Marketing Teams in understanding the problem in detail and sharing the insights to solve them . This exercise has helped both the teams to introspect and understand their development areas more proactively . The approach followed gave a pivotal point for discussion , develop insights for root cause of the problems to find solutions , quickly implement them by the respective teams in a collaborative manner . 5 . Approach : Having , gone through the design thinking activities and the tools I believe that the “ Learning Launch ” tool is appropriate in the given context . As previously explained , our Sales & Marketing Teams needs to review the insights gained from our first prototyping of this tool to one of the Oblasts and extend these insights to the other Oblasts go gain the Market Share and Sales Growth . I would also like to apply the other Design Thinking tools to my future projects in my function ( Finance ) and reflect the insights gained , progress made to come to a convincing solution ready for full rollout . I have realised that the most valuable aspect is to succeed with small projects(prototyping ) and implement these shared insights and learning , next time I would use the visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities to the larger groups to gain the confidence and create value for money .