DIFFERENTIATION AND PRICING Forum With A Difference A report on the recent Chief Executive Forum spearheaded by Prof. Lakshman Krishnamurthi of Kellogg School of Management |
 Chief-Executive Forum (CEF) is organised by India’s largest consulting firm, Planman Consulting, in affiliation with IIPM. CEF workshops are conducted by members of faculty belonging to the foremost business schools across the world. These events bring together CEOs, Presidents and decision makers from a wide range of industries onto one platform. The exchange of strategies and experiences help bring about alterations in the perceptions of the participants towards the global business market and world economy. The most recent series of CEF workshops were conducted in December 2009 on ‘Global Marketing Strategies’, and were held at Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad. The sessions were facilitated by Prof. Lakshman Krishnamurthi, a renowned professor from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, voted “teacher of the year” for core courses in the Kellogg Executive MBA Programme, 2006. Through his immense knowledge in fields of marketing, including brand management, consumer behaviour, and new product development, he provided impetus to the attention of the participants with much ease. Using the distinctive training methodology of case studies, research findings and group discussions, Prof. Krishnamurthi’s session was successful in altering the approach of participants towards new and existing markets. The day was divided into 3 sections on Differentiation, Growth Strategies, and Pricing Models. The first one focused on how existing products could be differentiated to suit new market trends as well as customers with diverse buying preferences. The second session helped explain why no organisation could reach a saturation point, there always being a large range of growth options available in the market. Said Ashish Sehgal (AGM, BMD) about the session, “It was really helpful for discovering new ways to decipher pricing. It helped us understand that every company has an opportunity to be niche in its segment.” The third session focused on how customers would value the components of a product existing along a homogenous product line, and how producers could price products as per this value-perception of the consumer. The value pricing methodology explained by the professor were applauded by all participants. |
 In a nutshell, the workshop covered varied aspects of marketing strategies, and O.P. Karwal (SVP, Genetix Biotech Asia) called it a “must attend”. The participants represented companies from a range of industries; from IT, telecom, and manufacturing, to pharmaceuticals, FMCGs, and consumer durables. The diverse participant profiles helped all of them understand the pros and cons of strategies that can be adopted in different industries and markets. Collating the experiences of all those present enabled the workshop to be rich in content as well as real-world application. As aptly summed up by Sanjay Kumar (National Business Head, Bharti Teletech), “The workshop had a very practical approach to it. Had I not attended it, I would have missed fundamental principles of marketing.” |
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