Question

Q1. As a newly appointed Product Manager by Balaji wafers, you are asked to develop
New Product Planning for new flavor of potato wafer. How would you develop new
product planning process? (10 Marks)

Answer 1

Answer:

Lets see the problem in a completely different perspective (pertaining to Balaji Wafers).

For a company like Balaji Wafers, who is trying to compete with big guns and very renowned ones; the problem would not be solved by just launching a different & upgraded flavour.

The problem is getting the mind-space & shelf-space of the retailers, who is ideally your primary customer.

So, we do this in a completely radical manner.

We start with the premise, that our primary customer is the retailer and not the consumer.

Let’s get out and meet our bottom-most retailer, those who do not pick up regularly or little quantities (keeping aside those having trade issues).

Let’s ask them, which potato wafers, their kids / family eat and why? Aside from the price-point.

Please ask them, why they do not prefer Balaji Wafers? If the retailer does not have the answer currently, gift them 2 packs of Balaji Wafers (the current fastest selling flavour) and request him to give it to his/her family and let them try. Come back to him after a while.

In either case, you would have either the answer, that they actually said that, product is not too bad compared to top-guns, or you would have some real good insight, in terms of flavour&texture etc.

If the retailer says, their family are surprised with product quality of Balaji Wafers in terms of good, please remind him to uptake more stocks, and remind your sales team as well.

If you have received some good feedback, in terms of flavour & texture (even packaging), you have things to start with.

The key which we are talking about here is to 1st have mind-space of the retailer.

Once we have the mind-space of the retailer, the 2nd Key is to have the Shelf-Space of the retailer.

Even just your talking to retailer (and their family) as a primary customer, you would have already begun in terms of gaining the mind-space of the retailer. That’s you have started winning already.

Cheerio !