【正文】 you can switch the balls, etc. Let39。s one approach to attacking this case: STEP 1: ANALYZE THE MARKET: The first thing the marketing manager should do is gather all available information about the market. The logical place to start would be the carpet cleaner market and its future. How large is the carpet cleaner market currently? Is it expected to grow in the next several years? What are the main panies involved? Finally, how often is carpet cleaner sold, and in what channels in grocery stores, in hardware stores, in convenience stores, as an impulse buy, as an emergency buy, etc? STEP 2: ASSESS YOUR COMPANY39。t care if you actually get the correct number what they want to see is that you are able to logically think through a process, creatively think through any possible exceptions or short cuts, and calculate basic sums in your head. You won39。re not sure where to begin, start with the basic assumption that there are 270 million people in the . (or 25 million businesses, depending on the question). If there are 270 million people in the United States, perhaps half of them live in houses (or 135 million people). The average family size is about 3, so there would be 45 million houses in the United States. Let39。s dark, a flashlight is required to cross, but the band has only one flashlight, and only two people can cross the bridge at a time. (This is not to say, of course, that if one of the members of the band has crossed the bridge, he can39。re four grams short, for example, you39。re expected to use a pen and notepad to work through your calculations). These guesstimates may also involve elements of creativity and problem solving. For example, when posed the question How much change would you find on the floor of a mall? you might want to ask Is there a fountain in the mall? Let39。s objectives. Because consumer trends are fickle, and technological innovation can quickly transform an industry, brand strategy should in general not be too farsighted. A fiveyear plan is a good, safe way to promise the need for longterm strategy with the pitfalls predicting future strategy inevitably brings. 9 Interviewers may present you with objectives at the start of the case. If they don39。 Gamble and General Mills. To climb to such lofty heights, brand managers (sometimes known as marketing managers) undergo rigorous interviews that often involve case questions. Brand cases vary in breadth and specificity some may be about promotions, some about pricing, others about longterm strategy. takes a look at one type of brand case: the Brand Launch. SAMPLE QUESTION: If our pany were looking to introduce a carpet cleaner to our line of products, how would you go about developing a business plan? In general, interviewers are interested in what kinds of questions you ask, and your understanding of market forces. Here, the interviewer is looking for an answer that describes the process you would use in developing a business plan, not asking for a business plan itself. The interviewer may be pleasantly surprised if you happen to know the size of the carpet cleaner market but they certainly don39。t give into the impulse to simply work with those balls. In this weighing, you39。s earnings per share rise, fall, or stay the same? Company A39。s cash flows, tell your interviewer you would use the Capital Asset Pricing Model (or CAPM). (In a nutshell, CAPM says that the proper discount rate to use is the riskfree interest rate adjusted upwards to reflect this particular pany39。s current relationship with its distribution partner. Would that be OK? In this way, you take charge of the line of questioning without stepping on the interviewer39。m a perfectionist. Or: I tend to work too hard. You may want to prepare a more thoughtful answer, but you should at least anticipate this question. 10. If you could go anywhere for 24 hours, with an unlimited budget where would you go? Sometimes, interviewers will ask offthewall questions just to get a better sense of who you are as a person. Questions to Ask During Your Summer Internship Interviews * Can you give me an example of my summer responsibilities? Try to make sure the answer you receive is as specific as possible. Particularly if you39。t market this card, unless we can further cut our marketing costs or increase the price of the card. If we could slice the cost of the envelope attachments a penny or so, or sell the card for $35, or convince our comarketer to reduce our costs, it might be worth selling. Commonlyasked Questions Companies these days look for more than whether you39。s a sample case question: You are advising a credit card pany that wants to market a prepaid phone card to its customers. Is this a good idea? You: What is the role of our pany? Do we simply market the card or must we create them ourselves? Interviewer: This card will be comarketed with an outside phone pany. We don39。m going to assume we will sell onehour phone cards. That will cost us $ for the minutes and a dollar per card so each card costs us $10. Interviewer: That sounds reasonable. You: And what is our expected revenue on a onehour phone card? What is the current market rate for a 60minute phone card? Interviewer: Assume it39。t go ahead and tell them. But then again, a lot of interviewers will ask you outright: tell me why your personal traits will work here. 1. Why are you applying for this position? Probably the most monly asked question at job interviews. You need to convince your interviewer that you are enthusiastic about the job. 2. Tell me about a time when you used initiative/Give me an example of when you came up with an innovative solution/Give me an example of a time you exceeded expectations. In this everchanging world in which we work, employees are supposed to be innovative, to be able to think outside of t