Cross-Border Market Expansion: Leveraging Data-Driven Insights for Strategic Growth
You’ve recently joined Wood From The Trees (WFTT) as a junior consultant, and one of your first tasks is to familiarize yourself with Bangles International Jewellery (BIJ), one of WFTT’s major clients. BIJ operates across multiple country markets in Asia, North America, and Europe but hasn’t expanded into Africa, South America, or Australasia yet.
In May 2020, BIJ invested in a marketing campaign in the UK, aiming to enhance its sales performance in the region. To evaluate the effectiveness of this marketing campaign, the Director of Product & Marketing at BIJ has commissioned WFTT to conduct data-driven research.
Your core objective as a business consultant is to answer the following question:
Did the marketing campaign have a positive impact on sales performance in the UK?
You are tasked with analyzing the data provided in the accompanying Excel sheet and creating a comprehensive report that addresses this key question.
Report Structure
Introduction and project plan
- Summarise what you are going to present in the report and justify your plan for delivering the research project to BIJ. Specifically explain how data analytics can add value and drive improved business performance for BIJ.
- Ensure that your project plan explicitly refers to a data analytics framework and explain how the selected framework can be used to addresses the core business question to be answered in your consultancy project
- Present BIJ’s own business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and how improved analytics enables improvements against these KPIs.
Data quality issues and remedies
- List and explain generic data problems and how to identify them. What are the different options for resolving these generic issues?
- List all the data problems you have identified with the BIJ dataset. Explain how you identified the problems and how you propose to address them.
Data analysis and commentary
- Set out and explain the results of your numeric data analysis in the form of tables, summary data and supporting commentary. Explain how your results inform understanding of BIJ’s performance and business operations. This should include three tables setting out:
- (Table A) Data and trends in sales volume and value by month, by year and across the whole analysis period
- (Table B) Benchmark comparisons of category performance covering sales volume and value by quarter, by year and across the whole analysis period, and
- (Table C) Benchmark comparisons of sales volume and value between markets by quarter, by year and across the whole analysis period.
Data analysis and commentary
- Develop visual presentations of your findings together with bullet-points setting out the key findings and inferences from the charting. This should include three charts presenting:
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- (Chart A) Comparison of sales value trends across markets over time
- (Chart B) Category performance comparisons between markets, and
- (Chart C) Impact of the marketing campaign in the UK market itself, and in comparison, with other markets.
Conclusion and recommendations
- What conclusion can be inferred regarding BIJ’s business performance and operation based on your analysis and findings?
- What are your business recommendations to the BIJ Board?
References
- Minimum 15 references from company’s website, its annual reports, its news release, scholarly articles, books, research papers, consultancy agency reports, government publications etc in Harvard style
Key learning from this project
- Conducting data-driven research and analysis
- Identifying and addressing data quality issues
- Interpreting numeric and visual data to inform business decisions
- Developing evidence-based conclusions and recommendations
- Communicating findings through written reports and data visualizations
- Providing actionable insights for strategic decision-making
Answer to the question – How will you applying your learning in your future organization
By working on Data-Driven Insights for Strategic Growth consulting project, I gained invaluable experience in conducting data-driven research and analysis to inform strategic business decisions. I developed expertise in identifying and addressing data quality issues, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the insights derived from the data.
I honed my skills in interpreting numeric and visual data representations, that enabled me to uncover patterns, trends, and insights that can drive business performance improvements. Additionally, I learned to develop evidence-based conclusions and actionable recommendations tailored to the organization’s specific needs and objectives.
In my future organization, I can leverage these skills to support data-driven decision-making processes across various business functions. By conducting thorough data analysis and presenting findings through clear written reports and compelling data visualizations, I can provide valuable insights and recommendations to drive informed strategic planning, optimize operations, and enhance overall organizational performance. My ability to communicate complex data insights effectively will ensure that stakeholders at all levels can leverage the power of data-driven decision-making.