Abstract:

It was a pleasant February evening when, Marketing Manager at Entertainer Asia, asked for the third quarter sales report of Vouch 365. It’s been a tough year for the startup’s marketing team as they had already allocated a substantial budget on promotional activities in the past year yet the book sales were still below expectations.
It came as a surprise to her that the report had shown continuous decline in sales of the Vouch365 book while an unexpected sales pattern for the app emerged.
Mr. Faizan Lakhani, owner of the start-up, had an emotional attachment with Vouch365 and wanted it to penetrate in every Pakistani household by becoming a part of their lifestyle. Unfortunately for him, the expectations did not completely translate into reality.
The book was initially well received by the public and prospects looked positive. Book sales were initially high compared to app. As months passed, the app sales surpassed that of the book. Even though the focus of advertising and promotion was the Vouch365 book, it seemed to have little impact on the book’s sale.
It was about time that a crucial decision had to be made. Mr Lakhani still pondered if discontinuing the book was really a viable option. The question whether the app will have a strong acceptability & penetration in the Pakistani market constantly popped up in his mind. With his mind still baffled, the CEO got up and started pacing towards the conference room for the meeting….