■ Case Study Framework Cheat Sheet

Framework Key Points

Profit = Revenue – Costs

Revenue = Price × Quantity
Profitability Framework Costs = Fixed + Variable (Labor, Rent, Raw Material, Marketing)

1. Market size & growth

2. Competition
3. Customer demand
4. Capabilities & costs
Market Entry Framework 5. Risks & regulations

1. Customer segments
2. Pricing vs competitors
3. Product/Service quality
4. Customer support
Customer Churn Framework 5. External factors

1. Increase customers
2. Increase usage frequency
3. New products/markets
Growth Strategy Framework 4. Partnerships & M&A

1. Clarify question
2. Break into logical drivers
3. Estimate each driver
Guesstimates Approach 4. Multiply → sanity check

1. Break by segment (region/product/time)

2. Look for % changes, outliers
3. Prioritize key driver
Data-Driven Analysis 4. Recommend actions
Day 1 – Intro Case
Case Prompt: A restaurant has seen a drop in customers in the last 3 months. Identify possible
reasons. Approach: Break into categories – Food quality, Service, Pricing, Location, Competition,
Ambience. Sample Analysis: Reviews show complaints about slow service and new competitor
opened nearby. Recommendation: Improve service speed, offer loyalty discounts, promote on food
delivery apps.
Day 2 – Profitability Basics
Case Prompt: A coffee shop’s profits have fallen over the last quarter. Identify reasons. Approach:
Profit = Revenue – Costs. Revenue = Price × Quantity. Costs = Fixed + Variable. Sample Analysis:
Quantity fell 10% (footfall dropped due to competitor). Raw material costs rose 5%.
Recommendation: Offer discounts, renegotiate supplier contracts, add new products.
Day 3 – Profitability Advanced
Case Prompt: An airline’s profits are falling despite an increase in passengers. Why? Approach:
Check Revenue (ticket price, ancillary revenue) and Costs (fuel, staff, maintenance). Sample
Analysis: Ticket prices dropped due to heavy discounts. Fuel costs rose 15%. Recommendation:
Adjust pricing strategy, introduce premium services, optimize fuel contracts.
Day 4 – Guesstimates
Case Prompt: Estimate the number of Uber rides per day in Mumbai. Approach: Population of
Mumbai (~20M) → % using Uber daily (~5%) → Avg 1 ride per user. Sample Analysis: 20M × 5% =
1M rides/day (rough order of magnitude). Recommendation: Market is large, growth possible by
targeting non-users with promotions.
Day 5 – Customer Churn
Case Prompt: A telecom operator is losing customers. Why? Approach: Analyze Customer
Segments, Pricing, Network quality, Competitors, Service. Sample Analysis: Most churn from
prepaid youth customers → cheaper competitor plans. Recommendation: Launch competitive youth
plans, improve service quality, offer bundles.
Day 6 – Market Entry
Case Prompt: A pizza brand wants to enter Bangalore. Should they? Approach: Market size/growth,
Competition, Customer preference, Cost structure, Risks. Sample Analysis: Market growing 12%
YoY. Heavy competition from Domino’s & Pizza Hut. Recommendation: Enter with niche strategy
(healthy pizzas), aggressive digital marketing.
Day 7 – Review
Case Prompt: 1) Profitability decline in retail store. 2) Customer churn in telecom. Approach: Apply
frameworks from Days 2–5. Sample Analysis: Retail – revenue per customer dropped. Telecom –
prepaid churn due to price. Recommendation: Retail – upselling. Telecom – targeted loyalty offers.
Day 8 – Data Driven
Case Prompt: Retailer’s Q3 sales fell in the North region (given sales data table). Approach: Break
by region, product, time. Identify outliers. Sample Analysis: Sales fell mainly in electronics in North
→ competitor launched cheaper phones. Recommendation: Run promotions in electronics, bundle
with accessories.
Day 9 – Optimization
Case Prompt: Airline must decide how many economy vs business seats to sell. Approach:
Revenue per seat × Seats – Costs. Consider demand elasticity. Sample Analysis: Business seats
give higher margin but limited demand. Recommendation: Maintain flexible allocation, dynamic
pricing.
Day 10 – Profitability + Data
Case Prompt: Retailer’s profits fell, analyze product/region sales data. Approach: Combine
profitability tree with sales data insights. Sample Analysis: Apparel margins shrank in South region.
Recommendation: Reduce discounts in South, renegotiate supplier costs.
Day 11 – Strategy
Case Prompt: Pharma company wants to launch a new drug. What factors matter? Approach:
Market size, Regulatory barriers, Competition, R&D; costs, Distribution. Sample Analysis: Market
large but high entry cost. Competitors already present. Recommendation: Partner with local
distributor, target niche disease segment.
Day 12 – Guesstimates Advanced
Case Prompt: Estimate number of toothpaste tubes sold annually in India. Approach: India ~1.4B
people → Avg family size 4 → 350M households. Avg 1 tube/month. Sample Analysis: 350M × 12 =
4.2B tubes/year. Recommendation: Huge market, growth possible in rural penetration.
Day 13 – Mock
Case Prompt: Case 1 – Profitability (Airline). Case 2 – Churn (Telecom). Approach: Apply full
structure within 30–40 mins. Sample Analysis: Airline → rising costs. Telecom → price war.
Recommendation: Airline – optimize routes. Telecom – youth-focused offers.
Day 14 – Weak Spot Review
Case Prompt: Redo cases where you struggled. Approach: Identify weak frameworks
(Profitability/Churn/Strategy). Sample Analysis: Practice additional guesstimates + data
interpretation. Recommendation: Solidify basics before final mock.
Day 15 – Final Simulation
Case Prompt: 3 cases → Profitability decline, Market entry, Data-driven churn. Approach: Solve like
real interview, 30 mins each, structured communication. Sample Analysis: Apply frameworks and
insights learned. Recommendation: Deliver executive summaries: Insight → Implication →
Recommendation.