The 540 Professional Consulting Engagement: Melissa Barry

The Product-Market Fit

Melissa Barry is another outstanding student from our MBA 37 class, a talented and accomplished

individual who has earned the respect and admiration of our entire Otago MBA family.

Melissa came into our Otago MBA with a PhD in neuroscience and little experience in business: she learned quickly and won our David S Wright Memorial Prize for the highest level of academic improvement in the 2013 class.  Now, she has selected a global high-tech 540 client, an industry-leading company well-aligned with her background in medial sciences, as well as her career ambition of working in a business strategy / market analysis position for a technology systems company. 

Melissa's background in science has placed her in an advantageous position to perform well in her 540 consulting engagement: she possesses refined conceptual reasoning and writing abilities.  Melissa submitted an acceptable project proposal in the first draft (an uncommon accomplishment) and her project included complexities which deserve discussion here.

As Melissa quickly identified, this project is a product-market analysis (the two central concepts of her project), with both the product and market requiring precise definitions based on her data analyses.  The complexities arise owing to the nature of the company and market. For instance, the product deals with the cutting edge of science and science ultimately wins. So, the needs and desires of customers may not fully matter, if science says that the future of the market (and product) requires her client to move in a particular direction: i.e, remaining on the cutting edge of knowledge. 

The client's strategy will also influence the direction they go with this product.  Melissa's client is positioned as the top-of-the-line, technological leader in the industry and will need to offer the best product available regardless of whether it fits all customers.  The company's commitment to customer service may play an important role in bridging the gap between "what the client's product can do" and what less intellectually advanced customers are prepared to do. Other customers may not be able to financially keep up and thereby not constitute a viable market for Melissa's client. 

This last issue raises questions about what a market rollout of the product should look like. While, an initial definition of the intended geographic market may emphasize size and profitability, Melissa will need to assess whether all markets are equal.  Some geographic markets may be easier to penetrate than others based on factors that make them more receptive, progressive or influential in driving future sales. 

This point raises questions pertaining to Melissa's methods and particularly the data used in her analyses: she may not be able to rely solely on data from the within the client's organization (i.e., data that capture the current situation).  If the project involves forecasting trends, then Melissa will need to gather interview data from industry experts (or thought leaders) concerning projected trends in the client's science technology, as well as the attractiveness of target markets.

I would like to emphasize that Melissa Barry is off to a fantastic start with her 540 Professional Consulting Engagement. Her experience in our programme (repositioning her career) and her 540 project (well aligned with her career interests) may represent the ideal model we aspire to deliver to our students. My comments here are simply intended to provoke all of our students' thinking about the kinds of complex business problems we routinely address in the 540 experience.

Cheers,

David