Solution with different approach

Question

Hey everyone,

i am still at the beginning of learning how to structure a case and solve it. I tried this case and came to a totally different approach.

My approach would be:
1. Understand the reason for Revenue decrease better

Herefore i divided the Problem into 4 parts i wanted to know more about:

Revenue (Pricing model, units/services sold)
Costs (Fix and var. costs, change in cost over the past years)
Costumers (Satisfied with product? Switch in demand/interests? Less potential costumers because of less pets for example)
Competitors (New competitors or old with increasing market share? New business models from competitors)

2. Give recommendations

Unfortunately the solution only gives me one way of solving this case. Therefore i have two questions:

Can someone experienced may tell me if this approach would be worth a try or should i directly go with a solution based approach and why?
What would happen in a real case interview? How would the interviewer may react? Would it be a directly failure or do they normally have numbers for the most common approaches?

Hope someone can help me.

Best Regards
Arne

Answer 1

Hey Arne, good on you for thinking independently. Your approach isn’t “wrong,” but there are a few things worth adjusting as you get deeper into case prep.

First — your instinct to break down the problem is good. But in real case interviews, it’s usually more helpful to start with a higher-level structure:

Quantitative drivers (e.g., revenue, cost)
Qualitative factors (e.g., customers, competitors, company/operations, etc.)

Revenue and cost would typically fall under the quantitative bucket, and customers/competitors under qualitative. That framing keeps your structure clean, MECE, and easy to pivot from — which is critical in live interviews.

Second — every case is different, so yes, you’ll need to modify your structure depending on the context.

But starting with memorized frameworks is totally fine at the beginning — they give you muscle memory. Just don’t stop there. Learn to adapt them based on the actual problem.

Lastly - as for real interviews:

Interviewers aren’t looking for one correct path. What they want is:

A logical structure
Clear prioritization
A willingness to adapt if the data tells a different story

If your structure is sound and you can explain your thinking, they’ll engage with you. But if it’s messy or unfocused, they’ll step in and start nudging — which isn’t a great sign.

So: start from a structured, top-down approach, then get into the weeds. You’re thinking in the right direction — just tighten how you frame and communicate it.

Good luck!