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Analyze why did revenue flattened

Question: Business in North America and Europe is growing at the similar rate.At some point NA revenue flattened out while europen markets continued to grow.How do we analyse 1)why revenue flattened 

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Top answer
Vlad
Coach
on Dec 10, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

It's impossible to answer your question without knowing what business you are talking about. You should start every case by asking clarifying questions (Quantifiable objective, nature of the business and key revenue streams, etc)

Best

Ian
Coach
on Dec 10, 2020
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

So, first it would be good to know what business we're talking about! That said, in general, you want to take the following approach.

  • Determine whether this is industry-wide or company specific
  • Break down revenues into logical segments (by product, geography, etc.).
  • Look again at overall trends across each segment and split by price and volume
  • Aim to determine across the biggest trends/segments, what is actually happening (i.e. price war, competition, x customer group no longer buying, etc. etc.)

General Case/Framework Advice

How do I use frameworks in a case?

If there's anything to remember in this process, is that cases don't exist just because. They have come about because of a real need to simulate the world you will be in when you are hopefully hired. As such, remember that they are a simplified version of what we do, and they test you in those areas.

As such, remember that a framework is a guide, not a mandate. In the real-world, we do not go into a client and say "right, we have a framework that says we need to look at x, y, and z and that's exactly what we're going to do". Rather, we come in with a view, a hypothesis, a plan of attack. The moment this view is created, it's wrong! Same with your framework. The point is that it gives us and you a starting point. We can say "right, part 1 of framework is around this. Let's dig around and see if it helps us get to the answer". If it does, great, we go further (but specific elements of it will certainly be wrong). If it doesn't, we move on.

So, in summary, learn your frameworks, use the ones you like, add/remove to them if the specific case calls for it, and always be prepared to be wrong. Focus rather on having a view, refering back to the initial view to see what is still there and where you need to dive into next to solve the problem.

Gaurav
Coach
on Dec 11, 2020
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 750+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2)| The Only 360° coach(Ex-McKinsey+Certified Coach+Active recruiter)

Hi there!
Could you please give us more details about which business you mean?
All the best,

GB

Deleted user
on Dec 13, 2020
Hi Thanks for replying, the company manages business of online advertising network. Thanks
Deleted user
on Dec 12, 2020

I'd go about this in three steps:

  • You want to understand the different revenue streams, so ask clarifying questions: What are the different sources of revenue? What is the company selling? Products/services/after sales, etc. You might also add a question regarding warranty covered returns if you hear anything that suggests this might be a relevant topic for the company.
  • Then the revenue is simply the product of volume and price by product/service within each revenue stream. If you get this data, you can easily calculate if the driver is a flattening of volume, a decline in like-for-like price or a shift from higher price products to lower price products
  • Once you know the driver, you can strat brainstorming around the root cause using a tailored framework that fits your earlier findings.

I hope this helps!

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Clara
Coach
on Dec 14, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

This could perfectly be a case, however, can you provide a bit more detail? You will never have it just like this, with no more info

Hope it helps!

Best, 

Clara

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