Insights Blog

Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad, a leader in marketing management principles, died on April 16, 2010 of a previously undiagnosed lung illness at age 68. In his book The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Prahalad cast the world's roughly two billion impoverished citizens not as lacking any purchasing power, but as a customer segment with unique needs for value and price. Segmentation is a foundational step in the Organic Growth Framework, and many companies followed Prahalad's guidance successfully to enter emerging markets. In one case he consulted with a global brand to produce small, individual packets of shampoo.

Gaining market share is often top-of-mind for many executives. It is a simple metric to understand and visualize, it is usually tracked on an industry-basis and it usually communicates a sense of achievement when the share numbers are looking good. However exclusive focus on market share can also mask numbers that really count – profitability or long-term brand health. In today’s economic environment, many companies are lured into cutting prices to gain market share. The article in the WSJon H-P’s latest moves is an illustrative example.