INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT,

NIRMA UNIVERSITY
MBA-FT (2024-26)
Comparative Response Matrix

Proposal of individual assignment, in partial

fulfilment of requirements of MM1 course
Submitted to: - Professor Pradeep Kautish
Submitted by: - Khushi Pujara 24MBA321
(section-c)
 INTRODUCTION
A company should always consider how
its competitors react to the actions
taken by the company. The
Comparative Response Matrix helps in
predicting the same as to how a
company’s action impacts its
competitor’s reaction.

Comparative Response Matrix

Here, the coefficient ‘C’ represents the

probability of company B’s reaction to
company A’s move.
‘p’ represents the price.
‘q’ represents the quality.
‘a’ represents the advertisement.
HOW TO STUDY THE TABLE:
Vertical columns represent the actions
taken by Company A in terms of Price,
Quality and Advertising.
Horizontal rows represent the reaction
of Company B to the actions taken by
Company B in terms of Price, Quality
and Advertising.
From the table we get 9 parameters on
which the companies A and B have
action-reaction rapport, which are, Cpp,
Cpq, Cpa, Cqp, Cqq, Cqa, Cap, Caq,
Caa.
Here, interpretation of Cpp is probability
of company B’s reaction in its pricing of
product to the change in price done by
Company A.
 1) Cpp (Rin VS Tide)

Company overview
o Hindustan Unilever is a British
based company, having
headquarters in Mumbai. It was first
named as Hindustan Vanaspati
Manufacturing Co. and followed by
mergers, later renamed as
Hindustan Unilever limited in June
 2007. It deals in wide range of
products such as food & beverages,
personal care, cleaning agents,
water purifiers and other fast
moving consumer goods.
o Procter & Gamble is American
based multinational company
dealing in personal health care such
as grooming, beauty, fabric and
home care etc. It is headquartered in
Ohio. Earlier it used to deal in food
and beverage as well.

Price War
o Initially, the price of tide plus
detergent was set to Rs 80.
Counteracting to which, HUL,
reduced the price of its detergent,
Rin, to Rs. 70.
o This prompted Procter & Gamble to
produce a lower variant of Tide,
which was introduced at Rs. 50. In a
competitive move, HUL slashed the
 prices of Rin by 30%, which brought
down its price to Rs. 50, matching
the price of P&G’s Tide.

Final remarks
This series of actions highlights the
competitive pricing strategies of both
the competitors to retain their share in
the detergent market.

2) Cpq (Meesho vs. Myntra)

 Company overview
o Fashnear Technologies was
founded by two IIT Delhi graduates
in December 2015 as an on-demand
delivery service such as Zomato and
Swiggy but in fashion industry. Their
startup failed and they came up with
Meesho in 2016 by revamping their
idea and giving platform to sellers,
resellers and customers to buy and
sell from local shops. It is heavily
relied on social media tools such as
Facebook and Instagram for
promotion and marketing.
o Myntra was founded in 2010 by
Mukesh Bansal, Vineet Saxena and
Ashutosh Lawania to provide on-
demand personalized gift items. In
2011, Myntra started selling lifestyle
and fashion products from different
brands and closed down on
personalisation. It was then acquired
by Flipkart in 2014.
Price vs. Quality
o Myntra plays its game on quality by
selling products from top brands and
price ranging from moderate to high.
It targets its customer base from
semi-urban and urban areas that can
afford its products.
o Meesho focuses on affordability with
its price ranging from low to
moderate. Its target market consists
of price sensitive consumers from
small towns and cities. Here the
suppliers are from local cities and
resell their products through online
social media platforms such as
 WhatsApp, Facebook, and
Instagram.
Final Remarks
If a consumer is looking for quality
and brand value, then one should go
for Myntra as it provides quality
emphasising on price ranging from
moderate to high targeting urban
consumers. Whereas, if one is looking
for affordability and wide range of
variety then he might opt for Meesho
as it caters to the needs of price
sensitive consumers.
3) Cpa (McDonald VS Burger
King)
 Company Overview
o McDonald was founded in 1940 by
Richard and Maurice McDonald as a
hamburger stand and was later
turned to a fast-food chain. In 1961,
a franchisee agent, Ray Kroc bought
out the McDonald brothers and
turned it into a multinational fast-
food chain.
o Burger King Corporation was
founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King
headquartered in Florida, USA. After
it ran into financial crisis, it was
purchased by two Miami based
 franchisees, David Edgerton and
James McLamore, who then renamed
it as Burger King. After changing its
ownership for few times, it was then
taken to public in 2002.

Price VS. Advertisement

o Burger king in a bold strategic
advertisement, introduced a king
crown with tagline “have it your
way” which had an impact on
McDonald’s pricing strategy.
o In response to the advertising
strategy of Burger King, McDonald
formulated its pricing strategy and
focused on affordability and variety.
It focused on app-based promotions
such as offering Buy-One-Get-One
free deals and Free Fries Friday on
purchases through app.
Final remarks
These series of actions demonstrate
how McDonald has revamped its
pricing strategies focusing on app-
based purchases and enhancing
digital promotions in response to
Burger King’s bold advertisement
strategies. Both the companies have
effectively retained their customer
share and have maintained a
competitive edge.

4)Cqp (Zudio VS. Westside)

Company Overview
o Westside was established in 1998 as
a part of tata retail enterprise ltd.
(TRENT LTD.) and is one of the
biggest and fastest growing fashion
chains in India. It has 97% in house
designed brands and focuses on
quality in various segments such as
women, men and children’s
apparels, beauty products, home
decors, fragrance etc. it has its
presence in 91 cities with 232
stores.
o Zudio was established in 2016 by
TRENT Ltd. That is tata retail
enterprise ltd. And is gaining
popularity among young Indian
consumers. It focuses on
affordability and accessibility as well
as coping with fast fashion changes.
In just 8 years of establishment, it
has its presence in 161 cities with
545 stores.
Price vs. quality
 o Westside focuses on providing high
quality products with better material
and fabric, more attention to details
in designing and finishing. Its price
ranges from moderate to higher. It
also collaborates with fashion
designers.
o Whereas, Zudio focuses on
affordability and trendy fashion. Its
quality is decent but not as good as
compared to westside. Zudio is
known for budget friendly fashion, as
its prices are generally lower than
westside and is suitable for everyday
wear but may not be as durable.
Final remark
If one is looking for budget friendly and
daily wear trendy fits then Zudio is an
ideal deal but if one’s focus is on quality
rather than price then westside is
suitable option as you can wide range
of fashion options along with higher
quality but prices are a bit higher than
Zudio.
 5) Cqq (Toyota VS Honda)

Company Overview
 Toyota Motor Corporation was
founded on 28th august 1937 by
Kiichiro Toyoda. It has its
headquarters in Toyota city, Aichi,
Japan. It is the largest producer of
automobiles in the world,
manufacturing about 10 million
 vehicles a year. Toyota was praised
for introducing fuel efficient and
hybrid vehicles such as Toyota prius
in 1997.
 Honda was incorporated on 24th
September, 1948 by Soichiro Honda
and is headquartered in Minato,
Tokyo, Japan. it is a Japanese
manufacturer of automobiles,
motorcycles, and better powered
equipment. It is one of the world’s
largest manufacturers reaching 400
million productions by 2019.
Quality vs. quality
 Toyota prius was among the first
cars to have hybrid fuel system. It
focuses on eco-friendly materials
and prioritizes efficiency over
performance. Its advanced hybrid
fuel technology provides excellent
fuel economy.
 Whereas Honda accord is more
durable and reliable with longevity.
 It’s made up with more premium and
high-quality materials.
Final remarks
If one aspires to reduce carbon
footprints, focuses on fuel efficiency
and for those who do a lot of city
driving then Toyota prius is an ideal
choice but if one demands to have good
interiors with blend of performance and
comfort and those who value premium
driving feel, then Honda accord will be
the suitable option.

6)Cqa (Nestle vs. ITC )

 Company Overview
 Nestle is a Switzerland based brand
headquartered in Vevey,
Switzerland.it is a multinational food
and drink conglomerate.it has 447
factories, operating in 189
countries.it deals in processed food
items, coffee, dairy, baby foods etc.
 ITC Limited was established in
1910 as imperial tobacco company
of India and in 2001 it was renamed
as ITC LTD. where it doesn’t have
 any acronym now. It is an Indian
conglomerate headquartered in
Kolkata, India.

Quality vs advertisement.
o In 2015, Maggi was banned and
faced quality crisis due to alleged
excessive use of lead. Because of
this, Maggi had to face a massive
reputation hit and was severely
criticised. But Maggi made a
comeback by improving its safety
measures, and regained customer
trust through transparency and
quality measures.
o Yippee, launched by ITC, is known
for its innovation as non-sticky
noodles and unique flavours. Its
round block shaped noodles
differentiate yippee from its
competitors. Yippee maintained its
quality standards and elevated its
 image when Maggi crisis happened,
to promote its safety measures and
establishing trust among customers
to opt for better alternatives.
Final remarks
Maggi showcased how to strongly
recover from quality crisis by improving
quality measures and targeted
improvements. Whereas yippee
captured the market share by
leveraging advertisement when its
competitors faced crisis.
7) Cap (Airtel VS Jio)

Company overview
 Jio went public on 5th September
2016 and is the largest mobile
network operator in India and third
largest mobile network operator in
the world.it is an Indian
telecommunication company
headquartered in Navi Mumbai,
Maharashtra. It offers 4G, 4G+, and
5G services.
 Bharti Airtel Limited was founded
in 1995 by Sunil Bharti Mittal. It is
one of the world’s leading
telecommunications headquartered
in Delhi. It operates in 18 countries
across South Asia and Africa. It
started off with mobile services and
then expanded into broadband,
entertainment, Airtel XStream etc.

Advertisement vs price
 Jio entered Indian market in
September 2016 with a disruptive
 advertising strategy such as free
voice calls and internet data for first
six months and the charging very
affordable prices for the same. They
did extensive advertising across tv
campaigns, digital media, and print
to create awareness and attract
subscribers.
 To counter Jio’s advertisement
campaign, airtel Bharti came up very
competitive prices and introduced
plans like Rs. 399 for 84 days with
1.5 GB per day and started including
OTT subscriptions into its plans such
as Airtel XStream, Amazon Prime
and Wynk Music.
Final remarks
Airtel Bharti is a major player in the
telecom sector and after Jio’s entry, it
was shaken for a bit to cope up with
such lower data prices and to remain
competitive and gain its market share
back, it revamped its strategies and
leveraged technology along with digital
services to enhance customer
experience and gain their trust.
8) Caq (Intel vs AMD)

Company Overview
 Intel is an American multinational
and technological company
headquartered in Santa Clara,
California. It is one of the world’s
largest semiconductor and chip
manufacturers. It produces and sells
computer components for business
and consumer markets.
 AMD was founded in 1969 by jerry
sanders and a group of other
professionals in the same field. It is
headquartered in Santa Clara,
California. AMD’s product line
includes microprocessors,
motherboard chipsets,
semiconductors, etc.

Advertisement vs quality
 In early 2000’s AMD experienced
growth because Athlon and
Opteron processors were a huge
hit and it focused heavily on
marketing often showcasing how
superior it was to its competitor,
Intel’s Pentium 4. AMD often
compared cost and performance of
its processors against Intel and
 targeted budget conscious
consumers.
 Intel’s respond to AMD’s
aggressive marketing was to
launch the core microarchitecture,
which enhanced functionality in
both single threaded and multi-
threaded performances.
Final remarks
 AMD’s aggressive marketing
strategies forced intel to make
improvements in its product quality
which led to enhanced performance
and efficiency on the part of intel’s
processors. The impact of AMD’s
success is evident in the intel’s
product development and pricing
strategies throughout the decade.

9) Caa (Pepsi VS Coca-Cola)

 Company overview
 Pepsi Co is operating globally since
1965. It is a leading American food
and beverage brand known for Pepsi
and Lays. The company operates in
more than 200 companies and
employing thousands of people, well
known for its innovation, strong
brand positioning and corporate
responsibility.
 Coca-Cola was established in 1886.
It’s a multinational beverage
company well known for its Coke,
Fanta, Sprite and Diet Coke.
 Recognised by extensive marketing
campaign and strong brand equity
with brand positioning.

Advertisement vs
Advertisement

 In a Halloween ad campaign Pepsi

ran social media and twitter ad
saying, “we wish you a scary
 Halloween” to simply imply that
being like coca cola would be scary.
Moreover, the company has
swapped the letters of coca cola to
cola coca to escape the legalities.
 Coca cola’s response to this ad
campaign was with the same
graphic saying that, “everyone
wants to be a hero”, implying that
Pepsi isn’t wearing a scary cape but
is trying to be hero like coca cola.
Final remarks
 The above advertisement rivalry
between the two companies
showcases how competitive
advertisement can be used to
engage audiences, create content
and a humorous touch to it shows
dynamic interplay between the two
brands.
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