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Exam CBAP topic 1 question 289 discussion

Actual exam question from IIBA's CBAP
Question #: 289
Topic #: 1
[All CBAP Questions]

A local manufacturer that serves about 1000 retail stores is experiencing a slow yet steady decrease of its customer base over the last couple of years. Attributing the situation to increased competition, management has hired a team of sales representatives to attract new clients and promote the manufacturer's products.
However, after four months there is still no progress. Management has engaged a business analyst (BA) to investigate this issue.
What should the BA do first?

  • A. Perform market research to identify on which competitive advantages the sales team should focus
  • B. Create a training program to close potential skill gaps for the sales team
  • C. Review historic sales and related data to understand what is happening to the customer base
  • D. Identify appropriate training providers and send out a request for proposal
Show Suggested Answer Hide Answer
Suggested Answer: C 🗳️

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MJeidah
Highly Voted 3 years ago
Ans is C. Attributing the situation to increased competition is an assumption of d management. D BA needs to dig a little deeper to come to a confirmed conclusion on d actual reason behind d decline in customer base and then, proffer more suitable recommendations on appropriate solutions.
upvoted 6 times
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NgocThanh
Most Recent 1 week, 3 days ago
Selected Answer: C
Before taking any action, the BA needs to understand the root cause of the issue. Reviewing historical sales data and related information (such as sales performance, customer retention rates, and purchasing patterns) will help identify why the customer base is shrinking. This analysis will provide insight into whether the issue lies in market competition, internal sales processes, product offerings, or customer satisfaction.
upvoted 1 times
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Demo311
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Selected Answer: C
C As first BA needs to find the root cause
upvoted 2 times
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Farooq_95
7 months, 3 weeks ago
Selected Answer: A
C is correct because data mining needs to be done on the historic data including the data of four months after hiring of sales representative to discover insights into potential reasons for decline in customer base. Based on that analysis, further actions can be recommended. A is incorrect because market research works well to focus on competitive advantages once BA is sure that the exact reason for decline in customer base is focusing the wrong competitive strategies that is leading to unfruitful results and to be sure, analysis of sales and historic data needs to be done.
upvoted 1 times
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giorgib22
1 year ago
market research is time consuming and require knowledge and finances, and the question is asked what to do first, of course, looking into the data first isright decision.
upvoted 1 times
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xiaoyangwu
1 year, 2 months ago
Selected Answer: C
After 3 months there is still no progress, this indicates that the root cause of decrease may not competitive, maybe there are some other reasons. So I think A is not correct. I prefer C, as it need to find the root cause firstly.
upvoted 1 times
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Dillon91
1 year, 11 months ago
I believe A: V3 pg 63 used as a source of business analysis information by comparing a specific process, system, product, service, or structure with some external baseline, such as a similar organization or baseline provided by an industry association. Market analysis is used to determine what customers want and what competitors provide
upvoted 1 times
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Deudo_
2 years, 3 months ago
We don't need to review historic sales and related data anymore, we already have a declining trend as stated in the question -' However, after four months there is still no progress' The next logical thing to do is to perform market research. According to Babok 10.4.2 Market analysis involves researching customers in order to determine the products and services that they need or want, the factors that influence their decisions to purchase, and the competitors that exist in the market. The objective of market analysis is to acquire this information in order to support the various decision-making processes within an organization. Market analysis can also help determine when to exit a market. It may be used if partnering, merging, or divesting are viable alternatives for an enterprise.
upvoted 4 times
MyBJ
1 year, 4 months ago
Correct answer is C. I thought in this line also, especially as this is a tricky question. The question however did not state if the BA was to investigate the failure of the Sales team or the declining customer base which suggests that the A option is not fool-proof. Option C looks like a safer and more reasonable answer as it can capture both the sales efforts and customer retention. My final answer is C.
upvoted 1 times
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Nekdre
2 years, 10 months ago
A should be the answer because market research involves researching customers in order to determine the products and services that they need or want , and the factors that influence their decisions to purchase and the competitors that exist in the market
upvoted 1 times
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saeedddddd
3 years, 1 month ago
the right answer is a
upvoted 1 times
786NB786
3 years ago
Hey Saeedddd, can you validate why answer A - I was leaning towards option C.
upvoted 2 times
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