Alexandra Gutow knows what to expect from her Marketing I course. It's supposed to give undergraduate Tepper students an overview so they can decide whether they want to concentrate on marketing within their business majors. What Gutow doesn't expect is her professor's approach. After she and her classmates study basic marketing principles and how to apply them in business, the professor, Kinshuk Jerath, splits the students into teams to test out their newly acquired knowledge. Team d-3 members-Gutow, Megan Larcom, Haris Krijestorac, Christopher McGowan, Mu Li, and Adam Klein-are sent off campus to consult with the head of a Pittsburgh-based company and develop a marketing plan.

Somewhat daunted by the real-world assignment, yet excited and inspired, Gutow and the rest of the Team d-3 students meet with David Eson of Isidore Foods. His holistically motivated grocery company is geared toward bringing local produce and products directly to consumers without the intervention of large supermarket chains and high-priced specialty stores.

Eson tells the students that his operation is growing quickly. Isidore's first delivery in July 2007 involved 150 customers; today the company has more than 1,500. Keeping up has become a challenge, he admits frankly. As the founder and owner, he still makes deliveries, so he would welcome practical solutions. Gutow and her team hit the ground running, conducting surveys and convening focus groups, chronicling the customer experience and overall satisfaction. They also examine Isidore's distribution network. Gutow realizes that these exercises help her better understand the way a small business works and how Isidore Foods could best prepare for future growth.

Team d-3 puts what they learned into a 39-page marketing plan and a class presentation that Eson attends. The students recommend improvements in Web site navigation, customer interface, and signage. Team d-3 also highlights the importance for Eson to step back and manage Isidore's growth, rather than performing more mundane tasks such as making deliveries. He should pursue group customers (who would order in bulk), expand his offerings, provide better product descriptions, and even offer recipe ideas.

The students are awarded first place in the class for their efforts. They also captured Eson's full attention. He decides to implement several of the plan's recommendations. He says he was so impressed by the students' initiatives that he gladly plans to work with more Carnegie Mellon student marketing teams in the future.
- Judi Vitale (HS'78)