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Teaching notes · lesson 1 · a 20-minute class

Value share and volume share

Two ways to count your slice of the market, and why they part company. Tracks: Strategy, Pricing.

Open the lesson

Learning goalsBy the end, students can

  • Define volume share and value share and say which one boards usually target, and why.
  • Explain why a price move shifts the two shares by different amounts.
  • Read a share chart and say whether a brand is priced above or below the category average.

The 20-minute classMinute by minute, with the lab on the projector

  1. 0:003 min, to 3:00

    Cold open

    Put two headlines on the board: "Brightwater gains share" and "Brightwater loses share". Tell the room both are true for the same quarter. Ask how.

  2. 3:004 min, to 7:00

    The idea

    Define both shares in one line each. Work the quiz example aloud: 20% of units at a price 10% above average is about 22% of value.

  3. 7:005 min, to 12:00

    Lab on the projector

    Open the lab. Move Brightwater's price up 5%, then 10%, then down 10%. Ask the room to call which share moves more before each move.

  4. 12:003 min, to 15:00

    Pairs

    Pairs look at the premium rival's bars and explain why its value share sits above its volume share.

  5. 15:003 min, to 18:00

    Discussion

    Take the first discussion question. Push for the link to revenue and to factory load.

  6. 18:002 min, to 20:00

    Check

    Students answer the lesson's three questions on their phones. Collect the one most missed.

Discussion questionsWith what a strong answer covers

  1. Your board sets a value share target. What could you do to hit it that a volume share target would not reward?

    A strong answer covers
    • Raising price can hold or grow value share while units fall.
    • Value share is closer to net sales, so it is the board's money view.
    • Notes the risk: fewer buyers now can mean weaker memory and share later.

  2. A brand's value share is well below its volume share. What does that tell you about it?

    A strong answer covers
    • It sells at a discount to the category average.
    • It may be buying units with price or deals.
    • Asks whether it is a deliberate value position or margin leaking away.

  3. Why might an investor read a value share gain from price cuts as weaker than one from more buyers?

    A strong answer covers
    • Price cuts can be matched and reversed, so the gain may not last.
    • Lower price per unit means lower margin per unit.
    • More buyers is broader, more durable growth.

The lab as homeworkAbout 15 minutes for a student

Use the lab to find how far apart Brightwater's two shares can be pushed by price alone, and explain it.

  1. Set the price to +15% and note both shares.
  2. Set it to −15% and note both shares.
  3. Compare each with the starting price.

They answer: At +15% and −15%, which of Brightwater's shares moved more, by how many points, and why?

A strong answer covers
  • Volume share moves more than value share in both directions.
  • Quotes the lab's figures for both settings.
  • Explains it with price per unit: each unit is worth more (or less), which cushions value share.

Students also answer the lesson's three questions. Their score is worked out on the server from their answers.

Set this lab as homework

Students open a link, do the lab, answer the three questions and write what they found. You see each student's quiz score and finding on your class page.

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