SWITCH function in Google Sheets - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants a quick way to categorize sales regions into performance levels based on region codes.

📊 Data: You have a list of sales regions identified by codes (e.g., N for North, S for South, E for East, W for West) and their total sales.

🎯 Deliverable: Create a new column that uses the SWITCH function to assign performance categories: 'High' for North and East, 'Medium' for South, 'Low' for West, and 'Unknown' for any other codes.

Sample Data

Region Code	Total Sales
N	12000
S	8000
E	15000
W	5000
C	7000
N	13000
S	9000
E	16000

1

Step 1: Insert a new column next to 'Total Sales' and name it 'Performance Category'.

Expected Result

A new empty column ready for the formula.

2

Step 2: In the first cell under 'Performance Category' (e.g., C2), enter the SWITCH formula to categorize regions.

=SWITCH(A2, "N", "High", "E", "High", "S", "Medium", "W", "Low", "Unknown")

Expected Result

For region code 'N', the cell shows 'High'.

3

Step 3: Copy the formula down the entire 'Performance Category' column to apply it to all rows.

Drag the fill handle from C2 down to C9.

Expected Result

Each row shows the correct performance category based on the region code.

Final Result

Region Code | Total Sales | Performance Category
---------------------------------------------
N           | 12000      | High
S           | 8000       | Medium
E           | 15000      | High
W           | 5000       | Low
C           | 7000       | Unknown
N           | 13000      | High
S           | 9000       | Medium
E           | 16000      | High

✓North and East regions are categorized as High performers.

✓South region is categorized as Medium performer.

✓West region is categorized as Low performer.

✓Any other region codes are labeled as Unknown.

Bonus Challenge

Modify the SWITCH formula to also assign 'Very High' to region code 'NE' (Northeast) and 'Very Low' to 'SW' (Southwest).

Show Hint

Add more pairs inside the SWITCH function before the default value, like "NE", "Very High", "SW", "Very Low".