Part II of the Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips for Students
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips: Study and Understand the Marketing Research
This is the most critical part of the Marketplace 6 Business Simulation. The better your group understands the marketing research, the better choices they can make. The majority of the game relies on the ability to translate and adapt the marketing research data that the algorithms present you. Products and advertisements should be created toward what the target markets are most interested in.
Purchase any marketing research data that pertains to your target markets and countries you are selling too. Contemplate buying research in markets you have not entered for future reference. For margin of error, think back to your statistics classes.
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips: Do not be Risk-Averse
Someone from the winning team said it best in their final presentation. They mentioned that in order to make money, you got to spend money. This is true in the Marketplace 6 Business Simulation. The top two performing teams…including us… were heavy spenders. The biggest difference was the winning group incorporated the 4 P’s better than we did with more extensive product distribution.
Erring on the side of caution will not only prevent your company from expanding, but risk running it further into the red. Stalling operations will not attract new customers. The Risk-averse company will fall behind the companies that are spending preliminary funds.
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips: Do not be too risky
You don’t want to be risk-averse; you also don’t want to be like me, the Daniel Snyder of Marketplace 6 Business Simulation. Keep your aggressiveness in check.
The idea behind aggressive play was that, while not creating an immediate profit, it would create market share for the company. When the market starts heating up, consumers would remember you. That philosophy is not sound in this game. If you advertise too much, it will negatively impact your profitability and your market share. Too many sales representatives will not sell more products.
In my teams’ simulation during quarter six, we had twenty-six sales professionals, spent over $725,000 in advertising, and we sold 636 products in the workhorse market. Obviously, we dropped out of that market, but kept the product available with almost no support. In quarter eight, our workhorse computer sold 521 products while spending nothing on advertising and having five sales professionals. . It’s not always about spending money on advertising and sales representatives in the Marketplace 6 Business Simulation!
Consider the circumstances your company is in, including if they are in a new market or if it’s a recession.
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips: Pricing
The Marketplace 6 Business Simulation requires a good pricing strategy. If you company prices its product too low, your profits decrease, possibly losing money. If your company prices its product too high, consumers may be reluctant to purchase. There are three pricing methods I suggest. .
The simplest method is competitive pricing. You price your products amongst your competition’s prices. You need to do thorough research on your competition’s pricing and the prices of different markets. What New York may pay $4,000, Beijing may only pay $3,300.
Price skimming is an effective pricing strategy. Price skimmers set their prices at the maximum of what their target market is willing pay, possibly a tad higher. Price skimmers rely on products with exceptional quality. They also hope that the high price is perceived by consumers as higher quality. Price skimming is especially ideal for high-cost markets whose main priority is not prices.
Contrary to price skimming, penetration pricing relies on setting prices below the competition. The objective is to gain market share from lower prices. Your price will increase as sales and company credibility rises. It can also be used to prevent competitors from entering the market.
Another pricing strategy you may want to implement in these suggestions is psychological pricing. When I played the Marketplace 6 Business Simulation, I made an effort to set $3,000 item to $2,999. In real life, this is supposed to appeal to customers’ senses because of the first digit being lower. In the simulation, I felt that psychological pricing made the difference in price judgment points from consumers.
You know how companies use rebates? The rebate is supposed to offset the extra cost they initially charge for a product. Companies aren’t stupid, however, and they know that people often lose or forget to mail in their rebates. Keep this in mind when you decide upon rebates.
Your company can be high-cost producers, low-cost producers, copy-cat producers, or just use various methods with each different target market.
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips: First-Mover Strategy
The best companies in the Marketplace 6 Business Simulation make the first move. Successful first-mover companies will have a step ahead of the competition. Other companies can copycat attack, but the first-mover will be at least one quarter ahead in distinguishing their brand from the competition.
The first-mover strategy is for the confident team that prefers risk-taking over risk-aversion. These companies take advantage of opportunities and markets before other competitors realize their value.
More tips? Check out these!
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips for Students, Introduction
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips for Students, Part I
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips for Students, Part III
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips for Students, Part IV
Marketplace 6 Business Simulation Tips for Students, Part V
