Report for Marketing Simulation Game

In
Accessing and Creating Customer Value

Submitted to
Prof: Vinod Kumar

Submitted by
Nyein Wai (18XPGDM9)
Vate Marie (18XPGDM14)
Deepti Khatry (18XPGDM18)
Introduction
We have learnt that the goal of this game is to make the highest accumulated profits in long run.
In real market, marketing managers are normally hired to maximize the profitability of a firm.
Every team acting as marketing team should look to maximize accumulated profits over the eight
rounds of the simulation. So, the goal of our team is to be the leading team at the end of the
game. It is quite complex and requires a good understanding of competitive behavior and
payback on marketing investment.

Four Main Market Segments

We can clearly see that the game is based on a perceptual map, which represents four key
market segments. Any of these market segments can be selected as target markets. The
numbers within the market demand perceptual map represent sales volume/revenue for different
aspects of positioning.
It seems we are competing in a market where consumers make decisions mainly based upon
two attributes, quality and style. Therefore, the market in this game could be clothing, shoes
and/or fashion accessories, household furniture, and so on.
When we look at the perceptual map, we can see four key target markets. These are cells “A10”,
“D3”, “H3” and “I8”. These positioning cells are colored in a green color, indicating that they are
quite attractive for players. Yellow colored cells are moderately attractive and red colors cells are
less attractive. These cells represent the market demand and sales.
We must decide where to compete or where to position the products. Looking at the perceptual
map, we could see that Cell A10 is the most attractive, but this could be the most competitive and
it is most expensive to position there.
The “A10” cell represents the “status seekers” segment. They want the best quality product, with
the best style/look and are happy to pay for it. That’s why they are the largest segment (most
points) in the market. We have also noted that the surrounding cells are also quite attractive in
terms of game points. So, we launched a product A9 in our first round as it’s a best quality product
and consumers are ready to pay for it. We thought of spending on expensive product at first which
we can compensate on next rounds of the game.
The “D3” cell looks like the “style conscious” segment. This segment of consumers want a good
looking product that is quite appealing and socially acceptable, but are happy to forego a high
level of quality in order to purchase a more affordable product. But it is quite attractive market
and a lot of competitors may come there. So, we launched a product E3 in our first round as it’s
a high-quality product and thinking of consumers who are not concerned about the look. They
are ready to pay for it. We thought of spending on this product in first round thinking of medium
income group people and their needs and demands.
The “H3” cell represents the “budget conscious” market segment. This segment is happy to
accept both a lower level of quality and more basic style, most likely to purchase a lower cost and
more affordable product. But it is also very competitive market. Then, we launched a product as
I2 in second round thinking of needs of a common low-income group who just want their needs
to be fulfilled irrespective of the quality of style. They are happy with basic model. But later we
repositioned I2 to B9 as we could see more people are focused on high quality products with
some style on them and are also ready to pay for the same.
The final segment is centered around the “I8” positioning cell. This segment is the “quality
focused” segment – as they are seeking high quality products but are less concerned with the
style/look aspects of the product. We did not focus on this segment because of budget constraint
and highly competitive. We launched C3 is round 4 as it is socially acceptable and with high
demand. Later in round 5 we came up with one more high quality and fashionable product due
to high demand of consumers for such products.

4Ps
Price: We launched the product of high, medium and low price considering differing income group
consumers.
Product: Launched high and medium quality and fashionable products considering target
audience from different places.
Place : Launched high quality/Fashionable products for cities where we have most of the MNC’s
or entertainment hubs like Mumbai/Delhi/Bangalore and medium or basic quality products for
cities like Pune/Hyderabad etc considering people preference and choices in these cities.
Promotion : We could not relate promotion in this game.

Porter’s Five Forces

Using Porter’s Five Forces we can take a fair advantage of a strong position or improve a weak
one and avoid taking wrong steps.

Competitive Rivalry: We tried to launch the product which were not launched by any other
Teams or launched by one more team that is product A8 and A9.
Supplier Power: For products E3, B9,C3, the products were launched only by our team and
hence we as a supplier had power on supply fluctuation.
Buyer Power: A8 and A9, buyer had the power to choose between the supplier as per their
demand, preferences and requirement.
Threat of Substitution: We could not relate much on this porter’s five force.
Threat of New Entry: Till round 5, our team was the one to launch product A8 and A9, but later
new entrants launched the products and hence there was a threat on profit share due to new
entry.

Marketing and Competitive Strategy

Success in this game was based on the ability to construct a long term plan and to make decisions
relative to the competition. Good understanding of competitors and their strategy is a key attribute
of success. We were aware that most of the teams were not keen in spending more on costly
products and hence we launched the costly products utilizing most of the budget in start and
hence which generated future profits for the firm.
Also the teams were more keen on launching the products where returns were high which was a
miss from most of the competitors as there the profit and market share was reduced and hence
we didn’t launch the product like H3 as most of the teams have done so.

Customer Loyalty
Customer Loyalty is an interactive model in which simulations for each product or service
reveal the impact of changes in customer experiences and perceptions upon customer loyalty.
We launched the products of all the categories with high price and good look, high price and
moderate look and low price and basic look keeping in mind the customer’s needs and
requirements. We launched a product comparing the features and returns with other products in
the cell. We also launched another high quality product keeping in mind customer’s choices. Also,
on receiving the 20% bonus on keeping the products fixed represented consumer loyalty and
premium advantage. Our market share shows the customer loyalty.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
First mover advantage on selection of Low awareness of new/market technology.
products. Limited commercial and after sales support
Incorporate best practice learning experience.
methodology and alters training methods. Lack of data on game from other teams on
Miscellaneous product launch provides launching of products.
credibility. Difficult to enter into most popular market/cells.
Simple to use and rich in functionality.
Fast growing market.
 Opportunities Threats
Expansion by launching new products New entrants and competitors on same
like A7, A6 where consumers want with cell/product.
high quality and prefer look to earn more Cost effective strategy on entering new
profits. markets.
Simple interface which will attract most of
the gamers.

Marketing Concepts
We have learned the following concepts from the game.
 Market Segmentation
 Positioning and Repositioning
 Competitive Strategy
 Return on Marketing Investment and Payback
 Customer Lifetime Value
 The Role of New Products
 Marketing Metrics and Financial Metrics

Conclusion
We launched products like A9, A8, E3, B9, C3 in start which gave us the first mover advantage.
We try to be the first team to launch a product this point can be reinforce in its positioning strategy.
Another strategy is to introduce multiple product from time to time in order to the cater of changing
needs. We also think about modification or reposition of the product to make it more acceptable
to present marke because customer requirement’s may have change and the product has to be
modified to be able to serve the need.
Also understanding the competitors mind that they were not keen on spending much on costly
products and hence we launched a high cost product in initial round which led to high returns in
future.