STRATSIMMARKETI

TOOLS & MARKETING

NG
RESEARCH
MARKETING RESEARCH & TOOLS
The Market and Tools menus in StratSim provide analysis of current and potential
buyers of vehicles. Generally, the Market menus offer broader information, while
the Tools are focused on more specific issues.

Most cost $ and some have a limited quantity.

Additional detail may be found in the StratSim manual.

Market and
Tools menus
 MARKET: CONSUMER SEGMENTS
SEGMENT ANALYSIS (FREE)
Sales ($ and volume), change,
forecast and preferred classes.
Click on a Segment (e.g. Value
Seekers in this example) to view
detailed info.

SEGMENT DETAILS (FREE)

Displays the preferred vehicle class
with broad price, size, and attribute
preferences. Also included in the
Segment Details Report are firm
sales and share data for the selected
segment.
 MARKET: MICROSEGMENTS
Provides an overview of the current and potential new microsegments in the StratSim world.

EXISTING MICROSEGMENTS (FREE):

Displays retail and unit sales, change (%)
from previous period, forecast for next period,
and the current leading vehicle based on unit
sales.
Recall that 1E is an abbreviation for Segment
1 (Value Seekers) who prefer an Economy
vehicle.
Click on a Microsegment to Purchase the
detail report ($25K each, no limit) to provide
further information about the preferences of
that microsegment.
 MARKET: MICROSEGMENTS

POTENTIAL NEW CONSUMER

MICROSEGMENTS (FREE):
Displays identified potential
microsegments that may emerge should
a new or upgraded vehicle be released
that meets their needs, priced well, and
marketed sufficiently.
In addition, some general preference
information is provided about each new
potential microsegment. However, this
is limited and there is no additional
detail available other than via tools.

New Customer Microsegments offer potential, but are not guaranteed to emerge – more risk!
 MARKET: MICROSEGMENT DETAIL
MICROSEGMENT DEMAND AND
PREFERENCE DATA
Preferred class, price, size and engine
ranges, hot buttons.

PRIMARY VEHICLES
COMPETING FOR SELECTED
MICROSEGMENT
Must be either in preferred vehicle
class or have more than 5% share.

PRICE/SIZE POSITION MAP FOR

SELECTED MICROSEGMENT
Box is based on expected price and
preferred size ranges.
 MARKET: B2B CONTRACTS
B2B CONTRACTS (FREE)
Displays a complete list of all the
contracts, the required vehicle class,
guaranteed units (if bid and vehicle
meets all requirements), and units
awarded to each firm.
Click on a Contract to Purchase the
contract details ($25k each, no limit).

CONTRACT DETAILS ($25k)

This report provides all the requirements
for the B2B contract. Must be below the
price, within the ranges on size and HP,
meet or exceed ISSQ, and meet or
exceed dealer coverage in EVERY
region.
 TOOLS: SALES BY MICROSEGMENT
OPTIONS:
Choose a vehicle and click on View Study
to Purchase.
$25k – Limit 10 Vehicles / Period

SALES BY
MICROSEGMENT STUDY:
This study provides insight as to which
microsegments are purchasing the chosen
vehicle. In the example to the right, Alec is
selling 339K units to the 2E microsegment
which represents 57.3% of Alec’s sales
(339/592), and a 71.1% unit share of 2E
(339/total 2E units purchased). Overall,
Alec has 13.6% market share for the total
market (592/total vehicle sales).
 TOOLS: FOCUS GROUPS
OPTIONS:
Choose a microsegment and click on
View Study to Purchase.
$50k – No Limit on Microsegments
surveyed.

FOCUS GROUPS STUDY:

This study interviews members of a
microsegment (2M in the example)
about impressions of vehicles they are
considering for purchase. In the
example, the Camini (leading vehicle)
is seen by the 2M microsegment as big,
average prices, best performance, and
best on 3 out of 4 ISSQ factors.
 TOOLS: CONCEPT TEST
OPTIONS:
Choose a microsegment, an existing new
product, concept, or upgrade, a price (where
retail = MSRP) and click on Run Study to
Purchase.
$100k – Limit 10 studies/Period

CONCEPT TEST STUDY:

Provides microsegment feedback on a
development project similar to the
information in a focus group. The results
are relative to existing products in the
market. Likely to buy is the percent of
people in chosen customer profile who
indicate they would purchase (all things
being equal).
 TOOLS: COMPETITIVE MAPPING

OPTIONS:
Choose two products and two
dimensions and click on Run Study to
Purchase.
$25K – Limit 20 studies/period

COMPETITIVE MAPPING STUDY:

Plots the two vehicle son the two
dimensions with movement over time.
The size of the vehicle indicate the
relative level of sales (larger circle =
larger sales). Timeline is shown at the
bottom and may be paused.
 TOOLS: PERCEPTUAL MAPPING
OPTIONS:
Choose a microsegment and click on View
Study to Purchase.
$250K – Limit 8 studies/period

PERCEPTUAL MAPPING STUDY:

Plots the primary vehicles and an ideal vehicle
(*=ideal) competing for a particular
microsegment in a two dimensional space.
Stress is a measure of how well the map
captures the relationships of the vehicle (closer
to 0 is better). Generally, vehicles closer to the
ideal will have higher sales to the
microsegment chosen. Up to 8 vectors can be
chosen for interpretation (note r-squared).
 TOOLS: PERCEPTUAL MAPPING
PROXIMITY CIRCLES:
Clarifies the absolute difference between the ideal point on
the map and the various vehicles using concentric circles. In
the example to the right, the Euro (A) is the closest, followed
by the Camini (F). Most distant is the Buzzy (I).

VECTOR POSITIONING LINES:

Drops perpendiculars from the vehicles to the vector to
indicate the relative positioning of the various vehicles and
the ideal for a particular attribute. In the example to the right,
Awesome (B) is perceived as the smallest vehicle and Beaut
(E) is perceived as the largest and Boffo (J) is closest in size
to the ideal vehicle. However, remember that positioning on
the map is based on ALL vehicle attributes and the vector is
only attempting to explain a single dimension.
 TOOLS: TEST MARKETS
OPTIONS:
Choose a vehicle and click on Run Study
to Purchase.
$100k – Limit 10 studies/period

TEST MARKET STUDY:

Estimates awareness, share and
contribution for changes in marketing mix
decisions. Estimates are bases on the
dynamics of the previous period and does
not take into consideration potential
changes in competition or product
specifications. In the example to the right,
an increase in price on the Estruck from
$21,843 to $22,500 results in a slight
decrease in unit market share, but an
increase in Net Contribution ($155K).
 TOOLS: CONJOINT ANALYSIS
OPTIONS:
Choose between the Guided Study and
Standard Study. The Guided Study has fewer
dimensions (3) from which you may choose
two, but walks you through the various
options in more detail and also provides a
ranking of the choices. The Standard Study
provides 5 dimensions from which you may
choose three.
Click on a microsegment and two
dimensions (if guided study) or three
dimensions (if standard study) and click on
Continue to design the experiment.
$500K – Limit 4 studies/period
 TOOLS: CONJOINT ANALYSIS

DESIGN THE EXPERIMENT:

Next, select 4 unique levels for the first
dimension (price in the example) and click
on Continue. Then select 4 unique levels
for the second dimension (HP in this
example). The levels should be appropriate
for the microsegment chosen – in a
reasonable range, but also different enough
so the consumer has to make choices. The
Standard Study will provide all input
options for the dimensions chosen on a
single screen.
Click on Run Study to Purchase.
 TOOLS: CONJOINT ANALYSIS
RANKINGS (GUIDED ONLY):
The rankings table shows which dimensions
combinations are preferred (1-16) In this example,
the most preferred combination is a price of
$30,000 and an engine HP of 175. The least
preferred is a price of $40,000 and an engine of
HP of 225. (Note that engine HP has an impact on
mpg).

PARTS-WORTH ANALYSIS:
IMPORTANT!
First, the relative importance of each dimension is All the level utilities are calculated relative to the
provided. Second, for each of the chosen levels in other levels chosen in the study. A poorly designed
the study, the microsegment’s “utility” is study will provide poor results!
displayed. In the example, the most preferred
attribute is price of $30,000 (utility of +.38).
 TOOLS: PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS (FREE):

Basic BCG style mapping of your firm’s
brands on two dimensional grid of growth
and relative share. These values are
calculated based on two options of market
definition: Vehicle Class or
Microsegment. The size of the circles
represents the relative level of sales
(larger circle = larger sales). Timeline is
shown at the bottom of the graphic and
may be paused or allowed to progress to
show movement over time (more
effective after several periods).