Our Simulations
Marketing Strategy Simulation
StratSimMarketing
A competitive marketing strategy simulation designed for MBA, Executive Development, or advanced undergraduate courses.
Overview
Marketing strategy is at the core of all decisions made in StratSimMarketing. It provides a dynamic learning environment where customer needs evolve, new products are introduced, and the economy and context change. Students must manage short- and long-term objectives by making integrated marketing decisions that also impact other functional areas of the business, such as operations and finance. Teams compete directly against each other, with the results being dependent upon how the competitors interact, what new products are introduced, and how these products are supported. StratSimMarketing is built on the StratSim methodology used by thousands of students since the mid-1990s. StratSimMarketing is an excellent complement to traditional teaching methods, allowing students to apply marketing concepts in a dynamic, integrative environment and to demonstrate how the marketing function impacts financial performance.
The Case
Groups of 3-6 students are put in the role of a management team that takes over one of five companies competing in the domestic automobile industry. Some companies are positioned as high-end niche producers while others are more value and volume driven. Each company begins the simulation with three vehicles and then must decide how best to improve their firm's performance and potentially enter new market segments that offer opportunities for growth.
To read the full copy of the case for the simulation, request a Faculty ID here!
Objectives
Much of the complexity of the automobile industry has been simplified to allow participants to focus their time and energy on strategic issues. However, we've retained as much realism as possible to make it easier to quickly understand the overall environment. StratSimMarketing addresses the following issues:
- Learning what it means to have a market-oriented perspective
- Developing and implementing a profitable long-term marketing strategy
- Identifying customer needs and creating products to satisfy them
- Analyzing competitors and understanding their strategic intent
- Using marketing research tools and techniques as a source of competitive advantage
- Allocating scarce resources among products, functions, and other investment alternatives
- Understanding the differences between consumer and B2B buying processes (optional)
- Negotiating mutually beneficial relationships with other firms though licensing (optional)
Performance Measures
With StratSimManagement, instructors have a comprehensive set of metrics (45 in total) to judge team performance. For full access to all performance measures, request a Faculty ID. In general, team performance can be judged by the following:
- Net Income and Cumulative Net Income
- Stock Price
- Total Shareholder Return
- Return on Equity, Return on Assets, Return on Marketing
- Earnings Per Share
- Market Share
- Return on Sales
- And more...
Any of the 45 measures areas can be weighted and combined by the instructor to form an overall score to evaluate how their teams perform.
If you are an instructor and would like to review StratSimMarketing for your class, please fill out our Faculty ID Request!
At a Glance
 | Covers Strategy |
 | Advanced Level |
 | Direct Competition |
Direct Competition
Two or more teams of students go head-to-head in direct competition, competing in the same industry as separate companies.
| SHARE: |  |  |
StratSimMarketing: Courses
- Marketing Strategy
- Marketing Management
StratSimMarketing: Decisions
- Marketing Mix: Students set an advertising budget and theme, an MSRP, dealer discount, and promotions for each vehicle. In addition, students may support the product-level marketing with corporate advertising and direct mail campaigns.
- Product Development: Developing a product pipeline is how the company defines their target markets and builds their future. Students may build and test new product concepts, upgrade existing vehicles, and invest in corporate technological capabilities.
- Distribution: Dealers in StratSim are where sales and service are actually done. How does one motivate these partners to share in the company's overall success? Student decisions include breadth and quality of dealerships in multiple geographic regions.
- Other Functional Decisions: The strategic function of marketing cannot ignore the impact on other parts of the business. Therefore, in StratSimMarketing students also are asked to make decisions on cash flow planning, production capacity, vehicle sales forecasts and production, retooling and inventory management. These decisions underscore the financial impact marketing decisions have on the business and also demonstrate how marketing must be coordinated with other functional areas of the organization.
- Optional B2B and Licensing Modules: These optional modules allow students to explore alternative purchase processes and sourcing options. The B2B and licensing modules may be turned on at any point during the simulation to provide new challenges and options as the game progresses.
- Purchase of Market Research: Students use sophisticated market research to learn about buyer behavior, and improve their strategic choices. Research techniques included in StratSimMarketing include test markets, conjoint analysis, perceptual mapping, focus groups, concept tests, and purchase surveys.
