improvements
Tell us what is important to SPI
Markstrat did not clearly indicate the level of impact that each performance indicator has on SPI. This was crucial during our last decision, when we needed to determine what was needed to beat team R. We predicted that if SPI was mainly based on revenue, doubling our vodite revenue would increase our SPI just above team R's. However, if SPI was not solely dependent on revenue, we would be putting ourselves at high risk of incurring large inventory costs for a goal that would not be attainable.
What did we learn by not having our recommended improvement?
Not knowing the exact factors that affect SPI taught our team how to compete in an uncertain environment. Our team was able to experiment with factors that could affect SPI, which led us to gaining analytical skills. Our prediction turned out to be a large underestimate as doubling sales for our vodite dramatically increased our SPI past our predicted value. We believe that factors such as market share and ROI attributed to the excess increase.
If Markstrat incorporates the improvements, what would be the additional learning opportunity about marketing strategy?
If Markstrat did provide a guideline for the level of impact each factor has on SPI, teams could better tailor their decisions towards their objectives. This could teach students how to value a company and calculate share price. In addition, it would give a clearer idea of what is important to a company outside of a simulation.
Markstrat did not clearly indicate the level of impact that each performance indicator has on SPI. This was crucial during our last decision, when we needed to determine what was needed to beat team R. We predicted that if SPI was mainly based on revenue, doubling our vodite revenue would increase our SPI just above team R's. However, if SPI was not solely dependent on revenue, we would be putting ourselves at high risk of incurring large inventory costs for a goal that would not be attainable.
What did we learn by not having our recommended improvement?
Not knowing the exact factors that affect SPI taught our team how to compete in an uncertain environment. Our team was able to experiment with factors that could affect SPI, which led us to gaining analytical skills. Our prediction turned out to be a large underestimate as doubling sales for our vodite dramatically increased our SPI past our predicted value. We believe that factors such as market share and ROI attributed to the excess increase.
If Markstrat incorporates the improvements, what would be the additional learning opportunity about marketing strategy?
If Markstrat did provide a guideline for the level of impact each factor has on SPI, teams could better tailor their decisions towards their objectives. This could teach students how to value a company and calculate share price. In addition, it would give a clearer idea of what is important to a company outside of a simulation.
Offer the loan for vodites earlier
Loans should be available at an earlier stage of the game. Even before the game began, we understood that the key to winning the game was to launch a vodite as soon as possible. However, because we needed to invest substantially in sonites to remain competitive, this combined with our limited budget prevented us from launching a vodite. Had the loan been available earlier, we could have tapped into the lucrative vodite market at an earlier stage as we had planned. We almost lost our first mover advantage to other competing firms.
What did you learn by not having your recommended improvement?
Having the loan later in the game meant that the diffusion of innovation curve started later. It caused that the majority of the market to be consisted of the innovators and the adopters, not fully expanding into the followers that would later grow tremendously.
Another important lesson we learnt was that being the first mover was advantageous. The initial market mostly consisted of innovators, who were willing to pay higher prices and take risks. Being the first mover meant that we could take advantage of their propensity to spend, which led to a domino effect of the adopters and the followers highly demanding our vodite.
If Markstrat incorporates the improvements, what would be the additional learning opportunity about marketing strategy?
If the loan is available at an earlier stage, the game would be much more competitive as the players could potentially be entering the vodite market earlier. Not being a first mover is still a competitive strategy because the teams can better meet the needs of the followers, which eventually becomes the largest segment.
Loans should be available at an earlier stage of the game. Even before the game began, we understood that the key to winning the game was to launch a vodite as soon as possible. However, because we needed to invest substantially in sonites to remain competitive, this combined with our limited budget prevented us from launching a vodite. Had the loan been available earlier, we could have tapped into the lucrative vodite market at an earlier stage as we had planned. We almost lost our first mover advantage to other competing firms.
What did you learn by not having your recommended improvement?
Having the loan later in the game meant that the diffusion of innovation curve started later. It caused that the majority of the market to be consisted of the innovators and the adopters, not fully expanding into the followers that would later grow tremendously.
Another important lesson we learnt was that being the first mover was advantageous. The initial market mostly consisted of innovators, who were willing to pay higher prices and take risks. Being the first mover meant that we could take advantage of their propensity to spend, which led to a domino effect of the adopters and the followers highly demanding our vodite.
If Markstrat incorporates the improvements, what would be the additional learning opportunity about marketing strategy?
If the loan is available at an earlier stage, the game would be much more competitive as the players could potentially be entering the vodite market earlier. Not being a first mover is still a competitive strategy because the teams can better meet the needs of the followers, which eventually becomes the largest segment.
Set the budget to be cumulative
We had to spend our entire budget each period because it was not carried over onto the following periods. In periods 0 and 1 where R&D decisions were not open yet, we did not want to spend all of our budget . Instead, we wanted to save money for future R&D projects. However, because the budget was not carried over, we had to spend it on advertising and commercial teams during that period. Due to the law of diminishing marginal returns, such overspending in advertising and commercial teams were inefficient.
What did we learn by not having our recommended improvement?
We had to find the most efficient way to spend the remaining budget. We had to go through all the reports and predict the competitors’ strategies to find which investment would generate the highest return.
If Markstrat incorporates the improvements, what would be the additional learning opportunity about marketing strategy?
Being able to retain the remaining budget from previous periods will allow students to adopt a long-term perspective of managing their company. Students are able to learn budgeting skills to satisfy current short-term needs while planning for future goals.
We had to spend our entire budget each period because it was not carried over onto the following periods. In periods 0 and 1 where R&D decisions were not open yet, we did not want to spend all of our budget . Instead, we wanted to save money for future R&D projects. However, because the budget was not carried over, we had to spend it on advertising and commercial teams during that period. Due to the law of diminishing marginal returns, such overspending in advertising and commercial teams were inefficient.
What did we learn by not having our recommended improvement?
We had to find the most efficient way to spend the remaining budget. We had to go through all the reports and predict the competitors’ strategies to find which investment would generate the highest return.
If Markstrat incorporates the improvements, what would be the additional learning opportunity about marketing strategy?
Being able to retain the remaining budget from previous periods will allow students to adopt a long-term perspective of managing their company. Students are able to learn budgeting skills to satisfy current short-term needs while planning for future goals.
Apply what you learned in your career, another course, or as a consultant to a new firm
Although the skills learned through Markstrat is applicable to several career paths and courses, we felt that it was extremely relevant for a career in brand management.
Teamwork
Throughout the term, our team was able to learn how to function effectively as a team. As members of the group had different opinions each week, we learned to approach new alternatives with an open mind and to compromise when needed. In brand management this is crucial as strategies and projects are developed with cross functional teams. Brand managers need to understand that different departments have different objectives, and sometimes, a compromise must be reached between differing opinions. For example, an advertisement may be beautifully designed, but a researcher might argue that it does not target the correct demographic, or someone from finance might argue it is too expensive to produce.
Analysis
Each week, our team was given over 40 pages of data to read through and analyze. Over time we learned to find correlations between certain variables to make decisions strategically. For example, we plotted brand awareness against advertising expenditures in a scatter chart to estimate the amount of spending needed to achieve a desired level of brand awareness. Similarly, for brand management, analytical skills are important because it allows brand managers to make effective decisions based on the data collected.
Management and Responsibility
In Markstrat, you act as a marketing manager who has the responsibility to manage a company as a whole. This experience teaches you basic understandings of several functions including: production, advertising, research and development, financial planning, accounting, and distribution. As a brand manager, managing cross functional teams within a brand requires basic understanding of each department's responsibilities.
Although the skills learned through Markstrat is applicable to several career paths and courses, we felt that it was extremely relevant for a career in brand management.
Teamwork
Throughout the term, our team was able to learn how to function effectively as a team. As members of the group had different opinions each week, we learned to approach new alternatives with an open mind and to compromise when needed. In brand management this is crucial as strategies and projects are developed with cross functional teams. Brand managers need to understand that different departments have different objectives, and sometimes, a compromise must be reached between differing opinions. For example, an advertisement may be beautifully designed, but a researcher might argue that it does not target the correct demographic, or someone from finance might argue it is too expensive to produce.
Analysis
Each week, our team was given over 40 pages of data to read through and analyze. Over time we learned to find correlations between certain variables to make decisions strategically. For example, we plotted brand awareness against advertising expenditures in a scatter chart to estimate the amount of spending needed to achieve a desired level of brand awareness. Similarly, for brand management, analytical skills are important because it allows brand managers to make effective decisions based on the data collected.
Management and Responsibility
In Markstrat, you act as a marketing manager who has the responsibility to manage a company as a whole. This experience teaches you basic understandings of several functions including: production, advertising, research and development, financial planning, accounting, and distribution. As a brand manager, managing cross functional teams within a brand requires basic understanding of each department's responsibilities.