The Marketing Game Rules

OK, lets begin, after just listening to all the presentations in my class I have heard all the information I can stand. It is really discouraging to find out that some people didn't even read the book at first or even that for the first 3 rounds they had not selected a target market. One of the most frustrating aspects of the game was that it was worth 30% of our mark. Regardless if you worked on it relentlessly and followed the advice of even your teacher you can still fail. Even worse is that if you are a solid C student this game can be the end you. A few things I learned: 1. The first round is very important, you can gain a significant lead right off the bat, one of our competitors strategy was to wait until everyone had selected their target market and then choose a market with little competition. 2. Wait until the halfway point to spend your reserve fund. 3. If you know your class already and know who the top percentile of your class is, avoid their industry, join another industry so your not competing against smart people! 4. Avoid direct competition, I know the big thing is to stick with a marketing plan but remember to avoid competition at all costs. 5. Have a balanced approach, do not think that you can spend all your money in advertising and nothing in customer service or in sales promotion, you need to have an even handed approach to your figures. 6. Price penetration is king, since you are starting the industry in the growth stage you need to have a penetration pricing policy, sell to the market at one low price and the other will follow. 7. Your sales force workload index is a 3:1 ratio, trust me, this will help you out alot. 8. Having a good commission is great and will increase your push but it can reduce your budget for the next