Consumer rebates and sales force trainings

Instructor: Dr. Bill Wellington

Group No:
Smriti Bahl
Quddus Abdullah
Amandeep Kaur
Yen Nguyen

An understanding of target marketing strategy, which helps the marketer to understand the type of customers they are dealing with, and market segmentation are of utmost importance. To set the strategy for the market plan, an

understanding of the 4P’s of marketing is important. These four P’s (price, place, promotion and product) which depict four major strategies are discussed in the report. The simulation and analysis results helped us to understand the market and put a check to know if we are meeting the goals of the industry. The analytical tools and techniques helped us with our decision-making process. Finally, we mentioned about our learning in relation to marketing theory.

• Product Specialization: The firm specializes in a particular product and tailors it to different market segments.

• Market Specialization: The firm specializes in serving a particular market segment and offers that segment an array of different products.

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certain outcomes like increasing more promotion or advertising by making some changes in the marketing mix. For instance, we started off with the increasing the advertising phase as the initial strategy. As the game proceeded, we decided to push some procedures to boost the sales volume and raise the net income.

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and also ensure existing customers remain interested in our product. We utilized this approach for product two also and while the simulation proceeded we noticed this strategy was working. We were also aware of our competitors, also were ensured we analyzed all the approaches utilized to ensure we were on the right track. We utilized promotional programs such as event marketing, consumer rebates and sales force trainings. In doing this TAAS group ensured adequate structuring and customization of these programs to ensure effective maximization of market share.

to take towards pricing as we knew this was critical to our success in the links simulation. Our approach was initially to analyse products based on specified regions and observe the sales volumes in these regions. We also looked at the price sensitivity analysis to observe regions which were sensitive to price changes.

After detailed analysis, we noticed product one was not doing well regarding sales volume. We decided to go with the penetration pricing approach for this product. In doing this we set a lower price for the product to increase sales and market share. The main aim was to attract buyers by offering lower prices on goods and services. In doing this we ensured we utilized a market positioning of 57 which means “same benefit for less price”. In this way we tried to increase our sales volume by positioning ourselves in this way. This approach was also based on the price sensitivity analysis obtained from the research studies. As the simulation proceeded to previous rounds we noticed increment in customer base and sales volume and customers were beginning to trust our products. As the simulation came closer to the end we switched our approach again regarding product one as we wanted to increase NET income to revenue, so we increased prices and ensured detailed implementation of good forecasting.

2.3. Product strategy
Product strategy is the process by which the organization can improve their product prices according to the customers demand of the product. In the Simulations, TAAS group worked on the two products of the firm in the three different regions – U.S.A, Europe, and Pacific.

As mentioned, there are two main hyper-ware products of the firm – product 1 (low-end product) and product 2 (mid-range product). Understanding the characteristics of each products, the firm implemented different strategies to the products. The combination of product development and excellent service raised the interest and demand from consumers. Configurations of two products were different, which led the firm to evaluate specifically each product, instead of covering two products at the same time. Product differentiation played a key role in gaining sales volume of the company, and attracting more customers. Adjusting the price and marketing strategies helped the company to appropriately approach the target market. For instance, in the decision of input for month 4, we decreased the price of the product in more quantity. In the same manner, the result for the simulations of product 2 was good for almost all regions and we increased the price with the aim of increasing the profit as well as market share. In the simulations, we used the different strategies of promotions as well as forecasting strategy to increase the sales volume. According to the nature of different regions that products were sold at, TAAS group made decisions on decreasing or increasing the price, adjusting strategies in terms of positioning and promotional programs. The product strategy, as a result, becomes extremely important to increase the market share and improve sales revenue of the company.

well as other external factors, the company had to decide whether to keep their products active in different regions. Evaluating the cost occurred and the profit earned in each region was necessary to help the firm make better decision on distribution. Marketing spending, on the other hand, also varied accordingly in three regions. We managed to maximize the spending on marketing to boost the sales in the markets. It is helpful for the TAAS group to learn about difference among three regions, thus implementing the solutions to effectively gain more market share and improve the sales volume.

III. SIMULATION RESULTS REPORTING AND ANALYSIS
Under the simulation of a competitive market of set-top box products, TAAS group took the responsibility in

(Figure 3.1. Sales volume of BWF4 from month 1 to month 7)
As sales volume represents the power of selling products to the consumers, an increase in sales is critical for a company. From month 2 to month 7, the company has witnessed an increase in its sales volume, despite having some fluctuation during the time between month 4 and month 5. The last month’s sales volume ended with the highest figure

of 173,799, compared to only 128,978 in the first month. This upward trend resulted from the firm’s careful consideration of various factors that affect the sales of its products.

This table represented the total sales volume, price, revenue, cost, gross margin and net income over seven

months. As sales volume increased rapidly, the firm also experienced a rise in product’s price and revenues. Generally stated, there were two main products in the firm being sold in three regions: U.S.A, Europe, and Pacific. Throughout the seven months, revenues increased by $15,722,351 from $42,921,250 in month 1 to $58,643,601 in month 7. TAAS group managed to make decisions carefully in order to maximize the revenue as well as the sales volume. By analyzing the situation and characteristics of the products in different regions, the company adjusted the price (increase, decrease and maintain the same) for specific product in specific region. Price was originally $332 in the first month, then rose up to $337 in the last month. Despite the increase of price, the firm successfully improved its sales volume, which then generated more revenue for the firm. Net income, as a result, went from $2,987,478, which represented 7.0% of the revenue, in month 1 to $5,200,807 accounting for 8.9% of revenue in month 7. This outstanding data made firm 4 first rank in the market in terms of net income to revenue ratio. Market share, although decreasing slightly in month 5, maintained a stable increase up to 20.68% from 19.76% in the first month.

spending. TAAS group therefore carefully considered those factors’ impact on the sales of the month with the hope to see positive signs of sales volume and revenue in the next month. As a result, the performance was outstanding with revenue growth increased, sales volume increased, forecasting increased and revenue increased as well. This made TAAS group, representing firm 4, the highest revenue-earning company over the market.

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On another hand, spreadsheets were also a means of conveying the information to TAAS group for consideration and evaluation. Spreadsheets were provided in LINKS simulation, giving detailed information about sales volume, revenue growth, sales volume of products in different regions of one month. It also included tables and charts presenting the portfolio performance, based on which the firm implemented their strategies accordingly. By maximizing the use of spreadsheets, the company came up with successful and effective marketing strategies, which resulted in the high increase of revenue and market share.

beginning to trust our products based on the available data. This positioning was customized based on different regions and different market situations from our research. We also referenced the benefits of best design quality, experience quality and accessibility.

Our approach regarding pricing for product one was basically to generate demand because we noticed our sales volume was a bit low, this way we were able to generate demand for our product. For product two, we utilized a different approach, we increased the pricing for this product as we figured, product two was already doing well. We used this to test the performance of the product while ensuring effective utilization of marketing programs. We stringently followed up our business goals and achieved economic profits, by modifying the selling price of our

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Over several rounds of LINKS simulations, we are happy to say we utilized all the key implementation of different marketing programs, to win the simulation game based on our regions and get the highest Net income in the simulation.

3. Ruth N. Bolton, Randall G. Chapman,(July, 2014) Links marketing service simulation.

4. Arab British Academy for Higher Education. Target market strategy (n,d). Retrieved from

Links Simulation Database. Retrieved from http://www.links-simulation.com
6. Chron (2014). Target market segment strategy. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/target-market-segment-strategy-63724.html
7. The marketing Mix. (2016). The marketing mix 4P’s and 7P’s explained. Retrieved from
http://marketingmix.co.uk/
8. Warren A. (2016). Importance of marketing mix in your marketing strategy. Retrieved from
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-marketing-mix-your-strategy-part-1-warren-a-hill
9. Entrepreneur. (2015). 4 Marketing analytics tools that are shaping the industry. Retrieved from
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241534#
10. Maguire, A. (2015). 6 different pricing strategies: which is right for your business. Retrieved from https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/pricing-strategy/6-different-pricing-strategies-which-is-right-for-your-business/