SIMULATION MARKETING MISTAKES Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 20,1993 119 SIMULATION MARKETING MISTAKES Roy F. Cabaniss (Western Kentucky University) Most of the simulations which are used in academia or industry have a purpose. That purpose is to teach or illustrate something to a group of people. In other words, to communicate information to a group of people in a way that they will retain and use it. Properly used, a simulation is a wonderful device for demonstrating pedagogical points. Retention is high and the lessons learned are easily applied to the “real world” Improperly used, a simulation creates confusion and can even distort what the teacher is trying to communicate. Much of the improper usage of simulations comes about from oversights in the marketing or in the design of the simulation. Recognize the Customer: The marketing concept is a wonderful idea with one of its central tenets being to satisfy the customer. This raises the question of who the customer is for a simulation I experiential exercise. Is the customer the teacher? If the goal of using a simulation is to communicate something to a group then the customer cannot be the teacher, because the teacher should already know what the simulation is trying to teach. Therefore the teacher is not the primary person that the simulation designer is to satisfy. The role of the teacher is that of decision-maker in a buying center. They do not use the product, but they do decide which product to buy. Are the participants the customers? I would argue that they are. These are the people you are trying to communicate to. Even more importantly, the participants are the people who will be used to measure the benefits the simulation brings to the learning experience. Gentry, Stoltman and Mehlhoff (1992) quite rightfully point out that more emphasis is needed in delineating just what the student should be learning.” and bring out their concern for the measurement of that learning. This is a key concept for the simulation designer. The teacher is NOT the person doing the learning nor is the teacher the person to be satisfied. Satisfaction on the part of the participants can be tied to their perceived performance (Cabaniss 1992.) Because of this, the criteria for good performance must be clearly delineated to the participants. Implicitly then, good performance should be the result of what you wanted the participants to learn. Teaching points should be clear and the reward for doing something correctly should be traceable by the participants to the application of a particular teaching point. If this happens, then the goals of the teacher and participant are congruent and the simulation has a much greater chance of success. This leads to the first rule for simulation marketing. You should market to the decision-maker and satisfy the participant. Failure to follow the KISS Principle: When designing a simulation the temptation to become more complex is almost overwhelming. Adding another decision variable is very easy and has little impact on the development time of a simulation once the basic framework of the simulation is established. Additionally, complex games appear to have an advantage when it comes to factual information being the learning goal desired (Wolfe 1978). But there is a danger here. The more complex the simulation, the further you get from simple cause and effect relationships. Because of this, the ability to illustrate a particular teaching point may be lost (Cohen and Rhenman 1961; Raia 1966) While it is satisfying to the ego to build an incredibly complex and accurate simulation, it is quite possible that the very complexity you are so proud of is counterproductive. Therefore, the second rule of simulation marketing could be KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid.) In other words, have only as much complexity as necessary. Assuming Competence: When designing a simulation the designer is working from a position of having detailed knowledge about a topic. Because of this, the lessons which the designer wishes to teach may not be as obvious to the participant as they are to the designer. Additionally, the computer literacy or literacy of the participants often necessitates some participants needing extensive tutoring to ensure that they can handle the mechanics of the exercise. While a program / booklet that starts slowlly at a low level will be viewed by the more advanced members of a class as demeaning, it is often the only way to prevent losing the people who are lacking some information / capabilities. This results in the third rule of simulation design: Have the initial portions of the simulation and its accompanying instructions designed / written for the lowest common denominator. Improper Selection of a Target Market: The design of a simulation / experiential exercise is an organic process. By this I mean that the seed of an idea is planted in the mind of the designer and grows into something that is not quite what was initially envisioned. The closeness between the designer and their product results in simulations being marketed to the wrong markets. The forth guideline for simulation design then becomes to let a third party give guidance as to the fit between the simulation and your proposed target market. Conclusion: This partial listing of simulation design problems is not presented with the purpose of saying that all programs encountered suffer from these faults. Rather, the hope is that the people who write/design simulations and experiential exercises will be cognizant of these problems to make their products better. The ability to communicate and teach via a simulation can then be even more effective than it already is. Bibliography Cabaniss, Roy F. Differences Between International and Domestic Organizational Selling Relationships Utilizing the Satisfaction Construct, 1992, unpublished dissertation; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. Cohen, K. J. and E. Rhenman (1961), ‘The Role of Management Games in Education and Research,” Management Science, Vol. 7, no 2, 153-158. Gentry, James W. , Jeffery Stoltman and Carol Mehlhoff (1992), “How Should we Measure Experiential Learning in Jerry Gosenpud and Steven Gold (Eds), Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Exercises, Vol. 19, 54-57. Raia, A.P., (1966), “A Study of the Educational Value of Management Games,” Journal of Business, Vol. 39, no 3, 339-352. Wolfe, J. (1978), “The Effects of Game Complexity on the Acquisition of Business Policy Knowledge,” Decision Sciences, Vol. 9, 143-155. Table of Contents Volume 20, 1993 Dominant Personality Types and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Shelf Wars: A Grocery Channel Simulation Shared Cultural Perspectives: An Experiential Exercise Utilizing International Students to Globalize the Classroom An Instrument for Investigating the Effectiveness of Teaching Methods in the Business Policy and Strategy Formulation Course Providing Better Trained Graduates for Accounting Employers The Ambition Gradient Approach to Evaluation of Computer Simulation Game Team Performance Alphatec: A Negotiation Exercise with Logrolling and Bridging Potential Using the Ideafisher Idea Generation System as a Decision Support System in Marketing Strategy Courses A Dynamic Market Share Allocation Model For Computerized Business Simulations Multi-Cultural Adaptability Using Experiential Learning in a Graduate Course Development of Experiential Applications in HRM: Practicing What Preach and Preaching for Practice Linking Students and Business Leaders Through Portfolios Debriefing International Experiential Learning Exercises: Road Signs for Effectiveness Sales Manager: A Simulation Modeling Interactive Effects in Mathematical Functions for Business Simulations: A Critique of Goosen's Interpolation Reducing the Complexity of Interactive Variable Modeling in Business Simulations Through Interpolation Antecedent Biases of Experiential Learners: Trainee Occupation and Subgroup Diversity Pax in Terra Sancta: Simulating the Middle East Peace Negotiations A Multiple Regression Case In Experiential Learning Changes in Ethnocentric/Geocentric Orientation by Business Students after Exposure to a One Summer Course in International Marketing's A Systematic Approach to the Development and Evaluation of Experiential Exercises Entrepreneurs Evaluate Experiential Education A Linear Programming Approach to Open System Total Enterprise Simulations Reflecting Leader Behavior from the Looking Glass, Inc. Simulation Linking Cognitive Styles, Teaching Methods, Educational Objectives and Assessment: A Decision Tree Approach Restructuring Management Education in Post-Communist Countries: How Western Experts Can Help Managerial and Cultural Pre-Conditions for Superior Performance in a Global Setting: An Experimental Study with the Aid of Business Games Multiple Industries in Computerized Business Gaming Simulations Content or Process? - Content and Process! Some Observations and Reflections About Management Education in Central Europe Out-of-Class Experiences to Promote Volunteerism Enacting the Linguistic Consciousness of the Modern Managerial Mind: Post-Modernism and Experiential Learning Intergrating Experiential Exercises into the College Curriculum: The Case of Internationalizing the Business Curriculum Simulation Marketing Oversights Incorporating Advertising Creative Strategy into Computer-Based Business Simulations The Dynamics of a Partnership Between Business and Education Collaborative Education Done Globally Experiential Systems Analysis CADPLAN: A Simulation for Comparative Advertising A Doctoral Symposium: Preparing Students for Conference Behavior Comparing the Simulation with the Case Approach: Again! Total Quality Management: A Model for Continuous Quality Improvement The Quality Audit: An Experiential Exercise for Business Students Extending the Reach of Simulations: DECIDE Heads for the Inner City Lessons Learned from a Customized Management Development Simulation The Foreign Exchange Spot Trading Simulation Using Lotus 1-2-3 to complete a Triple Play in a Simulated Competition International Business Education: Is Enough Being Done? Matching of Student-Teacher Cognitive Style as a Factor in Student Success in an Introduction to Information Systems Course Breathing (More) Life into the Case Approach Lord of the Flies: A Live Case Approach to Leadership Cooperative Case Studies: Experiential Tools for Teaching Business Problem Solving Tools Strategy Simulations in Context: An Evaluation of Key Dimensions The Distribution Channel Game Evaluation of a Simulation Game as an Education Tool for Utility Professionals The Relationship Between Total Enterprise Simulation Performance and Learning Total Quality Management does not Happen by Magic, but it can be Taught Using a Pedagogical Methodology that Utilizes Magic Effectively Preparing Students for Careers in a Global Environment by Integrating Total Quality Management Thoughout the Business Curriculum An Empirical Investigation of Cognitive and Performance Consistency in a Marketing Simulation Game Environment Using MARSGAP with LAPTOP: (A Marketing Simulation Game Analysis Program) with LAPTOP: A Marketing Simulation Adapting TQM Implementation to Organizational Level An MBA Business Simulation: Executive Interaction Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Experiencing Cultural Diversity in the Classroom (and the Hotel Meeting Room) Closing the Gap between Corporate and National Culture The Dynamic Manufacturing Company The Use of Experiential Techniques in Corporate Training The State of Simulation Gaming in Easter European Countries- Principally Russia An Experiential Exercise in Cross-Cultural Training Valuing Differences: A Conceptual Framework Demonstration of an Experiential Exercise Effectively Using Experiential Learning to Impart TQM Concepts in a High Technology Environment The Older Worker Questionnaire: An Exercise Concerning Older Worker Stereotypes and Behaviors The Crime Fighting Task Force: An Exercise in Organizational Politics Welcome to the Party! An Expression of Vocational Preference Experiential Exercise for Imparting Cross-Cultural Appreciation Six Swift Simulations on Globalization Overview of BASF Delegate Program