LINKS Sign-Up Form:
LINKS Marketing Research
Simulation
This LINKS Sign-Up Form provides essential information to permit LINKS Simulations staff to
manage LINKS on your behalf.
This LINKS Sign-Up Form is for one industry or for multiple industries with identical game-run
schedules. Use separate LINKS Sign-Up Forms for industries with different game-run schedules.
LINKS Simulations Variant
Marketing Research Simulation
Instructor’s Name
Instructor’s College/University
Instructor’s Phone Number(s)
Instructor’s E-Mail Address
Course Number/Title/Section
Number of Firms (between 2 and 8)
For multiple industries with identical game-run schedules, identify the number of firms for each industry in
the “Number of Firms” line above. For example, “Two Industries: A (4 firms) and B (5 firms).”
Payment Method
If students are paying for LINKS with personal credit cards via the “Pay For LINKS” link on the LINKS
website, Payment Method is “Students Pay With Personal Credit Cards.” If the instructor’s institution is
paying for LINKS via institutional invoice attached to an e-mail message sent to the instructor (for forwarding
to the relevant within-institution person), Payment Method is “Institutional Invoice.”
LINKS staff execute scheduled game runs daily at 900am, 100pm, 500pm, and 900pm U.S.
Eastern Time. Please choose one of these four times for each round in your LINKS event.
If other game run times are desired (e.g., with multiple game runs per day or in
corporate/ExecEd events with LINKS), please contact us (LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com)
well ahead of time to ensure that our staff can meet your specific game run scheduling needs.
LINKS Schedule
Date
Time
(your local time)
Special Instructions and
Instructor-Optional Switches
Initialization (and
advancement to Q#4 and
passcode e-mailing to you
and your students)
Q#5
Q#6
Q#7
Q#8
Q#9
[round 1]
[round 2]
[round 3]
[round 4]
[round 5]
In academic degree-granting programs, the LINKS Marketing Research Simulation costs $27
per student for a four-round event (after initialization and advancement to quarter #4, the
normal starting position when students assume managerial control of their LINKS firm). Extra
rounds beyond four cost an additional $4 per student per extra round.
Here’s a sample LINKS schedule for a LINKS Marketing Research Simulation event. For
information about other instructor-optional switches, access the LINKS sign-up webpage
(http://www.LINKS-simulations.com/sign-up.php) or the “Customizing LINKS” link on the LINKS
Simulations website. To discuss the design of your LINKS event and the use of instructoroptional switches, please contact Randy Chapman (LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com).
LINKS Schedule
Initialization (and
Time
Date
(your local
time)
March 22
Anytime
April 2
April 5
April 9
April 12
13:00
13:00
13:00
13:00
Special Instructions and InstructorOptional Switches
advancement to Q#3 and
passcode e-mailing to you
and your students)
Q#5
Q#6
Q#7
Q#8
Q#9
[round 1]
[round 2]
[round 3]
[round 4]
[round 5]
Last LINKS round is a double-run.
Notes: This sample schedule shows regular weekly decision inputs on the same week days
and times. Such “regularity” is not a requirement, but it’s a typical scheduling pattern in
academic degree-granting programs to help LINKS students in their time management and
work-life scheduling.
Please send the completed “LINKS
Sign-Up Form” as an e-mail
attachment to LINKS Simulations
(LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com).
Please communicate any necessary
scheduling changes after your LINKS event
begins via e-mail to LINKS Simulations
(LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com).
About the LINKS Marketing Research Simulation
The LINKS Marketing Research Simulation is targeted at marketing research courses where a
“modest” four-round sophisticated competitive simulation experience is desired, as part of a
larger set of course activities. Students are challenged to use the simulation’s rich marketing
research resources to improve the performance of their simulation firm over the next four
quarters (simulation rounds) of the competitive simulation exercise.
The instructor frames the LINKS Marketing Research Simulation exercise as a new product
development and management scenario: launch a new product successfully (positioning and
market entry strategies/tactics) in the presence of vigilant competitors while profitably managing
existing products.
Starting Conditions
 Product 1 is a low-end, low-priced product actively distributed everywhere; product 2 is a
“relatively” high-end, high-priced product initially actively distributed only in region 1.
Product 3 is available for use, although it is inactive as of Q#4.
 As of Q#4, average per-firm profitability is approximately $2,500,000 on revenues of about
$30,000,000.
 Average per-firm Q#4 demand (i.e., sales volume in units):
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
(“U.S.A.”)
(“Europe”) (“Pacific”)
Hyperware

50,000
21,000
48,000
Status of product configurations (estimated product quality perceptions, a perceptual rating
scale which ranges from 0% to 100%):
Initial
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Configuration
(“U.S.A.”)
(“Europe”)
(“Pacific”)
Product 1 (Hyperware)
Product 2 (Hyperware)
Product 3 (Hyperware)
H111010
H376020
H111010
1%
19%
Inactive
1%
inactive
inactive
1%
Inactive
inactive
Some Initial Firm Decisions (For Q#5 and Beyond)
 Since the firms have been on “auto-pilot” for the initial four quarters, forecasts must be
updated, presumably with reference to the sales history provided in the Forecasting
Accuracy Report.
 No research studies are provided with the initial Q#4 results, so initial firm decisions must
include consideration of which research studies would be useful in the future. This
point/recommendation must be made quite forcefully by the LINKS instructor, to get the
students’ attention in the “blitz” of the overwhelming initial activity set in LINKS as students
assume managerial control of their firms.
 Since all products aren’t actively distributed in all regions when students assume managerial
control of their LINKS firms after Q#4, there is an apparent immediate growth opportunity
involving the launch of inactive products. Of course, there’s always the associated
provocative question: is there sufficient volume potential present to yield a profitable
business opportunity? And, in particular, does the existing configuration of product 2 “fit”
customer preferences in any other region (other than region 1 where it is initially actively
distributed)? And, furthermore, where will product 3 be targeted? (Launching product 3 with

its current configuration, a duplicate of product 1, is decidedly unwise. A “super” low-end
product, product 1, already exists in all regions.)
There is clearly much opportunity to improve product design. And, that requires lots
customer preference research. Encourage your students to ask good questions like “how
attractive are your products to your customers?” and “what research studies provide useful
information about how your customers view your products?”
Advanced Options
Advanced options aren’t normally a part of a standard 4-round event for the LINKS Marketing
Research Simulation.