Pharmasim How To Win: PharmaSim Simulation – Round 1 & Round 2 Winning Strategy Guide - Pharmasim guide

PharmaSim Simulation – Round 1 & Round 2 Winning Strategy Guide

Free Tips and Step-by-Step Decision-Making Walkthrough

Hello and welcome back to our PharmaSim simulation strategy series. In this video, I will walk you through a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to help you make optimal decisions for Rounds 1 and 2 of the PharmaSim simulation. These early rounds are crucial—they set the foundation for your long-term success over the 10-round competition.

Whether you're aiming for market leadership, maximum profitability, or balanced performance, this tutorial will help you start strong, avoid common pitfalls, and make confident decisions using data-driven insights. Let's get started!

Part 1: General Strategy and Mindset

Before we dive into specific decisions, let’s talk about the mindset. In PharmaSim, you are managing a cold medicine brand in a competitive market. To win, you must:

Understand market reports.
Align your product with customer needs.
Monitor competitors closely.
Adjust pricing, promotion, and advertising dynamically.
Manage trade-offs between sales volume and profitability.

Your primary success metric is net contribution. This means both revenue and cost control are important.

Part 2: Round 1 Step-by-Step Decisions

1. Sales Force Allocation

The sales force is your frontline driver of retail support and customer conversion. In Round 1:

Increase total sales force significantly. For example, raise it from around 100 to 170 reps.
Check the channel sales report (last year’s data) to understand which retail channels perform best (e.g., drugstores, grocery, convenience).
Allocate sales force proportionally. For instance:

Direct sales (e.g., drugstores): 120 reps.
Indirect sales (e.g., grocery, wholesale): 50 reps.

💡 Tip: More sales reps in high-performing channels = higher retail push = higher sales.

2. Product (Brand) Reformulation

Product reformulation allows you to improve alignment with customer preferences.

In Round 1, focus on removing alcohol from your core product (e.g., Allround) to make it more appealing to health-conscious consumers.
Don’t overcomplicate. Just a single change—remove alcohol—is enough for now.
Save innovations like launching a new product (e.g., Allround Plus or Allstar) for Rounds 3–5.

💡 Why this matters: Consumers dislike alcohol in medicine. Removing it increases brand preference and reduces negative perception.

3. Pricing Strategy

Pricing is key to balancing revenue and competitiveness.

Check the inflation rate in the company dashboard (typically ~2–3%).
Increase your product price by 2–3% to keep up with inflation without hurting volume.
Don’t jump too high, or you'll lose share.

💡 Example: If last year’s price was $5.49, increase it to around $5.65.

4. Volume Discounts

To drive larger orders, offer smart volume discounts.

Increase volume discount by 1–2% for larger order sizes.
For example:

Wholesalers ordering 2500+ units: increase from 40% → 42%.
Mid-size orders: raise from 35% → 36%.

💡 Goal: Encourage bulk purchases while protecting margins.

5. Advertising Budget and Message Design

Your ad budget influences awareness and brand equity.

Set an initial advertising budget around $20 million.
Consider increasing to $22 million if margin allows.
Choose a reputable ad agency (e.g., Brewster, Metzger, and White).

Message strategy:

Focus on primary benefits: clear congestion, relieve coughing, ease nasal issues.
Reduce weight on comparison messaging (don’t directly attack competitors yet).
Adjust benefit weights:

Relieves Congestion: 40%
Suppresses Coughing: 25%
Energy Boosting: optional depending on market demand

Target younger and mature families, which are larger segments with higher purchase frequency.

6. Promotion Strategy

Promotional allowance boosts retailer support and shelf visibility.

Set initial allowance levels by channel based on prior sales:

Chain Drugstores: 18%
Independent Drugstores: 10–12%
Grocery: 18%
Convenience: 10%
Mass Merchandise: 17–18%
Wholesalers: 18%

💡 Check competitor reports to avoid under- or over-spending.

Also allocate:

Co-op advertising budget
Coupon and trial sample budget – modest for now, scale later

Part 3: Round 2 Decision Adjustments

With Round 1 data available, now refine and scale your decisions.

1. Sales Force Adjustment

If performance is strong, increase total sales force to 220–236 reps.
Allocate based on updated channel sales data.
Focus on high-revenue channels but invest slightly in weaker ones to stimulate growth.

2. Brand Strategy and Product Reformulation

If not done in Round 1, now is the time to remove alcohol from your main product.
Evaluate brand perception and consider planning for a new product launch in Round 3.

3. Pricing Adjustment

Check updated inflation rate.
Adjust your price by another 2–3% to match inflation and cost changes.
Example: from $5.65 → $5.79 or $5.85.

💡 Important: Keep an eye on price elasticity—don’t increase price too steeply.

4. Discount Update

Continue to raise volume discounts slightly to outcompete others.
For high-volume buyers:

Raise discount from 42% → 43–44%.
Keep the structure logical and competitive.

5. Advertising Strategy

Maintain or increase budget to $22–24 million.
Reinforce successful message strategies.
Adjust benefit emphasis slightly based on Round 1 consumer feedback.
Don’t change ad agency unless performance is poor.

Target segments remain the same, unless customer preference report suggests a shift.

6. Promotion Optimization

Adjust allowance levels if needed:

If a channel underperformed, increase its allowance by 1–2%.
If a channel is highly profitable, maintain or slightly reduce to protect margins.

Budgeting:

Raise co-op ad spend moderately.
Continue or slightly increase coupons and trial budget if ROI was positive.

Part 4: Summary of Key Rules

Here are 7 core principles to guide your Round 1–2 decisions:

Base everything on reports: Especially the Sales, Segment, and Competitor Reports.
Sales force is your engine: More reps = more sales, if allocated wisely.
Don’t overprice early: Stick close to inflation levels.
Incremental reformulation wins: Start with alcohol removal; don't rush new products.
Promotion should match performance: Don’t blindly increase allowances.
Advertising consistency matters: Don’t change too much too fast.
Always check your competitors: Stay competitive in all metrics.

Final Thoughts: What’s Next

With strong and smart decisions in Rounds 1 and 2, you create a solid foundation for expansion:

In Round 3–5: Launch new products (e.g., Allround Plus, Allstar) to tap into unmet needs like allergy or energy.
In Round 6–8: Optimize automation and profitability.
In Round 9–10: Maximize market share or margin depending on your performance goal.

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Thank you for watching this PharmaSim Rounds 1–2 decision guide. These rounds are the most critical for building momentum in the game. Stick to the strategy, adapt using data, and you’ll be well on your way to top results.

If you found this helpful, stay tuned for the next video where we’ll cover product launch strategy and mid-game optimization tips. Good luck, and let’s win PharmaSim together!