GoVenture World User Guide
Gameplay Details Continued
Manufacturing Business
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Manufacturing Businesses produce products and sell them to Retail Businesses.
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A Manufacturing Business can only manufacture one type of product.
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Manufacturing a product requires raw materials. There is an endless supply of raw materials, but costs vary by country.
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There are three actions you need to make when manufacturing product:
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Choose the number of units to manufacture. To start manufacturing, issue a Production Order for a set quantity and then watch your products being made on the manufacturing line. It might take minutes, hours, or days for your Production Order to be completed. As each unit is completed, it will be added to your inventory. Inventory is then ready to sell.
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Invest in Research and Development to improve the Features of your product. (Features are not described in the game, they are just bundled together using the term "Features".)
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Invest in Manufacturing to improve the Quality of your product. The more you invest, the higher the Quality.
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Consumers will purchase products based on Features, Quality, and other factors.
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To invest in Research and Development (R&D) and improve the Features of your product, you can add R&D Stations. A Station may have a one-time Setup Cost associated with adding it to your manufacturing line. Once a Station is added, you can turn it OFF or ON at any time at no additional cost. A Station may also have a Cost Per Product, which means that while this Station is ON, the cost to manufacture a product will increase.
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To invest in Manufacturing Quality and improve the Quality of your product, you can add Quality Stations. A Station may have a one-time Setup Cost associated with adding it to your manufacturing line. Once a Station is added, you can turn it OFF or ON at any time at no additional cost. A Station may also have a Cost Per Product, which means that while this Station is ON, the cost to manufacture a product will increase.
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Products are assigned a score for Features and a score for Quality. The Features score is determined by the R&D Stations turned ON during the manufacturing of the products. The Quality score is determined by the Manufacturing Stations turned ON during the the manufacturing of the products. The Features and Quality scores are then adjusted based on the average of the total products a Manufacturing Business has in inventory (including inventory currently listed on the Open Market and inventory that is sold but not yet shipped).
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When products are sold by a Manufacturing Business to a Retail Business, the group (or lot) of cars sold at that time will keep their Features and Quality scores. Products are tracked by group (lot) as they are held in inventory by the Retail Business.
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Read more about Product Quality and Features
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Adding Research and Development and Manufacturing Stations may increase the value of the products you manufacture and the value of your Operating Business.
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You have the option of investing in Efficiency Upgrades. Efficiency Upgrades increase the number of products that can be manufactured in a production order.
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Once you have an inventory of products, you can sell them directly to Retail Businesses or on the Open Market. See Buying and Selling Product for details.
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There are many other businesses manufacturing products similar to yours. These are your competitors. To be successful, you should try to differentiate your products with some combination of the following:
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Features — as described above.
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Quality — as described above.
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Price - You cannot control the price at which Retailers will sell your product to virtual consumers, but you can influence it by the price you charge Retailers to buy the product from you. For example, if you charge a Retailer a high price for your product, they will have to sell the product at a higher price in order to make a profit. If you charge a Retailer a low price for your product, the Retailer will have greater flexibility to charge a low or high price to consumers.
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Brand — see Brand for details.
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Social Responsibility — see Social Responsibility for details.
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The key to running a successful Manufacturing Business is to manufacture as many products as you can sell and to do so at the most profitable price. Some businesses will try to be low volume, high price providers, while others may be high volume, low price. Try to establish relationships with Retailers so that you always have one or more businesses ready to buy your inventory. Remember, Retailers need product from Manufacturers, otherwise they have nothing to sell.
Retail Business
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Retail Businesses purchase products from Manufacturing Businesses and sell them to virtual consumers.
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The number of consumers and their demographics and psychographics vary by country and region. You can only attract customers from within the country where your Retail Business is located.
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There are three actions you need to make when retailing product:
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Buy product directly from Manufacturing Businesses or on the Open Market. Without product, you have nothing to sell. See Buying and Selling Product for details.
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Invest in Signage and/or Service to increase visibility and goodwill for your business. The more you invest, the greater the result.
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Invest in Salespeople to increase the number of customers that can be served. The more Salespeople, the more customers that can be served.
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Add Signage to increase the visibility of your business. Add Service to increase the goodwill customers have towards your business. Your Signage and Service are compared to other Retail businesses in the same country at that same hour GT and will influence sales to virtual consumers based on their psychographics. Signage and Service may have one-time Setup Costs associated with adding them to your business. Once Signage and/or Service are added, you can turn them OFF or ON at any time at no additional cost. There may also be a Cost Per Day that is incurred while the option is ON. Note that visibility and goodwill are not the same as Brand.
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Add Salespeople to increase the Selling Capacity of your business. Adding a Salesperson may have a one-time Operations and Hiring Cost. Once a Salesperson is hired, you can turn them OFF or ON at any time at no additional cost. A Salesperson may also have a Cost Per Day for wages and related costs that is incurred while the Salesperson is ON.
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There may be many other Retail Businesses in your region trying to sell to the same customers. These are your competitors. To be successful, you should try to differentiate your business with some combination of the following:
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Product Selection — Products vary by Features, Quality, and Brand.
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Price
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Brand — see Brand for details.
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Signage (visibility) and Service (goodwill) — see above for details.
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Social Responsibility — see Social Responsibility for details.
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Products are assigned a score for Features and a score for Quality. The Features score is determined by the R&D Stations turned ON during the manufacturing of the products. The Quality score is determined by the Manufacturing Stations turned ON during the the manufacturing of the products. The Features and Quality scores are then adjusted based on the average of the total products a Manufacturing Business has in inventory (including inventory currently listed on the Open Market and inventory that is sold but not yet shipped).
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When products are sold by a Manufacturing Business to a Retail Business, the group (or lot) of cars sold at that time will keep their Features and Quality scores. Products are tracked by group (lot) as they are held in inventory by the Retail Business.
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Read more about Product Quality and Features
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Retail businesses have a Maximum Storage Capacity that determines the number of products that can be held in inventory at any one time. New product inventory cannot be purchased if it will exceed the Maximum Storage Capacity.
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It may happen that you have a quantity of products on order and being shipped that, upon delivery, will exceed the Maximum Storage Capacity. If new product inventory arrives that exceeds the Maximum Storage Capacity, a one-time Off-Site Storage Fee will be charged on each product that exceeds the Maximum Storage Capacity. Similarly, some types of products will have a Maximum Inventory Allocation with an Excess Inventory Fee.
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To avoid the Off-Site Storage Fee and Excess Inventory Fee, you may purchase Efficiency Upgrades to increase the Maximum Storage Capacity and Maximum Inventory Allocation, respectively.
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The key to running a successful Retail Business is to buy and sell as many products as you can at the most profitable price. It’s important to understand the needs of virtual consumers in your region so that you can find the best combination of product Features, Quality, Brand, and Price. Consumer behavior varies by region. Also, try to establish relationships with Manufacturing Businesses so that you always have a steady flow of affordable product inventory.
Transportation Business
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Transportation businesses provide product shipping services to Manufacturing and Retail businesses.
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A Transportation business generates revenue each time a Manufacturing or Retail business chooses to use its shipping services. A Transportation business can win customers by advertising and offering competitive prices and discounts.
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Retail businesses choose a Transportation business each time they buy products from the Open Market. Manufacturing businesses choose a Transportation business each time they ship products directly to Retailers. A Transportation business has to be chosen every time a new order is fulfilled, allowing competing Transportation businesses to win customers at any time.
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When a Manufacturing or Retail business chooses to ship products, a list of Transportation businesses appears to choose from. The list only includes Transportation businesses that are currently serving the required shipping route — originating and destination countries — and which have available Shipping Credits for those countries.
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As soon as a Transportation business is selected, the products are immediately shipped, automatically. No intervention is required of the player managing the Transportation business. This assures that there are no delays when players are not available.
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Delivery Time. Once products have shipped, it takes some time to arrive at their destination, usually a few days GT. The duration depends on the distance travelled and the shipping speed offered by the Transportation business. Transportation businesses can increase their shipping speed (reduce delivery time) by investing in Efficiency Upgrades.
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Prices. A Transportation business sets its own shipping prices. Shipping costs are the same for all Transportation businesses, but some costs can be reduced by purchasing Efficiency Upgrades. Shipping costs and prices are based on three factors:
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Type of Product
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Price Per Unit Shipped
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Price Per Kilometer Per Unit
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All Transportation businesses can ship all types of products available in GoVenture World. A Transportation business cannot choose which type of products to ship, but can set prices differently for each product type.
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Specialization. A Transportation business cannot offer more than one shipping service. For example, a player who wants to offer fast and slow shipping options, or low price and high price shipping options, cannot do so with the same Transportation business. This is by design to maintain simplicity while encouraging the creation of multiple Transportation businesses that can be specialized.
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Discounts can be provided by a Transportation business as incentives to win new customers or maintain existing customers. Discounts are provided through the creation and distribution of Discount Codes. A Discount Code is a unique alphanumeric string, created by a Transportation business, which is encoded with a price discount of a set percentage or amount of g money. A Discount Code can be set to expire on a given date or after it is used a specific number of times. Discount Codes are used by Manufacturing or Retail businesses at the exact moment they choose a Transportation company to ship their products. Discount Codes can be given directly to individual players or promoted more widely using advertising and direct mail campaigns.
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Routes allow a Transportation business to carry shipments within and between the countries that it serves. A Transportation business must choose countries to serve. Adding a country will incur a one-time setup cost and a recurring monthly cost. A country may be disabled at any time. Efficiency Upgrades apply to all countries being served, regardless of when service was started.
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Shipping Credits are required to transport shipments. Transportation businesses must continually buy and allocate Shipping Credits to specific countries in order to serve those countries. 2 Shipping Credits are required to transport one group of products of any quantity that are shipped together. 1 Shipping Credit is used for the originating country and 1 for the destination country, or 2 Shipping Credits if within the same country. If a country has no Shipping Credits allocated or available, the Transportation business will not appear as a shipping option to customers who need service to or from that country. Shipping Credits can be replenished at any time, up to the maximum allowed. Investing in Efficiency Upgrades can increase the maximum number of Shipping Credits that can be purchased. Managing Shipping Credits requires a player to remain continually engaged with their Transportation Business, thereby opening up more opportunities for competition.
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Revenue. Each shipment that a Transportation business delivers earns 5 times the revenue paid by the Manufacturing or Retail business for the shipping service. This additional revenue is called Supplementary Revenue and is earned from additional unrelated shipments the Transportation business handles on the same route (for fictitious customers). Supplementary Revenue is automatically earned and no extra Shipping Credits are needed to earn this additional revenue. Design Note: This feature is included in the gameplay to make Transportation businesses equally as profitable as Manufacturing and Retail businesses. The 5-times revenue multiple may change over time.
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GoVenture World has a default Transportation business that serves all routes and is always available. This business is managed by the GoVenture World administrators and is provided to facilitate gameplay in the event that too few player-run Transportation businesses are available. The GoVenture World Transportation business intentionally has high prices and slower shipping speeds in order to encourage player-controlled Transportation businesses to be more competitive and successful.
Accounting & Law Firm
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Accounting & Law Firms provide accounting and legal services to other businesses.
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Limit removed Jan 2021 — An Accounting & Law Firm can only serve Holding Companies that are in the same country in which the Firm is located. If a Holding Company wants to hire a Firm, but there are none located in the same country, the Holding Company will be allowed to hire a Firm located anywhere in the world.
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The following services can be provided:
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Brokerage Services for Product Sales
Whenever an Operating Business sells or buys products, an Accounting & Law Firm must represent the company to handle the legal and accounting processes related to the sale. This includes Open Market sales and Direct Sales, but does not include sales to virtual Consumers.
The Operating Business that is buying or selling product must choose an Accounting & Law Firm to put on retainer. A retainer is a fee that is automatically paid by the Operating Business to the Accounting & Law Firm when the financial transaction happens. The retainer fee is a fixed amount that cannot be changed — it is equal to a percentage of the total value of the financial transaction. The fee is paid on successful transactions only, as there is no fee for rejected transactions. Thirty-percent (30%) of the revenue earned on retainer will be allocated as a Cost of Services expense.
Buyers and sellers must each have an Accounting & Law Firm on retainer and each is paid separately. Accounting & Law Firms do not have to do anything to earn the retainer fee other than encourage other players to choose their Firms to be on retainer.
The Operating Business may change the Accounting & Law Firm at any time. Accounting & Law Firms should conduct marketing campaigns to try to win business from other players. Holding Companies cannot choose their own Accounting & Law Firms to be on retainer.
Multiplier — the revenue and expenses described above will be multiplied by 2, allowing Accounting & Law Firms to earn even more profit. These additional funds are called Supplementary and are matched by GoVenture World as a way to help Accounting & Law Firms be an attractive business option for players. Note that the multiplier may change.
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Tax Return Preparation
Every Holding Company submits a tax return to the government of the country in which it resides. This is done every fiscal year GT (not calendar year GT). This process happens automatically and players do not need to do anything. There are no direct fees involved with this process.
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Trademark Registration
Register Trademarks on behalf of other Holding Companies. See Trademarks for details.
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Dispute Mediation
When players have disputes between them that they cannot settle on their own, a Law Firm can be hired to mediate the dispute by acting on behalf of one or both players.
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File Lawsuit
A player can hire a Law Firm to file a lawsuit against another player. Law Firms must present evidence to support their clients’ cases with the GoVenture World Court. Lawsuits are adjudicated by GoVenture World administrators or other individuals assigned by GoVenture World administrators. While GoVenture World does not have written laws (other than the Terms of Use), the general principals of international law, binding agreements, and fairness are followed.
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Defend Lawsuit
A player (Holding Company) that is sued must hire a Law Firm to represent them in their defense. Players cannot represent themselves in a lawsuit. A Law Firm cannot represent both parties in a lawsuit.
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Escrow
When money and goods or services need to be transferred between players, a Law Firm may be hired to hold the money in escrow until both parties have executed the terms of their agreement, at which point the Law Firm will release the funds.
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Bankruptcy
When a Holding Company runs out of money, a Law Firm must be hired as a trustee to handle the bankruptcy filing, liquidation of assets, and distribution of funds to creditors. See Bankruptcy for more details.
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Fees charged by an Accounting & Law Firm are either fixed or negotiated between players, except Bankruptcy where there is a set fee.
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An Accounting & Law Firm cannot represent itself, or both parties in a lawsuit, and should not represent other businesses where there may be a conflict of interest.
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There may be many other Accounting & Law Firms in your country trying to sell services to the same customers. These are your competitors. To be successful, you should try to differentiate your business with some combination of the following:
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Services
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Price
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Brand — see Brand for details.
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Customer Service (responsiveness, professional communications, etc.)
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The key to running a successful Accounting & Law Firm is to service as many clients as you can at the most profitable price. Reputation and history of success will be particularly important.
Investment Bank
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Investment Banks provide financial services to other businesses.
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Limit removed Jan 2021 — An Investment Bank can only serve Holding Companies that are in the same country in which the Investment Bank is located. If a Holding Company wants to hire a Investment Bank, but there are none located in the same country, the Holding Company will be allowed to hire an Investment Bank located anywhere in the world.
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The following services can be provided:
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Issue Loans
Lend money to other players at a negotiated interest rate and amortization schedule.
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Underwrite Bond Issues
Holding Companies can raise money by issuing bonds. This is called debt financing. To issue a bond, a Holding Company must hire an Investment Bank to underwrite the bond issue. If an Investment Bank chooses to underwrite a bond issue, the bonds will be made available on the Primary Bond Market for any player to purchase. The Investment Bank will earn a portion of its fee each time a bond unit is sold on the Primary Market (but not the Secondary Market). See Bonds for more details.
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Underwrite Stock Issues
Holding Companies can raise money by issuing stocks (or shares). This is called equity financing. To issue stock, a Holding Company must hire an Investment Bank to underwrite the stock issue. If an Investment Bank chooses to underwrite a stock issue, the stocks will be made available on the Primary Stock Market for any player to purchase (but not the Secondary Market). The Investment Bank will earn a portion of its fee each time a share is sold. See Stocks for more details.
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Manage Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds
An Investment Bank, through its Holding Company, can purchase stocks and bonds just like any other business. It can also raise money from other players. This allows an Investment Bank to create its own mutual funds or act as a hedge fund and invest on behalf of other players, by conducting due diligence, negotiating investments, and tracking and reporting performance. These tasks are done manually by the player that owns the Investment Bank. See Investment Portfolio for more details.
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Fees charged by Investment Banks are negotiated between players.
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An Investment Bank that underwrites a bond or stock issue will have its name associated with that issue. An Investment bank can improve or damage its reputation by the quality of the securities it underwrites. For example, an Investment Bank that mainly underwrites securities issued by Holding Companies that go on to be successful will give other players more confidence in all the securities underwritten by this Investment Bank. This may allow the Investment Bank to charge higher fees as well. Conversely, if an Investment Bank underwrites securities that cause investors to lose money, players are less likely to trust all of the securities underwritten by this Investment Bank.
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Investment Banks cannot underwrite their own bond or stock issues.
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There may be many other Investment Banks in your country trying to sell services to the same customers. These are your competitors. To be successful, you should try to differentiate your business with some combination of the following:
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Services
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Price
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Brand — see Brand for details.
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Customer Service (responsiveness, professional communications, etc.)
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The key to running a successful Investment Bank is to service as many clients as you can at the most profitable price. Reputation and history of success will be particularly important.
Advertising Agency
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Advertising Agencies provide marketing services to other businesses.
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Limit removed Jan 2021 — An Advertising Agency can only serve Holding Companies that are in the same country in which the Advertising Agency is located. If a Holding Company wants to hire an Advertising Agency, but there are none located in the same country, the Holding Company will be allowed to hire an Advertising Agency located anywhere in the world.
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The following services can be provided:
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Marketing Services (automated)
Whenever a Holding Company bids on an Ad Spot or purchases a Direct Mail Campaign Contact List, they must choose an Advertising Agency to provide the service. The selected Advertising Agency will automatically receive a percentage of the fees paid by the Holding Company with the winning Ad Spot or purchase of a Direct Mail Campaign Contact List.
Thirty-percent (30%) of the revenue earned will be allocated as a Cost of Services expense.
Advertising Agencies do not have to do anything to earn the fees described above, other than encourage players to choose their Agencies to provide the marketing services.
Multiplier — the revenue and expenses described above will be multiplied by 2, allowing Advertising Agencies to earn even more profit. These additional funds are called Supplementary and are matched by GoVenture World as a way to help Advertising Agencies be an attractive business option for players. Note that the multiplier may change.
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Direct Mail Campaign
Send in-game messages to other players to promote a client's products, services, brand, or more. This is accomplished by purchasing a mailing list, writing a text message, and scheduling it to be sent.
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Advertising Campaign
Display advertisements to promote a client's products, services, brand, or more. See Advertising for details.
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Consulting and Research
Advertising Agencies may have experience, skills, and market data that motivates other players to hire them for consulting services.
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Fees charged by Advertising Agencies are negotiated between players.
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Holding Companies can do their own marketing campaigns, so hiring an Advertising Agency is optional. However, players may not have the time or skills necessary to strategize and conduct their own effective marketing campaigns, and will sometimes turn to hiring an Advertising Agency to act on their behalf. Advertising Agencies also have the ability to manage multiple clients and campaigns, and to purchase expensive market research reports.
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There may be many other Advertising Agencies in your country trying to sell services to the same customers. These are your competitors. To be successful, you should try to differentiate your business with some combination of the following:
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Services
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Price
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Brand — see Brand for details.
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Customer Service (responsiveness, professional communications, etc.)
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The key to running a successful Advertising Agency is to service as many clients as you can at the most profitable price. Reputation and history of success will be particularly important.
Computer-Run Businesses
A small number of businesses of all types are run by the computer. Computer-run businesses are used in GoVenture World to:
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Keep the gameplay active.
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Ease new players into the game by buying and selling products and services so that new or shy players are not forced to interact with other players before they are emotionally ready to do so.
Computer-run businesses are designed to be somewhat competitive but easily beaten by human-run businesses. As more human-run businesses are active in GoVenture World, fewer computer-run businesses will be needed.