Marketing Research : Management And Consumers Behaviour
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Technological forces
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Process |
· Delivery is moving towards online which is becoming more of an immerse learning experience · face-to-face · RTOs are embracing blended learning which involves mobile learning practices · Online collaboration tools with cloud-support have been introduced to reduce cost pressure |
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Social and cultural forces
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Place and Product |
· Personal fulfilment of gaining job-specific skills contributes to demand · School leavers need a bridge to enable them land a job · Employees feel valued which boots their morale and retention · Positive and encouraging attitude from family and workplace influences course participation · Participation in skills development is directly linked to the level of job security and positive economic returns received by employees · Challenging to reach students with special needs (e.g.; remotely located, disability, or culturally and linguistically diverse background, etc.) |
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Legal framework |
Product |
· access to public funds by private RTOs encourage student attraction |
2.2
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Customer base |
Consumer priorities, needs and preferences |
Impact on the marketing mix |
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Non-governmental organizations
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The staff members of NGOs require courses at low prices but prefer standard quality courses |
Demand will increase for the courses as prices will be lower as compared to other competitors |
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Corporate entities
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They are the ones which require premium courses with overall professional development of their employees and the courses need to be customized. |
Demand will increase of the product i.e. the courses as RTO is offering customized courses. Price will also get increased. |
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Public |
Because of lack of organizational support, these people want to have career development courses so that they can further step up their career outside the workplace. |
Prices will b average, needs more promotions so that customers can attract. |
2.3
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Marketing mix variables |
Marketing objectives, Target market characteristics, Desired positioning |
|
Product |
· Register this non-accredited program as a nationally recognized course · Develop additional innovative and quality syllabus to increase the perceived value offer in the eye of the market |
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Pricing |
· Maintain premium pricing to enhance quality image except for non-governmental organisations, do not have discount offers as do not want to establish a pattern of regularly lowering prices |
|
Promotion |
· Embed ‘Online Live Chat’ support option to the website in order to support promoting the product from the website · Increase the number of enquiries from the marketing communications activities by 15% · Develop the Change Management Program with an innovative and cutting-edge outlook · Build a solid customer base by delivering the product to industry giants · Have a professional and engaging video production to generate publicity and create brand awareness towards the training program · Support the opening of new premises across five states including NSW, VIC, SA, WA, and QLD · Support the introduction of additional syllabuses · Enrich the brand in a national scale cultivating the organisational image as the premier professional development course provider · Finding of the niche communities in the industry who need change management practices as the nature of their business · Showcase product features and benefits in national and local conferences |
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Distribution |
· Actively deliver the new Change Management Program in five states including NSW, VIC, SA, WA, and QLD · Launch online course delivery (which is currently only face-to-face) · Maintain percentage of customer complaints less than 5% reduce cost-of-delivery by 15% |
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Service Variation |
· Increase sales volume by 20% · Increase overall market share by 15% of the market which provides change management related courses · Achieve a minimum ROI of 20% · Achieve 5% improvement in customer retention rates every year within the next five years · Increase number of student enrolments by 10% in each site of delivery |
2.4
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Marketing mix variables |
Target Market 1 (NGOs) |
(Corporate entities) |
(Public) |
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Product |
The course package offered to public clients is ‘gold class’ |
The course package offered to public clients is ‘platinum class’ |
The course package offered to public clients is ‘silver class’ |
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Pricing |
Provide courses at relatively low prices |
Premium Pricing |
Group discount offered |
|
Promotion |
Online live chat and videos |
Online live chat and videos |
Online live chat and videos |
|
Distribution |
Support the opening of new premises across five states including NSW, VIC, SA, WA, and QLD
|
Actively deliver the new Change Management Program in five states including NSW, VIC, SA, WA, and QLD |
Support the opening of new premises across five states including NSW, VIC, SA, WA, and QLD
|
|
Customer Service Level |
Customer Engagement |
Customer Engagement |
Customer Engagement |
Variance between planned and actual results
|
|
Estimated |
Actual |
Variance |
|
Total reach |
8500 |
2453 |
5547 |
|
Leads |
2000 |
321 |
1679 |
|
Customers |
245 |
46 |
199 |
|
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Estimated |
Actual |
Variance |
|
Direct Mail |
3.4% |
4.8% |
1.4% |
|
Email Marketing |
4.8% |
2.2% |
(2.6%) |
|
Organic Search |
12.4% |
23.4% |
11% |
|
Website Traffic |
30% |
22.3% |
(7.7%) |
|
Networking |
8.8% |
6.2% |
(2.6%) |
|
Social Media |
19.2% |
23.2% |
4% |
|
E-brochure |
9.2% |
6.9% |
(2.3%) |
|
Local Radio |
12.2% |
11% |
(1.2%) |
|
Total |
100% |
100% |
|
There can be various reasons behind this variance such as people didn’t find the courses matched to their needs, unable to opt for the course due to financial issues, don’t have time to enroll or such courses etc.
Causes of Variance in promotional activities
There are various reasons behind this variance in promotional activities such as individuals have not checked their email on a regular basis, individuals don’t have access over internet facility at that time, don’t give much attention to promotional activities like e-brochure as other companies also send number of e-brochures for promotion and individuals do not prefer listening to local radio.
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Marketing mix components |
Test Strategy |
Expected outcome |
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Price |
Decreased prices |
Increased participants |
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Place |
Change in distribution channels: Visiting the organizations |
Extended outreach of potential customers |
|
Promotion |
Discount offers |
Increased demand |
3.2
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Scenario |
Implications on consumer response |
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Scenario 1: Decreased prices of the courses |
The individuals will find it competitive and will enroll themselves in the courses provided by the RTO and thus demand will increase. |
|
Scenario 2: Change in distribution channels: Visiting the organizations |
By visiting the organizations and making the employees understood about the various courses, there are huge chances that great customer response can be achieved for getting enrolled for the courses. |
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Scenario 3: Discount offers for first 50 participants |
This will impact the individuals in such a way that they will try to opt for the courses on first come first serve basis as only first 50 participants will get the benefit so participants will try to enroll them fast. |
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Marketing mix variables |
Target Market 1 (NGOs) |
Target Market 2 (Corporate Entities) |
Target Market 3 (Public) |
|
Product |
Gold class |
Platinum class |
Silver class |
|
Pricing |
Diminish the prices from $5,250 to $4,750 |
Diminish the prices from $11,600 to $10,600 per member |
Diminish the prices from $7, 800 to $7,000 |
|
Promotion |
No discount offers as prices are already diminished |
Discount offers of 20% to first 50 participants |
Discount offers of 15% to first 50 participants |
|
Distribution |
No visits needed |
Visiting to large companies |
Visiting to medium and SMEs |
|
Customer Service Level |
Customer engagement |
Customer engagement |
In excel sheet (only budget of Quarter 3 and 4 are re-adjusted)
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Marketing mix variables |
Target Market 1 |
Target Market 2 |
Target Market 3 |
|
Product |
Gold class |
Platinum class |
Silver class |
|
Pricing |
Increase prices from $5,250 to $5,500 |
Increase prices from $11,600 to $12,000 |
Increase prices from $7, 800 to $8,200 |
|
Promotion |
No discount offers as prices are already diminished |
Discount offers of 20% to first 50 participants |
Discount offers of 15% to first 50 participants |
|
Distribution |
No visits needed |
Visits to public companies |
No visit needed |
|
Customer Service Level |
Customer engagement |
Customer engagement |
Customer engagement |
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Constantinides, E., 2006. The marketing mix revisited: towards the 21st century marketing. Journal of marketing management, 22(3-4), pp.407-438.
Noble, P.M. and Gruca, T.S., 1999. Industrial pricing: Theory and managerial practice. Marketing science, 18(3), pp.435-454.
Sashi, C.M., 2012. Customer engagement, buyer-seller relationships, and social media. Management decision, 50(2), pp.253-272.
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