Principles of Marketing - Essay Example

? Assignment: Principles of Marketing Number: Institute: McDonald and Wilson divided marketing planning process in two types of plans: the strategic marketing plan and the tactical marketing plan. Former plan is concerned with the planning elements whereas later one is concerned with implementation aspects. This paper outlines strategic marketing plan for Newham College (Stratford Campus). The plan is structured due to the four phases of strategic marketing planning as identified by McDonald (2008): goal setting, situation review, strategy formulation, and resource allocation and monitoring. Goal setting phase sets the overall goals of the business. It requires outlining a mission and corporate objectives for the business (Egan & Thomas 2012). Newham College has a mission ?to expand and improve lifelong learning? (Newham 2007). To achieve this mission, Newham believes in ‘open access provision, relevant to the diverse range of needs in its local communities’ (Newham 2007). Its corporate goals include continuous capital investment to increase facilities for learning and enhance access to education. Over the last ten years it has invested ?15 million capital (Newham 2007) to meet its goals directing its way towards mission attainment.  Situation review follows the goal setting phase. McDonald (2008) explained that the situation review is a sort of market analysis in which marketing audit needs to be performed, SWOT analysis is to be conducted and key assumptions are to be outlined. Jobber (2004) described five steps in completing a marketing audit as defining the market, determining performance differentials, knowing the competitors, competitor analysis, and designing a strategic planning structure. Defining the market requires target market identification and segmentation to ease positioning. Pride and Ferrell (2008) regarded target market selection as one of the major areas in developing a marketing strategy. Initially, Newham College will target those secondary schools within 2 miles of Stratford, Inner London that have high or medium suitability. Appendix – II shares the list of schools in and around Stratford that form suitable target market for Newham College; the list is prepared based on the data made available by Guardian (2013) showing the data supplied by Department for Education 2010-13. The list shares number of pupils in the school, their gender, their age group, location of the school and its suitability as the target. Criterion for suitability is set to be the number of students regardless of the gender; the more the number of students in the school the more suitable it will be regarded as a target market as more number of students can be approached in a single go. Looking at the specifications of this target market positioning of Newham College can be decided and it should be more lively and career-oriented in which students do find a reason to study; SWOT analysis will further elaborate on which strengths Newham can focus on to get maximum enrolments from local schools. Next step in marketing audit is to determine the performance differentials; Botten (2009) explained that this step requires identifying submarkets offering entry point for the firm. For Newham those schools identified in Appendix-II list that have low suitability may offer subsector where Newham can position its products. Nonetheless the positioning will be based on the same points that are discussed later in the SWOT. Third and fourth step in marketing audit is ‘knowing the competitors’ and ‘competitor’s analysis’. Competition in Stratford area is high when we see the number of colleges available for the students for further education because all the colleges are striving for the same students. There are colleges such as Whitechapel College, The Building Crafts College, University of East London, Interlink College of Technology, NewVic – Newham Sixth Form College, Tower Hamlets College, and Stratford-upon-Avon College. Now based on the courses offered by these colleges some of them have a very limited range of courses such as NewVic – Newham Sixth Form College whereas some offer a wide range of courses such as University of East London; therefore it is important to conduct an in-depth competitor analysis to make sure right competitors are paid deserved attention. Though Ofsted report declared Newham college as ‘outstanding’ as shown in the below given table however it still needs to watch out carefully for the competitors to make sure it targets and positions its products rightly. Table I - Summary of Grades awarded to Newham College (Source: Newham 2009) Last step in marketing audit is designing a strategic planning structure. Botten (2009) explained that this requires setting goals for each planning unit and determining staff requirements for the achievement of each goal. This step will be covered while discussing third step of strategic marketing plan i.e. strategy formulation. Next step in situation review after marketing audit is SWOT Analysis. Following presents SWOT of Newham College. Strengths ISO 9001 certified Excellent support for learners Inclusive and innovative curriculum (as per Ofsted report) Variety of courses Excellent Ofsted ranking Advanced learning loans Employment options for unemployed Excellent Services Keen focus on equality and diversity Learning with modern facilities Weaknesses Areas of improvement as also identified by Ofsted are improvements in apprenticeships and trainings success rates, expanding teaching techniques range and improving learner’s attendance. Opportunities Expansion options are favorable Competition is moderate and Newham itself holds a good competitive position Possibility of increasing number of products/courses to attract more youngsters Focus on marketing can bring a lot of opportunities Threats Competition may become severe in near future High number of colleges may divert attention of target market towards their products Increasing demands for new courses (as world is constantly changing and not keeping up the pace with it may result in threat) Table II – SWOT Analysis of Newham College Last step in situation review is setting key assumptions. There is one key assumption for Newham College during the course of implementing this plan and that is no new colleges will be established for the year because it is an accepted fact that new entrant always pose threat for the existing firms (Blythe 2006) as they come up with great marketing and new offers. This will pose a threat for Newham College. Once the situation review is done, next step is strategy formulation. Egan and Thomas (2012) further divided strategy formulation phase into three steps as ‘setting marketing objectives and strategies’, ‘estimating expected results’ and ‘identifying alternative plans and mixes’. Setting marketing objectives requires setting primary and secondary goals (McDonald 2008). Primary objective of the marketing plan for Newham College is to promote its Stratford Campus to schools in the Stratford area. This will mean increasing enrolments from the local schools into Newham College. To ensure this goal is achieved two secondary objectives have been outlined. Secondary objectives support primary objectives as they define goals that ultimately help achieve primary objectives. The secondary objectives for this marketing plan are to increase awareness of Newham College and its products by 20% over a period of 12 months and to increase enrollments from local schools into Newham College by 15% over next 12 months. Awareness creation will be an ongoing process as this will reinforce the message in customer’s minds (Blakeman 2011) however enrollments will take place on due time for every term. Based on these objectives and timeline, marketing strategies need to be developed. This involves identifying elements of the marketing mix and mix integration. Four basic marketing mix elements are product, price, place and promotion. It is very important to mix all these elements in a way that they work closely in order to achieve marketing goals. Emphasizing the importance of integrating marketing mix elements, Kotler (1999, p. 137) explained that “the great number of interdependencies among marketing elements require the most careful planning. The choice of one element often dictates other elements”. This further needs to be coordinated with four C’s of customers as explained by Kotler (1999), these C’s are customer value, lower costs, better convenience and better communication. For Newham College, all of these elements dictate into following strategies. Marketing Mix Elements Strategies Product New products as per target market demands need to be introduced. Links with employment agencies to ensure pass outs get jobs should be built and promoted. Price Reasonable course fee Loans are there but their processing needs to be made easier to make it attractive for local students. Loan return procedure should be made easier. Place Positioning of the product should be based on strengths identified in table II Distribution point is Stratford campus and this will remain as it is. Promotion Promotion mix elements (advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations) should be integrated well. Entry criteria needs to be lenient and foundation courses for students not eligible for a course should be introduced to make entry into the college easy. Events/programs as a part of publicity should be organized and publicized to get attention of target audience. All promotional mix elements used for marketing purposes must deliver a coherent message. Table III – Marketing Strategies for Newham College Last step in strategic marketing planning is resource allocation and monitoring. For resource allocation, marketing department will take on the lead along with senior management guidance on promoting Newham to local schools. For monitoring, based on the two marketing objectives, awareness building will be checked with the help of consumer surveys and enrollments can be checked by the actual number of students enrolling from local schools in Stratford area into Newham College. References Blakeman, R 2011, Advertising Campaign Design: Just the Essentials, USA: M.E. Sharpe. Blythe, J 2006, Principles and Practice of Marketing, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA. Botten, N 2009, Enterprise Strategy, 6th edn., New York: Elsevier. Egan, C & Thomas, M 2012, CIM Handbook of Strategic Marketing, England: CRC Press. Guardian 2013, Secondary Schools (GCSE) in Stratford, Inner London, Guardian, available at [accessed on 15 May 2013] Jobber, D 2004, Principles and Practice of Marketing, 4th edn., London and New York: McGraw Hill. Kotler, P 1999, Kotler On Marketing: How To Create, Win, and Dominate Markets, New York: The Free Press. McDonald, M 2008, Malcolm McDonald on Marketing Planning: Understanding Marketing Plans and Strategy, USA and UK: Kogan Page Publishers. McDonald, M & Wilson, H 2011, Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them, 7th edn., New York: John Wiley & Sons. Newham 2007, The College, available at [accessed on 15 May 2013]. Newham 2009, ‘Summary of Grades awarded’, Newham College for Further Education – Inspection Report, available at z Pride, W M & Ferrell, O C 2008, Marketing, USA: Cengage Learning. Appendix – I Secondary Schools (GCSE) within two Miles in Stratford, Inner London Includes data supplied by Department for Education, or the Welsh Assembly Government 2010-13 Source: Guardian 2013, Secondary Schools (GCSE) in Stratford, Inner London, http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/li/secondary_schools.in.Stratford,%20Inner%20London/ Appendix – II Target Market for Newham College SCHOOL NAME Number of Students (SCHOOL SIZE) Location Suitabillity School type # of Boys # of GIRLS Total Age Range Azhar Academy Independent 0 300 300 11-16 Forest Gate, London Medium Bow School of Maths and Computing Community School 559 0 559 11-16 Fairfield Road, London Medium Brampton Manor Academy Academy 793 696 1489 11-16 Roman Road, London High Buxton School Foundation School 712 684 1396 3-18 Cann Hall Road, London High Cardinal Pole Roman Catholic School Voluntary Aided School 565 441 1006 11-19 Homerton, London High Central Foundation Girls' School Voluntary Aided School 0 1408 1408 11-18 Bow, London High Connaught School for Girls Community School 0 594 594 11-18 Leytonstone, London Medium Cumberland School Community School 756 680 1436 11-16 Oban Close, London High East London Independent Special School Independent Special School 31 9 40 7-16 Stratford, London Low Eastlea Community School Community School 425 500 925 11-16 Canning Town, London High Education Links Independent Special School 44 18 62 11-16 Stratford, London Low Forest Gate Community School Community School 700 338 1038 11-16 Forest Lane, London Medium George Mitchell School Community School 465 455 920 3-18 Leyton, London High Ian Mikardo School Community Special School 28 0 28 11-16 Talwin Street, London Low John F Kennedy Special School Community Special School 59 25 84 2-19 Stratford, London Low Lammas School and Sports College Community School 435 306 741 11-18 Leyton, London Medium Langdon Park Community School Community School 467 420 887 11-16 Poplar, London Medium Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School Independent 101 0 101 10-16 Leyton, London Low Lister Community School Community School 761 570 1331 11-16 Plaistow, London High Little Ilford School Community School 801 516 1317 11-16 Manor Park, London High London Christian Learning Centre Independent 37 19 56 3-18 Manor Park, London Low Norlington School for Boys Community School 480 0 480 11-18 Leyton, london Medium Phoenix School Community Special School 105 32 137 3-19 Bow, London Low Plaistow Jamia Islamia Independent 20 0 20 11-16 Plaistow, London Low Plashet School Community School 0 1345 1345 11-16 East Ham, London High Quwwatt Ul Islam Girls School Independent 0 285 285 4-16 Forest Gate, London Low Rokeby School Community School 822 0 822 11-16 Barking Road, London Medium Sarah Bonnell School Community School 0 1187 1187 11-16 Deanery Road, London High School 21 Free School - mainstream Not known Not known Not known 4-18 Stratford, London --- St Angela's Ursuline School Voluntary Aided School 0 1383 1383 11-18 Forest Gate, London High St Bonaventure's RC School Voluntary Aided School 1318 0 1318 11-18 Forest Gate, London High St Paul's Way Trust School Foundation School 487 365 852 11-16 Bow, London Medium Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College Community School 845 0 845 11-16 Stepney, London Medium Stratford School Academy 637 267 904 11-16 Forest Gate, London High The Royal Docks Community School Foundation School 459 562 1021 11-16 Custom House, London High UK Community College Independent 2 4 6 11-19 Broadway, London Low 900 and above = High 300 – 899 = Medium 299 and below = Low Source: Guardian 2013, Secondary Schools (GCSE) in Stratford, Inner London, http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/li/secondary_schools.in.Stratford,%20Inner%20London/ Read More