Marketing Strategies for Counseling Program - Report Example

Marketing strategies for counseling program INTRODUCTION Purpose The report will identify the various marketing strategies used by counseling program. The counseling services require good marketing strategies for it to acquire many people. It would be easier to get access the target audience with this. The report will help increase student awareness about counseling in the USA. The aim of counseling is to assist people use their existing problem-solving skills more effectively(Women 66). The youths are the important target group of this report. Most marketing strategies favor the youth. These are like facebook, t-shirt printing, websites, and freshman orientation(Rust 10). The marketing tools will keep people updated on the importance of engaging in counseling. The paper will act as a partial solution to people with deep-seeded issues. They may be ignorant of the location of a professional counselor; hence, this paper will come to their assistance(Carpenter 30). Scope and methods The focus of the report is to ensure the counseling program has the best marketing strategy. The researchers relied on information from certain books in the library. They also conducted interviews and offered questionnaire to students. Limitations Most of the students were rough while providing information. Furthermore, the library did not have certain books. There was the lack of crucial information. Preview The report has two parts. These are the general view of an advertisement, and specific forms of advertisement. It recommends the best forms of advertisement in a specific part. MARKETING Definition Marketing refers to communicating the value of the product to potential buyers. Objective of marketing services to the customers, for the purpose of selling a product (Barnett 12). Branding for counseling program The department in the University of South Alabama offers various services in counseling and testing services. They include providing outreach programs, virtual brochures, substance abuse program, mental health emergencies, group counseling, and testing services. Various marketing strategies The counseling program wants to bring many youths into the program. It has initiated marketing objectives that need to have success. Counseling must reach the target audience of all groups of people. The use of posters and flyers is to target the busy students. Posters and flyers steal the attention of the eye faster(Zou 80). The counseling program intends to achieve a higher percentage of awareness among the busy students. It will attract most of them because posters attract a large audience(Vargo 40). The use vanguard advertisement is helpful in spreading the word to students who are aware of Vanguard Company. The company specializes in advertisements. The method is limited because most students are not aware of vanguard. Facebook is important as the method of advertisement because it has many active students (Grewal 54). The counseling program is aware that most students access facebook always daily. By using facebook, the counseling program would have a large number of students involved in counseling. The marketing objective of the counseling program is to involve many students. Use of facebook would increase the number(Reinartz 70). The counseling program specialized in use of websites. Most students have access to online advertising(S Chetty 55). They could reach the programs of the counseling program by using the websites. Despite the regulations in most online advertisement, the message could still reach the students. There are many forms of online advertisement. They include mobile advertisement, trick banners, and texts advertisement (Barnett 40). The program could use the course syllabus as its method of advertisement. Teachers and instructors from the counseling department would be important in passing information to the students. Some colleges have included counseling as part of their curricular activities. In the end, the number of students participating in counseling programs will increase (Churchil 5). Outreach programs could be important in passing messages about the counseling program. The outreach program could be useful when classrooms and residence halls of these students conduct the program. Example of these outreach programs are students participating in planting of trees(Vorhies 25). As the program progresses, the students get involved in counseling programs. In the end, most students will have access to the counseling program ( Zhou 80). The counseling program could increase its marketing strength by use of special events(Carpenter 200). Students are attracted to special events like girls night out. After participating in these events, the students will have access to the counseling programs. The marketing strategy of counseling program is centered on the youths, and the special events would be an advantage to them(GJ Ashworth 60). Most colleges organize the freshman parties. It involves many events like orientation and introduction to the college life. The counseling program could use this as a method in improving their marketing strategy(CH Noble 160). They could involve the new members of the college in counseling programs. During the orientation, the students would get advice on the importance of involving themselves in counseling programs. Alabama university students always participate in the gabfest affair. It involves the president’s dinner buffet and campus fair. Many students come together in this affair, and there is much interaction. The counseling program could use this program to market their services. It is a jovial period and most students would easily accept any means of marketing forwarded to them(Hartline 87). The program could take advantage of faculty orientation to acquire many students in the program. The university always organizes the faculty orientation during the beginning of the semester. There are many students during this period, and it becomes an advantage to the marketing strategy of the counseling program(Mort 20). There are various training in the college. The faculty training could be important in influencing the marketing strategy. The college has to identify students with stress and require counseling. They are then involved in the faculty training. In the end, many students would have access to the program, and the marketing strategy would be a success(Hewett 50). The radio is a very influential tool in marketing. The college counseling program should include this in its marketing strategy. The prowl is the college radio program. The presenters could spread the awareness message of this program using the radio. Many students have access to the radio services, and at the end of the day, the program shall gain fame(Morrison 34-50). Most students learn through the online academic systems. Sakai is an example of online studies. The students participate in an online learning environment. The counseling program could use this environment to their marketing advantage. It will experience a major success because there are many students who use Sakai(Wathne 30). Specific categories to use in the project This paper will outline market strategies. The important one is the use of posters at events because they provide a logical and cost effective way of communication. The counseling program will have a huge number of participants if they create an attracting poster. Students who have learnt about counseling through posters will forever remember the program. The poster message sticks in the mind of the viewer for a long time. ( Noble 78). The public that uses the posters are very active. They easily notice of changes in the environment. It highlights how active they are. The same people could spread the message seen in the poster. In the end, many students will be aware of the existence of the counseling program. Noticing of posters involves people who are in boredom. The posters could capture their attention easily. A poster well formulated by a trained poster will urge the public to take necessary actions with accordance to the subject in the poster. Depressed students will take the action of visiting the counseling program in time(Hartline 80). Posters could increase the visibility base of students. It could be places at multiple locations within the school creating a large visibility scene. There is an effect of creating this large visibility base. The audience will create imaginary objects in their heads regarding the poster. In the end, the message will forever stick in the heads of the audience. Another category to concentrate in marketing is orientation. The orientation program involves many students either new or continuing. The first years’ orientation could be important in introducing the counseling program to the students. In the end, many new students during the new students’ orientation would enroll for the program(Morrison 78). Faculty orientation would involve all the students either new or continuing. During this period, the counseling program could strengthen its marketing strategy. The organizers would spread the word of the program to students participating in this orientation. Another category in the report is the use of social media as a tool of advertisement. The main advantage of social media is that it has a large audience. Furthermore, it is cost effective. It is cheap to market a product using social media. The counseling program has an aim in the youths. Social media is a favorite tool of the youths. The program could focus in spreading its message using the social media. In the end, there would be a large number of students participating in the program (Ashworth 98). Social media is fast in delivering marketing message. The target group will receive a message at a very short time hence increasing the counseling program visibility. The program always interacts with students in its operation. They involve students in discussions during the counseling session. Social media could provide a platform for interacting with students(Zou 30). EVALUATION Questionnaires The paper distributed questionnaires to students to inquire information about the counseling program. The paper found out many South Alabama students were aware of the program. KEY WORDS USED The paper used the term marketing strategies. The program has to improve its marketing strategies for many to recognize it. Counseling services is another term. It is the programs conducted by the counseling group. Social media refers to the marketing tool frequently used. Orientation is a term referred to programs conducted during the first days of college. It could be faculty orientation or freshman orientation. CONCLUSION The paper found out that, with proper advertisement strategies, the product could sell significantly. Application of the specific methods of advertisement by the counseling department made it very popular. Many students approved of the program, and the department became big in South Alabama University. Work Cited Barnett, ML. "Corporate reputation: The definitional landscape." Corporate Reputation (2006): 65. Carpenter, GS. "Measuring marketing productivity: current knowledge and future directions." Journal of marketing (2004): 200. CH Noble. "Market orientation and alternative strategic orientations: a longitudinal assessment of performance implications." Journal of marketing (2002): 160. Churchil, GA. 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