Distance Learning Programs - Term Paper Example

MARKETING Introduction Distance learning is one of the educational service products that are offered by Australian National University (ANU).The main objective of this service product offered by the university is to reach the large number of potential international students as well as national students that find it hard to attend classroom sessions or studies that are accessible from the University. Process Registration for distance learning programs is done online through the website of the University and as a result distance learning program has attracted students from all over the world regardless of their gender, race, religion, culture or political ideologies. This educational service product ensures that students under this curriculum are able to learn just like their fellow colleagues who attend full time classroom lessons or sessions. This is done through online lessons that are offered from the university’s various departments under which the students are enrolled and which are taught by different lectures in the university. Requirements Students have to have ready access to the internet in order to access teaching modules from the lecturers that make it easy for them know what they are required to do at a particular point in time. For example, the lecturers’ avails important information regarding different activities in the school such as students and through these students gets to know when they are to start and finish their final exams and evaluation tests through online media. To ensure that students understand effectively the materials being taught the students get questions from the lecturers after covering a certain topic and after successfully answering those questions they present their answers through the university’s website from where the lectures access the concluded assignments, mark and submit the results back to the students. The distance learning education service product is intended at reaching the students who have the longing to join the university’s programs on a full time basis but they find it difficult to do so due to the distance or financial problems. (www.ariesjournal.com.au) Nevertheless, in spite of the popularity of the distance learning educational service product offered by the National University of Australia, rigorous marketing of this education service product is highly required. This will go along way into enabling the university attain its long term objective of being a global class leader in the provision of educational opportunities to as many students as possible from all walks of life in the whole world. The use of the multi segment model The marketer of the distance learning service program should make use of the MS Model in identifying the details concerned with the service products. There is an immense need for the marketer to make out the essential and the non-essential elements that are linked to the service program. Essential elements comprise of the activities that are performed by the marketer in the course of service delivery such as information distribution that is needed by the students, or example, the date of starting the courses under the distance learning programs. Distribution of information about the compulsory fees that the students have to pay once they join the program and this is to be done through the most effective and fastest media of communication such as the internet. The non- essential activities are those activities that are carried out by the marketer of the distance learning education service program and which are not associated with the real delivery of the service products to students but adds to the real value of the service product presented to the students. For instance, the marketer of the distance learning service program can decide to send educative and motivational information to the students waiting to join the program. The motivational information can emphasize the need for a person to follow their career dreams and how the service product offered by the university can certainly help in achieving these career dreams. Hence, in simple terms in promotion of the distance learning educational service program the marketer’s activities encompass availing the essential information to prospective students through the communication media specified above because the information will help the students make the choices as regards to the type of courses they will need to join, the date of paying the required fees, how much they are projected to pay for the course chosen, the date of beginning the course and the exam dates set by the university. The buyers (students) activities comprise of submission of the applications as students in the university so that they can be admitted as part of the distance learning program. Another activity includes submitting the necessary amounts of fees compulsory to the university. In addition, the other activity carried out by the students and which affects the entity of the product include availing themselves through attending lessons as required of them as well as sitting for the examinations just like any other student in the full time programs offered by the National Australian University. (Normann, 1991). To comprehensively produce a marketing plan for the distance learning service product the marketers should realize that marketing of both goods and services requires creative, analytical and management skills and furthermore it is important to have a clear conception of what is being marketed and also what is not to be marketed. This helps in designing processes around the customer, choosing convenient locations, creating pleasing appearances and avoiding unwanted messages and information regarding the service product and considering the customer’s needs such as the quality expected by the customer from the service offered. Since people are the key elements of a marketing mix research has shown that a customer’s loyal purchase behavior is often influenced by the quality of interactions between the service provider and the customer. In this regard, with the complex nature of the distance learning service product the marketers need to have a critical understanding and comprehension of the service product itself as well as identification of attributes and benefits that differentiates the distance learning service product from others. Thorough comprehension of the program also entails communication about the product and its delivery between the students and the provider (university). In this perspective, in order to enhance strong relationships the university through its marketer of the above educational service product should apply social skills in order to improve the customer’s (students) level of satisfaction. (Bitner, Booms and Boher 1994) Attaining a competitive advantage Distance learning program is not only offered at the Australian National University but it is also offered in many other universities around the country. As a result, every university strives to attain a competitive advantage over the others. Consequently, achieving a competitive advantage through customer loyalty should be the main focus of the marketers of the program at the university. This is because from a customer’s perspective, the encounter with the university’s staff through any media of communication is probably the most essential aspect of a service such as the distance learning service product. This is because on many occasions employees play a crucial role in anticipating the customer’s (student’s) needs, customizing service delivery and building personalized relationships. The student’s perception of the marketers will also drive their loyalty towards the program. To further enhance effective delivery of the distance learning service product to the students spread across the globe, specialized skills and the knowledge of the service product are important aspects to the provider to ensure success of the program. This is especially true because education is dynamic and more innovative means of education delivery are required in a changing environment. Of great importance is the realization that the encounter between the university’s marketers of the distance learning service product and the customers is also impacted by organizational environment as well as the prevailing culture in the university. This knowledge will help the university through its marketers of the above program achieve its goal through invention of dynamic means of service delivery. Right people for marketing the education service product Customer (student) satisfaction should be the main objective of the distance learning service program. This means that when the university has good people involved in marketing of the program outstanding results can be achieved. Interpersonal as well as technical skills are therefore necessary for optimal marketing performance. Again, the marketer’s product knowledge is a key aspect of service quality because the markets need to explain the product to the students once the students seek for clarification of certain fact related to the service product. Thus empowerment of the marketers is appropriate because the Australian National University (ANU) strategy is based upon a competitive differentiation and on personalized customer service. The university also emphasizes on the long term relationships with its students as well as short term transactions that are entered into between the university and the students. Implication of marketing the program The most essential marketing implications are to ensure that the university controls quality of its education and achieves consistency in its education in the distance learning educational service program. Under intensive marketing of this program the university will be enabled to develop its education standardization and train more lectures in order to meet the ever-increasing demand and requirements from the students who constantly enrol into the university’s distance learning program. (Moorthi, 2002) The other implication brought by marketing the education service program is the need to have effective service improvement policies in place because it is more difficult to protect students from service failures. Since it is often difficult for students who wish to join this program to weigh up services that come with the program it is essential for the administration in the university to teach the prospective students about different courses that are found in the university so that they can avoid risks of wasting their money and time studying the courses they do not crave for and which can hinder them from making their career choices as well as making wise decisions regarding their education. It is also crucial through marketing of the distance learning education service product to inform the students what to look forward to once they enroll as distance learning learners. In this view, the students who are contented with the coordination will in point of fact be encouraged to promote the repute of the program by word of mouth. The participation of the students in this program either develops a negative or a positive attitude towards the same. This is necessitated largely through the cooperation of the students and the personnel offering the distance learning service program. In this perspective, the marketers need to train or educate the students desiring to join the program on the significance of undertaking the program and the predictable results from the program. The other implication brought about by marketing of the distance learning service product in University of Australia is the fact that changing the delivery process greatly affects the role played by the customers or the students. This calls for continuous communication between the marketers and the customers or the students by informing them of any changes that may have come about in the process of service delivery. Effective marketing of the above mentioned educational service product requires service facilities, equipments and systems that are designed with the customers in mind. This means that the systems put in place should be convenient and user friendly. For example, the university’s website should be simple to understand and easy to use in order to enhance communication between the students and the university’s administration. The other implication is the realization that other people are part of the service product and the marketer’s activities should achieve a competitive edge through the perceived quality of the employees. Since under the distance learning program the marketer and the students are separated by a distance, it means that the effective communication by the marketer should display a high standard level which instills in the minds of the potential students a positive perceived quality of the employees in the university. Since services can not be inventoried after production, achieving a balance between demand and supply is a vital marketing strategy that can be used by a marketer of the above educational service product. To ensure that the university reaps maximum benefits from the program, the marketers should target the right segments at the right times and at the right prices. This is basically achievable because different students under this program are also separated by a distance which makes it easy for the marketers to target different students in different segments at different times and at different prices. The marketing tools that can be used by the university in advertising this program will help in informing, persuading, educating, and reminding the students of the accessibility of the program in the university. Some of the marketing communication tools that can be utilized in the promotion and marketing processes of distance learning service program include media elements such as radio broadcast, retail, internet and the print media. The other communication tool of marketing involves personal selling which is to be performed by the university’s agents spread all over the world. The next effective marketing tool is through the word of mouth performed by students only when they get contented with the university’s distance learning service product. The distance learning service program marketing communication tools should carry information regarding various issues that relate to distance learning program such as the learning mode, lecturers supervision of the students work as well as convincing messages aimed at enhancing more enrollment. It should also carry information regarding customer training and education as well as information regarding the courses that are offered by the university through the distance learning programs. It is fundamental for the marketer to comprehend that the distance learning customer outlay involves more than the price of the courses paid for at the university as it comprises the discounts that can be given by the university to students who desire to take studies from the Australian National University. It also involves the credit terms that are availed by the university to students. Furthermore, it contains information on different payment methods that can be used by the students from allover the world in payment of their fees. It comprises also the information on such activities that minimizes and identifies other costs which might be encountered by the students such as additional costs that are related to the education service product, for example, internet serving costs as well as mailing costs. Student’s outlay also touches on the time a student is supposed to wait for the approval of their applications by the university’s admission board and the senate until they get their admission letters. In order to achieve the preferred objectives of receiving students from all walks of life enrolling for the distance learning education service product the marketer has to illustrate in his/her marketing communication tools such as internet the characteristics of the actual product. (Kashani, 2005) Included here should be how the students anticipating to join the program should register, when the courses should begin, which courses should be offered under this program and the university’s timetable concerning this particular education program. In addition the marketer has to clearly state the characteristics of the service product by differentiating it from the rest of the education programs that are presented by the university. For example, the marketer can state the difference structure of the fees between the distance learning education service program and the full time education programs in the university and this will help draw as many students as possible to the same program In addition, the marketer has to point out to the students desiring to register for distance learning service program about the benefits that accrue from this program in comparison to all other education programs obtainable at the university. The marketer should evidently state that the service program enables the students to study while still going on with their normal daily tasks. This is because the learner under this program can arrange with his/her own lecturer the most suitable time when he/she is free to embark on the studies. The marketers of the distance learning service program that is offered by the Australian National University has to explain plainly the additional services that add value to the core product and which make the education program competitive as compared to other educational programs in the university. Included here should be the services that make possible the use of the core service. For example, the marketer of the distance learning educational service program has to avail to the students who wish to join the course all the required websites that are essential in enhancing the communication between the university and the students from all over the world. He/she has also to avail the telephone numbers that can be used by the students any time to reach the administration in order to make enquiries about a certain matter relating to the program. These additional services will help in enhancing the appeal and the value of the core service that the university wants to offer to the students. In scheming the auxiliary elements of the distance learning educational service product the marketer has to ascertain the benefits from the program that generate most value for the students who wish to enroll for the program and those who are already enrolled for the program. The marketer has to determine whether the service package is differentiated from that of other universities in order to make it more competitive in ways that are meaningful to target students. It is also essential for the marketer to know the current levels of service on the core product and also each of the extra elements. The marketer has also to determine whether there is any room through which changes for higher service levels can be carried out. For example, the marketer of the distance learning educational service program has to determine the key attributes of the program that can be adjusted in order to make the program more successful. These attributes can be faster response to student’s requests and easier access to the websites that contains the necessary materials needed by the students. There must be other services that are related to the core education service program and which are reserved in advance to help in necessitating effective delivery of the educational program. The students enrolling for the program might need to know what is available and may want to secure commitment for delivery of the service. For example, the students may wish to purchase textbooks and other reading materials from the university that are related to the courses they take from the university. The marketer has also to determine whether there is any need to cut the levels of the service program in order to charge less or increase the levels of the educational service program and charge higher. In designing the service facilitating information, the marketer will need to know that the students enrolled for the program will often require information about how to obtain and use the service. They will also require reminders and documentations that are necessary to keep them up dated on any changes that might occur in the university. (Kuhn, 1976) As a result the university administration has to ensure that these materials are available in advance even before the students order for them. This enhances the student’s commitment for delivery. Other materials that must be availed in advance are the fees statements in order to inform the students the required fees for next season or the amount they owe the university. The statements must be clear, understandable, accurate and intelligible bills and statements. The marketer of the distance learning service program has to ensure that there is flexibility in the service whenever the students make any special requests because the students will be expecting this kind of flexibility whenever things do not go as planned. For example, the marketer has to ensure that there is a room for changes in the time scheduled for each student to be with the lecturer online. Flexibility in the program ensures that if a student falls sick or misses a lesson then he/she can still take the lesson at another convenient time. Since most students taking their education under the distance learning program are either employed people and housewives it is vital for the marketer to realize that they can in one way or the other miss a lesson due to commitments in the work place or at home and this calls for flexibility in the programs that are offered by the university. The students under this program may actually make their payments more cheerfully and faster once they realize that the programs can be tuned to their convenience. More supplementary services may include hospitality and consultations which are to be undertaken by the marketer together with the students in order to make them feel part and parcel of the program. To make marketing of the distance learning education service product more effective the university through its marketer can choose to have a different name for the program in order to differentiate from any similar programs that are offered by other universities or colleges. This enables the conversion of the service elements and processes into a reliable and recognizable service experience offering a predictable and a definable output at a specified price. In creating and planning the distance learning service product required by the students there is need to uphold a strong focus on the students at all times. There is therefore a need for a conceptual framework that encompasses physical, technological and human resources. The key steps in the framework can be to carry out the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis that might face the implementation of the distance learning educational service program in order to make it more desirable to the students anticipating to join the program. The analysis of the opportunities is essential to enable the marketer of the distance learning educational service program focus on achieving maximum results from such opportunities. The analysis of the threats that face the distance learning educational service program is fundamental in ensuring that the marketer develops sufficient measures that can be used to overcome the threats facing the program. Recommendations Since distance learning program is one of the service products offered by Australian National University, it is vital to carry out effective marketing for the program in order to popularize it as well as getting more students enrolling for the same. To do this, there is a great need to find effective people that will carry out marketing of the program and this can easily be achieved through enhancing technical as well as interpersonal skills amongst the marketers in order to achieve optimal marketing performance. Customer (student’s) satisfaction should be the sole purpose for marketing the educational service product. In this perspective, the encounter between the potential students and the marketers through various media of communication is vital in developing the required attitudes of the students towards the overall program. In addition, the university should ensure that quality of its education is enhanced in order to achieve consistency in the distance learning program. Effective marketing tools should be used to ensure fast, reliable and more appealing marketing methods in order to differentiate the service product offered by the university from the rest. Conclusion The market analysis as well as competitor analysis and resource allocation should be carried out in order to establish the extent of operations that can be implemented under the distance learning service program. The analysis of the strengths of the program will enable the university to take advantage of these strengths in order to be provide quality services thus be able to attract a large pool of students in this program. The analysis of weaknesses will also enable the marketer to establish areas that need perfection in order to make the program more competitive. (McGuire, 1999) REFERENCES Bagozzi, P. (1975), ‘marketing as exchange’ journal of marketing, Vol 39, (New York, Macmillan Publishers) Gabbott, M. (1997), contemporary service marketing management, (London, Dryden Publishers) Kashani, K. (2005), beyond traditional marketing: innovations in marketing practice, (Wiley, Chichester publishers) Kuhn, A. (1976), the study of society, a multidisciplinary approach, (New York, New York Press) McGuire, L. (1999), cases in marketing of services: an international collection, (Wesley, Addison Publishers) Moorthi, Y. (2002), ‘An approach to branding services,’ The Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 16, (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Normann, N. (1991), service management: strategy and leadership in service business, (Wisley, Brisbane publishers) Journal on Australian Research on International Educational Services available from www.ariesjournal.com.au (Retrieved on 22nd September 2008) Read More