Marketing Program for the New Product of La Trobe University - Case Study Example

MARKETING PROGRAM ANALYSIS by Course Professor Institution City and state Date Marketing Program Analysis Introduction In conducting an analysis of the marketing program for the new product of La Trobe University which is the Master of Management online program, it is essential to first understand what such an analysis entails. A marketing program or plan consists of the particular aspects that underlie every section of the marketing strategy. The marketing plan in this essence basically includes the identification of strategies entailed in conducting the market research in addition to the identification of the target market, analysis of competition and product promotion among other aspects. The marketing plan also addresses the needs of the consumers, definition of consumer groups and the factors required to meet the needs of the consumers. The key elements of a marketing plan and the focus of these factors are based on the industry in which the new product is in, the competition and the positioning of the new product (Cravens and Piercy, 2006). In this way, a marketing plan for a new product essentially covers the pertinent aspects entailed in bringing the product to the specific market. The development of a marketing plan or strategy is vital in the sense that without a marketing strategy, a company’s efforts geared towards attracting consumers are likely to fail or be ineffective (Pickton and Wright, 2008). This paper entails a critical analysis of a new product by La Trobe University; Master of Management online. The analysis will thus focus on the marketing program for the product, effectiveness of the product’s launch and commercialization in relation to the competitive environment of the industry and the strategic goals of the university. The identification of close industry competitors will aid reviewing the competitive positioning of the product in light of the major factors of a marketing plan applicable to a new product. Industry Background and Competition The online higher education industry has become one of the major aspects in the education industry. Technological advancement has led to an increasing demand for options in the provision of higher education and as such, the internet offers the industry the chance to innovate and provide education through online programs that are increasingly being tailored for specific categories of consumers. The traditional aspect of higher education is no longer the only established way of acquiring higher education. Various institutions of higher learning have adopted the online strategy for the provision of higher education and as such, consumers in the market have numerous options to choose from. With the click of a button, people can acquire education and advance their education in the comfort of their homes or offices at their own convenience. This rising demand for higher education online has created an influx in the industry and as such, competition is on the rise (Dwyer and Tanner, 2002). In addition to this, there is an increasing demand for quality from consumers as people want to acquire their education from not only reputable institution but also engage with programs that offer better quality, diversity and are comprehensive and well packaged. The online higher education industry has thus become one of the most lucrative factions in the education industry, which means that to be a successful player in the industry, an institution needs to launch products that meet the needs of consumers and address any gaps in the industry. The Australian online higher education industry is not much different with various competitors. In this respect, some of the strongest competition for La Trobe University in relation to the new product the institution has launched includes Deakin University, Monash University, and Sydney University. All the three universities offer online courses of various disciplines meaning that they are in the same industry and target the same market the La Trobe targets through the implementation and launch of their new product in the market and industry. In this respect, it is important to evaluate the competitive position of La Trobe’s new product against the competition to evaluate how profitable it is and if the product has competitive edge in the industry Situation Analysis and Competitor Analysis Situation Analysis In conducting a situation analysis, it is important to understand that the analysis is an examination of the various aspects that have potential to impact the sales of the product. In this way, the situation analysis will consider factors based on the macro environment as well as micro environment. Factors related to the macro environment include aspects that may affect the players in the online education industry and micro environmental aspects included those factors that have specific effect on the University and the product. The significance of conducting a situation analysis is to show the general survival of the new product and the University in the online education industry as well as the positioning in the industry. The situation analysis will include a SWOT analysis, 4Ps analysis in addition to INTERNEL environment and target market segment. SWOT and 4Ps Analysis A SWOT analysis is the analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the product and the 4Ps include an analysis of the product, price, place, and promotion (Walker et al., 2005) Strengths The newly launched Master of Management online program provides management students with options. In this way, students interested in acquiring masters in management have the option of doing so online instead of physically doing so at La Trobe University. In this way, the product is helping learners all over the world by helping them to overcome geographical barriers. Other barriers that are aided by the launch of the product include family obligations, work responsibilities, time and resources. Learners are presented with the flexibility to learn at their own convenience and still be able to work, attend to family and other responsibilities since they get to learn online at a time that is suitable for them instead of the traditional structured classes that have set and inflexible schedules and need physical presence. Learners interested in taking the management course can access all the information pertaining to the course online, which means they do not have to travel to the university to find out relevant information regarding the course. The information given in the website includes all the products aspects such as course requirements and the range of topics covered in the management course. The newly launched product offers learners an opportunity to learn at their own pace in addition to being interactive. Learners have the opportunity to mail any concerns, questions and other sort of communication directly to their instructors. In this way, they do not miss the interactive aspect that comes with traditional class learning and can engage instructors just like a traditional class. The product is cost efficient as it helps learners to save on travel expenses. Since the course, training and teaching is done online, learners will have no travel requirements, which means they will save money. The course also saves money on various expenses such as food, printing costs and other costs associated with the physical and traditional aspect of acquiring higher education. Weaknesses The product is limiting for learners who are not very equipped with computer and technology knowledge. It is only beneficial and optimum to learners who have good computer knowledge and technology skills since it is based over the internet. The product’s reliance on the internet is also a major weakness especially to learners since they have to have access to the internet full time. This may be a disadvantage to learners from areas having limited accessibility to the internet consumers in the developing world. The product’s reliance on technology and the internet requires consumers to have gadgets and equipment that maximizes learning. This means that learners have to acquire sophisticated computers and machines that may enebale them to make use of the product. Online learning materials, instructions and methods cannot be accessed and used efficiently through phones or smaller equipment. The product requires a high level of computer literacy. The instructors will need to possess a high level of computer expertise in order to develop the course requirements and consumers will need expertise to gain the most from the course. The product also has a high level of unreliability in the sense that learners from different time zones may experience delays in getting replies and instructors may have a problem with being available at certain times since office hours do not last for the entire day. Lack of social interaction is also a weakness of the product since the course does not feature the social interaction witnessed in a traditional class. In this way, the product has an impersonal aspect. Opportunities With the online higher education industry experiencing rapid development and expansion, chances are high that consumers will enroll massively for the program. The flexible nature of the product may appeal to a set of consumers that are pressed for time in a world that has become too demanding. In this way, the product has the potential of appealing to working people, single parents, full-time parents, and others who are hard-pressed for time and resources. The product’s reliance on the internet will garner interest from consumers all over the world since it is not limited to one region. This is due to the fact that the internet has made the world a global village. The product through international presence enhances the reputation and recognition of La Trobe University in the world. Consumers will get to know about the university and recommend it to others increasing the level of enrolment. The product may also increase the awareness of other programs offered by La Trobe university and as such, will have a positive general effect on the university by increasing learners in all the other programs that the university offers. Threats As is characteristic of technology and any technological process, the product may incur technological hitches that would make learning a difficulty. With the industry flooding with online courses, there may be threat of consumers associating online education with profitability. Competition from other players in the industry and the market may pose a threat to the product since it is competing with other similar offers in the market. Technological hitches may also affect consumer reliability on the product, for instance if a learners machine malfunctions and they cannot access or continue with their learning in a timely manner. Ownership and control of intellectual property is a potential threat for the product. Instructors may be afraid of placing work in the platform since once it is in the internet, it is difficult to claim ownership of materials such as course structure, creation of course syllabi among other intellectual material. Targeting the wrong consumers is also a potential threat to the product. Being that the product is an online one, it may be accessed by the wrong category of consumers. Most people interested in pursuing a master’s degree in management are senior level managers, professionals and established people. However, the internet is majorly accessed by the younger generation who may not be interested in the product. 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) Product The product is an online course; Masters of Management. The creation of the online Masters of Management course in the online education market is targeted at learners interested in pursuing higher education and advancing their management education in a non-traditional manner including consumers interested in the options that online higher education has to offer. The market for online higher education is a global market with various players each competing for market share. The online higher education market has various segments including undergraduate courses, master’s, postgraduate, diploma, and doctorate courses. However, the more advanced segments in the market, which include Master’s programs and doctorate programs, are still developing as most consumers prefer acquiring advanced level of higher education in the traditional setting (Barney, 2009). Price The total course fee for Australian and New Zealand learners is approximately 49, 460 Australian dollars and 56, 920 Australian dollars for international learners (University, 2016). The competition includes Sydney University, Monash University and Deakin University. Sydney University’s online Master of project management costs 38, 000 per year which cumulatively is higher than the total offer of the product’s cost to consumers. Monash University has no online management course and instead offer master’s in health Administration and Public Health. Deakin University offers no fee information regarding their courses and need the learner to contact them for the information. Place Unlike traditional marketing and products in the traditional education market, the online higher education market has no place requirement since the products are hosted online. The online environment in relation to this product places the product at a great advantage since it can be accessed from any global location (Hill and Westbrook, 2007). The placement of the product also means huge cost cutting measures or the university as there are no physical aspects to consider. Every aspect of the product is in the online environment in the market. Promotion Promotion of the product entails information provided to the consumer to make informed decision on choosing the product over the competition in the market. La Trobe’s product includes various aspects that make it easy for consumers to access information on the course details and the course fee unlike the competition. Competitor Analysis La Trobe University’s newly launched Master of Management competes with other online management course in the online higher education market. The product is similar to other programs offered by Deakin University, Monash University and Sydney University in the sense that all the products are online courses. However, Monash University has no online courses that are based on management (Monash University. 2016), which means that the product has a larger market share by offering a course that competitors such as Monash are not yet offering. Sydney University has an online Master of Project Management and as such is a close competitor of the product. The university however offers their course at a higher cost that the product meaning that the product has a competitive advantage since its price is relatively cheaper than that offered by Sydney University. Deakin University is also a competitor in the market since they offer online management courses in various specializations. However, Deakin’s product website does not offer consumers price information and instead directs consumers to get in touch for information about course fee (Deakin.edu.au. 2016). La Trobe’s Master of Management therefore has a competitive advantage since the product website offers comprehensive information regarding fee for local as well as international students. Perceptual Map Expensive Sydney University Affordable Deakin University Variety Monash Universtiy Thorough La Trobe’s Master of Management Conclusion The newly launched Master of Management is a product in the online higher education market. The product is competing in an industry and market that has various competitors with a variety of products. However, the product placement in the online market gives it a competitive advantage over major competitors since it has been created to include information that lacks in the other products. The product also has the potential of garnering a large market share since it is created to fill the market gap that exists in the form of lack of a comprehensive online management course. The competitors in the market have various programs centered on specific management aspects but none has a product of Master’s that is general and all inclusive. In addition to this, the price of the product also gives it a competitive advantage as it is of lower cost than the competitors’ products. References Barney, J.B., 2009. Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (pp. 134-175). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Cravens, D.W. and Piercy, N., 2006. Strategic marketing (Vol. 7). New York: McGraw-Hill. Deakin.edu.au. (2016). Courses | Deakin. [online] Available at: http://www.deakin.edu.au/courses [Accessed 8 Sep. 2016]. Dwyer, F.R. and Tanner, J.F., 2002. Business marketing: Connecting strategy, relationships, and learning. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hill, T. and Westbrook, R., 2007. SWOT analysis: it's time for a product recall. Long range planning, 30(1), pp.46-52. Monash University. (2016). Welcome to Monash Online Learning. [online] Available at: http://online.monash.edu/?Access_Code=MON-ALL-SEO2&utm_source=seo2&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=MON-ALL-SEO2 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2016]. Pickton, D.W. and Wright, S., 2008. What's swot in strategic analysis?.Strategic change, 7(2), pp.101-109. University, L. (2016). Master of Management Online. [online] Latrobe.edu.au. Available at: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/online/master-management [Accessed 8 Sep. 2016]. Walker, O.C., Mullins, J.W., Boyd, H.W. and Larreche, J.L., 2005. Marketing strategy. McGraw-Hill Education. Read More