MBA-Masters in Business Administration - Case Study Example

Running head: SUMMARY MARKETING PLAN Marketing plan project for an on-line MBA program Priyanka Rao Academia Research MBA-Masters in Business Administration is the perfect course for a successful and soaring career in the corporate world. One can truly create a niche if they possess the required qualifications to do business and at the same time having a keen sense of managing the market. With the advent of the Internet, online education has become extremely poplar. It not only demands a lesser commitment of time and energy for commuting from home to college, but also allows students to balance their professional and academic lives. Benefits are plenty but there is always the other side of the coin. For instance, a student will not be able to have a class-room or a face to face experience with his/her faculties and could also miss out on those regular industrial trips. Apart from discussing the marketing plan, the other main focus of this report is to provide the advantages of an online-MBA program over an on-site program. To begin, an overview of the Kaplan University are discussed followed by the description of the target markets, competitors, product and services, location, pricing strategy and finally the report concludes with the implementation plan of an online MBA program and a summary. This report is supported by many websites and books. The reference list is mentioned on the last page of the report for detailed reading. Marketing plan project for an online-MBA program An online-MBA program is ideal for professionals who wish to soar in their careers but cannot afford to pursue a full time course. According to the Manya Group, one can acquire an MBA degree through the mode of distance learning where the interaction with the faculty is almost virtual, with the aid of communication technologies like the internet, email and video conferencing. Kaplan University is one of the many universities which provide online educational programs for those who wish to pursue their masters' degree but do not have sufficient time to attend traditional courses. Kaplan University was founded in 1937 and was formally known as Kaplan College (Kaplan College Reviews). Kaplan University offers top class business education and training for their students and offers more than 300 online Bachelor degree, certificate and diploma programs. According to their official website, Kaplan University focuses on adding a human touch to the high technology of learning online. The next few pages would describe the Marketing Plan for Kaplan University's online MBA program. A marketing plan is a written document that details the necessary actions to achieve one or more marketing objectives (Marketing Plan - Wikipedia, online source). Description of the Target Market Markets can be segmented using a lot of approaches which would include Demographic, socio-economic and psychographic approaches (Adrian Palmer, 2004). According to Adrian Palmer (2004), age is probably one of the most widely used bases for market segmentation. The Target Market for the online MBA course at Kaplan University would be for working professionals, students and even housewives who wish to pursue higher education between the age group of 22 to 60. According to U.S News and World Report, about 50% of current graduate students are over age 30 and nearly 25% are over 40 (Michael Hergert). Fig 1 shows the marketing Ps and centralization of the target market Ways of targeting people for enrollment: With the advent of the internet, e-mail has become an efficient and the cheapest way of targeting a lot of people towards your company but one must be careful of spamming as this could also lead to junk mails (Adrian Palmer, 2004). E-mails can be sent out to these targeted groups informing about the online MBA courses available to them by offering concessions on fees and added advantages of an online educational experience. Other methods could also be done by using radio broadcasts and other advertising techniques such as printing on educational journals and magazines. Fig 2 shows the percentage of respondents who majored in business by age group According to the MBA.com registrants survey report conducted during the year 2005-2006, 58% of the people below 24 years enrolled for an MBA program, 46% between the age group of 25 to 28 years, 41% between the age group of 29 to 32 and 45% above the age of 33 years (Fig 2). However the timeline differs as there are various graduate business programs (MBA.com, 2005). Description of Competitors When a company is identifying potentially profitable segments to develop, the chances are that its competitors are doing exactly the same thing (Adrian Palmer, 2004). The direct potential competitors for Kaplan University would be other colleges and institutions that provides similar online and correspondence educational courses. An indirect competitor in this case, would be a university or an institute that provides regular or traditional MBA programs. A university like Kaplan can provide state of the art environment to seek a competitive edge over its rivals, direct or indirect. Creating a distinctive and unique brand is one of the ways of catching the eye of the potential applicant. According to Adrian Palmer (2004), students feel it is important to have a degree from a university that has a "good" image and a name in the market. Following are some of their uniqueness that sets them apart from their competitors: Online quizzes: At the end of each unit being taught online, the students at Kaplan University are asked to attend online quizzes. This way, they get a constant feedback on their performance and their knowledge on the subject. Discussion Boards: The students at Kaplan University have the opportunity to discuss with their peers and instructors on an online discussion board (video conferencing). Web Field Trips: The students are advised to conduct research on the industry using the internet. The points are noted down by them for later discussions. Seminars: Online seminars are conducted for the betterment of the students at Kaplan University. Description of Products or Services The product or service in this case would be MBA. According to the Kaplan University Reviews, one can opt for any of the following courses available online such as MBA in entrepreneurship; MBA in finance; MBA in Human Resource Management; MBA in marketing; MBA in Information Technology; MBA in Management, communication and quality. Kaplan University can work on providing virtual career counseling and placement opportunities to all their students who have enrolled for an MBA degree. This kind of service is usually absent in many universities that provides online MBA courses (Manya Group). Additional services such as a help-desk center for those who seek answers one on one, virtual industrial tours and discussion blogs would add onto Kaplan University's image as a service brand. Description of Location Kaplan University has created a niche in the educational industry for providing online business programs for its students. The description of location is virtually created for all the aspiring students who wish to pursue an MBA program in the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace. Such a virtual environment calls for internet marketing of the University and this seems to be working as the University posted 23% year-over-year student enrollment growth rate and a 17% growth rate during the first quarter of 2006 (Jennifer Leclaire, 2006). Pricing Since the congress passed a law in March, pricing seems to be less of an issue. Kaplan's tuition begins at $300 per credit hour (Jennifer Leclaire, 2006). According to a recent survey, the average cost of a regionally accredited MBA is $14,486 while programs accredited by the AACSB are $27,644 and among the AACSB accredited distance learning programs, the following gives the details of some of the cost of various online MBA programs (www.allbusinessschools.com). Name of the University Cost in Dollars Penn State's online MBA $46,000 Carnegie Mellon's FlexMode MBA $78,144 Duke University $115,000 Ball State University $5,760 Oklahoma State University $13,200 Florida State University $17,500 East Carolina University $7,848 Marist College $19,950 For more listings, please log onto the following link: http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbaaacsb.asp Marketing Budget Budget plays a crucial role in formulating an online MBA (or any educational course for that matter) program. One needs to pre-plan the budget and determine how much a company could afford to shell out for advertising and promotional modes. Keeping the estimated cost of $100,000 for the overall marketing budget, Kaplan University can spend their money on various advertising techniques that will fetch them a high student enrollment growth rate. Email is one of the fastest and cheapest means of promoting a particular brand and it could be sent out to the target group of people who wish to pursue their higher education in management. Kaplan University can utilize 15% of the budget towards this mode. Since a lot of young aspirants are tuned to the local music station, Kaplan University could also use this mode to promote their online programs. Kaplan University can utilize 15% of the budget towards this mode. Internet Marketing such as using the ad banners and search engines could also be utilized by the University in a big way as a majority of people use the internet. According to the MBA.com survey, 55% of the aspirants use the internet, search engines for getting information on various MBA courses. Kaplan University can utilize a major chunk of 50% of the budget towards this mode. Printing on educational magazines, newspapers and journals will add onto the promotional techniques used by Kaplan University for promoting their online management programs and the same can be read by the mass population. Kaplan University can utilize 20% of the budget towards this mode. The following graph shows the percentage of respondents consulting various sources for pursuing an MBA course (MBA Registrants Survey 2005-2006). Fig 3. Sources Consulted by young aspirants for pursuing MBA (MBA.com) By studying the market in this way, Kaplan University can direct its promotional techniques towards those sources that contain maximum penetration by young aspirants. Summary and Implementation Plan Online distance education is estimated to be a $6 billion industry and it is rapidly increasing by the day as more and more people are opting for online courses for career enhancement, promotion within the same company, to help find a new career path or just plain interest of keeping themselves updated and market savvy. The marketing plan for an online MBA program over an on-site program would begin with the basic market research of segmenting and targeting the market. The description of the product or service needs to be outlined as accurately as possible and a thorough study needs to be conducted on the competitors and seeking out measures to overcome them. The 7ps of the marketing mix needs to be implemented for the growth of the overall industry itself. "The challenge is not simply to incorporate learning technologies into current institutional approaches, but rather to change our fundamental views about effective teaching and learning and to use technology to do so" (Donald E. Hanna and Associates, 2000). Conclusion Developing an online educational system does sound very exciting, but there will always be dangers lurking behind. One needs to carefully plan and develop strategies that could fit well within the system keeping in mind the needs and wants of budding aspirants. References Manya Group. The Princeton Review. Retrieved April 19, 2008 http://www.manyagroup.com /modules.phpname=25a1_Mba_Programs Kaplan College Reviews. Kaplan University Reviews. Retrieved April 18, 2008 http://onlineeducationuniversities.com/kaplan-college.html Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Marketing Plan. Retrieved April 18, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_plan Palmer, D. (2004). Introduction to Marketing (pp.172). New York: Oxford Press. Palmer, D. (2004). Introduction to Marketing (pp.173). New York: Oxford Press. Hergert, M. Lessons from launching an online MBA program. Retrieved April 20, 2008 http://www.westga.edu/distance/ojdla/winter64/hergert64.html Palmer, D. (2004). Introduction to Marketing (pp.190). New York: Oxford Press. GMAC. Registrants Survey Report 2005-2006. Retrieved April 21, 2008 http://mbacomregistrantssurveyreport2005.pdf Palmer, D. (2004). Introduction to Marketing (pp.189). New York: Oxford Press. Palmer, D. (2004). Introduction to Marketing (pp.221). New York: Oxford Press. Kaplan University Reviews. Earn MBA Degree. Retrieved April 22, 2008 www.kaplanuniversity.com Manya Group. The Princeton Review. Retrieved April 20, 2008 http://www.manyagroup.com /modules.phpname=25a1_Mba_Programs Leclaire, J. (2006). Online and Upward top employers. Retrieved April 18, 2008 http://www.highbeamencyclopedia.com. Cost of an online MBA. Retrieved April 24, 2008 http://www.allbusinessshcols.cm/faqs/onlinemba-cost.php Hanna, D.E. (2000). Higher education in an era of digital competition (pp 61). Secondary Source. Read More