Being a part of the marketing communications team of the Amity University, it is one of the essential responsibilities to look forward to the marketing communication efforts of the organization to enter a new foreign country market segment.
In this study the situational analysis will be undertaken to consider the competition within the US educational market industry through Competitor analysis, SWOT analysis will help to identify the internal and external environment of the education industry of the US. The targeted audience will be identified for the Amity University along with the brand positioning and the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) to identify the need and competitive advantage of the university within the US education industry (Camilleri 2018). The creative and promotional mix strategy will be identified by Amity University so that the correct marketing plan for the Products, promotions, places and pricing strategies within the education industry of the US. These tools and techniques will help in conduction an appropriate strategy for the expansion of Amity University within the American educational industry where competition is extremely high. An appropriate project plan or timeline will also be created and provided at the end of the study considering the entire timeline of the marketing plan.
Situation analysis is conducted through analyzing the competitors of the US educational market segment for the existing and new competitors who are existent within the market segment, SWOT analysis to analyze the internal and external environment of the Amity University and the educational industry of US and SMART objectives to attain the goal of expansion.
The competitor analysis is considered on behalf of the Amity University which will directly impact the sales, profitability and market shares of the educational institution after entering the US market segment. According to the U.S education industry, the awareness of the youth and the working professionals are continuously increasing due to which the quality assurance and the USP criteria is becoming more important (Grawe 2018). Online learning is implicating a different forecasting procedure that helps with the U.S education industry and its forecasting. These factors are increasing the competition within the educational industry of the U.S.
Some of the major competitors existing within the U.S educational industry are NIIT Limited, Michigan State University, Florida Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania. The competition existing within the different companies and institutions are mostly impacted in recent times by the Covid-19 pandemic. The global educational market had a significant growth of 9.9% in 2020 which is a significant growth in comparison to other year on year average growth rate of 2017-2019 (Goncharova, Solosichenko and Merzlyakov 2019). Based on the competitive analysis it can be identified that the educational industry of the U.S is continuously increasing. The college students’ enrollments have fallen by 1.3% in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Most of the institutions in the U.S educational sector are suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. This is impacting the overall performance of the institutions and the educational sector of the U.S. Most of the institutions in the U.S are combining higher education with technology for both theoretical and practical studies. This is transforming the teaching facilities and the laboratory workshops in a blended delivery method (Klofsten et al. 2019).
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Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
· The brand recognition of Amity University is extremely high. This is recognized by the University Grants Commission through which the State legislature is applied. · Amity University offers superior infrastructure and opportunities to its students. The quality of the infrastructure is backed with Air conditioning smart classrooms, well-equipped library, amphitheaters and computer labs. · Amity ensures corporate relationships with big corporate tie-ups so that the appropriate exposure is provided to the students with practical opportunities (Blanco-Portela et al. 2018). |
· The fee structure is extremely high at Amity University due to which the higher fee structure is higher in comparison to other competitors. · Despite promising 100% placement, Amity University has been reviewed to be making false promises regarding placements by its students. Moreover, there have been allegations that many companies do not prefer recruiting students from Amity University. · Amity offers most students different residential courses and recommends them to stay on campus. However, the excessive lodging and boarding costs are very high in comparison to the equity of hygiene and food delivered to the students. |
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Opportunities |
Threats |
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· The implementation and utilization of the advanced technology in presenting digitization with huge opportunities for the students. The educational institutions in the United States are equally focusing on combining technology with educational activities. · The importance and high demand of higher education in the United States will help Amity University to implement its teaching and educational facilities or courses in a smoother way within the market segment. |
· It has been accused previously against the student standards of the Amity University. Over the past few years, in India, the student quality and standards have declined drastically. The main reason behind this drastic change is due to the decline of teaching quality. · Within the United States, the competitive landscape is continuously changing. Every day the context and implementation programs of advanced technology are changing due to which the competition is increasing. Amity University might face significant problems related to the versatility of the other competing and existing companies within the U.S educational market (Aristovnik et al. 2020). |
The SMART objectives in this case will help to evaluate the actual objectives of Amity University in expanding the business into the United States educational market segment. The SMART objective consists of five major elements which are directly related to the objectives of the company. The five elements are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. The significant elements are described below in context of Amity University’s SMART objectives within the United States.
Specific: Amity University’s significant goal of expansion in the U.S is to increase profitability and brand reputation. The specific objective is to create a plan through which in the next 5 years Amity becomes one of the leading educational institutions of the U.S.
Measurable: the measurable objective of Amity University is to expand the business operations in the U.S within the next 2 years with an annual sale generation of 150% through which the initial investment can be earned back within the first 7 years.
Achievable: The Amity University needs to set a minimum of 200000 enrollments of students in the US campus within the next 5 years so that the business is set properly within the foreign market segment. This is an achievable goal as the motto of the university is to improve its growth rate and profitability in the U.S through expansion.
Realistic: The sales generated by Amity within the U.S market segment have to be based on the student enrolments and the appropriate marketing strategies so that the classic promotions are expected from the company’s end.
Timely: The timeframe of accomplishing all the objectives need to be maintained so that none of the objectives are postponed at any cost. The sales objectives and the student enrollment objectives need to be properly followed.
Target audience is certainly defined to be a group of people who are most likely to be interested in the products or services a business is offering specifically. In the case of Amity University, higher education and degrees are the major services and products offered by the institution. The most interested group of people in this case is the prospective students. The major target audience of Amity University in the United States will be a diverse range of students aging from 18-24 years who are still involved and interested in higher studies (Hüther and Krücken 2018). The major targeted audience is segregated to be undergraduate students, graduate students, international students, part-time students, transfer students.
Apart from the primary target audience of students, Amity has another secondary audience list for the United States campus. The targeted secondary audience includes parents, staff members, faculties, alumni, partners, influencers, investors, donors and community members. The secondary target audience mainly comprises the different roles and responsibilities that they have to play in order to make the Amity University Campus a successful venture in the United States (Musselin 2018). The target audience is prioritized within the new foreign market segment before implementing the plan otherwise the expected or desired result cannot be achieved. The successful prioritization of the target audience by amity will be able to get a significant content strategy that will provide better quality and authority of the products and services offered by the institution. Among the diverse audience segment, the targeted audience is most prioritized to create an improved plan of the marketing entry and content creation through which Amity will be able to attract customers into its U.S campus for admissions and so on.
Amity University will require a strong brand positioning strategy in the USA to compete with other existing players of the education industry. The importance of the brand positioning strategy lies with the perspectives of the students. Over 98% of the universities and educational institutions are look-alikes for students and their parents due to the lack of brand positioning within the market segment (Xu and Xu 2019). Financial trending is negative within the USA based educational market segments. Today’s environment has resulted in an uninvited decrease in the students’ enrollment and increase in the discounting. Brand positioning is important to create the appropriate Unique selling proposition (USP) of the Amity University within the existing competitive educational market industry of the USA.
Amity University’s brand positioning strategy will be created through the establishment and collection of its own market research and the audience trends. This research and collection of information will help to create a better plan for an aspirational strong brand positioning strategy. Amity University is aiming at creating a significant brand awareness among the target audience so that the student applications and enrollments within the USA campus of Amity and it will also provide stringers appropriations and grants from the government agencies and foundations to the students. The entire strategy of brand positioning will be developed according to the requirements of the audience members and the on-going trends within the market segment. The brand position of Amity University will help to create an advanced competitive edge among the other competitors within the educational market segment of the USA (Girdzijauskait?, Radzevi?ien? and Jakubavi?ius 2019).
The idea of Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a mixed concept of competitive advantage and strength of an organization and its products and services that creates an unique value of the organization and its reputation. In this case, Amity University has several USP which are related to the success of Amity within the United States. The USPs will help Amity in constructing a successful expansion plan for the Amity University has and will need to operate within the United States. The major USP of Amity is its Superior infrastructure that creates world-class educational opportunities for the students (Kumar and Nanda 2019). Here, the strong infrastructure of the institution helps with the direct involvement of facilities and amenities.
Apart from the strong infrastructure, amity has another USP which is its partnerships with renowned corporations. The corporations have significant ties with the institution that enhances the opportunities of better practical knowledge experiences and theoretical practices for the students. After the significant influence of the big corporations, Amity University provides enormous amounts of opportunities to the students that establish a better brand name and reputation of the students in future. The opportunities also help them to get better practical experiences within the workplace in future (Solimun and Fernandes 2018). The professional and personal developments of the students are a great USP of Amity that enhances its brand reputation among the target audience.
The changes within the higher educational industry of the US are developing the utilization criteria of advanced technology for Amity University. The usefulness of technology and its appropriate combination within the educational system of Amity is helping with the direct implementation of practical experiences in a better and fruitful manner. The technological investments are increasing the brand reputation and the opportunities for the students to learn better. This USP is the most certain competitive edge for Amity University within the U.S market segment as there is a significant on-going competition which is focused on technological combination with education and usage of advanced technology.
The idea of creative strategy is successfully defining the purpose and strategy of the organization that helps it to build a theme for the company’s promotional campaign in the new market segment. In this case, the creative strategy ensures an intention and strategic approach through which the Amity University will be able to develop and implement the steps for a long term growth. In this case, the major USP of Amity University will be undertaken to build the creative strategy for its campaigns in the USA (Rosyidah and Rosyidi 2020). In New York, amity will establish its infrastructure USP so that the creation of audience interest is successful. The achievement rate of audience involvement will be measured through the teams and their content creation.
Amity will create a significant level of technological theme so that it can showcase the major facilities it is offering to the international students of the USA. The main theme of the promotional campaign will be outlined through technological advancement, advanced infrastructure of the university and the facilities it is providing through artificial intelligence and information technology. The campaign will focus on the facilities and opportunities it will provide. The technological investment will be the outfocus of the university that will enhance the auctions of the promotional activities (Dollinger, Lodge and Coates 2018). According to the measurements of the target audience it is considered that the social media marketing courses will also be highlighted so that the young students are more interested in the contents of Amity University. The campaign theme will be highlighted with significant information, contact details and admission details on the campaign channels so that the social media marketing and other channels can attract more audience.
The promotional mix strategy is implemented to confirm the effectiveness of all the strategies that are directly implemented within the operational activities of Amity University. The promotion mix strategy or tool in this case will help to identify the strategies related to four significant segments of Amity University and its expansion within the United States market segment (Prokopenko and Omelyanenko 2018). The four primary elements are Product, Price, Promotion and Place or distribution. The promotional mix will be employed by keeping the sales, advertisement, marketing and public relations strategies and requirements in mind.
The product range of Amity University will be based on the courses and services it will provide to the targeted audience. The marketers should continuously improve the product range of Amty so that the existing products can be developed and the new ones can be improved. The primary products of Amity which will be offered in the USA are stated below.
Amity will consider its pricing decisions after the marketing management team is able to consider the altering activities through which the prices can be altered according to the requirements. The value proposition of the products and services provided to the customers will vary according to the level of service requirements and the opportunities provided to the audiences (Penprase 2018). The discounting method will also be used for students in the U.S who require scholarships in order to study.
Amity will undertake marketing programs through which it will be able to measure its effective communication strategies. The customer perceptions and preferences will be enhanced through appropriate facilities and its promotions among the audience.
The promotional efforts will also be collaborating to create youth awareness regarding the brand and education system. The promotional activities regarding public offerings and services will enhance the attitude of the audience considerably.
Amity will choose sales promotional activities through which the marketing discipline will be enhanced and the targets of the customers will also be enhanced in trading and sales level actions. The promotional strategies of Amity will be focused on providing scholarships and concessions on fee structure to the students.
Some of the significant places or distribution channels are the campus in Long Island of the Amity University through which the students will be attending the classes and accessing the facilities provided by the Amity University. The marketing management purposes will be done through different social media platforms where all the advertising activities will be held. The appropriate dealers and wholesalers will be connected to provide the network for allocating followers (Windolf 2018). The prominent Amity institution locations will be done through the modes of educational system to offer the educational and relative facilities to the audience.
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Task Owner |
Duration |
Task Description |
|
Financial Manager |
8 months |
The education market of the U.S will be researched before planning the globalization strategy. |
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Business Analyst |
2 months |
The appropriate situational analysis will be done regarding the U.S based educational market environment in relevance to the internal environment of Amity |
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Human Resource manager |
4 months |
The target audience and the recruitment process is judged within the U.S market segment to ensure success through prioritization. |
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Marketing Manager |
5 months |
Promotional and creative strategies will be connected with the objectives of amity within the U.S. |
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Stakeholders and CEOs |
3 month |
The entire developed plan is judged and looked over to identify effectiveness and appropriate feedback will be provided if any changes are required within the integrated marketing communication plan. |
Conclusion
From the entire study, the integrated marketing strategy of Amity University is identified in case of its expansion to the United States educational market segment. With appropriate situational analysis it can be identified that technology and competition plays a great role in enhancing the growth opportunities of Amity in the U.S. With the promotional mix and the target audience segmentation, the institution will enhance the growth rate and measure the marketing objectives appropriately before entering the American educational market segment. With quality assurance of the services and products, Amity will be successful in implementing its marketing activities and strategies and it will improve the future opportunities of its target audience, i.e., students.
Integrated marketing communication has a significant intention of improving the communication effectiveness within the organization. In this paper, Amity University of India is planning on expanding its business operation to the United States of America. This particular expansion will require a sound strategic marketing communication system to ensure the achievement and success rate of the educational institution. The entire task will guarantee a significant effectiveness in the marketing communication plan of the Amity University so that the awareness can be built within the United States along with successful lunging of the foreign campus.
References
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Blanco-Portela, N., R-Pertierra, L., Benayas, J. and Lozano, R., 2018. Sustainability leaders’ perceptions on the drivers for and the barriers to the integration of sustainability in Latin American higher education institutions. Sustainability, 10(8), p.2954.
Camilleri, M.A., 2018. Integrated marketing communications. In Travel marketing, tourism economics and the airline product (pp. 85-103). Springer, Cham.
Dollinger, M., Lodge, J. and Coates, H., 2018. Co-creation in higher education: Towards a conceptual model. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 28(2), pp.210-231.
Girdzijauskait?, E., Radzevi?ien?, A. and Jakubavi?ius, A., 2019. Impact of international branch campus KPIs on the university competitiveness: FARE method. Insights into Regional Development, 1(2), pp.171-180.
Goncharova, N.A., Solosichenko, T.Z. and Merzlyakova, N.V., 2019. Brand platform as an element of a company marketing strategy. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 8(4), p.815.
Grawe, N.D., 2018. Demographics and the demand for higher education. JHU Press.
Hüther, O. and Krücken, G., 2018. Higher Education in Germany–Recent Developments in an International Perspective (Vol. 49). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Klofsten, M., Fayolle, A., Guerrero, M., Mian, S., Urbano, D. and Wright, M., 2019. The entrepreneurial university as driver for economic growth and social change-Key strategic challenges. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 141, pp.149-158.
Kumar, V. and Nanda, P., 2019. Social media in higher education: A framework for continuous engagement. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education (IJICTE), 15(1), pp.97-108.
Musselin, C., 2018. New forms of competition in higher education. Socio-Economic Review, 16(3), pp.657-683.
Penprase, B.E., 2018. The fourth industrial revolution and higher education. Higher education in the era of the fourth industrial revolution, 10, pp.978-981.
Prokopenko, O. and Omelyanenko, V., 2018. Information and communication technologies support for the participation of universities in innovation networks (comparative study). Innovative Marketing, 14(3), p.17.
Rosyidah, N. and Rosyidi, U., 2020. Internationalization in Higher Education: University’s Effective Promotion Strategies in Building International Trust. European Journal of Educational Research, 9(1), pp.351-361.
Solimun, S. and Fernandes, A.A.R., 2018. The mediation effect of customer satisfaction in the relationship between service quality, service orientation, and marketing mix strategy to customer loyalty. Journal of Management Development.
Windolf, P., 2018. Expansion and structural change: Higher education in Germany, the United States, and Japan, 1870-1990. Routledge.
Xu, D. and Xu, Y., 2019. The Promises and Limits of Online Higher Education: Understanding How Distance Education Affects Access, Cost, and Quality. American Enterprise Institute.
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