Marketing And Competitive Environment Of A University Brand: Analysis And Plan

Background

The report attempts at reviewing the competitive environment and marketing opportunities in the sector of higher education in Australia in order to derive a suitable marketing plan for the University of New South Wales. The university is accounted as one of the leading universities in Australia and is reputed for provision of a varying assortment of courses in a flexible environment with the involvement of qualified teaching professionals.

The University has also acquired substantial reputation in terms of providing explicit opportunities for the realization of research pursuits of students that are undergoing Masters Programmes (AGGREY, 2016). The industry based support obtained by the organization for research programs is also indicative of substantially feasible inputs for the effectiveness of research programs. The strategic approach followed by the UNSW for improvement of academic excellence as well as strengthening the global impact of the university could also be considered as the prominent reasons for ensuring a comprehensively superior strategic position in the higher education industry (Allen, 2016).

The estimation of market dimensions as well as the demand concerns in the Australian sector of higher education for the case of UNSW’s marketing plan for 2018 is a primary requirement for the management of the organization. It is also essential observe that the precise evaluation of demand trends in the industry alongside the aspects that are responsible for modifications in requirements for strategic performance and the industry trends pertaining to higher education (Awdziej & Tkaczyk, 2016).

The demand for higher education in the Australian market is profoundly associated with the improving quality of education in Australia. However, the demand in the higher education sector is potentially associated with the existence of reputed universities which are capable of increasing the appeal of Australia for international students. The varying dimensions of demographic changes as well as the implications of contemporary approaches in segmentation and targeting can be assumed as reasonable entities that could help UNSW in attracting reasonable competencies for efficient marketing in the year 2018 (Contreras & Zapata Ramos, 2016).

Identification of appropriate customer segments is essential for obtaining reasonable inferences into the efficiency of marketing initiatives since the strategies could be modified according to the trends observed in specific market segments. The different academic disciplines as well as branches introduced in the universities presently are reflective of the increasing demand for sophistication in all market segments particularly considered with the acquisition of higher education services in Australia. Therefore the noticeable market segments that can be perceived in context of UNSW refer to the students aspiring to pursue courses in higher education as well as the individuals with inclination towards pursuit of research activities (Cross, Belich & Rudelius, 2015).

It is also essential to observe that the UNSW has the unique advantage of an own campus alongside the improvement of efficiency through the integration of plausible approaches in the segmentation strategy such as estimation of specific similarities in needs of customers, similar beliefs observed among the customers and their priorities (Farromba, 2014). The particular market segments that should be addressed by the university refer to the individual who are in pursuit of professional excellence in academics as well as the ones that have initiated their academic career.

Market and Demand Evaluation

Accomplishing efficiency in strategic marketing initiatives for the university could be aligned with the emphasis on international markets which are abundant sources of revenue as well as global impact of the organization. The rationale for consideration of international market segments can be validated on the grounds of the increased demand for higher education institutes in Australia among countries such as France, India, China and Malaysia.

The aim of targeting in the case of UNSW is largely directed towards the considerations for limited resources of the university alongside drawing reasonable implications towards the formidable competitive intensity observed in the Australian education market. The targeting should be specifically driven for attracting the specific market segment vested in international markets (Hsu, Lin & Tsai, 2016).

The observation of the target markets in the Asia Pacific region is perceived as a reasonable indicator for acquiring potential influx of student base from this region. Thereafter the proximity of Australia with the international markets could be associated with promising advantages such as the interactions with novel markets such as Malaysia and China. The increasing flexibility in the communication strategies could be a major influence on the approaches followed for targeting the particular markets identified for the strategic approach to marketing in UNSW (Ile & Nwokoli, 2017).

The distance education services provided by the university alongside the training facilities included in the curriculum of the University for attaining potential employment prospects for students could be classified as potential characteristics for addressing the target market requirements. The imperative requirements of an interactive model have to be integrated in the marketing approaches for catering the evolving contemporary trends in the domain of international higher education.

As per Kariru, Kambona & Odhuno, the effectiveness of a strategic marketing plan is directly vested in the analysis of macro environmental factors that are largely associated with the political, legal, technological and social factors that could provide appropriate insights for moderation of the marketing plans for UNSW. These factors are beyond the control of institutional entities thereby reflecting on the necessity of anticipating the changes and thereby reflect on the competences of the university (Kariru, Kambona & Odhuno, 2016).

The competences could be used to address the potential pitfalls that can proliferate in the case of the university thereby impinging potential negative impact on the competitive advantage of the organization.

According to Kehinde, Political environment is largely implicative of political attitude towards the incoming volumes of international students as well as the education support. The reflections on the political factors that could affect UNSW’s strategic marketing plan could be observed in the guidelines that are presented by Australian government for delivery of proficiency levels in education services (Kehinde, 2016). The requirements for complying with the basic political guidelines can be assumed as credible influences on the formulation of appropriate educational models for UNSW.

Economical factors serve profound implications for determining the approaches for infrastructure development and acquisition of funding for research. Economic environment variations reflect on the profound implications of changes in international currency exchange rates, inflation rates and the instituting modifications in the fiscal policies to address the fluctuations in global economic environment (Lantos, 2015).

Segmentation

As per Loveland, et al, social factors in the macro environment of Australia refer to the propensity of students to spend financial capital on the education services and demographic variations induced by migration and increase in population (Loveland, et al., 2015).

These aspects have to be integrated comprehensively in the strategic marketing plan for UNSW in 2018 in order to institute a diversified social model that can address the profound demarcation noticed in social behaviour of students from different nationalities and cultural as well as ethnic backgrounds.

Technological dimensions of the macro environment for higher education in Australia refer to the integrated use of social media in marketing activities implemented for international markets. Thereafter the inclusion of information systems as profound improvements in the managerial framework of major educational institutes in Australia invokes the requirement of capital investments in the improvement of technological infrastructure (Mazánek & Kone?ná, 2016).

The positive outcomes that can be derived by anticipation of technological opportunities include the explicit management of information pertaining to students and their academic performance and backgrounds that lead to formulation of reasonable approaches to marketing of UNSW in the selected target markets.

The competitive intensity for UNSW in Australia can be identified in the presence of numerous competitors such as the Maastricht University, Concordia University, HEC Montreal, QUT Business School, University of Florida and the University of British Columbia. The anticipation of competitive rivalry in the Australian sector of higher education reflects on the capability of a university to address sustainable practices. The analysis is also reflective of outcomes that depict the differences in the operational activities of the UNSW and the other universities as depicted above.

As per Moraux & Volle, the impact of competition can be profoundly in the exertion of the superior services by the different competitors which could be alternatively associated with the depreciation of brand recognition for UNSW in the domain of educational services (Moraux & Volle, 2015). The competitive rivalry could be represented in quantitative terms through the variables such as quality of education, student strength and the diversity of courses offered by the university. The competitor analysis also reflects on the proficiency of the peers of UNSW in provision of efficient educational services such as postgraduate and undergraduate programs as well as research fellowships.

Other noticeable factors that could impose limitations on the strategic marketing objectives of UNSW also refer to the ranking of competitors at favourable positions in globally accepted indexes such as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. UNSW could also obtain potential insights into competitive intensity from the dimensions of research excellence, admission of students in distinct academic disciplines provided by the institute as well as outcomes of student surveys (Obeidat, Obeidat & Obeidat, 2016).

The analysis of internal competences as well as the available opportunities and threats could also be a functional element for deriving the strategic marketing plan for UNSW to address objectives in 2018. Therefore the utilization of the SWOT analysis model can be considered as a reasonable approach that could help in determining the feasible approaches for accomplishing strategic marketing (Odimmega, et al., 2016).

Targeting

Strengths of UNSW could be profoundly observed in the facilitation of opportunities for realizing transition studies. The explicit presence of learning communities as well as the opportunities for first year studies in MS could be accountable for obtaining competitive advantage for the organization. It is also essential to notice the cognizable academic support provided by UNSW in terms of learning communities and possession of comprehensive assessment data (Ottley, 2016).

Weaknesses of the UNSW could be identified in the limited understanding of the scope of newly induced academic programs and disciplines in the university’s curriculum. The observation of minimal concerns among the individual departments for identifying themselves with the brand image of UNSW could also imply insufficiencies of marketing collaterals.

Opportunities could be observed in case of UNSW in the securing of programs especially realized through sponsorships and grants. The promotion of awareness campaigns to communicate the long term establishment of UNSW as well as offers of innovative and high quality programs and degrees could result in national as well as regional recognition for the university (Posavac & Posavac, 2017).

Threats for UNSW could be noticed in the competitive intensity in the higher education sector of Australia which could also lead to alternative outcomes such as duplication of services and unique programs launched by the university. The cognizable reduction in personnel count as well as funding for developmental activities could be accounted as formidable threats for the university’s marketing objectives.

The efficiency of the education services provided by UNSW could be considered as a promising indicator of the value proposition facilitated by the services of the university. The brand positioning of the university can be profoundly associated with the profound outcomes of comprehensive engagement and interaction of the organization with potential students. The positioning strategy for UNSW should be implicative of identification of the students as well as their different backgrounds.

Furthermore, Röcker, Homburg & Vomberg  said that the positioning should also include the references to strategies directed towards effective utilization of campus establishments, research centres and improving student admissions (Röcker, Homburg & Vomberg, 2016). Positioning of UNSW has to be dependent on the competences of the university to address the diverse requirements of higher education among students belonging to varying international, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

The realization of strategies that could address the requirements of domestic and international markets can be explicitly considered as the determinants of positioning effectiveness. The value aspect of UNSW could be realized explicitly from the implications of increased acceptance of international students.

The marketing aim for UNSW in its strategic marketing plan for 2018 should be directed towards the representation of the university as a promising destination for foreign students especially from the Asia Pacific region. Promotional objectives should be related to the application of strategic communication alongside the observation of processes such as identifying the media sources for advertisement and communication, effective implementation of marketing plan, resource allocation and acquiring reasonable insights into improvement of marketing plan effectiveness (Scicluna, 2016).

Promotion objective should be aligned with the social engagement, improvement of academic excellence and the recognition of the institute on a global level. The promotion objectives are also implicative of communicating the innovative developments in the service delivery approaches followed by UNSW, quality programs provided by the institute, capitalizing on the essential elements of partnerships and strategic campaigns specifically directed towards improving awareness pertaining to the courses provided by the organization.

PEST Analysis

The implications of promotion objectives are related to the safeguarding of financial and human capital of the organization and hence provide reasonable insights to improvement of performance in context of marketing objectives (Shahzad, 2016).

The marketing mix strategies could be derived from appropriate moderation of dimensions such as product, price, physical distribution, promotion, people and processes.

Product dimension reflects on the distinct faculties such as medicine, engineering, art and design and business school that provide distinct educational services such as banking and finance, biomedical and health research, cultural leadership, chemical, mechanical and law.

Price aspects refer to the induction of appropriate standards of the university in terms of outcomes of the establishment of new laboratories and buildings. Revenue expenditure on the salary demands of professors and teaching professionals are high which indicates the pricing of the university courses to be higher (Mazánek & Kone?ná, 2016).

Physical distribution of services is ensured by the own campus of the university in Sydney. The infrastructure of UNSW is capable of addressing the requirements of physical space for the activities of the university. The students of university could also acquire services of higher education of UNSW from the internet.                   

Promotion aspect of the UNSW is reflective of the communication of information referring to administrative staff, research programs, history and courses provided by the university. The campus tours provided for outsiders are also perceived as a notable influence on the promotion element of marketing mix.

People and processes indicate the characteristics of administrative and teaching staff such as politeness, education proficiency and courteous nature of student ambassadors as well as teaching personnel. Furthermore, the implications of proper discipline maintenance and the flexible acquisition of information from the university staff can be accounted as promising indicators of process efficiency which is also complemented by the consideration of efficient processes for delivery of classroom teaching (Loveland, et al., 2015).

The observation of outcomes from the macro environmental factors impinging influence on the marketing plan of UNSW could be related to the derivation of insights for competitive strategies that can be specifically used to address the element of competitive rivalry. The element of competitive rivalry is considered as a profound indicator of setback for UNSW and its strategic improvements. Therefore the first direction must be taken by the organization through ensuring the integration of social media as a reasonable addition to the marketing approach followed by UNSW since social media is accountable for providing exposure to a wide assortment of international students.

The popularity of social media as a source of information among young internet users is liable for its uses in the realization of effective strategic communication (Kariru, Kambona & Odhuno, 2016). Competitive strategy can be utilized for catering the immediate issues in the business environment for UNSW.

Competitive strategies can be utilized for understanding the industry dynamics alongside formulating strategic approaches to ensure sustainability. The use of differentiation marketing could be implemented as promising inclusion for catering the marketing objective of reaching out to a wider potential customer base. Differentiation marketing could be used for interpretation of the demographic factors as well as behavioural variations that lead to distinct illustration of the approaches for individual target segments (Hsu, Lin & Tsai, 2016).

Salaries OF Staffs	$1,00,000
Operating Cost	$1,50,000
Office Cost	$55,000
Marketing Cost	$5,00,000
Publications and advertising	$40,000
Social Media Marketing	$30,000
Consultant service	$50,000
Additional Expenses	$78,000

The expected outcomes from strategic marketing plan proposed for UNSW for the year 2018 in the form of marketing mix strategies and competitive strategies would be largely aligned with the improvement of the brand reputation of UNSW. The collaborations of UNSW with local and federal government agencies as well as local communities are also liable to facilitate the expected outcomes of higher brand recognition among domestic as well as international students.

It is also imperatively observed that the marketing plan would lead to higher levels of communication of the brand identity in international markets. The utilization of explicit references to the use of marketing analysis through PEST and SWOT as well as evaluation of market and demand assessment in the report facilitated reasonable implications for improving outcomes with respect to the strategic marketing plan for UNSW.   

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