Write an essay on Marketing Plan for North Queensland Employment Services.
North Queensland (NQ) Employment Services is a not for profit organization which seeks to connect disabled individuals with job opportunities. The organization looks for employment opportunities for people with disabilities, trains them on the most effective ways f performing their work and ensures that they can easily adapt to the working environments at the organizations. They provide equipment and machines that can be used by the disabled individuals at their places of work to ensure that they are more efficient and effective. The organization also monitors their performance at work. They offer assistance if need be and tries to make sure that their client’s areas comfortable as possible at their areas of work (Interview of NQES employees, 2016, P. 1).
NQ Employment Services has in the past faced challenges that make its operations a bit difficult. It is difficult for them to get jobs for all their clients. One of the reasons why they have a difficult time doing so is because they are unable to amass a large number of employers who are willing to employ physically challenged individuals for some reasons. The organization, has, however, managed to convincing small businesses to give job opportunities to some disabled clients over the years. This is probably made possible because owners of small businesses are usually involved in the running of their organizations (Stoke & Wilson, 2006, P. 220). It is, therefore, easier for NQ representatives to convince their companies on taking on their disabled clients since they are likely to have an opportunity to interact directly with the owners and get a chance to convince them.
The government funds NQ ES. This means that they need to rely on the funds they receive in accomplishing all their goals and objectives. This is because government funding often requires lengthy processing and so forth (Brendan, 2012, P. 1). The company is community-based and does not, therefore, focus so much on income generation but rather on making a change and a difference in society. This is a noble course. It, however, possess a hindrance to the achievements of their objectives since they cannot engage in profit generating activities as NGOs and Community organizations do not engage in business for profit generation like other types of businesses (Lewis & kanji, 2009, P. 52). They are limited to finding partnerships with worthwhile institutions and organizations which will help them achieve their objectives. In light of this factor, the organization needs a marketing plan that is likely to attract sponsorships from organizations and institutions (Caltkins, 2012, P. 17) that will contribute immensely towards making a difference in the lives of disabled individuals in the country.
A limiting marketing niche possesses a challenge for NQES. As aforementioned, they are limited to relying on sponsorships in achieving their goals and objectives. The sponsorships, however, allow them to participate in causes that contribute to their exposure. For example, through their partnerships with clubs and community sporting teams, they can make their presence known to those attending the events they sponsor. It is likely that they might catch the eye of an individual who cares for their cause in the audiences attending the event. The organization, therefore, needs to find the right kinds of partnerships and sponsorships to ensure that they are exposed to the right kind of people (Terrence, 2008, P. 573). According to Johnson, Hill & Mitchell, the company, also needs to invest in other channels that are not costly but which are likely to generate them the publicity they need in propagating their cause (2000, P. 267). The disabled individuals searching for employment are the priority of the organization and any efforts towards marketing this organization should ensure that their privacy, safety, and dignity is maintained.
The foremost objective of this marketing strategy is to ensure that the organization gets the publicity it needs to reach the relevant stakeholders. It is important that the organization reaches the relevant individuals who are likely to partner with them in ensuring that people from the disabled community are placed in jobs that will help them sustain their livelihoods and that the organizations they work for support them. Secondly, The marketing strategy should assist the organization to procure funding from interested parties who might be able to offer assistance in some ways. Specifically, the organization ought to be able to reach stakeholders whose partnerships will help the disabled individuals in not only getting work but in also in being to perform their duties comfortably. For example, it would be very useful if the organization attracted the attention of a company that manufactures equipment geared towards assisting the disabled individuals at their work. This would reduce costs for NQES since most of the revenues they get from their business activity go to purchasing this equipment.
Increasing the number and value of sponsorships is thus the objective of this marketing plan. The organization should have identified and partnered with at least twenty new organizations by the end of the year to facilitate increased employment opportunities for more disabled individuals. They should have also partnered with one huge organization that will help in providing the required equipment that assists the disabled individuals in undertaking their duties at work. It would also be very useful if the organization were able to get more sponsorship to ensure that they increase their cash flow. This will assist in the training of the employees, enlarge the number of NQ representatives and in streamlining other activities that are necessary to the success of the organization. Publicity is thus the major goal of the marketing plan since it will expose the organization and attract the targeted groups and organizations.
A marketing strategy is meant to detail how one will bring their products and services to the market in ways that are bound to satisfy their customers (Ferrel& Hartley, 2011, P. 44). For NQES, their customers are both the disabled individuals whom they seek to connect with employment and the organizations that accept to employ the physically challenged individuals that the company offers. The product is employment services while the place is the workstation where these individuals will be based. Promotion details the techniques that will be used by the organization in ensuring that the product reaches the market at the agreed price (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2010, P. 391). In this case, the price is not necessarily a numerical figure, but rather it can be the value of the services offered by the physically challenged individuals who can find work.
The product that the organization is offering to the market is for disabled individuals who can work well in whatever working environment. This means that they need to put a lot of effort in ensuring the “product” meet the required standards that are likely to attract the target audience. To make the current” product” more attractive to potential clients, the organizations ensure that they train the disabled individuals to ensure that they are efficient and effective in their places of work. They train them on how to use various equipment which is geared towards ensuring that they perform their duties effectively. Training the physically challenged individuals before they start working, therefore, ensures that the product meets quality standards that will satisfy their clients. The representatives of NQES often check on the employees that are taken by organizations to ensure that the quality of work is continuously maintained. To ensure that the organization’s product is of top notch quality, partnerships with relevant stakeholders are necessary. If the organization can partner with an organization that will provide the physically challenged with the relevant equipment, they will be able to ensure that there is a constant supply of quality “products” since the material needed for training is readily available.
The price of the product is usually the exchange value of a commodity the organization is offering (Ramaswamy, 2009, P. 113). In this case, the quality of the services offered by the physically challenged individuals that NQES places in organizations as aforementioned. This is tied to the product as discussed such that activities that are meant to make the workers more efficient will ensure that they can produce more quality work thereby ensuring that the “price” is fair to the buyers of the product, that is, the placement companies. Regarding place, the product is sought for by the organization. The ideal candidates are trained and placed with the relevant organizations and businesses that require their services. The organization will strive to ensure that they get more placements for a larger group of physically challenged people. They will also seek to identify a more significant number of ideal candidates and train them. This will ensure that candidates are available for placement if opportunities arise.
Promotion is the most important aspect of the marketing mix that will be adopted by the organization (Kotler, Burton, and Deans, 2015, P.435). This is because it will determine whether or not the product is of high quality. This is possible by attracting the relevant partners who will assist NQES in making this possible. It will consequently determine the price of the product. If an employee can do quality work, they are more likely to attract a high salary and meet their obligations by working efficiently and effectively. In the past, NQES maintained face to face marketing, sponsorships by partnering with sporting teams and used media such as cinemas to promote their product. A more aggressive plan is needed in ensuring that they can reach more people and promote their product effectively. The use of social media for marketing has increased to a large extent in recent times.
Social media has become popular due to the increasing globalization of the world which allows different people to connect easily via the internet. Organizations can thus take advantage of social media in marketing their product and reaching their target group (TCF, 2016, P. 1).
It is important to have an action plan and a budget in order to facilitate implementation of a marketing plan (Hvaldar, 2010, P. 372). NQES can take advantage of this wave in the increase of social media users in reaching this high number of users spread throughout the world. This way, they are likely to reach parties that might be interested in partnering with them in order to ensure that the disable individuals in the country find meaningful employment. The first step thy will need to take is hiring employees whose main work will be dealing entirely with the social sites. This will ensure that their Facebook page is regularly updated. Remaining active is likely to attract the attention of targeted stakeholders (Clover, 2013, P. 1). They should also create accounts n other social media sites such as Tweeter and Instagran which are popular among millions of people worldwide.
(table showing popular social media sites and te number of their users . Data obtained from (Chaffey, 2016, P. 1)
Starting an online campaign on these three most popular websites will propel them towards achieving their goals and objectives within the specified timelines. They could also partner with an online forum with millions of followers such as “Humans of New York”. This will ensure that their campaign is more successful since they will be taking advantage of the existing fan base of such a site. The budget of such a plan will be very minimal keeping in mind that the organization currently receives funding from only the government which is barely enough to cover for their activities.
The organization will keep track of the implementation of the planned activities. They will document data on the steps taken by the organization in increasing its publicity periodically. They will also monitor their social media pages to monitor the number of people following them and who are active in their discussions. Overall, the effectiveness of the plan will be monitored by considering the number of sponsorships and partnerships gained by the organization.
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References
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Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. D. (2011).MKTG4: Student edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Ramaswamy, V. S., &Namakumari, S. (2009). Marketing management: Global perspective, Indian context. Delhi: Macmillan.
Shimp, T. A., &Shimp, T. A. (2007).Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western.
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