Marketing Environment of Deakin University of Australia Sample

Question: Analyze the "Marketing and Competitive Environment" of a University brand. Answer: Introduction Marketing is a vast concept in itself, which is the assemblage of buyers and sellers within a wider platform. Sophistication in the market environment is one of an essential agent for attracting the buyers. Sophisticated marketing adds value to the roles and responsibilities of the managers. This report attempts to present the marketing environment of Deakin University of Australia. Contents of the report include brief information about the University, which provides an insight into its marketing activities. Current market position of the University is assistance in terms of speculating the attempts to overcome the challenges from the external environment. Finally, the report places or positions the university brand in terms of the preserving the core values. Background of the university Deakin University has achieved accolades and glory by providing quality education and research facilities to the students for their career establishment. The repercussion of university success is found in the successful careers of the students in the workplace (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). Maintenance of consistency in the provision of quality education services has bestowed third position on the university in terms of top universities in the threshold of Australia. The students are appraised for their performance with lucrative opportunities such as placement offers as soon as they complete the courses. Not only this, the students are exposed to the practical world of science, sports and other events through the means of various extracurricular activities. These activities energize them for displaying better academic performance (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). Joint ventures with different industries and business have proved beneficial for the university in terms of expanding their business. Typica l examples in this direction are the invention of modern technologies in the field of healthcare and agriculture. Collaboration with the communities has helped the university in its strategic vision to achieve sustainable growth. Market summary and demand assessment Australia is one of the favorite destinations among the students in terms of receiving quality higher education. The major drive behind this is the provision of safe and comfortable study environment. These factors escalate the demand of Australia visit higher among the students across the globe (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). Typical evidence of this is the report published by The Department of Education and Training entitled, International Student Survey. The result of this survey indicates 87% projection for educational satisfaction among the students attending the universities from all corners of the globe. In comparison to this, the higher living costs, accommodation costs, income generation and financial support are projected as 49%. Marketing, for Deakin University is a discipline projecting the relationship between the buyers and the sellers (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). According to the modern version of marketing, as perceived by the University authorities, capability to influence the purc hasing power of the customers is an upgration in the roles and responsibilities of the marketing personnel, especially, the managers. The courses expose the students to the real competitive ambience of the market. Segmentation and target market Market is a huge platform. Execution of business transactions without the target segmentation results in the achievement of negative outcomes for the personnel, especially the managers. Identifying targets is a gradual progression towards the business expansion. These segmentations can be done on the basis of certain factors, such as, geographic, demographic, social, psychographical and behavioural (Armstrong et al., 2014). All these aspects prove true for Australian university, Deakin. The Data produced by Department of Education and Training in 2013 projects 1,313, 776 students, who were enrolled in by High Education Provider (HEP). Within this, there were students pursuing full time courses, part time courses. The enrolment of international students reflects diversification for the University. Along with this, according to the state and territory wise enrolment, the northern international region only 1161 students were enrolled (Asaad, Melewar Cohen, 2014). This discrepancy refle cts compromise with the educational needs of the international students. Based on these statistics, linguistic courses for the international courses can be included within the curriculum. This inclusion would provide the international students better options regarding their academic career. Along with this, it would also cease the instances of racial discriminations of which the northern students are a victim. Specifically, introducing plans for enrolling students from the Altantic Rims would prove beneficial for the authorities of Deakin University (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). The characteristics of the segmentation bear correlation with geographic segmentation, which brings an upgradation in the barren existence of the Altantic Rims. Current marketing mix analysis The 2014 report published by the governmental unit of Education and Training reflected 453,352 foreign students in Australia. This is 10.4% escalation over the 410,925 students who entered the Australian threshold through visa. In case of higher education, there has been a growth of 8.9% between the phase of 2013 to 2014. Going on a flashback, such as, the phases of 1994 2014, the current scenario of Australia student market displays a noticeable escalation up to 20% (Asaad, Melewar Cohen, 2014). The major drive behind this is the smoothening of visa facilities. Optimizing the discussion towards Deakin University, the fees for international students is calculated on the basis of the unit courses enrolled. The fees vary according to the changes adopted within the courses. These are the modern specifications. Along with this, the University extends a helping hand towards the students encountering financial difficulties. Typical examples of this assistance include loans for study purp oses; emergency cards for foods and transport costs among others. Collaboration with different industrial business organizations makes it easier for the university authorities to plan the budget (Lovelock Patterson, 2015). Adoption of MoneySmart app makes the managers aware of the total expenses and ultimately creates the budget. Based on all these activities, it can be concluded that there is a booming future for Deakin University in terms of marketing. PEST analysis Justification Political Harsh and orthodox policies Political unrest Economic High exchange rates Fluctuation in prices Social Variety of options for the international students Extracurricular activities Anti-ragging campaign Technological IT legislations Hiring experts Table 1: PEST analysis of Deakin University Setting of harsh and orthodox policies by the higher authorities aggravates the complexities of the University in terms of maintaining harmony. Along with this, political unrests in the form of wars acts as a comprise and interplay with the career establishment of the aspiring students. Delving deep into the situation, this motive stalls the growth of the students, which is an obstacle in their development (Luxton, Reid Mavondo, 2015). Apart from this, high interest rates make it difficult for the university authorities to set the fees for the students. However, the presence of modern and technologically advanced software, such as, SmartMoney reduces the burden of the authorities in terms of establishing the budget for each academic year. Within this, experts are hired for examination of the machines. This step helps the authorities to avert instances of malfunctioning, virus defects, hacker intervention and others. Achievement of success in this direction is mainly due to the adher ence and compliance to the IT legislations, such as Data Protection Act (1998). Computer Misuse Act among others. The social parameter of the analysis relates to the corporate social responsibilities of the University staffs (Babin Zikmund, 2015). For example, providing variety of options to the foreign students in terms of choosing their courses is an address to the instances of racial discriminations. Herein, lays the importance of anti-ragging campaigns. Competitor analysis The most immediate competitors of Deakin University are Central Queensland and La Trobe. Speculating the scenario of Australia as a whole, in 2014, 191 students entered into Australia for receiving quality education. Australia, being one of the favourite education hub, compelled the education sector personnel to put on their thinking caps in terms of luring the foreign students (Sultan Yin, 2014). Herein, lays the appropriateness of the phrase, on the path to fierce competition. The adjective fierce relates to the motive of winning students in order to attain a secured position within the competitive ambience. Competition, in terms of quality of education and fees, has aggravated the competition between the universities. However, strategic vision towards the budget planning and addressing of the financial instabilities have enabled Deakin University managers to maintain their position in the competitive market (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). Infrastructural advancement of china, Hong Kong, S ingapore and South Korea adds vulnerability to the market position of the university. This is owing to the architecture of the universities, which generates an urge to study. It creates a good image within the minds of the students (Universityworldnews.com, 2017). SWOT analysis The provision of various options to the foreign students in terms of choosing their courses is one of the greatest strengths of Deakin University. Variety in this direction contradicts the claustrophobic existence of the northern international students. The anti-ragging campaign is the agent, which helps the university personnel to achieve reliance, trust and dependence from the students. Along with this, effective utilization of the technological applications can be considered as an opportunity for the University in terms of expanding their business (Gilmour et al., 2013). Herein, lays the importance of social media marketing. Putting the news of the latest activities on the social networking sites would make the students aware of the university activities. Within this, the students need to be provided with an uninterrupted internet connection in their homes. Equal access to the university activities would prove beneficial in terms of achieving the identified and the specified activ ities. Lack of oriental approach is one of the greatest weaknesses of the university in terms of marketing (Ewing et al., 2014). Although meetings and conferences are organized, they are very rare and less in number. Exposure of negligent attitude in this direction would strain the stability in the relationship between the university and the assoiate partners. Concluding through Value and brand positioning analysis In terms of the current position of the Deakin University, it can be placed above the graph of brand positioning. Diversification in the courses is itself an indication of the steps taken for expanding the business. Training provided to the students as well as the staffs enriches the preconceived knowledge and broadens their perspectives (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). The main motive of this training is to prepare the students for facing the real, competitive world. Achievement of firmness through these trainings helps the students in getting better placement offers. Teaching the students to abide by the norms of the University reflects an attempt to preserve the values. Exposure of conscious and rationalistic approach in this direction helps the university staffs to achieve trust, reliance and dependence from the students. Performance of the students from northern international regions would project the feasibility of target segmentation attempted by the university (Deakin.edu.au, 2017). Ad herence to the competition policies helps the university personnel to indulge in fair competition with the contemporary brands. All these facts justify the attainment of second rank within the universities of Australia. References Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S., Kotler, P. (2014).Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia. Asaad, Y., Melewar, T. C., Cohen, G. (2014). Export market orientation in universities: Bridging the gap between export marketing and higher education.The Marketing Review,14(2), 145-162. Babin, B. J., Zikmund, W. G. (2015).Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning. Deakin.edu.au (2017) About us, Retrieved 21st May 2017 from https://www.deakin.edu.au/homepage Deakin.edu.au (2017), Enrolment fees and money, Retrieved 21st May 2017 from https://www.deakin.edu.au/students/enrolment-fees-and-money/financial-assistance/managing-expenses Deakin.edu.au (2017), Financial assistance, Retrieved 21st May 2017 from https://www.deakin.edu.au/students/enrolment-fees-and-money/financial-assistance Ewing, M. T., Stewart, D. B., Mather, D. R., Newton, J. D. (2014). How contagious is your viral marketing campaign?.Journal of Advertising Research,54(2), 205-216. Gilmour, P., Borg, G., Duffy, P. A., Johnston, N. D., Limbek, B. E., Shaw, M. R. (2013). Customer service: differentiating by market segment.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management. Lovelock, C., Patterson, P. (2015).Services marketing. Pearson Australia. Luxton, S., Reid, M., Mavondo, F. (2015). Integrated marketing communication capability and brand performance.Journal of Advertising,44(1), 37-46. Sultan, P., Yin Wong, H. (2014). An integrated-process model of service quality, institutional brand and behavioural intentions: The case of a University.Managing Service Quality,24(5), 487-521. Universityworldnews.com (2017) Universities face new world of fierce competition, Retrieved 21st May 2017 from https://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120308134103535