A a study of the pros and cons of direct marketing at an educationnal organnization: Amazing group joint stock company in the context of Vietnam

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Student Signature PHAM NGUYEN MY NGOC Date 01 May 2023

DISSERTATION

A STUDY OF THE PROS AND CONS OF DIRECT MARKETING AT AN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION: AMAZING GROUP

JOINT STOCK COMPANY IN THE CONTEXT OF VIETNAM

Assignment number: One Weight: 75%

Assignment length: 10749 words Student name: Pham Nguyen My Ngoc

Email: pnn2ocd@bolto.ac.uk Student ID: 2124775 Module Tutor: Dr David Ratcliffe Supervisor: Dr Anupam Mazumdar

Date of submission 1st MAY, 2023

A STUDY OF THE PROS AND CONS OF DIRECT MARKETING AT

AN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION: AMAZING GROUP

JOINT STOCK COMPANY

IN THE CONTEXT OF VIETNAM

2.3.2 The role of direct marketing 18

2.4 The decision components of direct marketing executions 19

2.4.1 Planning Offer 20

2.4.2 Creative 20

2.4.3 Media 21

2.4.4 Timing/ Sequencing 21

2.4.5 Customer service 21

2.5 The advantages of direct marketing 22

2.6 The disadvantages of direct marketing 23

2.7 Educational organizations in Vietnam 24

2.8 Conclusion for chapter 2 26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 27

3.1 Introduction 27

3.2 Adopted Research Philosophy 28

3.3 Adopted Research Paradigm 28

3.3 Adopted Research Approach 29

3.4 Adopted Research Methods 30

3.5 Adopted Research Strategy 30

3.6 Data Collection Instruments Applied to this study 31

3.7 Sampling and Sampling Techniques 32

3.8 Data Analysis Techniques 34

3.9 Research Ethics 34

3.10 Summary of Chapter 3 36

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 37

4.1 Introduction 37

4.2 Characteristics of the participants 37

4.3 Application of Thematic Analysis 39

4.4 Data Analysis and Discussion 40

4.5 Summary of Chapter 4 50

Appendix 1: Amazing Glocal Camp 60

Appendix 2: Interview Questions 62

Appendix 3: Interview Transcriptions 63

Appendix 4: The Table Application of Thematic Analysis Table 79

not defined

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I am happy and would like to express my gratitude to Dr Anupam Mazumdar, who has supervised me during my period of dissertation Throughout this research, he has been extremely supportive in directing me to my own research path and hinting at some initiatives to generate ideas for performing the study

I would also prefer to say ―thank you‖ to the University of Bolton and the International

Training Institute of the University of Banking in Ho Chi Minh City for their assistance Dr David Ratcliffe, in particular, for his help with overview knowledge in my dissertation, and Dr Huong Dien Pham, who has served as my faculty adviser in the university lecture hall for four years

I'm also grateful for the support from Amazing Group's employees in cooperating with me to participate in the interviews on the pros and cons of Amazing Group's direct marketing Thanks especially to Miss Hao Nguyen who is the Chief Marketing Officer and Marketing Department‘s staffs for the assistance with related documents of

Amazing and their participationsin the interviews

Above all, I am grateful to my family in Vietnam Recognizing the value of education, my parents have been supportive and have done whatever they could aid in my academic and personal growth.They are responsible for whatever success I have in my life Any success in my life belongs to them Moral support from my sisters, brother, and friends is also very important to me

Thank you so much to everyone

ABSTRACT

Recognizing that direct marketing is critical in developing solid relationships with clients in order to promote new products/services and accomplish sales in the meanwhile The author of this university student thesis conducted an empirical research of the benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing at Amazing Group, a Vietnamese educational institution This research has three main parts: the first is a review of the literature on direct marketing; the second is a survey of the advantages and downsides of direct marketing done at Amazing Group by conducting semi-structured interviews with people who are familiar with marketing in the firm; and the final part is to propose recommendations for strengthening direct marketing methods based on observations and discussions from interviews

Key words: advantages, disadvantages, direct marketing, Amazing Group, educational institutions

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 An overview of Amazing Group Joint Stock Company

Education is one of the quickest-expanding sectors in emerging countries such as Vietnam and there are more opportunities to collaborate with foreign educational institutions Amazing Group Joint Stock Company specializing in education - is an English and skills training organization established in 2015 with the mission of preparing Vietnamese students to be global citizens with identities At Amazing Group, they uphold the spirit of "Think global, act for the locals" (Amazing Group, 2015) Therefore, the organization wishes to encourage, train and upgrade Vietnamese students to become "Global Citizens" These are individuals who have a global component in their thinking, perception, knowledge, and capacity, as well as a local component in their identity, comprehension, and positive action According to the Amazing Group‘s official

website, Amazing School, Amazing Me, and Amazing Home are the three training branches of Amazing Group Each training branch is responsible for the following items, all of which aim to aid in the preparation of a global citizen's identity needs:

- English, as an international language, is essential for achieving international integration trained by Amazing School

- Skills are the building blocks for integrating, adapting, and positioning yourself in society which is trained by Amazing Me

- English practice environment and skills are to transform what has been learned and practiced into a strong foundation of life, habits, and values training by Amazing Home

Regarding the marketing strategies of Amazing Group, they theoretically analyze the market products equivalent to their products using SWOT and 7Ps analysis A more concrete example of the summer camp program "Glocal Camp Amazing USA " - is one of the programs created at Amazing Group in February 2023 (in Appendix 1), which will be held at the end of June this year Marketers use SWOT in conjunction with the 7Ps to understand the current state of the market related summer camp programs of partners in the education market in Vietnam At the same time, marketers at Amazing Group created a comparison table to compare Amazing Group's summer camp program with other summer camps on the market In particular, differences in process, target audience, or price differences between summer camp programs are prime examples Through this, marketers can identify existing and potential problems about this summer camp program of Amazing Group to make reasonable suggestions, and improve and highlight strengths and differences of the program at Amazing Group In order for information about the summer camp program to reach customers and partners, direct marketing is used by them through forms such as email marketing and telemarketing

1.2 An overview of Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing, according to Karaxha, Tolaj, and Abazi (2016), is crucial for creating solid relationships with clients in order to present new products and services while also generating revenue In 1961, the concept of the term "direct marketing" was coined by an American pioneer whose name Lester Wunderman Besides, Derek Holder had a vision in 1982 when direct marketing was still the domain of consumer mail-order businesses and three or four specialized agencies (Housden and Thomas, 2012) He was among the first to identify direct marketing as a crucial stand-alone discipline, and

as a result, he pioneered the Diploma in Direct Marketing, which led to the development of the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM), which has helped over 100,000 marketers improve their skills

Direct Marketing solves the problem of general marketing that it can create a dialogue with smaller groups of customers and address individual needs The Direct Marketing Association's most generally accepted meaning of direct marketing is an interactive marketing system in which one or more advertising media are used to elicit a quantifiable reaction or transaction at any place (Storholm and Friedman, 1989) In 1992, Bauer and Miglautsch's research indicated some problems with the prevailing definition and they redefine direct marketing as a relational marketing method incorporating information feedback and control at the personal level through direct response advertising with tracking codes Direct marketing uses a number of approaches, such as e-mails, phone calls, fairs, and festivals, to engage directly with clients while being relatively flexible and offering fast responses

1.3 Direct marketing in Amazing Group

Due to the emergence of consumers' need for more personalized and separate services for each target customer which demands modern methods of Product Marketing should be applied (Matviiets and Kipen, 2021) As a result, employing direct marketing, which has new ways of individual sales, plays a specific part in the growth of marketing operations of the Amazing Group company The transition from mass to personalized involves significant changes in modern business, according to Matviiets and Kipen (2021), particularly in the company's style of communication with its customers via email Realizing that direct marketing is more than just the sale of goods or services; it

is also a powerful tool for communicating with potential customers, which aids in the development of long-term personal relationships with the company It is the pivotal motivation for doing research on the pros and cons of direct marketing at Amazing Group

1.4 Problem Statement

A trend of marketing-related studies has revealed in recent years that direct marketing is not without flaws, despite rapid direct - marketers and sales growth According to one survey, the selling of damaged items is fairly widespread (Storholm and Friedman, 1989) According to another one, a large number of customers regard direct marketing solicitations to be a nuisance or a violation of privacy (Krafft, Arden, and Verhoef, 2017) Furthermore, increased industry firm competition has resulted in a flood of direct marketing solicitations to consumers (Schwadel, 1988) Additionally, there have been numerous research regarding direct marketing methods or direct marketing performance, but there have been few studies in Vietnam that address the advantages and drawbacks dimensions of direct marketing at educational institutions As a result, the author believes that it is critical to form a framework and conduct research on the benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing, particularly in an emerging economy like Vietnam, using modern theoretical cultural models, in order to provide not only a comprehensive understanding of general theories but also to investigate deeply all aspects of the benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing at Amazing Group in the context of Vietnam

1.5 The scope of the study

Due to time and financial restrictions, it will be impossible to cover all sectors of direct marketing for all educational institutions in Vietnam As a result, the author primarily concentrates on investigating the pros and cons of direct marketing implemented in one educational organization which is Amazing Group in the context of Vietnam The scope of this study revolves around the direct marketing programs provided by corporate personnel from the marketing department with the purpose of discovering the positive and negative aspects of the direct marketing executions at Amazing Group Regarding research methodology, the author's technique in this study is based on the Epistemology research philosophy combined with the Interpretivism research paradigm and other strategies, which will be discussed meticulously in Chapter 3 Using focus group research for data collection, the population of this studying includes five people who are Chief Marketing Officer and marketers working currently in a particular area - Amazing Group

1.6 Rationale or significance of the study

Direct marketing has long been used as a vital aspect of marketing executions but because of its expensive cost, only large corporations can employ it However, with the growing number of internet users and the usage of e-mail in the direct market for customers, businesses have been able to reduce costs while increasing efficiency (Stokes, 2013) Therefore, it is impossible to deny the relevance of direct marketing in company business operations, as well as the significance of studying this issue to offer a portion of additional sources of information in direct marketing in educational services

1.7 Research Aim

The identified aim of the study is to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing executions at Amazing Group in the context of Vietnam

1.8 Research Objectives

The study includes four major objectives to achieve the primary aim:

- To comprehend the context of direct marketing in the context of Vietnam

- To identify issues and challenges of direct marketing executions in Amazing Group - To analyze and evaluate the pros and cons of direct marketing executions in

structured interviews for primary data collection The findings and discussion of this research after collecting data and drawing results from the thematic analysis process are demonstrated in the fourth Finally, the remaining part is a summary of this report's research which shows some recommendations and the limitations of the research with the purpose of making a conclusion to end the research

1.11 Conclusion for chapter 1

Given all the aforementioned facts, the first chapter revealed the reasons and significance behind picking the topic: "A study of the advantages and drawbacks of direct marketing at Amazing Group in the context of Vietnam" The research proposal focuses on examining the benefits and downsides of the company's direct marketing executions in order to contribute to the growth of Amazing Group - the educational organization in Vietnam This chapter contains precise information on the Amazing Group, direct marketing, the issue statement, the scope and rationale of the study, and the research objectives The study seeks to address a single question: “How does direct marketing affect Amazing Group's ability to attract clients or customers?”

With the purpose of addressing the research question, the literature review of this study as well as theories and models will be reviewed in Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction

The literature review performed for this project investigates the function of direct marketing in Amazing Group's business activity It found direct marketing plays an important role in increasing sales by establishing direct contact with consumers and meeting their needs and requests The review also emphasizes the use of direct marketing methods such as phone and email to build stronger connections with customers The purpose of this chapter is to provide a thorough grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing, as well as its effect on an educational institution's ability to acquire clients or customers

2.2 Marketing 2.2.1 Definition

According to Fullbrook, Converse, and Huegy (1947), marketing is the industry of purchasing and selling It encompasses all corporate operations engaged in the movement of products and services from production to consumption After that, in order to supplement, McCarthy (1960) stated that marketing is the implementation of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from the provider to the customer or user in order to satisfy customers and accomplish the firm's goals However, in 1984, Kurtz and Boone had different views on marketing compared to the previous definitions, which were more specific and concentrated on customer segmentation which is

Marketing is the fostered creation and effective dissemination of selected client segments' goods, services, ideas, subjects as well as concepts

A more comprehensive explanation of marketing is provided by the AMA (American Marketing Association) in 2013, which defines the concept as the activity, collection of institutions, and methods for generating, communicating, delivering, and interchanging value-added services for customers, clients, partners, and society as a whole One of the most current and widely used definitions is of Armstrong, Kotler, and Opresnik (2019), who defined the concept as being the process through which organizations engage with customers, build solid customer relationships, and create customer value in order to receive value in return

2.2.2 The role of marketing

The role of marketing is to discover, anticipate, and effectively satisfy customer requirements According to Moorman and Rust (1999), marketing is best viewed as the component that handles the organization's interactions with its customers Marketing is critical in the major connections, which are the customer-product, customer-service performance, and customer-financial responsibility linkages (Moorman and Rust 1999) To be more specific, activities include researching and understanding customer needs, developing products or services that meet those needs, pricing them appropriately, distributing them through appropriate channels, and effectively promoting them to targeted customers, all of which require the contribution of marketing

2.3 Direct Marketing 2.3.1 Definition

Direct marketing is defined in a variety of ways (Bauer and Miglautsch, 1992) However, in 1999, Berger and Roberts stated that none of the existing definitions cover all aspects of modern direct marketing As a result, they employed their own straightforward but potent definition: "Databased direct marketing is an information-driven, relational marketing process that takes place in a setting of care for the protection of client data" This definition represents an entirely new perspective on marketing, one that many businesses have only recently discovered It focuses on building client connections that lead to repeat purchases over time It accomplishes this by collecting and analyzing customer data to develop marketing strategies that are more focused, targeted, and personalized than traditional marketing efforts However, the same information that allows marketers to eliminate "junk" (unwanted messages) from the process is also a source of worry for many customers and public-interest organizations How well marketers use their powerful new information tools will determine both the industry's long-term success and the extent to which it is regulated globally (Berger and Roberts, 1999) The pivotal aim of direct marketing is to build good connections with customers in order to introduce new products/services and create sales in the meantime (Karaxha, Tolaj, and Abazi, 2016) Berger and Roberts' (1999) definition is used as the intellectual foundation in this current study to achieve the aforementioned goal in direct marketing The main reason for selecting this idea is that it is suitable for Amazing Group's direct marketing strategies Amazing Group's marketers, in particular, use the accessible

information of their present clients or consumers to keep and grow customer connections

Direct marketing material is divided into two major streams of literature The first stream is involved with the creation of response models that forecast consumer responses to marketing activities, for instance, Ma et al., (2016), and Lessmann et al., (2021) The second stream is concerned with the improvement of direct marketing activities based on response model output (Bigler, Kammermann and Baumann, 2023) In this study, the author concentrates on the model of the latter stream because it is more closely related to the Amazing Group's direct marketing strategies to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of its

2.3.2 The role of direct marketing

To clarify the role of direct marketing, Berger and Roberts (1999), highlighted the differences between (general) marketing and direct marketing based on marketing duties where direct marketing excels over general marketing To begin, whereas general marketing uses mass media to reach a large number of people, direct marketing interacts directly with the client or potential Second, in general marketing, direct marketing can customize contact by name/title and/or with variable messages, which is completely contrary to impersonal communications Third, direct marketing is measurable, which provides a level of accountability for marketing expenses that conventional marketing does not provide It also motivates the potential customer to take quick, precise action The role of Direct marketing is to keep the consumers by creating direct contacts with them, by fulfilling the needs and requests of the consumers, and on this basis, it increases sales Direct marketing's role is to retain

customers by making direct contact with them, meeting their needs and requests, and increasing sales as a result

For illustration, a study related to the role of direct marketing in relation to consumers was implemented by Karaxha, Tolaj, and Abazi in Kosovo in 2016 The research discovered 49% of respondents said that attending events had a significant effect on interacting with clients to promote products/services, thereby influencing sales growth 34% said fairs and events had an average effect on connecting with clients and increasing sales, 14% said they had only a minor impact on connecting with clients and increasing sales, and the remaining 3% said they had no impact at all on connecting with clients and increasing sales Otherwise, study shows that direct marketing has an effect on increasing sales, and be a huge contribution for businesses in building direct contacts, particularly via telephone and e-mail, to present their goods or services and establish close relationships with their customers

2.4 The decision components of direct marketing executions

According to Thwaites and Lee (1994), to design an effective campaign, direct marketers must optimize a set of decision variables, similar to how general marketers must manage a number of variables, such as using the 4Ps strategy (product, price, promotion, and place) The goal of those decision components of direct marketing is to provide the correct product (OFFER) to the right individual (LIST) at the right moment (TIMING) in such a way that attention is transformed into interest, desire, conviction, and action (CREATIVE) Several writers have remarked on the relative relevance of these parts, and most agree that the list is crucial to direct marketing due to its function in identifying the target consumer As Bird (2007) points out, the most "wonderful"

mailing is unlikely to succeed if it is sent to the erroneous list, but the "worst" letter may succeed if it is sent to the proper list Timing and offer rank second and top, respectively (Bird, 2007; Berger and Roberts, 1999) According to Nash (1992), the four key decision factors for the construction of a direct marketing campaign are the offer, the communication components (including copy platform, visual design, and media vehicles), the scheduling of these elements, and the list of houses to be targeted In this study, the author selected Roberts and Berger‘s theory framework (1989) to identify the

decision variables of direct marketing campaigns in Amazing Group Those decision components of direct marketing campaign consist of:

2.4.1 Planning Offer

The offer is the marketer's whole pitch to a prospective consumer It consists of the product or service itself, the price at which it is supplied, any price revisions, and other parts of the product's positioning strategy For instance, discounts, incentives, free trials, guarantees, special payment options, and continuous membership plans can assist firms to develop initiatives aimed toward their objective of increasing revenue or improving access to prospective clients It specifies what each party will receive if a response is provided It must be organized such that both the sender and the recipient understand their respective responsibilities These commitments might be clear at times Sometimes, they are not always explicit Otherwise, the offer has the potential to sway response rates in a direct mail campaign However, it is frequently disregarded until the last minute, and marketers underestimate the impact direct mail offers may have on response

2.4.2 Creative

The content platform, visual design components, any participation strategies, and production concerns such as personalisation are all part of the creative component of the direct marketing program The goal of the creative component is to make offerings as appealing as possible in order to elicit emotions in the customer, which will result in the desired reaction Even while originality in direct marketing is not as important as a database or an offer, it should not be overlooked

2.4.3 Media

Direct marketing media include all of those used in general marketing, as well as direct mail, telephone, and emerging electronic media, including the World Wide Web Direct- response print and television advertising is especially successful at generating replies to complicated offers that include elements that may be graphically shown

2.4.4 Timing/ Sequencing

Concerns regarding the timing and sequencing of direct marketing messages are comparable to those raised about general advertising These considerations include one-time messages vs campaigns, pulsing versus a constant flow of information, seasonal impacts, and debates about how much repetition is necessary Direct marketers frequently have greater media influence than generic marketers A common example is that direct mail marketers may choose when to mail, but magazine marketers must work around publishing timetables and space availability

2.4.5 Customer service

According to Berger and Roberts (1999), the sorts of client services provided - toll-free phone lines, free limited-time trials, and acceptance of several payment cards, for example - are significant approaches for overcoming customer aversion to purchasing through direct-response media Even more significant is the degree of customer service given, such as the speed and precision with which orders are fulfilled, the handling of customer inquiries and complaints, and the availability of a guaranteed return policy Aside from the quality and performance of the product itself, the quality of the direct marketers' customer service is the most important determinant of client happiness In turn, the level of customer satisfaction is a major factor in determining whether or not to repurchase

Figure 1: Importance of the List in Generating Response (Roberts and Berger, 1989)

50%

20% 20%

The right advertising elements

2.5 The advantages of direct marketing

Direct marketing is a mechanism for businesses to establish a regular dialogue with consumers in order to provide a flow of useful and current data about behavior and opinions According to Shannon (2002), this interaction enables companies to form relationships with their customers, which in turn promotes long-term brand loyalty Additionally, Robinson (2018) also stated that by distributing the brand's message consistently across a variety of direct marketing platforms, a direct marketing strategy can increase brand loyalty Another benefit of direct marketing is the ability to deliver targeted messages to specific groups of clients and prospective customers based on their purchasing habits or profiles In particular, the use and launch of direct marketing tools will assist a business in attracting attention to targeted integrated objects in their segmentations A specific example of ZARICHNA given in 2021 showed that thanks to the forming and use of online trade, the Ukrainian company Premium FOOD (Mr.Grill) was able not only to the triple sale of products but also to organize an effective service system and introduce their products, and brand on the large markets of the USA, Europe, and Asia through The 5th annual BIG Trade-Marketing Show - 2021: "In All heavy" of the business

In addition, Robinson (2018) presented on The Direct Mail Company website that the personalized feature of direct marketing contributes to improving response rates; the measurable function of direct marketing will support its campaigns can be tracked and monitored to analyze the results of the campaign effectively Moreover, in terms of affordable and informative aspects, it entirely meets standards Some direct marketing

campaigns, postcard marketing or email marketing as a case in point, can be very effective It also delivers detailed information on your products and services

cost-2.6 The disadvantages of direct marketing

Direct marketing does have a number of advantages, but there are also some disadvantages to take into account Robinson (2018) asserts that there are two significant drawbacks First of all, some people might find direct marketing annoying and invasive, which can harm brand associations Second, some direct marketing strategies, especially direct mail, are thought to have an impact on the climate By sending out tailored direct mail and using repurposed materials, this can be lessened

The other drawback of direct marketing is its lack of renderability Fariborzi and Zahedifard (2012) recognized the difficulty of displaying the creative, more specifically, such as intended within the in-box of different Email reading systems leading subscribers may want a message with "unsecured" items such as color, graphics, and links which not all browsers will support them Finally, the receivers will immediately shut the window, forcing marketers to settle for the drab all-text Email.

2.7 Educational organizations in Vietnam

With the purpose of clarifying the advantages and disadvantages of direct marketing in an educational institute, the author prioritizes identifying the combination of the marketing mix in terms of educational organization to support in researching In the case of educational services, the first letter "P" stands for Product in the marketing mix which represents students, and the service, which refers to the concrete services provided by educational institutions It is clarified that educational institutions promote

their organization and create brand value in the competitive market by offering products and services The second "P" - Price - refers to the sum a student spends for the services he or she receives The price represents the quality of services given to students As a result, it can be used as a marketing tool by the institution The same is true for the ―Place‖ element, which is the place where an educational institute is founded If the school is situated in a metropolis rather than a rural area, it will have a significant competitive advantage As a result, "Place" is an important advertising instrument for their businesses The Promotion encompasses all of the interactions that a service supplier employs in the marketplace Advertising, public relations, word of mouth, point of sale, press, direct and internet marketing, and so on are all forms of advertising The educational school concentrates mainly on two aspects of promotion, namely advertising and web-based marketing, rather than all Positive word-of-mouth contact, a method used in direct marketing, has been discovered to be the most effective promotion tool for them In reality, the development and survival of an educational institute, especially a professional educational organization, are dependent on the competency, efficacy, efficiency, sincerity, dedication, and devotion of the institute's teaching community Furthermore, student satisfaction and retention are entirely dependent on the instructors' ability to provide their finest services to them As a result, the People component emerged as the most dynamic component of the educational services marketing blend Furthermore, the manner in which service providers provide services to pupils is critical to obtaining a competitive edge It is known as Process, and it is the final component of the Marketing Mix If the service method is simple, easy to grasp, student-friendly, and technologically advanced, the institution will undoubtedly stick out and be different(Raj and Veerappan, 2013)

Regarding direct marketing executions in education institutes, Raj and Veerappan (2013) discovered that Student Relationship Management (SRM) must be maintained systematically for the long-run benefit of the institution More specifically, Alumni are the most important stakeholder and the greatest contributor to the organization Fair treatment to all the present and former students is very necessary because of the fact that they act like non-paid brand ambassadors of the institute Honest student appraisal can make an institute a difference Therefore, direct marketing also has the responsibility of maintaining student relationships for educational institutions

2.8 Conclusion for chapter 2

To summarize, this chapter presents an overview of marketing and direct marketing as well as discovers some advantages and disadvantages of direct marketing related to educational institutes In chapter 2, the author first explains the concepts of marketing and direct marketing to notice the difference between them Then, some pros and cons feature of direct marketing from previous researches are identified specifically Furthermore, the situation of Vietnamese education and some noticeable phenomena are also described in this section Nextly, the methodology of this dissertation will be presented in the following chapter

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction

Recognizing and adhering to a suitable research theory is crucial in performing research, according to Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2016), because it helps define research strategies and methodologies This chapter will show and select research methods to clarify the study objectives The relevant variables that affect the study problem will be chosen by the researchers It includes relevant theories, problems, and research status, as well as the researcher's viewpoint, which influences research methods (Brannick and Roche, 1997) This study will use the research methodology established by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009) to guarantee that the research results are more accurate The methods will be illustrated in the image below, and some will be used in this study

Figure 2: The research Onion Framework (Saunders, Thornhill and Lewis, 2009)

3.2 Adopted Research Philosophy

The researcher has used the Epistemology research philosophy for this investigation There are several reasons for selecting this mindset Firstly, it is because epistemology is concerned with all elements of validity, scope, and techniques of getting knowledge For example, it provides a comprehensive overview of what defines a knowledge claim, how knowledge may be gained or generated, and how the amount of its transferability can be judged Second, using Epistemology research philosophy allows the author to examine and reflect on the importance of the process of knowledge production in connection to a specific subject of research, via ethical and practical consequences By recognizing the role of this research philosophy in this study through the aforementioned reasons, the author selected Epistemology

3.3 Adopted Research Paradigm

For this study, the researcher has adopted the Interpretivism research paradigm This is mainly because Interpretivism better comprehends the role of people as social agents (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, 2007), it allows the author to interpret knowledge based on people's experiences and comprehension of them (Ryan 2018) In addition, according to Williamson (2006), the core premise of interpretivism is that people are continually interpreting their ever-changing environment With the functions existing in the Interpretivism research paradigm, the author can concentrate on the meaning of the issue and the various ways to represent different parts of the research problem Thereby, selecting the Interpretivism research paradigm is the correct choice because

those characteristics of this research paradigm are appropriate for the objectives of the research

3.3 Adopted Research Approach

According to Kanika (2015), there are three major kinds of research approaches that are frequently used in studies: deductive approach, inductive approach, and abductive approach The deductive method involves the use of previously developed theories and hypotheses, as well as the creation of a study plan to verify the theory In comparison, the inductive method is how the researcher gathers data and creates the theory based on the analytical findings The researcher has adopted an inductive approach for this study This is because the inductive approach, as opposed to the deductive approach, employs qualitative techniques to better comprehend the essence of the issue More specifically, the researcher approach and analyze high-quality data and may provide various perspectives on research issues and create the theoretical foundation for the research based on these findings The other reason is that the Inductive approach allows the author to examine an issue from various angles in order to select a theory rather than strict conceptual analysis methods such as deductive methods Besides that, the Inductive approach requires fewer samples than the Deductive approach because researchers are more interested in the context of the problem (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, and Jackson, 2015), which is also suitable for the limited research time The final reason for choosing the Inductive approach is to allow research results to be free of the restrictions imposed by structured methods (Thomas, 2016)

3.4 Adopted Research Methods

Research methods are classified into three types: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies Qualitative research is selected as a feasible approach to be used in this investigation for the purposes of the study This is because its role is defined as being connected to understanding some part of social life, and its methods (in general) provide words as data for analysis rather than numbers Brymam (2001) stated that qualitative concentrates on concepts, opinions, and perceptions rather than figures In this technique, open-ended questions are used to help researchers better comprehend the feelings and viewpoints of people or groups who are interviewed about a specific topic Dibb and Meadows (2001) as well as Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2003) contended that qualitative methods typically approach one or more individuals through interviewing methods, allowing the researcher to learn about their perspectives and conduct the analysis Therefore, qualitative approaches are frequently suited for determining how a community or individuals within it view a particular issue In this case, this method brings the value of comprehending the experiences and perspectives of marketers at Amazing Group Joint Stock Company

3.5 Adopted Research Strategy

Among the several research strategy available such as Narrative (exploratory and explanatory), Descriptive, Case Study, Action Research, Grounded Theory, and Experimental Research, the author chose the Case Study Strategy This technique was selected because it is the most adaptable of all research strategies, allowing the researcher to keep the holistic qualities of real-life occurrences while analyzing

empirical events (Schell, 1992) According to Schell (1992), a case study is an empirical investigation that explores current phenomena inside a real-life setting when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not obvious and different sources of data are utilized Furthermore, the research strategy for this study is to be a case study since it discloses facts by evaluating data presented in real time Data gathered from observations are documented in order to determine the benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing at Amazing Group As a result, adopting a Case Study as the research approach can satisfy the practical requirements for figuring out the response to the research question

3.6 Data Collection Instruments Applied to this study

In terms of data-gathering methods, the author employed primary data, which, according to Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2003), is exclusive information and data that has not been made public by anybody or any organization Primary data is used because of its high precision and reliability, as well as the fact that it is data gathered by the researchers themselves, and it also gives a more correct perspective for the researcher The author used semi-structured interviews to acquire primary data for this study The key causes are as follows: To begin, the semi-structured interview style has been shown to be beneficial in encouraging reciprocity between the interviewer and the participant (Galletta, 2012), allowing the interviewer to improvise follow-up questions based on participant replies (Polit and Beck, 2020) Second, it allowed participants to express themselves verbally in their own way (Cohen and Crabtree, 2019)

The inquiry and interviews were completed in March 2023 The author conducted 5 interviews with the Chief Marketing Officer and marketers from the Marketing

Department of Amazing Group Joint Stock Company for this study The information gathered from semi-structured interviews will be mostly in the form of notes and transcriptions of recordings In terms of question design, the author employs verbal inquiry types, which have open properties and are useful for identifying and emphasizing problems in Amazing Group's direct marketing Before the interviews, participants completed an informed consent form, agreeing to have audio recorded and to use the data for research purposes During the interviews, participants were questioned about a preset question list (in Appendix 2) to share their perspectives and experiences on the possible challenges, benefits, and drawbacks of direct marketing implemented at Amazing Group, as well as suggestions for how to improve it.tr Because of the effect of Amazing Group's office hours, most interviews lasted an average of 17 minutes and were conducted over the Internet through Google Meet

3.7 Sampling and Sampling Techniques

The sampling method, also known as the sampling methodology, is the act of examining a population by obtaining and evaluating data (BYJUS, 2012) It is the foundation of the data, and the sample space is vast There are various sampling techniques available, and they can be separated into two groups: probability sampling and non-probability sampling, as presented briefly in the flow chart below All of these sampling techniques may include specifically targeting difficult or difficult-to-reach populations

Among the sampling techniques presented on the flow chart, the purposive one, which is the purposeful selection of a participant based on the attributes the subject possesses (Etikan, Musa, and Alkassim, 2016), was chosen for this investigation It is a nonrandom approach that does not require underlying theories or a certain quantity of participants The first rationale for using this sampling approach is that the researcher may identify what needs to be known and then sets out to discover people who can and are ready to supply the information due to their expertise or experience, which is a feature of this technique The other reason is that it is commonly employed in qualitative research to discover and choose information-rich examples in order to make the most use of available resources

3.8 Data Analysis Techniques

With regard to qualitative data analysis, there are five major types of analysis: content, thematic, textual, and discourse analysis The author has opted to use theme analysis

in this study Thematic analysis was developed by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke for psychological research (Braun and Clarke, 2006), and it is a versatile method that may be applied in a variety of investigations It is commonly used to refer to a collection of texts, such as an interview or transcriptions The data is thoroughly examined by the researcher to uncover repeating themes - subjects, concepts, and meaning patterns The fundamental reason for using thematic analysis to analyze data is that it allows the author to go into the data without any assumptions It paints a clear image of the underlying notion, distributes the information, and explains why Through this, Thematic analysis assists in comprehending these aspects via a different lens The second reason is that it may be used to address any research issue According to Guest (2012), this analysis is extensively used by academics to address complex problems The last justification for using thematic analysis is that it does not limit the author to a certain set of guidelines It is mainly dependent on personal experiences, which are crucial in the nature of this research since the participants may supply a depth comprehension of the subject

- Informed Consent - Respect for humanity requires that individuals, to the degree that they are capable, be given the choice to choose what will or will not happen to them When the prerequisites for informed consent are satisfied, this option becomes available The consent process is divided into three stages: information, comprehension, and voluntariness

-Beneficence and Non-maleficence: the study endeavor will not immediately benefit the participants but it may be brought about larger benefits to others in terms of the potential to reduce future harms, specifically in this case that improve the direct marketing campaign at Amazing Group in the next few years

- Justice: Equal treatment is a fundamental element of fairness in research The author evaluates carefully the broader social impact of the study, both in terms of participant selection and the advantages and costs that result from it

Integrity: Research is planned, evaluated, and carried out in order to guarantee that acknowledged criteria of integrity are fulfilled, as well as quality and transparency

Amazing Group Joint Stock Company in the Vietnamese context Some ethical principles of the study are listed above before going to the next chapter of findings and discussion gathered after the interview

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introduction

For the purpose of supplying an overview, this findings and discussion chapter starts by reiterating the study's problem statement: "Despite several studies on direct marketing strategies or performance of direct marketing, there have been few studies in Vietnam that examine the benefits and drawbacks dimensions of direct marketing at educational institutions." As a result, the presence of this study subject is critical, with the specific goal of investigating the advantages and disadvantages of direct marketing at Amazing Group in the context of Vietnam In order to discover the response to the research question "How does direct marketing influence Amazing Group to attract clients or customers?", the author designed a list of interview questions for marketing staff related to the challenges, pros, and cons of direct marketing at Amazing Group combined with the primary data that Amazing Group supplied

The fourth chapter's format contained the presentation of the characteristics of the individuals who took part in responding to the question interviews Then, the author proceeds to apply the thematic analysis approach to thoroughly study the data in order to uncover common themes - subjects, concepts, and patterns of meaning that appear again The author then provides a discussion section based on the study findings

4.2 Characteristics of the participants

Amazing Group's personnel comprises of a CEO, the highest position in the firm, whose duty it is to oversee company performance, a COO, who has reponsibility in operational

activities, a CMO, who handles external and marketing activities, and a manager who supervises those sectors An organizational chart is explicitly described below:

Figure 4: The organizational chart of Amazing Group

Due to the research topic is primarily related to marketing, author decided the purpose of selecting research participants was to include marketing specialists from the same educational organization In March 2023, selection and interviews were held Four members of the Amazing Group's marketing department were chosen and received an interview invitation through email to schedule an interview with the author Their characteristics are presented in the following table:

Participants Sex Work experience at

Table 1: Characteristics of Participants

Participants signed an informed consent form before the interviews, consenting to have audio recorded to transcribe and to the use of the data for research purposes During the interviews, participants were asked about a predefined topic list (in Appendix 2) to share their thoughts and experiences on the potential problems, benefits, and downsides of direct marketing implemented at Amazing Group, as well as suggestions for how to improve it The transcriptions of 5 participants were shown in Appendix 3 The interviews lasted an average of 17 minutes Most interviews were performed over the Internet through Google Meet due to the influence of Amazing Group's office hours

4.3 Application of Thematic Analysis

Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke invented thematic analysis for psychological study (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and this is a versatile approach that may be used in a wide range of studies Thematic analysis is a qualitative data analysis technique It is frequently used to describe a group of texts, such as an interview or transcripts The