An evaluation of marketing tools for overseas study consulting services in HaNoi = Đánh giá công cụ marketing cho dịch vụ tư vấn du học ở Hà Nội

CHAPTER 2: EVALUATION OF MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF OVERSEAS STUDY CONSULTANTS IN HANOI.... Evaluation of marketing tools from the perspective of overseas study consultants .... Evaluation

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT ii

TÓM TẮT iii

TABLE OF CONTENT iv

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Objectives of the study 2

3 Scopes of the study 2

4 Methodology of the study 3

5 Structure of the study 3

CHAPTER 1: A THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF SERVICE MARKETING, MARKETING IN EDUCATION, AND MARKETING IN OVERSEAS EDUCATION SERVICE 5

A OVERVIEW OF OVERSEAS STUDY OF VIETAM 5

B THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 7

1.1 An overview of service marketing 7

1.1.1 Concept of service marketing 8

1.1.2 Fundamentals of service marketing 11

1.2 An overview of marketing in overseas education services 25

1.2.1 International Education services 25

1.2.2 Marketing in international education 26

1.2.3 Education agents 27

1.2.4 The role of agents 29

1.3 Marketing communication: Channels and promotion tools 31

1.4 Typical marketing tools used by OSC……… …… 36

1.5 Proposed model 47

CHAPTER 2: EVALUATION OF MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF

OVERSEAS STUDY CONSULTANTS IN HANOI 49

2.1 Analysis of marketing activities of overseas education consultants in Hanoi 50

2.1.2 Evaluation of the frequency use of each marketing tool employed by overseas study consultants 51

2.1.3 Evaluation of marketing tools from the perspective of overseas study consultants 54

2.2 Evaluation of marketing tools used by overseas education consultants from students' perspective 56

2.2.1 Evaluation of the most popular marketing tools 56

2.2.2 Evaluation of most expected/ chosen marketing tools 58

2.2.3 Comparison between the level of actual use and selection / expectation of students of oversea study marketing tools 59

2.3 Comparison of perceptions of the effectiveness of marketing promotion tools hold by students and overseas study consultants 61

2.4 Evaluation of marketing activities by each marketing tool 63

2.4.1 Evaluation of each marketing tool 64

2.4.2 Evaluation of OSC by tools

65 CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF OVERSEAS STUDY CONSULTANTS 71

3.1 General solution for Groups of marketing tools for overseas education consultancy service 76

3.1.1 Solution for Group 1 71

3.1.2 Solutions for Group 2 72

3.1.3 Solutions for Group 4 73

3.2 Specific solutions for each marketing tool 75

3.2.1 A solution to Tool 1- Direct mail 80

3.2.2 Solution for Tool 2 - Advertising 75

3.2.3 Solutions for Tool 3 – Education fairs 77

3.2.4 Solution for Tool 4 - Direct consultancy and recruitment 80

3.2.5.Solution for Tool 5 – Websites 80

3.2.6 Solution for Tool 6 - Banner advertising 82

3.2.7.Solution for Tool 7 – Listings 84

3.2.8 Solution for Tool 8 – Email marketing 84

3.2.9 Solution for Tool 9 - Seminars 85

3.2.10 Solution for Tool 10 - Pr 86

3.2.11 Solution for Tool 11 – Tele marketing 87

3.3 Expansion and renovation of other types of marketing tools 90

3.3.1 Street banner advertising 96

3.3.2 Introduction to friends, relatives, acquaintances (words of mouth advertising) 90

3.3.3 Old customer care 91

3.3.4 Overseas study links 92

3.3.6 English center 92

CONCLUSIONS 94

REFERENCES 96

APPENDIX 110

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 1: Service market 13

Figure 1.2: Direct distribution channel 19

Figure 1.3: Indirect distribution channels 19

Figure 2.1: The popularity of marketing tools to OSC 50

Figure 2.2: The frequency use of each narketing tool empoyed by overseas study consultants 51

Figure 2.3: The effeetiveness of marketing tools from the view of OSC 54

Figure 2.4: A summary of the use of marketing tools by OSC 55

Figure 2.5: The use of marketing tools by students 56

Figure 2.6: Evaluation of students‘ expectation of marketing tools for overses study 58

Figure 2.7: Comparison between the actual use and expectation of students of marketing tools foroverseas study 59

Figure 2.8: Comparison of perceptions of the effectiveness of marketing tools hold by students and OSC 61

Figure 2.9: Boston Matrix based model 63

Figure 2.10: Evaluation of each marketing tool 64

Figure 2.11: Evaluation of OSC by tool 1 65

Figure 2.12: Evaluation of OSC by tools 2, 6, 7, 8, 11 66

Figure 2.13: Evaluation of OSC by Tool 3 67

Figure 2.14: Evaluation of OSC by Tool 4 67

Figure 2.15: Evaluation of OSC by Tool 5 68

Figure 2.16: Evaluation of OSC by Tool 9 69

Figure 2.17: Evaluation of OSC by Tool 10 69

Figure 3.1: General solution for Groups of marketing tools for overseas education consultancy service 74

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

D R&C: Direct recruitment and consultants

FTU: Foreign Trade University

IIE: International Education Institution

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OSC: Overseas Study Consultants

PPC: Pay per click

PR: Public Relations

SEO Search Engine Optimization

VEF: Vietnam Education Foundation

VIED: Vietnam International Education Development

WOM: Word of mouth

INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Overseas education has become increasingly popular in recent years as it is viewed

as offering the student likelihood of better future employment It is the undeniable benefits of the abroad study and the much improved living standards of Vietnamese people that make overseas study on the rise In the context of international economic integrations, overseas study has gone beyond the traditional limit in the educational sector and become a lucrative business for overseas education consultants (OSC)

The overseas study consulting market in Vietnam is highly competitive Hundreds

of education consulting centers and non-profit organizations are operating in big cities Regrettably, the increasing number of students studying overseas has not received a much needed concern from authorities In Hanoi alone, not least to say in Vietnam, there has not been official statistics of the number of students studying overseas, education markets for Vietnamese students as well as the number and effectiveness of OSC

From the educational aspect, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has not taken full responsibility in managing the study of Vietnamese overseas students, the quality of OSC and the prestige of the educational institutions which are the destinations of Vietnamese students From the business aspect, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is only in charge of calculating the number of OSC Information of OSC can only be found in newspapers, forums or data bases of international education institutions

For all the reasons mentioned above, it is necessary to have a study on the performance of OSC Indeed, there has not been any study on this field in general and on marketing activities of overseas education consultants in particular

Therefore it can be said that “An evaluation of marketing tools for overseas study consulting services in Hanoi‖ is of theoretical and practical significance

2 Objectives of the study

This study will be conducted to get insight into the marketing activities of OSC in Hanoi and examine the needs of students for overseas study service

On the one hand, the study evaluates the promotional activities of OSC in Hanoi to find out the answer to such questions as‖ Which marketing tools does each OSC use and focus? ―How is each tool conducted and evaluated in relation to others?‖ etc

On the other hand, the thesis also studies the consumer behavior through surveys of targeted students who have the need to study abroad in order to evaluate the effectiveness of promotional activities of OSC from the students' perspective

From the two aspects of the research, the thesis will give the answer to the question whether these marketing and promotional activities can meet the requirements of the consumers or not and the ultimate aim of the study is to point out solutions to improving the marketing activities of OSC

Hopefully, after a model to evaluate the effectiveness of OSC is made, the study can propose solutions to improving marketing and promotional activities in overseas education consultancy, contributing to the improvement of quality and prestige of OSC in Vietnam‘s educational market

3 Scopes of the study

Because of time constraint and limited ability of the author, a survey of 9 typical OSC in Hanoi is conducted With regard to students answering the questionnaire, they are 100 senior students from Departments of External Economics, Business Administration and Finance and Banking of FTU where the author is working and

200 senior students from FPT and Thang Long University

It should be taken into account that FTU is a well established university which is dubbed as Vietnam Harvard while Thang Long is the first private university which has won recognition for the quality of teaching and studying and FPT is an emerging private university which is backed up by the famous FPT group These

universities, in the author's observation, have a high rate of students wishing to study abroad

It should also be noted that the object of the study are university students rather than high school students Furthermore, the concept of customers here refers to students who want to study overseas It is hoped that in the near future, with a larger budget

of time, a larger-scaled study which covers a wide variety of objects will be conducted to find more comprehensive solutions to improving the effectiveness of OSC

4 Methodology of the study

The method of analysis, synthesis, comparison, interpretation, induction and socio investigation are employed in the study

Based on the theoretical background that has been mentioned in the study, 11 marketing tools will be included in the survey questionnaires for students and marketing staff and leaders of 9 OSC Questions will be from general to specific to find out the popularity of marketing tools, the effectiveness of each tool in the eyes

of both OSC and students

Survey and interview results are given in the form of figures to compare the popularity and effectiveness of different marketing tools The figures vary as each focuses on each aspect of the research issues However, promotional tools will be deeply analyzed with a more detailed figure Based on the results of this analysis and on the basis of the mentioned theory, solutions to improving the effectiveness

of marketing and promotional activities of OSC will be given

5 Structure of the study

Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis is divided into 3 chapters as follows:

CHAPTER 1: A THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF SERVICE MARKETING, MARKETING IN EDUCATION, AND MARKETING IN OVERSEAS EDUCATION SERVICE

CHAPTER 2: AN EVALUATION OF MARKETING AND PROMOTION

ACTIVITIES OF OVERSEAS EDUCATION CONSULTANTS IN HANOI

CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF

MARKETING AND PROMOTION ACTIVITIES OF OVERSEAS EDUCATION CONSULTANTS IN HANOI

CHAPTER 1: A THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF SERVICE

MARKETING, MARKETING IN EDUCATION, AND MARKETING IN

OVERSEAS EDUCATION SERVICE

AN OVERVIEW OF OVERSEAS STUDY OF VIETNAM

There are an increasing number of types of scholarship available to study overseas Each year there are approximately 25 U.S Government Fulbright Fellowships and around 40-50 U.S Government Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) Fellowships available for masters degree students only Additionally there are approximately 10 Canadian government scholarships, 70 scholarships to study in the UK, 200 scholarships for study in France, 150 for study in Australia, 70 short-term and 10 long-term scholarships in Thailand A large number of additional students receive scholarships directly from universities, nongovernmental organizations, foundations and other bodies The Vietnamese Government through MOET also has a program

to approve approximately 400 scholarships for state workers to study abroad to improve their skills In 2009, the Vietnam International Education Development (VIED - replaced the Management Committee of Project 322), on behalf of Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), select and award many scholarships for studies overseas These scholarships comprise the following:

 500 scholarships for full time doctoral study overseas,

 200 scholarships for full time masters study overseas,

 30 scholarships for short term training courses overseas,

 100 scholarships for doctoral and master study at joint programs,

 About 150 scholarships for undergraduate study overseas

Another estimated 20,000 students are studying abroad each year on institutional scholarships or on their own finances These figures are further growing yearly as the government implements its so-called 10,000 PhD program with a goal of creating 20,000 new PhDs by 2020 through training abroad

In the coming years, the market of overseas study of Vietnam will have a new and significant trend and change The markets receiving students studying abroad will

be extended to other regional countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand, etc due to their lower costs, and shorter distance from home In other words, parents will feel more comfortable when their children can enjoy the opportunity to study in an international and worldwide recognized environment which is not very far away from the home country

The modes of overseas study are also diversified Many international schools will invest in Vietnam to reduce costs; therefore students can enjoy overseas study programs in their home country Besides, the joint training programs, in-country programs are on the rise In these programs, students will study in Vietnam for certain years and complete the remaining of their course either in Vietnam or in a foreign country In both cases students are awarded offshore qualifications

In the case in which a foreign institution is not yet in Vietnam but located in a third country, such as Thailand, students can also go to the third country to study instead

of going to the far away foreign institution

The competition amongst OSC would even be tougher It is understandable as more foreign institutions will come to Vietnam by themselves or though the OSC when demand for overseas education increases in Vietnam Although when they enter into Vietnam market, foreign institutions will need more partners in Vietnam, the partners, i.e the OSC still have to improve their service quality to compete with others

The overseas-study consulting market in Vietnam is highly competitive Hundreds

of education consulting centers and non-profit organizations are operating in the big cities Moreover, the internet also gives students the ability to find the scholarships and the school and the opportunities to go oversea to study by themselves In addition, the oversea-study exhibitions organized by the educational institutions

have provided opportunities to the student and introduced the student to ways to assess the foreign educational institutes by themselves This has also increased price

competition in the market

One thing worth noticing is the commitment of Vietnam to WTO on services of higher education, adult education which allows Vietnam to set up joint venture, allowing the majority foreign ownership in venture capital in January / 2007; after 1/1/2009 it would allow the establishment of training institutions with 100% foreign investment capital (other educational services such as undergraduate education has not been committed)

After 3 years from the date of accession, the education service will not be restricted, which means that it would be easier for students if they want to participate in an international in country or a joint training program instead of going to study abroad Then the OSC have to compete with each other internally but also with international institutions and joint training programs

However, study abroad with its own characteristics and prominent advantages such

as a professional learning environment can certainly attract many students In the coming time, there will be many challenges and opportunities facing OSC; therefore there should be solutions to improving marketing tools in order to help consultants

to better cope with challenges and seize opportunities in the present as well as in the future

B THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 An overview of service marketing

1.1.1 Concept of service marketing

1.1.1.1 Concept of service

Put in the simplest terms, services are deeds, processes and performances Generally, services are not tangible things that can be touched, seen and felt but rather intangible deeds and performances To be specific, services can be whatever

value a business delivers to customers Services can be deeds or performances which happen and last for a while but services can be the entire process presented to the customers or clients from problem analysis activities, meetings with clients and

follow-up calls

Basing on the simple, broad definition of services, it quickly becomes apparent that services are produced not only by service businesses but also in relation to the offerings and participation of many manufactured-goods producers For instance, machine manufacturers offer warranties and maintenance services for their products, food producers provide delivery, inventory management, staff-training services These above mentioned are all examples of services as deeds, processes and performances

In short, it can be learnt from the definition that service needs to be connected with the activity from which service is generated, say, travel service, legal service etc.,

In all of the cases, each type of service brings some values to the consumers The value of service is accompanied with the benefit that customers get from that service However, there are also some arguments that products customers purchase and use at the production place and cannot be taken away are known as service

1.1.1.2 Concept of marketing

Marketing has been viewed traditionally as a business activity Business organizations exist to satisfy human needs, especially material needs Consequently, one way to define marketing is from the business perspective For instance,

marketing has defined as the "delivery of higher standards of living"

Other definitions refer to marketing as an exchange process This process involves

at least two parties: buyer and seller Each party gives up something of value and receives something of value Noted marketing scholar Philip Kotler defines marketing as "a society process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others." [72]

Because marketing activities bring about exchanges, marketing is an essential function in an economic system In a free-enterprise economy, resources are allocated by interaction of supply and demand in the marketplace Marketing activities and institutions' provide the framework and mechanisms for this interaction and exchange taking place

Although the business aspects of marketing are important, business-oriented definitions of marketing have been challenged Critics observe that marketing involves a wide range of activities and organizations and should be viewed from a broader perspective These critics point out that marketing takes place in not-for-profit organizations, such as hospitals, universities, and social and government agencies New applications of marketing are further evidence of its growing importance in our society Any definition must recognize that marketing is a fundamental human activity and that marketing decisions affect everyone's warfare The American Marketing Association (AMA) provides a definition of marketing in its broader context: "Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organization goals"

By including exchange as part of the definition, the AMA has expanded the marketing process to include all types of organizations This broadened or generic view of marketing recognizes the importance and application of marketing to not-for-profit organizations and situations As in for non-profit businesses, a careful planned and coordinated marketing program can help a not-for profit organizations reach its goals, whether they are to attract more members, to increase donations, or

to provide better client services

Importance of Marketing

According to Blythe, (2005) marketing is the management process which identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably [15] Modern businesses compete in complex global marketplaces Competition has

never been so fierce Well organized high quality, low cost competitors are emerging daily We can no longer rely upon our belief that traditional product services and technological superiorities are sufficient to retain and grow our businesses in the environment In a competitive market environment, building and maintaining a market requires investment in marketing and promotion [60]

If marketing is the engine that drives the organization, then marketing research is the process that keeps the engine tuned [54]

1.1.1.3 Concept of service marketing

Marketing activities, even marketing the service sector developed rapidly in recent years Services marketing are regulated by the characteristics of the production, distribution and use of service The scope of Service Marketing includes the whole

process from pre-consumption, in production, distribution and after-sale- service

Marketing is one of management tools of a manager which has so far proved its effectiveness and got tremendous results Marketing has been applied not only in doing business but also in many other fields of social life, namely environment marketing, social marketing, politics marketing, public non-profit products marketing so on and so forth The concept of marketing, therefore, has a boarder insight than it used to be And services marketing are one of the extensions of the new and broad definition of the traditional concept of marketing

Generally, service marketing is known as a form of marketing which focuses on selling services and a form of marketing based on relationship and value Services

as defined previously can be tricky to sell and marketing a service-base business is, therefore, different from marketing a product-base business in some senses including: the buyer purchases an intangible product; the service may be based on the reputation of a single person; it is more difficult to compare the quality of similar services and the buyer cannot return the service Thus is why once markets a service business, the owner should bear in mind that reputation, value, delivery of service and follow-through are keys to a successful venture

1.1.2 Fundamentals of service marketing

1.1.2.1 Characteristics of service: The services have unique characteristics which

make them different from that of goods The most common characteristics of

of this, the services are not known to the customer before they take them The service provider has to follow certain things to improve the confidence of the client: The provider can try to increase the tangibility of services For example, by

displaying a plastic or a clay model showing patients an expected state after a

plastic surgery The provider can emphasize on the benefits of the service rather than just describing the features

Not all the service product has similar intangibility Some services are highly intangible, while the others are low i.e the goods (or the tangible component) in the service product may vary from low to high

For example: Teaching, Consulting, Legal advices are services which have almost nil tangible components; While restaurants, fast food centers, hotels and hospitals offer services in which their services are combined with product (tangible objective) , such as food in restaurants, or medicines in hospitals etc

Inseparability

Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously In case of physical goods, they are manufactured into products, distributed through multiple resellers, and consumed later But, in case of services, it cannot be separated from the service provider Thus, the service provider would become a part of a service

For example: Taxi operator drives taxi, and the passenger uses it The presence of taxi driver is essential to provide the service The services cannot be produced now for consumption at a later stage / time This produces a new dimension to service marketing The physical presence of customer is essential in services For example:

to use the services of an airline, hotel, doctor, etc a customer must be physically present

Inseparability of production and consumption increases the importance of the quality in services Therefore, service marketers not only need to develop task-related, technical competence of service personnel , but also , require a great input

of skilled personnel to improve their marketing and inter personal skills

Perishability

Services are deeds, performance or act whose consumption take place simultaneously; they tend to perish in the absence of consumption Hence, services cannot be stored The services go waste if they are not consumed simultaneously i.e value of service exists at the point when it is required

The perishable character of services adds to the service marketers' problems The inability of service sector to regulate supply with the changes in demand; poses many quality management problems Hence, service quality level deteriorates during peak hours in restaurants, banks, transportation etc This is a challenge for a service marketer Therefore, a marketer should effectively utilize the capacity without deteriorating the quality to meet the demand

Variability

Services are highly variable, as they depend on the service provider, and where and when they are provided Service marketers face a problem in standardizing their service, as it varies with experienced hand, customer, time and firm Service buyers are aware of this variability So, the service firms should make an effort to deliver high and consistent quality in their service; and this is attained by selecting good and qualified personnel for rendering the service

1.1.2.2 Market in service marketing

The concept of market in Marketing is different from that of tangible products It is known as the potential customers who have demands for specific products provided

by enterprises The concept of market in service marketing is divided into 6 basic types which can be illustrated as follows:

Figure 1 1: Service market

'

(Source: Nghiem, Luu Van (2001; 80) - A textbook of Service Marketing of

Vietnam National Economics University- Statistics Publishing House.) [99]

Customer market

Internal market

Interactive Market

Customer market: For any enterprise to be successful, it is a must to focus on the customer market which is the buyers‘ demand for a specific type of product or service The lowest influence of marketing on this market is to build customer loyalty and attract the new and potential ones It is quite difficult to understand the customers of a service The job of marketers, therefore, is to do research on customer behaviors to find out what has great influence on their buying decisions One of the big concerns of service marketing lies in customer maintenance and

repeated business

Interactive market: Interactive market occurs in the moment when the customers interact with the organization and the service is produced and consumed It is also the interaction between different organizations taking part in the process of providing service These components of the whole process interlink and depend

much on each other to provide the end-service to customers

Supplier market: The supplier market has changed a lot and played an important part in both service and tangible products Marketing activities in this market, therefore, is to provide all the resources, which means that marketer needs to establish some essential middle men, develop the relationships with the future and present resources together with developing marketing campaign to distribute these resources to supplier market Meanwhile organizations also need to have a plan to promote their market resources

Employment market: How to provide adequate qualified and skillful workforce for interactive market is a question of concern for the reason that there has always been

a shortage of qualified and skillful workers for not only service providers but also any organizations doing business in the market The supply and demand in employment market seems to be complicated There has been a great demand for the high quality workforce working in several industries but the supply capacity still remains low due to a number of reasons

Power market: This market is suitable to relationship based Marketing Enterprises used Marketing resources and strategies to establish relationship with powerful groups and corporations, including:

 Financial and Baking Corporations: They make decisions on capital, payment ability, amount of cash, etc

 Powerful Corporations: Enterprises should establish the relationship to enter the market and find out opportunities in future

 Authorities: Enterprises should understand and follow regulations and rules related to trade and commercial activities

 Economic Associates: Enterprises should create a friendly relationship and support their positive activities

Internal market: An internal market operates inside an organization or a set of organizations including employees, providers and internal customers The internal customers also have needs and demands that requires organizations to meet Thus, organizations should do research to find out the internal customers‘ needs and wants

as well as identify internal customer segmentation and work out the factors that influence internal customers‘ needs which often associates with themes like their personal lives, their families, working conditions, labor-saving devices, incomes, promotion, vacation, benefits and rewards, etc

The organizations should apply marketing tools to attract external customers to increase internal customers ‗loyalty Marketing researches, communication and PR campaigns should focus directly on the employees and indirect labors as well as external customers to attract the skilled labor force to produce high quality services Services marketing mix is different from that of product Product marketing mix, also known as the 4 P's of Marketing, is the combination of product, price, place (distribution), and promotion

In service marketing, the traditional 4Ps mar-mix is extended to 7Ps mar-mix to be compatible with the successful proposition for the services industry The 7Ps of the

marketing mix can be discussed as: product service; price; place; promotion; people; processes and physical evidence

Basing on the specification of the service and market segment, marketers can coordinate the 7Ps to develop a marketing strategy which is suitable for their marketing purposes and get results

1.1.2.3 Mar-Mix in Marketing Service

1.1.2.3.1 Product policy

A product in general is a broad concept of things or set of activities that bring values to customers Customers don‘t actually purchase goods or services but they purchase the benefits and values that goods and services offer them

Service is a set of activities including intangible factors which create the value chain and bring the overall benefit Thus, service is often classified into the core service and relating service

 Core service is the main service which identifies the main business activities of any enterprise In this sense, the core service can meet a certain need of the customers for it brings a certain values to customers which can help them to distinguish this service from the others

 Relating service is the secondary services depriving from the core one which add values to customers and help them to have better feeling and understanding of the core service The more relating services are offered, the more benefits and values the customers can get and that help the customers identify the difference in service offering between one enterprise and its main competitors

In order to successfully survive and stay ahead in a harshly competing market, enterprises need to make a numbers of decision related to their core-service

 The decision of the main service introduced to the market is made on the basis of identifying the general needs of the service in the market and also on the specific service orientation The main (core) service needs to be associated with the target market

 The decision of primary service is made in accordance with service structures, different service levels and service-providers

 The overall service is a set of the main (core) service, relating services and primary services When deciding the overall service to be offered, the providers should consider the overall benefits that the services can deliver as well as compare these benefits with those of the main competitors

 The service diversification decision is made to meet diverse requirements of customers That is when enterprises introduce different basic services to meet different market segments at the same time

1.1.1.3.2 Pricing policy

Price plays an important role in services marketing mix and has a large impact on profit and also decides the value of the primary service that is offered to customers Price is considered a decisive factor in building enterprise‘s image and positioning the service being offered

How a company positions itself in the competitive market depends much on its pricing policy Pricing, therefore, is of great consideration Price a premium item too low, for example, and customers will not believe the quality is good enough Conversely, put too high a selling price on value lines and customers will purchase competitors‘ lower-price items With this purpose in mind, companies can set a reasonable price compatible with the quality and characteristics of the service for the reason that price has much influence on the intangible and non-material value of service

In marketing mix, pricing tool is of great significance and effectively affects other tools and factors which helps bring value and benefit for the company Price is something that is sensitive and draws much people attention Pricing the service, therefore, needs take several factors into consideration

First and foremost, pricing should stem from the true value that the service can deliver to customers The service pricing strategy is often identified on such basis as

the service production cost, competition in the market and the value that customers can get from the service

From the service providers‘ perspective, pricing policy should meet gross margin requirement and ensure profit for the company to survive and maintain sustainable

development

1.1.1.3.3 Place Policy

Distribution channels in service industry are a broader concept in comparison with the traditionally known ones Distribution channels are comprised from such factors

as service products, negotiation, information, ownership and promotion

Service is a special goods in which the production, distribution and consumption of service is a continuous and inseparate process In this sense, the service consumers also participate in both service supply and consumption process

Distribution channels in service is normally short and direct channels which in reality is known as the bridge between consumers and service or bring services to consumers in different market sectors Distribution channels may consist of service providers, a number of intermediaries (sales representatives, agents, wholesalers, retailer, etc), and consumers

There are three main factors in distribution channels:

 Members of distribution channels and the relationship among these members

 Different functions performed by members of the channels together with equipments, facilities and technologies used in distribution channels

 The whole service produced by distribution channels‘ members

These three main factors in distribution channels all participate in the buying and selling process with other members in that channel Each member has his own capacity and target customers which make a unique channel representing a mix of power, contradiction and cooperation

Particularly, distribution channels in service are known as follows:

Direct channel: is the most effective distribution channel for service and very common for small businesses Services can be sold directly to the consumer on-site i.e directly from your shop, office or home by consumers physically coming into the premises to make a purchase

Direct channel is appropriate to pure service because of the high intangibility of service and high demand of the relationship between service providers and consumers Direct channel can work effectively in such services as: healthcare, education and training, art and entertainment

Indirect channel includes the participation of a number of intermediaries as illustrated below

Figure 1.2: Direct distribution channel

(Source: Nghiem, Luu Van (2001; 281)- A textbook of Service Marketing of

Vietnam National Economics University- Statistics Publishing House.) [99]

Figure 1.3: Indirect distribution channels

(Source: Nghiem, Luu Van (2001; 281)- A textbook of Service Marketing of

Vietnam National Economics University- Statistics Publishing House.) [99]

Consumer Service provider

At-home service

Service Consumer

Intermediaries Service

provider

Buying Agents Selling

Agents

In reality, indirect channels work more effectively for some particular service For example, service industries such as aviation, tourism, hotel chains, banking etc., can make full use of agents, rep offices in different market segments and market areas

Decisions in service distribution

In order for enterprise to have an effective distribution channel, enterprise needs to base on the features of the service that it is offering together with the true demand

of the market Accordingly, enterprise should consider making the right decision to

get the best result

1.1.1.3.4 Promotion Policy

Communication in service plays an important role in Mar-mix, which provides information to customers and solutions to the internal relationship inside the company as well as the relationship between company and the public Communication makes things clear and help company position itself in the market

so that the customers can have more awareness of the value of service

Communication in service includes such things as advertisement (1), personal communication (2), promotion (3), which will be discussed as follows:

(1) Advertisement is one common form of communication used by almost all

organizations Advertisement in service is to identify information of the service, position service, develop service concept, have better insight into the service quality and quantity, create customer‘s expectation and persuade customer‘s spending Advertisement methods, advertisement scripts, advertisement objectives and budgets are also matters of concern in advertisement policy plan

Advertisement methods consist of mass media such as television, radio, press, cinema and other means which can help convey information to public, for example posters, directories, word of mouth and mail shots Companies should base on their advertising objectives to choose the appropriate methods and language of advertisement

There are some things to bear in mind in planning an advertising campaign

 Identify the content, form and page-layout of the advertisement script

 Characterize the advertisement information

 Identify the service environment

 Identify the publicity of the advertisement

 Estimate the appropriate budget

The purpose of the advertisement is the required content of the advertisement activities which are actually the initial goals associated with the ideas that the advertisers wish to convey to the public or the making of ideas become real Notably, advertisers should base much attention to word of mouth (WOM) method

in promoting their products and services Normally, customers often participate in the service purchasing and share their experience with other customers Suggestions made by means of word of mouth are considered as an important and trust-worthy source of information WOM method is known such ways as followed:

 Inter-changeable interaction

 Experience in a service

 Expected value/ purchasing activities

 Word of mouth/ service transformation

Personal communication known as service selling activities is actually the process

of transforming service from the service suppliers with the customers Personal communication must ensure the coordination of activities as selling, service generating and service monitoring in order to provide service information to customers

Promotion is known as the use of appropriate tools and solutions suitable to the

companies and market conditions to promote buying in short-term Promotion tools

and methods mainly focus on customers, intermediaries and sale-people

 Customers: Encourage the customers‘ buying power by providing customers

with add-on benefits which can be approaching method improvement, service regulations and manual books, lucky tickets, contests and free-of-charge

maintenance

 Intermediaries: Encourage these supporters to participate more in the service

distribution activities, especially with the new service by providing higher discount,

coordinating distribution with advertising and holding contests for distributors

 Sale-people: Encourage the sale-people morale by increasing bonus values and

frequency Bonus can be in the forms of pay-rise, vacations for the best sale-people

to increase selling performance We can say that service personal communication activities play a decisive role in the service supply chain to customers Skillful sale

people are the results of qualified training, self-improvement and learnt experience

In a word, promotion has seen its effectiveness in many services especially in banking and finance

1.1.1.3.5 People Policy

Human factor plays a significant part in service marketing Therefore, the enrollment, training, motivating and managing human resource have great impact

on the success of service marketing

Human resource in service supply consists of the entire employees in the companies from the management to the direct workers These are the people who actually participate in the production and delivery of the service

Findings from recent studies show that the human factor, especially the front people who deliver service to customers play a decisive role in the success of the companies Additionally, these are the people who contribute a lot to the decision to reengineer the supply models for the newly generated service

To make full use of human factor in developing new service, companies should take into account the followings hints:

 Companies must treat their employees as potential future customers by showing concerns and giving quick response to their needs and wants and have a strategic plan to gain and increase employees‘ satisfaction

 Companies should pay attention to getting employees involve in developing new service together with paying attention to the organization and physical environment

of the new service That is to say companies should provide adequately basic conditions for the success of the new service

 Companies should also make their employees participate more in the process of the new service assessment to see if the provided service meets the customers‘ demand By so doing, companies can provide a service which is in line with the customers‘ needs If the service is for the sake of the customers, the result companies get will be higher and the relationship between employees and customers will be much improved

Internal Marketing is to understand the needs and wants of the entire employees inside the companies For any organization to be successful, the board of management should take their employees‘ interests into consideration to find suitable solutions and make appropriate policies to increase their employees‘ satisfaction In return, organizations can gain employees‘ loyalty, productivity and performance that get results Internal Marketing is practiced as follows:

 Recruit those who are qualified, enthusiastic with their jobs

 Develop the orientation programs which focus on the improvement of employees‘ business skills and customers‘ relationship

 Get to know the internal employees‘ needs and wants to have appropriate policies to meet their satisfaction

 Pay attention to the key and qualified staff

 Provide vocational training service

 Publish internal bulletin and documents

1.1.1.3.6 Process Policy

A customer service procedure is a way of doing a routine practice In customer service there is certain protocol that must be taken in order to remain competitive Finding a better or faster way of doing something can be considered a customer service procedure Managers are given the responsibility of completing job performance evaluations to see where weak links can be rectified This leads to increased efficiency and better customer service

Service procedures include the entire process, mechanisms and information flows and values from the service production to service consumption The service procedures are always associated with service management and customer care or access to customers to get information about customer requirements and process these requirements in order to give advice and best solutions These processes also consist of service preparation and delivery, customer approach to get feedback and listen to complaints to provide add-on or differentiate services Service procedures always need to be professional

There are several steps in designing service supply process, namely generating the idea of service, building supply scenarios, modeling service supply in the physical environment including the relationship between service providers and the end-users, and perfecting the model

1.1.3.7 Physical Evidence

Physical evidence can be categorized into two types – peripheral and essential Essential physical evidence is provided by those tangibles, without which the service cannot be delivered Peripheral evidence is provided by those tangibles given out by service providers as gifts The important benefits offered by physical evidence are increased employee productivity, creation of good impression among customers, increased credibility of the service provider, and differentiation from

competitors, effective management of service quality and repositioning of services

For example, in aviation service the facilities on planes such as video, books, magazines, satellite TV, wireless internet, food and drink are very essential increase customers‘ satisfaction Physical evidence in banking industry is presented in such a ways as the wide-spread of network which make the transaction comfortable, modern communication channel and interior facilities, professional website, ATM machines available everywhere

In a word, physical evidence are the combination of both tangible factor such as facilities, uniforms, location, etc and intangible factor such as experience, skills, etc

which help to build up brand and company‘s image

1.2 An overview of marketing in overseas education services

1.2.1 International Education services

There is little research on international education services, which is the immediate discipline of this research Nonetheless, a range of perspectives abound The dominant view of international higher education pertains to the nature of the

‗product‘ that is being exchanged, often perceived as a commoditized good, to be freely traded [5] Thus, international education is perceived like any other commodity, (e.g gold or oil), to be bought and sold in accordance with market values; reflecting a now outdated goods-oriented marketing perspective [40] A more contemporary view of international education services classifies the ‗product‘

as a service, recognising the importance of effective marketing strategies that are needed in order to remain internationally competitive [52] While it is apparent that institutions want to be internationally competitive and attractive to students wanting

to study in another country, there is a dearth of literature about international student consumer behaviour in the higher education market place [40] The reason for this

is the continuance of the commodity-based view adopted by many universities and which underpins marketing strategies targeted at achieving business outcomes such

as funding, and an absence of a focus on the needs, wants and decisions of student customers in the international marketplace [102] International education as a

service, as opposed to a good, changes the marketing framework [52] Thus, while marketing international education will have some crossover from the business commodity point of view, it is important to note that it is a service and needs to be marketed accordingly

Services have the capacity to deliver intellectual content [117] As the provision of intellectual content is at the core of international education services, it fits into the service sector category Building relationships with stakeholders is central to service businesses, and in the case of international education services there is a need and benefit in developing interpersonal relationships between the institution and its students [90] Hence, relationships are a valuable component of services marketing [49] and it is from this platform that the relationship based mechanisms that facilitate the co-creation of value for the student consumer that enhances their experience, thus creating global competitive advantage for the institution is a plausible way to shift and advance the marketing of international education services

1.2.2 Marketing in international education

Knight [69] stated that export of higher education is a billion dollar industry, including recruitment of international students, establishment of university campuses abroad, franchised provision and online learning The supply of

transnational (or cross-border) education plays an increasingly important role for

the economic growth of a country [126]

Status Quo Analysis of Export of Higher Education in Developed Countries

Since the late 1980s, the internationalization of higher education provision has been consistently identified as a major trend especially for universities in developed industrial countries [9] According to the estimation of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the countries of OECD admitted 1.5 million international students in 1999 alone The report of the International Education Service Forum of OECD/US 2002 showed that the number of

international students looking for higher education will increase from 45 million in

1999 to 150 million in 2025, and the volume of export of higher education will hit

30 billion USD, 3% of the total service trade volume of OECD The top three countries of educational export, in order, are Australia, New Zealand and America Their educational export volumes of these three countries account for 11.6%, 4.9% and 3.8% of their own service trade volume, respectively

The development of international educational trade is imbalanced in different areas The developed countries always have more exporting than importing The goal of the educational export of developed countries is to obtain commercial and economic benefit The economic factors play a very important role in this progress [85]

Export of higher education in the USA

The USA has always been the country accepting the most international students The total number of the international students in OECD countries was 1.42 million, and 31% of which were in America [110] It is estimated by the Education Ministry

of USA that the number of international students increased from 311,880 in 1981 to 514,723 in 2003 The American educational export volume reached more than 10 billion in 2003 alone It resulted in the favorable balance of 8 billion, which accounted for about 10% of the America total favorable balance and also reached approximately one third of the consumption of international students in OECD countries It is clear that America's high quality educational resources and her influence on the world are irreplaceable

From the analysis of schooling educational structure, it can be seen that international students in America for training are much fewer than students for degree From the analysis of majors, it can be found that most the international students in America choose commerce, industry, life sciences, mathematics, computer technology and so on for their study The students in such fields occupied 52.8% of the international students in 2003 (Li & Cheng, 2004) Zhang (2002) [82] stated that from the area distribution, it is clear that the major market of American

educational export is Asia, which consumes more than 60% of her educational export Europe and Latin America are located in the second and the third places of the consumption Meanwhile, it is easily understood that the levels of economy, science and technology, and industry of a country play an important role in expanding her business competence in every respect

Export of higher education in Australia

The international students in Australia reached 39,685 in 1995, 52,829 in 1997, 60,914 in 1999, 86,269 in 2001, and 136,252 in 2003, which led to the increase of the trade volume from 6 million in 1970 to 21.55 billion in 2003 [110] When the WTO issued the General Agreements on Service after 1995, Australian universities took this opportunity, and developed Australian educational institutions abroad The Agreements regulate that the member countries must try to reduce the trade barriers and be able to provide educational services in the form of commercial presence Australia‘s government was very responsive to the situational changes from the issuance of the WTO regulations The government promulgated relevant laws and regulations, and adjusted policies for facilitating and normalizing the development

of her educational business According to the Australian Presidents Committee's report in 2003, 38 universities have established 2,009 educational projects abroad [132] The structure of the international students in Australia has changed a lot for the past few years the weight of conveying her higher education to other countries through long distance learning increased from 5.9% of total trade volume of her higher education in 1996 to 11% in 2003 [112]

Export of higher education in Japan

For the past few years, the increase of the number of international students has been remarkable It increased from 55,575 in 1999 to 111,130 in 2004 The average increasing rate is 20% [61]

From the analysis of the study level, the number of the international students for degree reached 89,000 in 2004, which was 80.1 % of that year (111,130) The non-

degree study was mostly for visit scholars and students for learning Japanese From the analysis of majors, students majoring in social science and literate account for 25.6% of all students, and the students majoring in science and technology account for 16.6% [62] Compared with other countries in Asia, Japan is in the ascendant in science and technology, which is the reason for many Asian countries to send their students to Japan to learn advanced technology Here, Japan shows her competence derived from her tradition and the achievements of science and technology for development of educational business

1.2.3 Education agents

An education agent is defined as an individual, company or other organization providing services on a commercial basis to help students and their parents gain places on study programmers overseas Agents use a range of different titles to describe themselves, including student advisor, education consultant and representative Most fall into one of three broad categories:

• education specialists who place students on behalf of one or more institutions;

• education specialists who place students but with no ties to any particular institution;

• non-education specialists, for example travel agents and publishers, who may offer overseas education placement services as a subsidiary activity

Other individuals may work as education agents, or in a similar capacity, including alumni, parents and overseas-based staff running institutional in-country offices

1.2.4 The role of agents

Agents have only a limited role in raising general interest in study abroad but they play a very important role as intermediaries helping to convert interest from students, particularly younger students (and their parents), into actual placements in institutions abroad As such, agents are an important means of increasing access to overseas education markets

In many countries students and parents use agents to arrange study abroad because they lack knowledge and understanding of overseas education systems Even where students or their parents find suitable placements on their own, they often lack the confidence or time to complete the necessary formalities, especially visa application procedures, without help and choose to pay for assistance from an agent In countries where many customers have limited English language skills, agents have

an even more important role since they offer information and advice in the customers‘ own language In some cases agents are valued for the follow-up services they provide during the period of study abroad, for example liaison between parents and institutions, finding guardians and emergency support Many agents also provide pre -departure briefings on behalf of institutions

For institutions, use of reputable agents offers a cost-effective means of increasing outreach, especially in larger overseas markets Where direct recruitment activities

by overseas institutions are tightly controlled or limited, as in China for example, the value of a reputable agent is even more apparent

An international education agent is often seen as a ‗bridge‘ between the many people involved in international education including students, parents, providers and home stay families-providing a pivotal link between them Agents can be found across the world with many offering services to the full range of providers including Language Schools, Schools, Colleges, University, etc ‗

The specific activities of an agent vary based on provider and students needs, but their core activities are generally targeted towards students and providers as follows

Core International Education Agent‘s Services

Targeted to Students Targeted to Education providers

-providing information on the range

of education options, courses and

-recruiting suitable students for the

pathways

-providing information on the

preferred countries: travel, lifestyle,

etc

-providing education counseling for

students to ensure the most

appropriate course selection

-processing applications to

education providers

-processing visa applications

providers -processing student applications -offering a translation service -providing market intelligence on changes to demand for courses -marketing and promoting education providers

1.2.5 The importance of marketing in education

Philip Kotler, regarded by many specialists in this field, ―the father of modern marketing‖, believes that, in general terms, marketing must be seen as ―human activity orientated in the direction of satisfy the needs and wishes through exchange processes.‖ [72] The single term, "marketing" means a combination of methods, techniques and tools which analyze the market, explores the market‘s factors in order to adapt supply and it can represents a new optic regarding the reality of life, the practice, is more precisely a new way of life Based on the variety of definitions

of marketing concept and extend it in areas of activity is emerging the concept of

―non-profit marketing.‖ Non-profit marketing concerns different fields, so that, together with social marketing, green marketing, health marketing, cultural and sports marketing can be also the educational marketing The educational marketing aims ―the marketing application service‖ and enjoys the attention of regarding the individual training objectives

The role of educational marketing is to:

 investigate the market, its definition and understanding and identifying potential consumers of goods and services;

 providing appropriate products and services to customer‘s needs at the time, place and right price;

 providing customers with optimal, quality and reputation educational services;

 attracting consumers by targeting their needs and aspirations intuition

The educational marketing has several functions, namely:

 research of the market by trying to find the main consumers of education;

 marketing‘s policies linking the main requirements of the education market;

 adapting education‘s services to the needs, expectations and demands of consumers for products and educational services;

 promoting optimal efficient management, using materials and information resources in order to achieve the main objectives set

1.3 Marketing Communication: Channels and Promotion Tools

"Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform,

pesuade, and remind consumers - directly, or indirectly - about the products and

brands that they sell." (Kotler and Kellter)

Personal and nonpersonal communication channels can be used for marketing communications Within both of them there are many subchannels The marketing communications mix is now thought of as consisting six major modes or types of communication alternatives

1 Advertising

2 Sales promotion

3 Events and experiences

4 Public relations and publicity

5 Direct marketing

6 Personal selling

Personal Communication Channels

Personal communication is communication between two or more persons with a specific person communication with others The message emanates from a specific person It can be done face to face, or by a person to audience, over telephone, or

through post or couriers or through emails or through mobile messages

The personal communications in the case of marketing can also be categorized as communications from advocate, expert and social contacts The company salespersons‘ communication to customers is communication from advocates of the product

An independent expert communicating to prospective buyers about the merits of the product is classified as expert communication A neighbor saying good things about

a brand is social channel of communication

Companies take various steps to stimulate personal communications about their products and brands

1 They identify influential individuals and devote extra effort on them

2 Create opinion leaders by supplying possible opinion leaders with the product on attractive terms

3 Use influential or believable people in testimonial advertising

4 Develop word of mouth publicity by requesting satisfied clients to promote their product among their friends

5 Establish online discussion groups and communities

Nonpersonal Communication Channels They include media, atmospheres, and

events

Media channels include print media (newspaper, magazines, souvenirs, proceedings

of conferences), broadcast media (radio, television), display media (billboards, signs, posters) and electronic media (audiotape, videotape, videodisk, CD-ROM) Atmosphere is what firms create in their office environment The office interiors and exteriors have a meaning to the potential buyers

Events are occurrences designed to communicate particular messages to target audiences or audiences Company arranged news conferences, opening ceremonies

of various kinds, and sponsorships of various events come under event communications channels

Communication through mass media stimulates personal communication channels

The Promotional Tools: The characteristics of various promotional tools are as

follows:

Advertising

Advertising is a public mode of communication Because it is communicated simultaneously to large number of people and people know that the same communication is going to many people, they feel their motives for buying are understood by the advertiser

Advertising messages can be repeated number of times Buyers also can compare advertisements of various companies selling the same product The media offers the facility to add color, sound etc to the message and dramatize the message But advertising cannot have dialogue with the people People may not see and pay attention to the advertisement

Advertising is an efficient way to reach geographically dispersed potential buyers at

a low cost per exposure

Advertising has two recent variants Advertorials are offer editorial content and while it is paid for by the advertiser and it will be difficult for the reader to easily make out that it is an advertisement Similarly infomercials are TV programs that are meant for promoting the products of the company They discuss the working of the product, benefits of the products, and user experience etc and they may beam the message to buy the product and the address to be contacted

Public relations and publicity

News stories and feature articles are more authentic and credible than advertisements to readers The articles act as testimonials The message gets through to the potential buyers as news and they may not turn away from it as they turn away from the advertisements

Personal selling

Personal selling as a communicative channel involves a live, immediate, and interactive relationship between persons Personal selling leads to relationships The listener feels obligated to respond to the salesman at least with a polite ―thank you.‖

Direct Marketing