Promotion mix for advanced educational program a case study of national economics university

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGEMENT This research paper is made possible through the help, support and encouragement from people who all deserve our sincerest gratitude and appreciation Our research consultant and research instructor Hundreds of students from the Center for Advanced Educational Program, National Economics University Intake 54, 55, and 56 High school students in Hanoi Our classmates’ parents Also, much credit is due to our family and friends Their love, support and constant encouragement gave us a great deal of energy and determination during the time of writing this paper 2 I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This paper is commissioned to provide an analysis of the current promotion mix that the Center for Advanced Educational Program is implementing, its effectiveness from the students’ and parents’ point of view over the last three years, and some recommendations on how to improve the shortcomings The methodology for the study was random sampling with three groups of respondents, including students of Advanced Educational Programs - Intakes 54, 55, 56, senior year students from high schools in Hanoi, and parents of students from the class Advanced Financed 54A In the process of data collection, this study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches Several sources of secondary data, such as the information about Center for Advanced Educational Program on its website, Facebook page and magazine, online articles related to the program, and records, documents and personal contacts from the office building, were employed Meanwhile, the primary data were gathered through online and offline questionnaires In data analysis, the numbers and figures are calculated by Excel and ranked to draw the overall comparisons between channels and marketing communications of promotion mix Results of data analyzed draw attention to the fact that among the five tools of promotion mix, Public Relation and Personal Selling are the two most effective in terms of both popularity and quality for a larger base 3 of audience they can reach relative to the others Meanwhile, the least effective marketing communication is Direct Marketing, which includes newspapers, online magazines, website, and social network channels, notwithstanding the explosion of Internet of the last decade This finding can be justified by the fact that there remains a lack of attention and appropriate approaches from the executives in making use of the prospects that this marketing communication would offer Further investigations also revealed that Personal non-trading communication channels emerges as one of the most promising and realistic marketing communication for the fact that many senior year high school students would normally turn to family, relatives, teachers and forerunners – i.e former or current university students, to decide on a university course Based on the key findings, this study finds the prospects of building up a better promotion mix of the Center for Advanced Educational Program The major areas of weakness require further investigation and remedial action by management while a need for the sustenance of potentially good channels should also be recognized In general, it is recommended that the approaching methods of some marketing communications should be reconsidered; the online promoting strategies should be more extensively focused in a long run; and some other new ideas would be generated in practice 4 II INTRODUCTION II.1 Background information Internationalization has become a major worldwide trend and a very hot topic on the media which affect all fields of life, which can be seen in almost every field: economics, culture, sports, and education As wealth in society has increased, studying abroad is much more common and accessible than before, even in a developing country like Vietnam To illustrate, based on a survey by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in 2013, over 100,000 students were studying and conducting research in foreign countries Consequently, English, which is the dominant second language in the world, has become a crucial tool in education Although better education opportunities are in favor of everyone, not all families in Vietnam can afford the huge expenses of studying abroad According to MOET, 90 percent of abroad students were self-sufficient, meaning that students were liable for all costs when studying abroad (averaging USD20,000-40,000/year) In other cases, parents may feel uncomfortable letting their children live far from home However, parents have the same denominator that they all expect to provide their children with optimal education opportunities Meeting the demand of such families, Vietnam institutions have developed courses and programs collaborating with foreign institutions, especially from English-speaking countries with advanced education such as the United States of America, The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, etc After graduating those courses, students were granted a degree recognized by both domestic and partner universities 5 The benefits of collaborating courses are outstanding First and foremost, they are considered a cost-saving way of accessing advanced education in overseas countries Students do not have to live far from home, which saves them travelling and accommodation expenses, together with lower tuition fees Besides, the curriculum is English-based that help improving students’ English capacity After several years of studying, students will become used to English and have better English skills Secondly, collaborating courses provide students living in domestic environment with an international mindset, together with a set of soft skills that are crucial for the market economy II.2 Rationale Among the leading universities in Economics in Vietnam, National Economic University (NEU) follows the internalization trend in education to open collaborating courses like Advanced Educational Program (AEP), Professional Oriented Higher Education (POHE), Bachelor of Business Administration in English (E-BBA), and International Bachelor Degree (IBD) Each of these courses has its special features and covers an own field Especially, with high admission requirements, professional and welldesigned training process with reliable outcomes, Advanced Educational Program is receiving more attention from parents and students in Vietnam However, as the number of international standardized university programs in Vietnam is on the increase in recent years, AEP is facing fiercer competition from similar programs and courses Aside from similar courses of NEU mentioned above, there are other large institutions that also have an Advanced Educational Program, i.e., Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Foreign Trade University, and Vietnam National 6 University, Hanoi As a result, when choosing a tertiary program, students become confused between a variety of choices As inferred from the fact, training quality is no longer the only thing that matters to win the competition Marketing activities should be strengthened as an essential factor to attract learners However, compared to common products and services, educational programs have some disadvantages regarding marketing activities A marketing mix consists of four Ps, which are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion While Product, Price, and Place are considered inflexible components in terms of an educational program like AEP, Promotion seems to be the deciding element A good promotion strategy is the key to build a positive image of the program, reach a larger base of audience, and create effective relationships with students and their parents Recognizing the role of marketing, as shared by Ass Prof., Dr Bui Huy Nhuong – Director of Advanced Educational Centre, AEP has put more effort to promote the program in recent years However, the success of such effort is unguaranteed and there is still a long way to go until AEP can achieve a desirable position in the “market” In recognition that no official and formal study about AEP’s promotion has been conducted, this research takes the initiative in learning about promotion activities and how they affect the program More importantly, this research reflects the outlook of AEP students and high school students, who are the target audience of AEP’s promotion strategy in order to gain a deeper insight into how AEP can attract more applicants in keeping with its stature Hopefully, this can provide reliable and objective information for AEP managers to plan and implement their policies 7 II.3 Research objectives The research project is about the promotion mix of Advanced Educational Program - National Economics University and have three objectives: 1 To thoroughly understand recent marketing communications and media channels through which AEP is being promoted 2 To evaluate the effectiveness of each marketing communication, including the size of audience that it reaches, the importance and quality perceived by audience 3 To make some recommendations to enhance AEP’s promotion strategy II.4 Research questions To serve the objectives, the research will answer the questions below: 1 What types of marketing communications and media channels that Advanced Educational Program is using before and after the university entrance exam to attract new applicants? 2 How effective is each marketing communication? 3 How can Advanced Educational Program go further in its promotion activities? II.5 Subject and scope of research  Subject of research: The research focuses on Advanced Educational Program’s Promotion Mix in years 2012, 2013, 2014  Scope of research: - Students of intakes 54, 55, 56 in Advanced Educational Program - Final year students from several high schools in Hanoi - A number of Advanced Educational Program students’ parents To be noticed, although Advanced Educational Program has recruited eight intakes until 2014, only intakes 54, 55, 56 which are the most recent ones are involved in the research These students are believed 8 to have fresh experiences and up-to-date information that can support the research Furthermore, due to time and place difficulty, in a total of more than 20 high schools in Hanoi and other provinces that Advanced Educational Programed has approached, only typical high schools are the target of this research 9 III THEORETICAL BACKGROUND III.1 The Promotion Mix III.1.1 The Promotion Mix and its role Promotion Mix – also called Marketing Communications Mix describes a blend of promotional variables chosen by marketers to help a firm reach its goals It has been identified as a subset of the marketing mix It is believed that there is an optimal way of allocating budgets for the different elements within the promotional mix to achieve best marketing results, and the challenge for marketers is to find the right mix of them Activities identified as elements of the promotional mix vary, but typically include the following:  Advertising: Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor  Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service  Personal selling: Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships  Public relation: Building good relations with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a goof corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events  Direct marketing: Direct connections with carefully targeted individual consumers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships - the use of direct mail, the 10 telephone, direct-response television, e-mail, the Internet, and other tools to communicate directly with specific consumer III.1.2 Marketing Communications in the Promotion Mix III.1.2.1 Advertising Advertising can be traced back to the very beginning of recorded history Archaeologists working in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea have dug ups signs announcing various events and offers, The Romans painted walls to announce gladiator fights, and the Phoenicians painted pictures promoting their wares on large rocks along parade routes During the golden age in Greece, town cries announced the sale of cattle, crafted items and even cosmetics Modern advertising, however, is a far cry from these early efforts Although advertising is used mostly by business firms, a wide range of non-for-profit organizations, professionals, and social agencies also use advertising to promote their causes to various target publics Marketing management must make four important decisions when developing and advertising program:     Setting advertising objectives Setting the advertising budget Developing advertising strategy Evaluating adverting campaign III.1.2.2 Sales promotion Sales promotion is any initiative undertaken by an organization to promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service (i.e initiatives that are not covered by the other elements of the marketing communications or promotions mix) Sales promotions are varied 50 recommendations and opinions will be able to support the managers’ future policy to boost the program All reviews and comments from readers are valuable in improving the quality of the paper REFERENCES Advantages of Public Relations (2015) From Public Relations Tutorial KnowThis.com Retrieved April 18, 2015 from http://www.knowthis.com/public-relations/advantages-of-public-relations Banting, Peter; Ross, Randolph E (1973) The marketing mix: A Canadian perspective Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Volume 1, Issue 1, pp 1-11 Borden, Neil H (1965) The Concept of the Marketing Mix In Schwartz, George Science in marketing Wiley marketing series Wiley E Jerome McCarthy (1975) Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach, fifth edition, Richard D Irwin, Inc., p.37 Griffith, Deb Crafting Successful Integrated Marketing Communications for Brands Retrieved 24 April 2014 Ka Ho Mok and Ka Ming Yu (Eds) (2014) Internationalization of Higher Education in East Asia: Trends of student mobility and impact on education governance Koichi Shimizu (2014) Advertising Theory and Strategies 18th edition, Souseisha Book Company (Japanese) Kotler, Philip & Keller, L Kevin (2012) Marketing Management 14e Pearson Education Limited 2012 51 Schultz, Don E.; Schultz, Heidi F (1998) Transitioning marketing communication into the twenty-first century Journal of Marketing Communications 4 (1): 9–17.doi http://www.baomoi.com/Truong-DH-Kinh-te-Quoc-dan-khai-giangchuong-trinh-tien-tien-chat-luong-cao-va-POHE-khoa55/59/12242242.epi http://www.baononghoi.com/khai-giang-chuong-trinh-tien-tien-chatluong-cao-va-pohe-khoa-56/2014102215630.html http://www.dantri.com.vn/giao-duc-khuyen-hoc/ngay-hoi-thong-tin-vecac-chuong-trinh-dao-tao-bang-tieng-anh-tai-dai-hoc-kinh-te-quoc-dan907331.htm http://www.is.tnu.edu.vn/index.php? option=com_k2&view=item&id=522:cam-nhan-ve-chuong-trinh-tientien&lang=vi http://www.svktqd.com/forums/forums/h-dao-to-tien-tin-cht-lung-cao.426/ http://www.svvn.vn/dh-ktqd-chuoi-su-kien-dac-sac-chao-sinh-vien-khoa55/ http://www.tinmoi.vn/dh-kinh-te-quoc-dan-xep-thu-4-ve-dao-tao-chuongtrinh-tien-tien-01845717.html 52 TABLES OF FIGURES APPENDICES Appendix A List of Abbreviations AEP Advanced Educational Program NEU National Economics University No Number PR Public Relation UEE University Entrance Exam 53 Appendix B Detailed listing of the sample size Group Class/ Schools Advanced Financed 54A Advanced Finance 54B Advanced Advanced Accounting 54B Educational Auditing Program – Intake 54 Investment International Business Corporate Administration Advanced Advanced Educational Finance 55A Program – Advanced Intake 55 Finance 55B Advanced Accounting 55A Advanced Accounting 55B Auditing Banking Investment International Business Questionnair Questionnair Online es es collected responses distributed 17 6 20 20 25 25 25 25 20 20 20 20 15 10 20 12 1 20 12 1 20 19 15 15 15 9 25 25 25 25 1 54 Corporate Administration Marketing Advanced Finance 56A Advanced Finance 56B Advanced Finance 56C Advanced Advanced Educational Accounting Program – Auditing Intake 56 Banking Investment International Business Corporate Administration Marketing Chu Van An Phan Dinh Phung Tran Phu Viet Duc Kim Lien Thang Long High Tran Nhan Tong Schools Marie Curie Hai Ba Trung Quang Trung Nhan Chinh Foreign Languge Specialized School Advanced Parents Financed 54A 25 25 1 15 15 2 6 5 15 15 23 23 26 23 15 15 15 12 12 8 29 29 28 28 15 20 13 20 9 9 20 15 18 20 1 1 1 1 1 16 15 18 18 1 1 1 1 1 15 12 50 46 Total: 664 Total: 605 Total: 32 55 Appendix C Questionnaire sample (for students of Advanced Educational Program) PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT VỀ HOẠT ĐỘNG TRUYỀN THÔNG CỦA CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIÊN TIẾN, CHẤT LƯỢNG CAO THUỘC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH TẾ QUỐC DÂN Dành cho sinh viên của Chương trình Lớp và khóa: ……………………………………………………….…… Khối thi Đại học mà bạn trúng tuyển vào ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân:…………… 1 Bạn biết đến Chương trình TT, CLC & POHE từ khi nào? a Trước kì thi tuyển sinh Đại học  BỎ QUA CÂU 3 b Sau khi trúng tuyển vào trường mới biết  BỎ QUA CÂU 2 2 Hãy đánh dấu vào (những) kênh thông tin giúp bạn biết đến Chương trình Sau đó, hãy khoanh tròn vào số điểm đánh giá chất lượng của (những) kênh đã chọn 1: Rất tệ 2: Chưa tốt 3: Bình thường 4: Tốt Kênh thông tin 5: Rất tốt Ngày hội định hướng cho học sinh tại trường THPT Đánh giá chất lượng 1 2 3 4 5 Tờ rơi thông tin phát tại trường THPT 1 2 3 4 5 Tờ rơi thông tin phát tại các điểm thi Đại học 1 2 3 4 5 Đội ngũ tư vấn viên giới thiệu về Chương trình tại bàn giải đáp thắc mắc 1 2 3 4 5 Phông, băng rôn, poster, hình ảnh về Chương trình 1 2 3 4 5 Các trang báo giấy 1 2 3 4 5 Các trang báo điện tử 1 2 3 4 5 Website của Chương trình (http://www.aep.neu.edu.vn) 1 2 3 4 5 Trang Facebook của Chương trình 1 2 3 4 5 Thông qua sinh viên đã và đang theo học tại Chương trình 1 2 3 4 5 Thông qua cán bộ, công nhân viên của ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân 1 2 3 4 5 Thông qua người thân, bạn bè khác 1 2 3 4 5 Khác: …………………………………………………… 1 2 3 4 5 3 Hãy đánh dấu vào (những) kênh thông tin giúp bạn biết đến Chương trình 56 Sau đó, hãy khoanh tròn vào số điểm đánh giá chất lượng của (những) kênh đã chọn 1: Rất tệ 2: Chưa tốt 3: Bình thường 4: Tốt 5: Rất tốt Kênh thông tin Đánh giá chất lượng 2 3 4 5 Ngày hội thông tin tại ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân vào tháng 8 1 Ngày hội thông tin tại ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân trong đợt nhập học tháng 9 1 2 3 4 5 Tờ rơi thông tin phát tại trường ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân 1 2 3 4 5 Tờ rơi thông tin được gửi về tận nhà cùng với giấy báo điểm 1 2 3 4 5 Nghe tư vấn viên giới thiệu về Chương trình tại bàn giải đáp thắc mắc 1 2 3 4 5 Phông, băng rôn, poster, hình ảnh về Chương trình 1 2 3 4 5 Các trang báo giấy 1 2 3 4 5 Các trang báo điện tử 1 2 3 4 5 Website của Chương trình (http://www.aep.neu.edu.vn) 1 2 3 4 5 Trang Facebook của Chương trình 1 2 3 4 5 Thông qua sinh viên đã và đang theo học tại Chương trình 1 2 3 4 5 Thông qua cán bộ, công nhân viên của ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân 1 2 3 4 5 Thông qua người thân, bạn bè khác 1 2 3 4 5 Khác: ……………………………………………… 1 2 3 4 5 4 Hãy khoanh tròn vào số điểm đánh giá mức độ quan trọng của từng yếu tố sau đây trong việc lựa chọn Chương trình TT, CLC & POHE của bạn? 1: Không quan tâm, 2: Không quá quan trọng, 3: Bình thường, 4: Khá quan trọng, 5: Rất quan trọng Yếu tố Cơ sở vật chất hiện đại Mức độ quan trọng 1 2 3 4 5 Chi phí hợp lí so với đi du học 1 2 3 4 5 Chương trình được giảng dạy bằng tiếng Anh với giáo trình dựa theo giáo trình của nước ngoài 1 2 3 4 5 Giá trị bằng cấp sau khi tốt nghiệp 1 2 3 4 5 Đội ngũ giảng viên chất lượng cao 1 2 3 4 5 Cơ hội cho sinh viên phát triển kĩ năng mềm 1 2 3 4 5 57 Các hoạt động ngoại khóa 1 2 3 4 5 Cơ hội cho sinh viên được trải nghiệm thực tế tại các cơ quan, doanh nghiệp 1 2 3 4 5 Danh tiếng của trường ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân 1 2 3 4 5 Sự gợi ý của người thân, quen 1 2 3 4 5 Khác: ………………………………………… …………… 1 2 3 4 5 5 Hãy chọn ra top 05 kênh thông tin mà bạn thấy quan trọng nhất trong việc truyền thông thu hút học viên của Chương trình và đánh số từ 1 đến 5 (Số 1= quan trọng nhất) Kênh thông tin Thông tin được phổ biến trong buổi họp phụ huynh lớp 12 Ngày hội định hướng cho học sinh tại các trường THPT Ngày hội thông tin tại ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân vào tháng 8 Ngày hội thông tin tại ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân trong đợt nhập học Xếp hạng độ quan trọng tháng 9 Tờ rơi thông tin phát tại trường THPT Tờ rơi thông tin phát tại trường ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân Tờ rơi thông tin được gửi về tận nhà cùng với giấy báo điểm Đội ngũ tư vấn viên giới thiệu về Chương trình tại bàn giải đáp thắc mắc Phông, băng rôn, poster, hình ảnh về Chương trình Các trang báo giấy Các trang báo điện tử Website của Chương trình (http://www.aep.neu.edu.vn) Trang Facebook của Chương trình Sinh viên đã và đang theo học tại Chương trình Cán bộ, công nhân viên của ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân Người thân, bạn bè khác Khác: …………………………………………… ………… 6 Theo bạn, mỗi đề xuất dưới đây sẽ mang lại hiệu quả thế nào trong việc cải thiện hoạt động truyền thông thu hút học viên của Chương trình? 1: Không hiệu quả 2: Hiệu quả thấp 3: Bình thường 4: Hiệu quả 5: Hiệu quả cao Đề xuất Thực hiện clip quảng cáo về Chương trình để phát trên truyền hình Đánh giá hiệu quả 1 2 3 4 5 Cập nhật website của Chương trình thường xuyên hơn 1 2 3 4 5 Cập nhật trang Facebook của Chương trình thường xuyên hơn 1 2 3 4 5 Liên kết với nhiều trang báo giấy/tạp chí để đăng bài về Chương 1 2 3 4 5 trình 58 Liên kết với nhiều trang báo điện tử, website, diễn đàn, trang 1 2 3 4 5 Facebook nổi tiếng để đăng bài về Chương trình Liên kết với website, diễn đàn, trang Facebook của học sinh và cựu 1 2 3 4 5 học sinh các trường THPT để đăng bài của Chương trình Tổ chức nhiều buổi hội thảo thông tin, chia sẻ kinh nghiệm để giới 1 2 3 4 5 thiệu về Chương trình Tổ chức các lớp học thử và tham quan cơ sở vật chất cho sinh viên 1 2 3 4 5 ĐH Kinh tế Quốc dân quan tâm đến Chương trình Gửi email giới thiệu về Chương trình đến càng nhiều người càng 1 2 3 4 5 tốt Trao học bổng hoặc miễn giảm học phí cho các sinh viên đạt điểm 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Văn nghệ,….) Mời các cựu sinh viên xuất sắc của Chương trình làm đại sứ truyền 1 2 3 4 5 thông Khác: ………………………………………… …………… 1 2 3 4 5 đầu vào cao trong kì thi Đại học có nhu cầu thi tuyển vào Chương trình Kêu gọi các tổ chức, doanh nghiệp làm nhà tài trợ cho các hoạt động ngoại khóa của Chương trình (Thi nấu ăn, Thi đấu thể thao, * CẢM ƠN BẠN ĐÃ DÀNH THỜI GIAN THỰC HIỆN KHẢO SÁT! * ... which are useful events to promote and spread out information about AEP to students and parents After thorough analysis of data, the promotion mix for Advanced Educational Program of National Economics. .. that Advanced Educational Program is using before and after the university entrance exam to attract new applicants? How effective is each marketing communication? How can Advanced Educational Program. .. success of Advanced Educational Program? ??s promotion strategy 46 out of 50 parents of Advanced Educational Program students from class Advanced Financed 5 4A responded in the survey, resulting in a response