Marketing Education Policy and Management

Question: Discuss about the Marketing for Education Policy and Management. Answer: Introduction: The universities of Australia are undergoing significant reform and change. The governmental policy and others have contributed to the success of Australian universities. Victoria University is no exception to this aspect. The university is characterized by a decent level of market share which accounts for nearly thirty percent of revenue. Victoria University is located in Melbourne. However, it is difficult for the varsity to operate and command a sizeable share of the entire industry. The University maintains strong industry connections in education so that every individual associated with the University are benefitted. VU or Victoria University assumed the status of a university in 1990. After a downturn from 2010, the universitys fortune experienced a turn-around since 2013 (Mazzarol and Soutar 2012). VU achieved double-digit growth in 2014. Victoria University is esteemed for providing high-quality education to innumerable students from around the world. Each year the varsity at tracts as many as forty-six thousand students globally. The education industry is robust and estimates around AUD 1.7 billion of which approximately 600 million is dedicated to technical education. The US is followed by Australia when it comes to higher education. Also, education is Australias second largest export sector. Barring tourism, it is the third largest exporter which contributes around USD 17.2 billion economy which amounts to 23.2 percent from the preceding year (Shah and Sid Nair 2013). Marketing environment At the outset, it is clear that Victoria University is based in Melbourne which boasts of being the cultural and sporting capital of the region. It is currently the destination of more than 4.35 million resources from over 140 nations. With students hailing from more than 100 nations, Victoria University is one of the culturally diverse education institutions in the region. The varsity is identified as one of the fast-growing multicultural institutions in Australia. As stated earlier, the education market contributes around USD 17.2 billion in export income of the nation. It had faced an increase of 23.2 percent from preceding year (Casidy 2014). The total revenue of educational industry amounts to USD 78,690 million. The growth regarding revenue totals around 3.5 percent. The higher education sector, in particular, the universities is a home to the substantial share of international students in Australia. This amounts to around 48 percent of total enrolment in June 2015. The ABS or Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that the market wherein Victoria University operates in reached a record high of AUD 18.1 billion or USD 13.15 billion for the previous fiscal year. Also, education is a major employer who supports as many as 1,30,000 jobs across the regions and cities (Waters et al. 2015). Target segmentation The degree of the gap in perception to the performance of Victoria University along with second tier universities is large. The university in consideration is focused on the creation of a differentiated place in the market. Previously, there was less difference between various Australian universities due to levels of competition and other factors. The university in consideration requires more needs to carve out distinct positions in the education market. Victoria University has placed emphasis on being the student based institution (Shah and Richardson 2016). It conducts extensive student experience research and seeks to develop student experience consequently. Victoria University operates in a more competitive and consumer-driven market in Australia. Techniques and strategies used in other industry conditions for instance multi-brand strategies and psychographic segmentations may be considered (Harris and Ammermann 2016). The university should consider creating sub-brands for target ing new student segments without dismantling the position of the actual entity. Victoria University could create an alternative brand for instance in the delivery of education model to reap the advantage of mass market volumes along with maintaining the reputation of being a world-class university. On the other hand, Victoria University may mull over the creation of new brand and establishment to open up or grow new segments. Besides, the university has deployed the principal factors of psychographic segmentation to changeable degrees. It has defined targeting students using the principles of psychographic segmentation and has aligned to a full range of programs brand and marketing and student experience. The executives of the University have strategies that encompass over the core product. The core product, in this case, is focused on a wide range and diverse programs namely Bachelor degree courses to the certificate, diploma, and Master Degree curriculums. However, in some cases, the course offerings and programs are of sufficient quality which attracts the strong level of basic demands. Thus psychographic need seems to be the focal point. Victoria University functions in an increasingly competitive and consumer-driven market wherein the consumers are deemed to be students. The risk exists in being an incumbent competitor who wins market share by getting closer to the students by formulating new programs or for that matter experiences that directly matches students preferences and needs (Cucchiara 2016). Customer behavior Victoria University aims to adopt psychographic segmentation model while analyzing customer or students behavior. The university aims to profile the students and applicants to understand how students hailing from a wide geographic territory perceive the institution. This would help the varsity to improve the marketing of its core product which is education. The primary use of psychographics is helpful in the understanding of the markets wherefrom the students belong to. A viable psychographic analysis would help Victoria University to drift from reliance on geographical considerations which would assist them to shape various academic programs coupled with student delivery and marketing communications. The investigation identifies varied differentiated psychographic segments among first-entry undergrads. The primary cultural factors also deserve special mention in this regard. The university in consideration incorporates changing cultural values of young Australians. It goes without s aying that the university has framed some academic programs which are concurrent to social class and attitudes of the incumbents who flock in the esteemed venue of the University. Different students fall in different social backgrounds. Thus the institution has framed various cost effective courses which cater to the wide range of students hailing from diverse backgrounds (Mainardes et al. 2014). Marketing Mix The University in reflection targets a wide range of students hailing from various geographies and backgrounds. Price: Victoria University offers vocational education and subsidized courses to its students. Postgraduate courses are usually full fee paying which comes with certain exceptions. The prices of academic programs reflect the service qualities provided to the students (Tayar and Jack 2013). Place: Victoria University is located in Melbourne which is referred to be service center and provides competitive edge thereby attracting more students. Promotion: The organization promotes through the website, media namely, television, the internet and educational magazines. People: The resources mean faculty and non-teaching community associated with Victoria University. Competent individuals having Ph.D. and Masters degree are considered while selection for faculty division. Process: The entire service process is devoid of hassles and technology-based which makes admission and other aspects easy and unperturbed (Drew 2013). Recommendations Victoria University is a name to reckon with in the education sector of Australia. University strategy is usually led by the vice-chancellor. The university leaders should be consistent while recruiting best people for various positions. The university intending to accentuate marketing opportunities should invest in online campaign and promotional activities to draw students. The university should aim to make the admission process more simplified which makes an entry point for the students convenient. The organization should heighten digital communication practices to attract more students. Moreover, it should partner with regional institutions based in locations other than Australia which would increase the face value of the university. The institute should maintain a strong alumni base which is effective in drawing potential students into the university. Reference list Casidy, R., 2014. Linking brand orientation with service quality, satisfaction, and positive word-of-mouth: Evidence from the higher education sector. Journal of Nonprofit Public Sector Marketing, 26(2), pp.142-161. Cucchiara, M., 2016. Thinking Locally: Attending to Social Context in Studies of Marketing and Public Education. Peabody Journal of Education, 91(1), pp.121-130. Drew, C., 2013. Elitism for sale: Promoting the elite school online in the competitive educational marketplace. Australian Journal of Education, 57(2), pp.174-184. Harris, A. and Ammermann, M., 2016. The changing face of creativity in Australian education. Teaching Education, 27(1), pp.103-113. Mainardes, E.W., Raposo, M. and Alves, H., 2014. Universities need a market orientation to attract non-traditional stakeholders as new financing sources. Public Organization Review, 14(2), pp.159-171. Mazzarol, T. and Soutar, G.N., 2012. Revisiting the global market for higher education. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 24(5), pp.717-737. Shah, M. and Richardson, J.T., 2016. Is the enhancement of student experience a strategic priority in Australian universities?. Higher Education Research Development, 35(2), pp.352-364. Shah, M. and Sid Nair, C., 2013. Private for-profit higher education in Australia: widening access, participation and opportunities for public-private collaboration. Higher Education Research Development, 32(5), pp.820-832. Tayar, M. and Jack, R., 2013. Prestige-oriented market entry strategy: the case of Australian universities. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35(2), pp.153-166. Waters, M., Simon, L., Simons, M., Davids, J. and Harreveld, B., 2015. A case for scholarly activity in vocational education in Australia. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 5(1), pp.14-31.