Physical Evidence - Marketing Strategy at SEV

CHAPTER 4: MAJOR OF FINDING

IV. Marketing Strategy at SEV

7. Physical Evidence

Because the characteristic of the service industry is that the business abstraction needs "tangible" evidence to make it easier for customers to visualize the services provided. Also, physical evidence in 7p marketing is related to the branding of businesses and their products are perceived in the market. It is

physical evidence of the presence and establishment of a business. One concept of this is branding.

4. Digital Marketing Mix

‘The use of the Internet and other digital media and technology to support ‘modern marketing’ has given rise to a bewildering range of labels and jargon created by both academics and professionals. It has been called digital marketing, Internet marketing, e-marketing and web e-marketing’ (Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016). In other words, ‘Evaluating the opportunities provided by the Internet for varying the marketing mix is a useful framework for assessing current and future digital marketing strategy’. (Chaffey &

Chadwick, 2016, p. 293).

Digital marketing affects all aspects of the traditional and service marketing mix:

Table 2.1: Elements of Digital Marketing Mix

(textbook: Digital Marketing - Strategy, Implementation and Practice)

(1) Product:

The product variable of the marketing mix refers to the characteristics of a product, service, or brand. With the popularity of YouTubers rapidly increasing, companies are now paying them to sponsor their products by making unboxing videos. On the

website, you can make your product stand out by using indicative imagery. The main implications of the Internet for the product element of the digital marketing mix are 1.

options for varying the core product; 2. options for offering digital products; 3.

options for changing the extended product; 4. conducting research online; 5. speed of new product development; 6. speed of new product diffusion (Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016, p. 256).

(2) Price:

Focussing on the implications for setting prices in digital markets; new pricing models and strategies. The Internet leads to price transparency and commoditization and hence lower prices. Dynamic pricing gives the ability to test prices or to offer differential pricing for different segments or in response to variations in demand (Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016, p. 293). New pricing models such as auctions are available. There are many pricing strategies you can implement on your website, which will make your products stand out to your customers: Discount codes, Online vouchers, Price cutting, Packages and bundles,…These techniques have worked very successfully on websites in the past. The main implications of the Internet for the price aspect of the Digital Marketing mix are:1. increased price transparency and its implications on differential pricing (a supplier can use the technology for differential pricing); 2. downward pressure on price (including Precision, Adaptability, Segmentation, Cost-plus pricing, Target-profit pricing, Competition-based pricing, Market-orientated pricing. Premium pricing Penetration pricing); 3. new pricing approaches (including dynamic pricing, price testing, and auctions); 4. alternative pricing structure or policies (basic price; discounts; add-ons and extra products and services; guarantees and warranties; refund policies; order cancellation terms).

(Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016, p. 268)

Figure 2.3: Alternative Pricing Mechanisms

(Textbook: Digital Marketing - Strategy, Implementation and Practice)

(3) Place:

Refers to the place of purchase and channel structure on the Internet. There are three main locations for e-commerce transactions: seller site, buyer site and intermediary (Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016, p. 293). Electronic partnerships can be used to deliver the entire marketing mix, which includes: advertising through Paid Search networks (e.g. Google AdWords); promoting services through feeds on price comparison search engines (e.g. Kelkoo or Google Product Search); promoting services through affiliate networks (e.g. Commission Junction) or advertising networks (e.g. Google AdSense publishers programme); procuring expertise for short-term digital marketing work through an online web skills marketplace such as Elance (www.elance.com), Guru.com (www.guru.com), Scriptlance (www.scriptlance.com)

or oDesk (www.oDesk.com); use of secure payment system services such as Paypal or Google Checkout;analysis of web performance through online web analytics services (e.g. Google Analytics) (Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016, p. 283).

(4) Promotion:

The promotion element of the digital marketing mix is reviewing new ways of applying each of the elements of the communications mix – such as advertising, sales promotions, PR and direct marketing; assessing how the Internet can be used at different stages of the buying process; using promotional tools to assist in different stages of customer relationship management from customer acquisition to retention (Chaffey & Chadwick, 2016, p. 284). In a web context this includes gaining initial visitors to the site and gaining repeat visits through these types of communications techniques:

Table 2.2: The main element of Promotional Mix

(textbook: Digital Marketing - Strategy, Implementation and Practice)

(5) People:

The People variable of the marketing mix relates to how an organisation’s staff interacts with customers and other stakeholders during sales and pre- and post-sales communications with them. To manage service and quality, organisations must devise plans to accommodate the five stages shown in the figure below:

- Stage 1: Customer defines support query - Stage 2: Receipt of email and acknowledgment - Stage 3: Routeing of email

- Stage 4: Compose a response - Stage 5: Follow-up

(6) Process

The Process variable of the digital marketing mix refers to the methods and procedures companies use to achieve all marketing functions – such as new product development, promotion, sales and customer service. Customer contact strategies for

Figure 2.4: Stage in Managing inbound email

integrating web and email support into existing contact centre operations usually incorporate elements of both of the following options: Customer-preferred channel.

School -preferred channel, Delivering customer services and assisted sales (Chaffey

& Chadwick, 2016, p. 288).

(7) Physical evidence

The Physical evidence variable of the marketing mix refers to the tangible expression of a product and how it is purchased and used. In an online context, ‘physical evidence’ refers to the customer’s experience of the company through the website. It includes issues likely site ease of use or navigation, availability, and performance.

III. SWOT Analysis and Resource-Based View Analysis

1. SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis model is thought to have been developed by Albert Humphrey in the 1960s and 1970s. This is the result of a research project conducted by Stanford University, USA. This project uses data from the 500 largest companies in the United States (Fortune 500). To find the cause of failure in the planning of these businesses.

Initially, this analysis model was called SOFT, which stands for Satisfactory - Good in the present, Opportunity (Opportunity) - Good in the future, Fault (Fault) - Bad thing in the present in; Threat - The bad thing in the future. However, until 1964, after the model was introduced to Urick and Orr in Zurich Switzerland, Albert and his colleagues changed F (Fault) to W (Weakness) and SWOT was born. In 1973, SWOT was used at J W French Ltd and developed from here. In early 2004, SWOT was finalized and demonstrated the ability to effectively set and unify organizational goals without relying on advice or other costly resources.

Figure 2.5: SWOT Framework

Strengths

The strength of a business is often internal factors that can help it grow and build its advantage against competitors in the market. These factors can be controlled by the enterprise: What process can businesses be applying to help them become successful? What are the strong points of the people that your business has, such as professional skills, relationships, education, job skills, reputation..? What are the strengths of material and assets that the business owns, such as customer files, facilities, finance, technology, patents, etc.? What are your competitive advantages compared to competitors in the market? Also, marketers need to think about the opponent. Take an example; if all other competitors provide high-quality products, even if you have a good product, it is not necessarily your advantage.

27 Weaknesses

Weaknesses focus on people, resources, systems, and procedures. The simple explanation is that Weaknesses are weak points of an enterprise, which are weak points compared to competitors. Factors that do not exist in strengths will certainly appear certain weaknesses.

List out the things that still exist according to the most objective assessment with questions such as: Think about what you could improve and the sorts of practices you should avoid?

You should find out how other people in your market see you. Do they notice weaknesses that you did not recognize? Need to examine how and why your competitors are doing better than you. What are you lacking? How can you improve it? Which should you avoid? Do industry insiders comment on what is your weakness? What factors prevent you from selling?

Opportunities

Opportunities are external environmental factors that have a positive impact on business development. External factors help you successfully achieve the goals set out in the plan.

What are the good opportunities you can seize? What trends are you currently aware of?

Take advantage of opportunities that come from Trends in technology and market; Changes in government policies related to your industry; Change in society, population, lifestyle ...;

Local events; Trends of customers

Threats

Threats are external factors that directly affect businesses. These are barriers that reduce the productivity and efficiency of the project. Think about What are the obstacles you are facing and must try to overcome? What are competitors doing? Have quality standards or specifications for the work/product/service changed? Will technology help to change

threaten your position in your industry? Do you have bad debt or financial difficulties? Are there any weaknesses that will threaten your business?

2. Resource-Based View

Firms’ resources are defined as assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, knowledge, etc. controlled by firms that enable the firm to conceive of and implement strategies that improve its efficiency and effectiveness (Barney, 1991).

Figure 2.6: Firm's Resources

A firm has a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value-creating strategy that is not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors and when others are unable to duplicate the benefits of this strategy. The criteria of sustained competitive advantages include:

- Valuable: improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

- Rare: not large numbers of firms have the same resources

- Imperfectly imitable: firms that do not possess these resources cannot obtain them because of the following 3 reasons: Unique historical conditions (e.g. location, human

capital), Causally ambiguous, Socially complex(e.g. interpersonal relations, culture, reputation)

- Substitutability (low): no strategically equivalent valuable resources. substitutability can take two forms: similar resources, different resources but have the same effects.

Figure 2.7: Criteria of sustained competitive advantages

IV. Common marketing activities/channels at English Language Schools and EB

1. Traditional marketing:

- Advertising on publications (print ads): activities that introduce information and images of the schools in newspapers, magazines, specialized books, brochures, flyers, … - Events: activities through events such as Students affair, publicity events, outdoor

activities, … help parents and the press know, remember about training programs, courses and also an opportunity for schools to meet potential students and parents and covert them to be students of the schools.

- Phone marketing: is the use of phones to convey information to parents directly. Phone Marketing should make in a suitable time to make sure the parents or students are willing to listen and avoid bother them at the rush time such as travel time, studying

time, and working time (early morning or late afternoon). The evening would be a good time for calling as well since people can be more patient in listening to the consultation and make more questions.

- Direct mail: means activities using mail via the post office, express mail sent directly to residential or work addresses of customers.

- Trials/ Demonstrations: beside media such as leaflets, newspaper, magazines, and TVC television marketing, some schools offer a trial program/ lesson such as "1-day-to-be-a-student-at-X-school"

- Word of mouth: it relies on how the schools are impressing students and parents and it has been applied as the most important type of marketing strategy. Being heard is important in the business world. When schools give quality services to customers, they’d like to promote you. Most of the schools reward parents and students by giving discounts or commission/referral fees for friend introduction.

- Relationship marketing: This type of marketing is basically focused on customer relationship building. It enhances existing relationships with customers and improving customer loyalty as a statistic proved 80% of the revenue of the firms is from current customers.

2. Online Marketing:

- Keyword advertising (Google Adwords): This is marketing activities through Google search engine, charging when someone clicks on the ad.

- E-mail marketing: schools can use email to send letters of recommendation about the programs and courses to potential students.

- Website optimization (Search Engine Optimization): it helps make the school website in the top 10 when searching Google. That will be a prestigious plus of the school in the eyes of candidates and this tool needs a long-term strategy but the results are very sustainable.

- Using Social Network (Facebook mainly): the strength is that school images and posts can spread information to many people in a short time.

- Paid advertising: one of the most well-known marketing approaches is internet marketing. It includes different methods like PPC (Pay per click) and paid advertising.

32 understand those relationships in our Marketing strategy for education Business, particularly in the field of English Language Schools.

b. Interview question

2. How do you encourage students to pay for a full package (from 2 courses to 1 year)?

3. What is your Marketing plan in 2019?

4. What do you score your actual achievement toward your plan in

activities? 2019?

5. How do you encourage students to renew?

6. What do you reward the referrals?

2. Qualitative Analysis and others:

Besides the interview method, we also use other methods to support my research such as qualitative analysis, observation of the markets in Vietnam, comparison with other English Language Schools in Vietnam to support my research and dissertation.

We would choose SEV, ILA, APOLO and British Council to compare and analyse the qualities of SEV due to they have similar criteria such as type of firm, teaching resource, programme and year of establishment that are closed to each other.

Schools SEV ILA APOLO

The study focuses on marketing strategy for English Language schools in Vietnam and HCMC based on the case of Shane English Vietnam. The research was conducted as the below framework:

Figure 3.1: Research Framework

CHAPTER 4: MAJOR OF FINDING

I. Brief Introduction of Shane English Vietnam

1. Saconcourt Group

The Saxoncourt Group is made up of all the companies, schools, and services including the brand of Shane. Shane English School is just one part of a much larger network that offers support to Shane English Schools worldwide. The Saxoncourt provider, Saxoncourt is able to provide support to all Saxoncourt and Shane schools worldwide and partners everywhere.

The support can be anything from recruitment and materials to franchising opportunities.

Figure 4.1: Saxoncourt Group Parts of the Saxoncourt Group

- Shane English School:

Shane English school began operating in 1977. The school primary focus is on young learners but includes all age groups providing education to all ages and levels. Shane English Schools remains a popular option for language learners in certain key countries and is a common starting location for new teachers entering the ESL industry especially in Taiwan.

- Shane English School Locations:

Shane English Schools are located around the world with the largest markets being in Taiwan. The original schools in Japan were sold in 2010 to Eikoh eduction group (some 200 schools). Shane English schools continue to pursue new opportunities such as Thailand and the school has frequently tried to establish a foothold in Europe. Shane also has a number of single or small groups of schools across Asia, Europe and Africa.

Figure 4.2: Shane School Locations

- Shane English School Franchising:

Shane English School continues to grow into new markets. Their model is based around franchising so they are frequent attendees at franchising fares. The Saxoncourt Group has

had lots of success with this model in Taiwan and Japan but has not always replicated it in other regions i.e. Vietnam or Malaysia. A school owner will pay a franchise fee to Shane English schools and receive their own branded teaching materials, access to teacher recruitment and teacher training and some academic support.

- Saxoncourt Recruitment:

Saxoncourt has a training and recruitment centre in the UK. Here teachers are put onto a CELTA course and can then be directly recruited into one of the Shane schools around the world. The individual schools pay Saxoncourt a recruitment fee. Despite selling their schools in Japan Saxoncourt is still able to recruit and find teachers for the schools in Japan.

- Saxoncourt Publishing

Shane has developed its own in-house published teaching materials. These are predominantly for young learners as these were the most successful materials (adult materials met with limited acceptance due to an already well-saturated market of adult course books). These materials are sold outside of the Shane English school system but are mainly used within the franchise system Shane has. The materials were all written in house by working teachers.

2. Shane English Vietnam

Shane English Centre Vietnam was established in 2003 and is part of the Saxoncourt Group.

The centre is operated as a different school but still, part of the Saxoncourt umbrella group and all operations are reported to the CEO Mr Lipscombe. Despite this Shane English Centre Vietnam was able to operate fairly independently much as a franchise would.

3. Products/ Services:

a. Children course:

Based on our highly successful Playgroup and Kindergarten courses, the International Pre-School focuses on the complete development of the child during the formative years.

Through games, songs, and arts and crafts, our children study English the 'natural' way.

# Playgroup (2.5 – 4 Years)

The Shane Kindergarten course is aimed at the complete development of the students through English. Their philosophy is to work on projects and tasks using English as the communicative medium. The students, therefore, develop a need for the language (they must use it to communicate), and this enhances their English ability.

# Kindergarten (5 – 6 Years)

# Lower Elementary (7 – 9 Years)

Using their own Shane Primary English Course (SPEC) books, this course is designed to develop the four principal skills; Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. A special emphasis is also placed on the study of Phonics. The children learn how to spell and say the sounds of English, all the while improving their pronunciation. Mid and end-of-term written and oral tests enable us to carefully monitor the progress of our students. This is reinforced through our regular 'Telephone Teaching' sessions.

# Higher Elementary (10 – 12 Years)

Using their Take Off books, this course is designed to develop the four principal skills;

Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. A special emphasis is also placed on the study of Phonics. The children learn how to spell and say the sounds of English, all the while improving their pronunciation. Mid and end-of-term written and oral tests enable

us to carefully monitor the progress of our students. This is reinforced through our regular 'Telephone Teaching' sessions.

# Junior (13 – 16 Years):

Teenage English courses have a strong international focus and prepare students for success at school and beyond. Courses for teenagers focus on real-world topics in English which emphasis the four language skills: speaking, writing, listening, and reading. There is an emphasis on writing, which will help the more senior students

在文檔中 A study of Marketing Strategy for Education Business: The Case of Shane English Vietnam (頁 28-71)