Analysis of Marketing and Competitive Environment of University

Question: Discuss about the Marketing and Competitive Environment of University of Sydney. Answer: Market summary and Demand assessment In the opinion of Group of Eight Australia (2016), the higher education sector of Australia is one of the best across the world. The university sector brings $25 billion of returns to the country and is the third largest export earner. The annual growth of this market is 4.5% annually. The long term funds of university have a total market value of $1179 (The University of Sydney, 2016). The university is ranked a 45th in the World University ranking 2015-2016 and among the top three universities in Australia. The demand of the university is high as it is one of the three best universities in the country. Not only the students from the country apply for getting education here but the foreign students also apply to get the best level and quality of education. The rankings of the college show that the university has proved itself successful from the past many years. As per Munro (2016), the University of Sydney provides employable graduates in more numbers than the universities of Cambridge, Oxford or Columbia which are world known universities. The university is well equipped and provides better knowledge and skills to the students with the purpose of serving the society. Segmentation and Target market As per Lynn (2011), Segmentation is division of markets into various segments as per the shared characteristics. It helps in targeting the existing or potential customer base for the organisation. University of Sydney has done Segmentation on the basis of: Demographics: Age- 12 to 15, 15-18, 19-21, 22-25, 26-28, 29-31, 32-35, 35 and above. Gender- Male Female both Country- Australia and foreign countries Income- Higher income, middle or lower income (Gilmour, et al., 2013) Psychographics: Personality traits, attitudes, interests, Career growth, self-growth and lifestyles. Behaviour: Benefits sought, loyalty, usage based. In this case, the students chose the timings of the courses they wish to take. For e.g. March to June, July to October or November to February. Geographic: Domestic or International (Armstrong, 2014). Target market is a group of customers where the organisation directs its efforts (Amico Pettijohn, 2010). DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE TARGET MARKET As the University of Sydney is the reputed university in Australia. The university targets students who are of 18 years and above. It provides Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to students in many courses. The university targets international as well as domestic students. The university targets those students who are looking for their personal as well as professional growth (The University of Sydney, 2016). The university also targets the students who are committed to education and knowledge and need to foster greater understanding. GEOGRAPHIC PROFILE Age: 18-30 Gender: Men and women Income: Middle to higher level of income (Armstrong, 2014). Australia Foreign countries PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE BEHAVIOURAL PROFILE Career growth Personal growth Self-awareness Benefits sought Usage based Loyalty (Gilmour, et al., 2013) Current marketing mix analyses Product: The products of university are the courses which are offered to the students as per their need and choices. It provides academic support with the other facilities like food and accommodation. The courses include management, science, and social science, medical and other courses. Price: It is the cost which the student has to pay for availing the products or services. The fee is charged from the student which is calculated after covering the costs of the university incurred on the student. It includes living cost, course fees and other assistance charges. Scholarships are also given to the students who outperform in the college (The University of Sydney, 2016). Place: It is the place where the organisation offers products/ services. University of Sydney provides its services through college campuses and online courses for the students of distance learning. The campuses of the university are widely situated from the inner Sydney to the Great Barrier Reef. This means the services are scattered across Australia (The University of Sydney, 2016). Promotion: It refers to the strategies which are used by the college for promoting itself. The University of Sydney promotes itself through education websites, pages on social media, word of mouth and through online advertisements (Paquette, 2013). PESTLE Analysis POLITICAL Impact from the increase or decrease of Funding and grants from the government Impact from the internal or international wars and conflicts. Changes in curriculum and fee structures as per the decisions of the government (Morrison, 2016). ECONOMIC Effect on the finance decisions of the universities as per the funding decisions of central government. The cost of providing resources is high in Australia which ultimately increases the costs of the courses in the University of Sydney. The increase in the standard of living has increased the ability of parents to spend higher amounts on education for their children (Queensland Government, 2017). SOCIO-CULTURAL The increase in the inclination towards quality education in parents and students. The increase in the use of media promotions influences people to study in the reputed universities like University of Australia (Morrison, 2016). Increase in female education and the students with special needs. TECHNOLOGICAL Innovative techniques of providing education Use of digital media and ICT for promotion of university Switch from paper based books to eBooks (Queensland Government, 2017). LEGAL Administrative burden from government Health and safety legislation Rules for examinations and degrees by the government ENVIRONMENTAL Waste management (The University of Sydney, 2016). Efficient use of water in universities Change in climate and weather Competitor analysis Competitor 1: University of Melbourne This University is ranked number 1 in Australia and provide services for graduate schools and undergraduate degrees. It also provides education to international students as well as to domestic students. The university have scholarship programs and also provide finance options with them. It promotes through public relations and online promotional methods. The university has its campuses in the cities like Parkville, Southbank, Burnley, Dookie and more (The World University Rankings, 2017). Competitor 2: Australian National University It is a research intensive university which aims at addressing the challenges faced by Australia and rest of the world. The main target students are those engaged in research and development courses. The university have campuses in different areas across Australia. The university has different fee structure for every course and also provides scholarships (The World University Rankings, 2017). Competitor 3: University of Queensland This university is among the 50 top most universities across world. The university is promoted through web sources and through word of mouth. The services available are different courses of different subjects and areas. The fee structure involves cost of the university incurred on the student. The services are provided in the campuses of college located at St Lucia, Gatton and other locations (The World University Rankings, 2017) SWOT analysis STRENGTHS WEAKNESES It has campuses located covering almost all the areas of Australia. The university is the top third university of Australia and among the leading universities of the world. Expert professors and teachers. Great and adequate infrastructure D (Amico Pettijohn, 2010). Decrease in the enrolment of students from last few years. The course fees and other charges make it a very expensive institution. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Increase in the interest in education and knowledge. Reduction in the biasness between male and female education Emergence of technology and innovative ways of teaching (The University of Sydney, 2016). Fierce competition from other universities on global as well as national level like University of Queensland, Australia National University, etc. Reduction in the earnings of the people which can slower down the speed and number of enrolments in the college. Emergence of online distance courses (Amico Pettijohn, 2010). Value and brand positioning analysis The University of Sydney is currently positioned at number three in the education sector of Australia. It ranks 60th in the World University Rankings and between 61- 70th in the world reputation ranking. So, the university is basically covered in the top 1 per cent of universities across the world. The university believes in its core values which are reduction of biasness and providing equal education to all. It aims at making lives better and making society a better place. It also aims at meeting the challenges every year and provides best education to children. The university positions itself as a high class university which provides the courses matching the requirements of the students (The University of Sydney, 2016). It positions itself in the education sector as one of those universities which produces future leaders and makes the nation proud. By looking into this, the consumer identifies it as one of the best universities where making investments is worth for them. The university positions itself as a major contributor of higher education in Australia which is growing the seeds for future. It is also providing major part of revenue in the industry (The World University Rankings, 2017). Conclusion It can be concluded that the University of Sydney is doing quite well in its own sector. It is the major contributor of revenue in the industry which includes revenue from the international students as well.Different marketing concepts are been discussed for the university which shows that it should work on its high fee structure so that everyone can afford the same. The services could be made much better to meet high competition in the market. References Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S., Kotler, P. (2014).Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia. D Amico, M. Pettijohn, C. (2010). Marketing Management Journal. Marketing Management Association. Gilmour, P., Borg, G., Duffy, P. A., Johnston, N. D., Limbek, B. E., Shaw, M. R. (2013). Customer service: differentiating by market segment.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management. Group of Eight Australia. (2016). Opinion Editorial: Australia's higher education sector is one of the best in the world. Fact. Retrieved from https://go8.edu.au/article/opinion-editorial-australias-higher-education-sector-one-best-world-fact . Lynn, M. (2011). Segmenting and Targeting Your Market: Strategies and Limitations. School of Hotel Administration Collection. Morrison, M. (2016). PESTLE Analysis for Schools or Education. RapidBi. Munro, K. (2016). University of Sydney beats Oxford, Cambridge in new global rankings. The Sydney Morning Herald. Paquette, H. (2013). Social Media as a Marketing Tool: A Literature Review. Major Papers by Master of Science Students. Queensland Government. (2017). PEST analysis. Retrieved from https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/marketing-sales/tendering/understanding-buyer/researching/pest. The University of Sydney. (2016). Annual Report 2015. Sydney. The University of Sydney. (2016). Home. Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/. The World University Rankings. (2017). Best universities in Australia 2017. Retrieved from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-australia. Top Universities. (2016). The University of Sydney. Retrieved from https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-sydney.