Executive Summary
The University of Fujairah has been in operations for the last 13 years (it was founded in 2006 as a college). Its educational programs have increased slowly over the years as well as its student numbers. However, there is stiff competition from its rivals in the higher education industry. Although the institution controls its budget, it is not a hundred percent computerized and a portion of workers are not adequately trained. Regardless of the identified weaknesses and threats in the market, the management can improve its market position by adopting strategies such as looking for more resources and offering scholarships, setting up more campuses, promoting research, recruiting more skilled professionals from all over the world, and using competitive pricing approaches. In addition, the management will utilize marketing tactics like advertising on social media platforms, creating user-based posts, and automatic monitoring of promotion programs. It is projected that financial outcomes will improve by 30% if this plan is executed and the student population increases by 50%. During the process of implementing this plan, execution controls will be put in place to ensure that the intended outcomes are realized or changes are made to achieve the goals.
Situation Analysis
This part of the marketing plan describes the background and forecast of the University of Fujairah as well as SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and weaknesses) of the institution and its competitors.
Background
Since the University of Fujairah was founded in 2006, first as Fujairah College, it has succeeded in achieving its goal of making important contributions to developing community intellectually, socially, and economically (The University of Fujairah, 2019). The management of the university has gone a long way in promoting communal harmony, mutual respect, and religious tolerance among students and the neighboring community. In addition, the higher education institution has emerged as a critical player in the process of achieving reconciliation between current and traditional information or academic knowledge. Due to the university’s unique models of blending different kinds of knowledge, its contributions have been realized in the United Arab Emirates and across the world.
Forecast
Based on the current student enrolment in the university, it is apparent that the number of learners should be increased (Brabazon, 2016). The increase will result in the production of more graduates in the coming years, and they will make important contributions in the world concerning development (Kotler & Keller, 2012; The University of Fujairah, 2019). The University of Fujairah can aggressively market its programs if the management engages professional marketers whose services have proven fruitful in the digital era. Moreover, the institution’s management will unearth a new model of education while sourcing funds from well-wishers, its private business as well as trustees.
SWOT Analysis of University of Fujairah
SWOT Analysis of the University’s Competitors
Marketing Strategy
The University of Fujairah can use many types of marketing mix to achieve its goals and objectives in the short and long run (Kotler & Keller, 2012; Rauschnabel, Krey, Babin & Ivens, 2016). Five marketing strategies would be utilized in the context of the institution. First, the management can source new resources and offer more scholarships to students with exemplary academic performance results. This would be achieved by finding donors as well as trustees willing to give financial support to learners. Moreover, more resources would be achieved by establishing more businesses that would be important in enlarging the university’s capital. Second, the management can identify suitable locations within and beyond UAE to set up campuses, and this would go a long way in increasing student numbers and realizing more incomes. Third, the institution can strive to be a hub of research whose outcomes develop the world.
This can be achieved if the university’s management team support supports scientific investigations and markets creative projects to the outside world. Fourth, since it has been found that the university needs to increase the number of students, it is essential to adopt a unique marketing strategy to attain this goal. For example, more learners can be attracted if better marketing of courses is done on social media platforms such as Facebook as well as adopting competitive pricing methods. Fifth, more highly skilled professionals from all over the world should be recruited to ensure that graduates from the institution are the best in the market (Brabazon, 2016; Rauschnabel et al., 2016). Apart from hiring new professionals, the management can focus on training those already in employment to equip them with more and better skills.
Marketing Tactics
Adopting unique marketing tactics will help the institution of higher education to enroll more students (Brabazon, 2016). The marketing team should be more innovative and do what competitors are not doing. Three marketing tactics can be beneficial in this context. First, it is important to note that before the advent of social media, high school learners relied on emails to know their options after completing school. Currently, teenagers and young adults make use of social media platforms and the internet to learn about academic courses in colleges and universities. The marketing team should identify social media platforms based on the demographics of users. Later, it can establish the best forums according to the number of current and potential as well as alumni they have. Second, creating user-generated posts is essential in communicating the right messages to the targeted audience.
Once the best social media platforms are found, marketers can learn what their members or users comment concerning the institution. In other words, they have a chance to learn how persons view the university from the outside. The marketing professionals can compose messages for this population based on their perceptions of the University of Fujairah. Third, unlike traditional marketing, modern-day promoters of educational products can easily assess outcomes on granular levels. Seventh Sense Blog (2018) documents that automation of the National College of Ireland’s marketing program helped it to achieve more than 200% improvement in leads in about one year. Therefore, this is achieved through the use of automation that monitors digital interactions with prospective learners starting from their initial web visits to enrolment.
Financial Projections/Growth Opportunities
This plan will help the University of Fujairah to realize growth opportunities within the next 5 years. Specifically, it is anticipated that a 30% improvement in revenues, as well as a 50% increase in the number of learners by 2024, will be achieved. The management aims at reaching the break-even level on a semester basis, but this is unrealistic because there are many factors that could result in losses. Some of these are attributable to semesters of a low number of student admissions, unusual expenses, infrastructure acquisitions, payroll taxes as well as increases in employee benefits. However, due to the anticipated increase in the number of new students in the university, revenues will increase. The management will analyze the financial statement review parts of the financial plan every semester to ensure that losses are attributed to the identified factors (Brabazon, 2016). If losses are incurred, managers should take action to reverse the changes by reducing expenses as well as increasing profit margins.
Implementation Controls
When implementing this marketing plan, it is essential for managers to ensure efficient utilization of capital, human as well as marketing resources. Value of indicators such as student numbers and revenues will be defined, and tolerance ranges determined. These indicators will be measured and compared to planned values to learn deviations and give explanations for their causes. In case deviations are detected, they will be handled by altering performance indicators (Brabazon, 2016; Rauschnabel et al., 2016). However, if planned value indicators do not deviate from the actual ones, new goals will be prepared and the marketing plan improved. Finally, an annual plan, profitability, and strategic controls will be applied.
References
Brabazon, T. (2016). The University of Google: Education in the (post) information age (2nd ed.). London, England: Routledge.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2015). Marketing management (15th ed.). Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education.
Rauschnabel, P. A., Krey, N., Babin, B. J., & Ivens, B. S. (2016). Brand management in higher education: The university brand personality scale. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3077-3086.
Seventh Sense Blog. (2018).10 effective higher education marketing strategies for 2019. Web.
The University of Fujairah. (2019). History. Web.