Introduction to Marketing: External and Micro Factors, PESTLE, SWOT Analysis, Ethics and Social Responsibility, Consumer Behavior

This article discusses the external and micro factors affecting Otago Polytechnic International Campus, PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, ethics and social responsibility, and consumer behavior. It also covers the influence of reference groups, family life cycle, social class, and self-concept on consumer behavior.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING
Introduction to marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Part: 1
Determination of external factors
One of the major external factors for Otago Polytechnic International Campus is their
students due to the reason that preferences of the students will influence the offerings of degree.
If the preferences of the students over their existing degrees are not favorable, then it will affect
the viability of the college. Another major external factor is the competition. This is due to the
fact that Otago Polytechnic International Campus is having number of other colleges as
competitors (Leonidou et al., 2017). The more will be the competition in the region; the lower
will be the potential candidates for Otago Polytechnic International Campus to attract. With the
growing trend of immigrations in New Zealand, more colleges are expected to come up in the
region.
Determination of the micro factors
One of the major internal factors is the accommodation facility for the students. It is
important because majority of the existing students of Otago Polytechnic International Campus
are from foreign countries. It is expected that the inflow of the foreign students will get increased
and accommodation facilities of Otago Polytechnic International Campus will determine their
preferences (Chi & Sun, 2015). Another major micro factor relevant for them is the internal
stakeholders of them. This is due to the fact that quality of the faculty members will also
influence the attractiveness of the center to the students along with the generating the word of
mouth.
PESTLE
Political Political stability in New Zealand will have the impact on Otago Polytechnic
International Campus due to the reason that political disturbance will not
attract foreign students. In addition, the diplomatic relationship of New
Zealand with that of other countries will determine the extent to which the
foreign students will come from the respective countries (McLaren, 2018).
Economical Economy of the foreign countries will be the determining force for Otago
Polytechnic International Campus due to the reason that growth in the national

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economy of New Zealand will increase the inflow of the domestic students and
same applies for the foreign students as well. It is estimated that Asian
economy will grow in the next few years and thus the inflow of the students
from these countries will be more.
Social Social preferences towards the certain degrees will determine the viability of
Otago Polytechnic International Campus of offering all these degrees. This is
due to the reason that if the students are preferring management degree, then it
is important for Otago Polytechnic International Campus to offer more
management degree over others.
Technological In terms of the educational sector, technology helps in increasing conveniences
in the education delivery process. Otago Polytechnic International Campus is
having access to latest technologies such as digital classrooms and online
portals. This is helping in having effective delivery process to the students.
However, it is projected that technological advancements will be evident in the
coming years and it will cost Otago Polytechnic International Campus to cope
up with the changes.
Environmental Otago Polytechnic International Campus is following sustainability in terms of
their student management such having sustainable accommodation and
recycling process. However, this should be noted that in the coming years,
sustainable positioning of Otago Polytechnic International Campus will be
beneficial in attracting foreign students.
SWOT analysis
Strengths One of their major strengths is the associated heritage due to the fact that they
are more than 100 years old. This is helping in having positive impression in
the region. Otago Polytechnic International Campus is also offering different
degrees and diplomas, which is further helping in catering to larger student
pool.
Weaknesses Otago Polytechnic International Campus is not having their campus outside
New Zealand and thus their global presence is limited. Moreover, not all the

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degrees are offered to the international students and thus the attractiveness of
them is limited among the international groups.
Opportunities Having branches on the foreign countries will help Otago Polytechnic
International Campus to increase their global presence and more students. In
addition, Otago Polytechnic International Campus can further increase the
student base with offering more diverse degrees and diplomas.
Threats Economic downturn will pose threat for Otago Polytechnic International
Campus due to the reason that it will reduce the inflow of the foreign students.
In addition, rapid changes in the preference pattern of the students will reduce
the viability of the existing degrees being offered by them.
Importance of ethics and social responsibility
Ethics and social responsibility is important in order to have the sustainable positioning
in the market. Moreover, with the help of ethical and socially responsible behavior, the
probability of generating positive word of mouth will also be more along with lower possibility
of the generation of issues with the stakeholders. Otago Polytechnic International Campus is also
practicing ethical and socially responsible behavior (Floyd et al., 2023). For example, both the
international and national students are given same and equal opportunities in the selection
process. In addition, the student accommodation facilities by Otago Polytechnic International
Campus in their Dunedin facility are being awarded for excellence in green building. This shows
that they are following both ethical and socially responsible activities.
In the case of marketing activities of Otago Polytechnic International Campus, ethical
and socially responsible activities of them are helping in maintaining the positive and favorable
image in the market. International students will get attracted to the college only when the ethical
policies are being maintained (Sharma & Kiran, 2013). Hence, in the marketing activities of
Otago Polytechnic International Campus, no issues are getting generated.
Recommendations

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 It is recommended that Otago Polytechnic International Campus should open their
branches beyond New Zealand in order to increase their global presence. This will also
increase their student base.
 It is also recommended that cost leadership approach should be followed by them in order
to offer the educational services in competitive price points. This will regulate the
economical factors for Otago Polytechnic International Campus.
 The training and development program for the faculty members should also be initiated
in order to make them deal with the changing educational scenario. This will also help to
offer the latest educations to the students at any point of time.
Part: 2
Influence of the reference groups
Reference groups are having higher influence in the case of different buying decision
process and consumer behavior. One of the major influences is in the forms of normative
aspects. For example, a customer looking to buy a new mobile phone will take the opinion of his
close reference groups such as friends and relatives. In this case, the views to the given by the
reference groups will impact the customer in selecting the particular brand of mobile phone
(Hayakawa & Venieris, 2016). On the other hand, the influence of the reference groups can also
be comparative. This refers to the external influences by the reference groups such as celebrities
and inspirations. For example, the fashion accessory being endorsed by the certain celebrity will
attract the loyal fan base and will motivate them to buy the certain product.
Family life cycle
Determination of the family life cycle is important for the marketers due to the reason
that taste and preferences of the customers get changed in different stages of the life cycle. For
instance, the preferences of the customers will not be the same as young singles and newly
married couples. Thus, it is important for the marketers to identify these differences in preference
pattern and offer their products accordingly (Walsh & McGoldrick, 2013). For example, Zara is
only catering to the teenage and early married age groups with their fashion lines. They are not
catering to the older segments. This reflects in their latest styling and bright colors in the cloths.

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On the other hand, Hilton hotels are majorly targeting the newly married and elderly couples for
their accommodation services and accordingly their services are being designed.
Influences of the social class
Social class is important factor in determining the customer behavior and it is majorly
evident in the case of premium products and services. This is due to the reason that exclusive and
premium offerings are having social factors as the added value propositions. In majority of the
cases, premium products are priced higher to have sense of social class and status among the
customers. For example, products of Apple are highly priced even though the core offerings are
similar to their competitors (Williams, Blair‐Loy & Berdahl, 2013). However, still the demand
for Apple products is high due to the reason of the social value offered by them. The class and
status in the society being enjoyed by the customers from using the Apple products are one of the
major influences of the social class in the consumer behavior. Another prominent example of
social class is Mercedes cars. These cars are having the same level of utility as the Toyotas and
Volkswagens but Mercedes are class apart in terms of the social value. Customers buying
Mercedes are gaining the social attention that cannot be gained by Toyotas. Hence, with offering
the same level of value propositions, social value of Mercedes is more.
Influence of self concept
Self concept refers to the individual attitude and preferences towards certain goods or
trends. It is majorly relevant in the case of the fashion wear due to the reason that fashion trends
are changing in more rapid and frequent manner. However, acceptances of the fashion trends
depend on the individual taste and preference pattern. For instance, Zara offers quality products
majorly leisure cloths. However, the preferences of the leisure wear of Zara are depended on the
individual taste and preference pattern of the customers. There are people who are having the self
concept that formal dress and attire should be wore in parties while some other thinks about
wearing casual wears. Thus, even with the similar qualities and other characteristics, preferences
for the particular fashion trends are depended on the self concept.
Buyer decision making process

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The first step in the buying decision making process is the need recognition. This refers
to the process of identifying the need or want for availing a certain service or product. My need
is to have a quality educational institute to further my studies and gain degree certificates. The
next step is information search, which involves the using different mediums to search about the
available alternatives. In searching for a proper institute in New Zealand, I took the online
mediums and asked from my friends. The next step is the purchase decision, which involves the
selection of the most effective alternative and going ahead with it. In my case, I have selected
three institutes from New Zealand and selected OPAIC due to their expertise, brand name and
cost structure. The last step is the post purchase behavior, which refers to the extent to which the
buying decision is being perceived right by the customer. I have already started my season in
OPAIC and I have got all the desired support from the institutions and they are helping me out in
getting my degree. Hence, I am having positive impression regarding the institution. It can be
concluded that each of the steps in the buying decision process is sequential and important to be
followed in step by step manner.
Characteristics of consumer behavior
The major characteristics of consumer behavior are the product class, social impact,
convenience and psychology. The product class determines the attitude of the customers in
buying decision process. Necessity items are having fewer steps in the process while the luxury
items are having more steps. If the social impact of the product is favorable and the customer
preferences will also be more and vice versa. Conveniences are expected by the customers from
the product and thus more conveniences will increase the preferences. Lastly, attitude and
personality of the customers will also determine their preferences towards a certain product. New
Zealand is chosen as the study destination due to the stable political environment, friendly
cultural values and proper education standards in the country. The brand name of OPAIC also
helped to choose New Zealand as the study destination over other potential countries.

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