MKT Plan Report: Algonquin College Marketing Strategies and Analysis

This report presents a comprehensive marketing plan for Algonquin College, outlining its objectives, strategies, and marketing mix. The report begins with an executive summary and introduction, followed by a detailed exploration of the college's marketing objectives, including raising awareness and expanding program offerings. The marketing mix is analyzed, covering product (programs offered), pricing, place (location and distribution), and promotion strategies. The report delves into product and brand strategies, including positioning and benefits, along with a BCG matrix analysis. A SWOT analysis identifies the college's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Distribution strategies and integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategies are also discussed, examining elements like advertising, digital marketing, email marketing, and public relations. The report concludes with a summary of key findings and recommendations to enhance Algonquin College's marketing efforts.

Running head:MARKETING PLAN
Marketing Plan Report
Name:
Institution:
Date

MARKETING PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Algonquin College is a top college in the country. It offers some of the best courses for
students in the country and even out of the country. It is marketing itself to be the best
institution and compete with the best international colleges all around the world. It has
several satellite campuses to bring its services closer to the people all around the world. As an
Arts and Technology based college, it wants to expand the scope of its programs offered to
include sciences and humanities. This is a marketing strategy that is aimed at attracting all
students within the institution while giving the best environment to learn. The institution has
set a 12 month marketing plan that aims at raising awareness of the institution. For the
college, it wants to offer all programs that have a high marketability in the job market and
ensure that it generates graduates that are highly employable. The introduction of more
programs in the institution is a marketing plan that aims to attract both domestic and
international students.

MARKETING PLAN
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................2
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Marketing plan objectives.....................................................................................................................2
Marketing mix objectives......................................................................................................................3
a) Product.....................................................................................................................................3
b) Pricing.......................................................................................................................................3
c) Place..........................................................................................................................................4
d) Promotion.................................................................................................................................4
Marketing mix strategies.......................................................................................................................4
Product and Brand strategies.................................................................................................................5
BCG Matrix.....................................................................................................................................6
SWOT Analysis................................................................................................................................7
Distribution strategies............................................................................................................................7
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC Strategies)......................................................................8
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................10
References...........................................................................................................................................10

MARKETING PLAN
INTRODUCTION
A marketing plan is a document that outlines the strategy of marketing and the tactics that an
organization will use to be more visible in the public eye. A marketing plan is focused on
specific time period and covers marketing related details such as action steps, goals and costs.
This is a marketing plan for Algonquin College. It will focus on the achievements of the
college, costs of the courses provided, time for completing the courses and the goals of the
college (Adnyana, & Darma, 2015).
MARKETING PLAN OBJECTIVES
To speak in detail about the development of a university strategy, you must first determine
with which product it enters the market. The features of the services, their differences from
the programs, the characteristics and the main elements of the services offered. However,
theoretical concepts of marketing and service management were formed not so long ago
(Blakeman, 2018). This article was the first attempt to separate services, to overcome the
orientation of marketing only to highlight the main distinctive characteristic of services, their
intangibility. Algonquin marketing plan is to raise awareness about itself and the programs it
offers while introducing science and humanities based programs. The marketing plan
objective aims at building the college awareness and grow the loyalty of the student.
MARKETING MIX OBJECTIVES
The college must also determine its marketing mix as an objective of the marketing strategy.
The marketing mix strategy contains a model called the 4Ps which include: product, pricing,
place and promotion. For Algonquin college, marketing strategy is not meant to compromise
the quality of services provided. Its aim is to attract more students while increasing the levels
of programs provided at the institution (Fan, Lau, & Zhao, 2015). 4Ps include:
a) Product

MARKETING PLAN
As a higher learning institution, the products provided are majorly Arts and Technology
related programs. However, the marketing mix objectives has a plan to increase the scope of
programs that are provided by the institution to attract more students. The college is already
offering certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Post-graduate studies on all arts and technology
related courses. Its main objective within the next 12 months is to introduce Medical science
and humanities related courses. All this programs means that it will attract all students
regardless of their place they come from (Goffin,2016)
b) Pricing
The College is known to offer its programs at very affordable prices. Most of the students are
sponsored by the government and therefore when they are admitted in the institution have
their tuition fee paid. However, for self-sponsored students, they find the rates very attractive
for both foreign and domestic students. Foreign students are however charged a little bit
higher but the prices are relatively cheap compared to other institutions. The accommodation
fees are high due to high demand for student hostels but this is being addressed by building of
more accommodation facilities (Grant, 2016)..
c) Place
The college is strategically placed in town. Its satellite campuses in other countries are also
placed in very good places. The institution has also introduced the online classes where
students from all over the world can learn in the institution without being physically present
in the institution.
d) Promotion

MARKETING PLAN
The college does not advertise very regularly. However, it has two annual conferences that
aims at showing the institution to the world. The conference shows the courses and all the
activities that the institution undertakes.
MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES
Depending on the customization of services to meet the specific needs of the individual
consumer, on, the duration of the customer’s contact with the service provider’s personnel.
The use of equipment for the production of the service and participation in creating students
value as a front office (those employees who directly communicate with students) and the
back office (supporting part of the service provider) the following classification of services
was proposed (Hitt, et al,2017):
professional services (clients interact with employees, not equipment, this contact is quite
long, customization of services is possible, the front office is the main creator of customer
value). Mass services (customers interact with equipment, contact time is short,
customization is minimal or completely absent, customer value is created by the back office).
It is difficult to clearly assign educational services to one of these categories. On the one
hand, trainees, of course, interact with people, not with equipment. But there is also a
distance learning format, when a student communicates with teachers and university staff
only through computer systems, practically not visiting the university. The time of each
consumer's contact with representatives of the university is determined by the specifics of the
educational program and the form of education (Jenkins, & Williamson, 2015). The degree of
customization also depends on the program. Standard higher education programs are massive,
designed for all consumers at once, professional and corporate programs can be created for
the individual needs of a particular organization or group of specialists.

MARKETING PLAN
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGIES
A successful product and brand strategy aims at developing the awareness of the product and
sets the brand apart from all others based on the brand name. A well-designed strategy
reminds the current and potential customers on why you should choose the brand over the
others. Strategies are designed to make the customer have emotional ties with the brand and
not necessarily based on price and quality (Lidstone, & MacLennan, 2017).
The college has the following in using brand strategies;
a) Positioning- Algonquin College has positioned itself a top college offering the best in
all courses. It has positioned itself as the best higher learning institution in the country
due to its history.
b) Benefits- the benefits of brand positioning is to ensure that the current and potential
students choose the institution based on their emotional connection and not based on
any other variable.
c) Considerations- Even in the context of standard programs, many universities provide
the student with the opportunity to form his own version of this program by choosing
specific courses from a variety of available disciplines of choice.
BCG MATRIX
QUESTION MARKS (?)
Low market share and High market Growth
 Don’t know what to do with the
courses. Increasing the investment
to increase the market share
a) Bachelor of business management
STARS
High market share and High market Growth
d) Courses doing well in the market
a) Bachelor of Arts
b) Bachelor of Science and
Technology

MARKETING PLAN
b) Bachelor of Commerce
c) Bachelor of economics and statistics
DOGS
 Low market share and Low market
Growth
a) Bachelor of medicine and
surgery
b) Bachelor of pharmacy
COWS
 High market share and low market
growth
a) Law
b) Engineering
c) Pure Sciences
SWOT ANALYSIS
The SWOT analysis in marketing plan and strategy for the college will show the point of
strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and threats facing the institution.
Strengths
 The college has the best equipment
and infrastructure compared to other
institution
 It boasts of many professors and
research doctors compared to others
 It has a rich history of producing
renown personalities
 Has the best environment for
students
Weaknesses
 It is known majorly for art and
technology based courses
 Small space for infrastructural
expansion
 Any professors getting other
attractive jobs
 Inability to retain some of its main
brains
Opportunities Threats

MARKETING PLAN
 High number of students
 Increased number of courses
 Use of technology to enhance
learning
 Ability to attract many students
 The diminishing values of their top
courses that is Arts.
 A lot of upcoming institutions
 Increased regulations and policies on
universities.
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES
Finally, the main role of the institution officers like the teachers of the university (that is, its
front office), library staff, the secretaries who answer the phone, the security guards at the
entrance, the staff of the university printing office or bookkeeping is to influence the
customer satisfaction. Thus, educational services are very diverse and have the features of
both professional and mass services, i.e. can be attributed to the service shop (Noe, et al,
2017). .
An interesting feature of educational services is the active participation of the client in the
process of providing services. This is due to the combination of the two most important
elements in them - the process and the result. The presence of these elements of services is
indicated by many researchers, calling them the technical and functional aspects of the
internal and external primary and peripheral. The result is what the service aims to achieve,
and the process is how it is provided. In the case of educational services, the result is the
increase or change in the educational level or professional qualification sought by the
recipient of the service. The process is learning itself, in a certain way organized and
equipped with appropriate resources.
INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC STRATEGIES)

MARKETING PLAN
The intercommunication between service providers in most cases occurs at the process level.
For example, during the preparation of a bachelor of economics, different universities aim to
offer bachelor’s studies in economics expressed in a certain amount of knowledge and skills
that is confirmed by the relevant document (Piercy, 2016). The result depends on how the
learning process is organized, what resources are available and how efficiently they are used,
as well as on the activity and motivation of the learner himself, on his previous training,
abilities, etc.
On what basis does the market judge the quality of university services? First, of
course, based on the result: how well the graduate’s training meets the requirements of the
market, how effectively he is able to fulfill the duties assigned to him (Rothaermel, 2015). .
The process also matters and is taken into account when choosing a university. The applicant
and his parents are not indifferent to how interesting the learning process will be, how loaded
the student will be, how much the process will motivate the student, activating his learning
abilities.
It is important to determine what the actual educational services is. What does the university
offer on the market? Among the services that a student enrolled in a university can receive
can be listed, for example:
 transfer of knowledge during lectures, strengthening of skills in the course of
seminars, practical and laboratory classes;
 Organization of the learning process itself. On the one hand, it is the organization of
its content (teaching disciplines in a certain sequence, alternating lectures and
practical classes), and on the other, organizing various forms of training (class

MARKETING PLAN
schedule, exams, consultations and other forms of academic work), in addition, the
opportunity to use the library fund, computer classes and classrooms;
 the opportunity to try yourself in research work in the form of various scientific
societies, circles, conferences;
 The opportunity to participate in international student exchanges, internships abroad,
etc .;
 organization of practice in companies and organizations under the guidance of
representatives of these organizations and the university itself;
 inviting foreign and domestic experts and practitioners to give guest lectures;
Cost estimates
The college offers certificates, diploma, degree and post graduate programs. Their costs
varies depending on the type of program, the level of the programs undertaken, resources
required to complete the program and the weight of qualifications to undertake a certain
program (Rowley, 2016). .
This list can be continued, and for some universities it will be much longer, and for some,
much shorter. This list may also include educational related services: providing
accommodation in school dormitories, advising students on employment and career fairs, visa
support for students leaving to study abroad, cultural programs for students and teachers from
foreign partner universities, organizing summer holidays and leisure, etc.
CONCLUSION
This is a marketing plan for Algonquin College. It will focus on the achievements of the
college, costs of the courses provided, time for completing the courses and the goals of the
college. With a marketing plan, the college will set the strategy for the next 12 months and
have a brand awareness.

MARKETING PLAN
REFERENCES
Adnyana, R., & Darma, G. S. (2015). Strategi Marketing Mix, Yield Management, Customer
Satisfaction and Occupancy Rate. Jurnal Manajemen dan Bisnis, 12(1), 98-121.
Blakeman, R. (2018). Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Fan, S., Lau, R. Y., & Zhao, J. L. (2015). Demystifying big data analytics for business
intelligence through the lens of marketing mix. Big Data Research, 2(1), 28-32.
Goffin, K., & Mitchell, R. (2016). Innovation management: effective strategy and
implementation. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley &
Sons.
Hitt, M. A., Jackson, S. E., Carmona, S., Bierman, L., Shalley, C. E., & Wright, D. M.
(2017). The Future of Strategy Implementation. Handbook of Strategy
Implementation: The Management of Strategic Resources.
Jenkins, W., & Williamson, D. (2015). Strategic management and business analysis.
Routledge.
Lidstone, J., & MacLennan, J. (2017). Marketing planning for the pharmaceutical industry.
Routledge.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human resource
management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Education.