Marketing Plan: Mentor 1+ Service for Griffith University Students

This marketing plan details the strategies for Mentor 1+, a mentoring service designed to support international students at Griffith University's Business School. The plan includes an executive summary, goals, and objectives, along with a comprehensive target market analysis focusing on demographics, psychographics, and behavioral aspects of the students. It outlines the positioning strategy, emphasizing the service's flexibility, personalization, and convenience. The marketing mix strategies cover product features (one-on-one mentoring, tailored programs), pricing (free), promotion (online and social media advertising, orientation week), place (Griffith University campuses), and people (qualified mentors). Evaluation and control mechanisms are discussed, alongside an implementation schedule and a Gantt chart. The report concludes with recommendations for future business growth, such as expanding the service to other universities and offering it in multiple languages. This plan aims to enhance students' academic excellence and strengthen Griffith University's position in the higher education sector.

Task 2 - Marketing Plan for Mentor 1+
Griffith University
Queensland

Executive Summary
This marketing plan is based on a comprehensive analysis of the company Mentor 1+ and its
outstanding mentoring service. The company was created to solve international students’
overwhelming transition to a foreign academic environment by providing a mentoring
program to suit each students’ need and expectations. Based on our research, as seen in the
opportunity analysis, the majority of the students lack academic skills and hence, desire for a
support service that frequently offers help.
Australia is the third most popular study destination after the U.S and received 880,380
international student enrolments in the total higher education sector during 2019 (Department
of Education 2019). Therefore, higher education comprises a substantial factor for the
Australian economy, as well as international students, contribute a significant portion of the
tuition revenue of Australian universities. That being said, Griffith University should further
strengthen its reputation and position in the sector. This can be accomplished by the exclusive
partnership with Mentor 1+ that could increase international students’ choice of applying to
Griffith University. Mentor 1+ is confident of enhancing students’ academic excellence and
estimates for 100 Griffith international students to achieve a GPA of 5 and above within the
next 12 months at Nathan and Gold Coast campuses.
The service is offered for Griffith Business School students commencing their first trimester
of undergraduate or postgraduate pathways. These students fall under the generations Z and
Y and are primarily from medium socioeconomic backgrounds with limited disposable
income. These generations are heavily career oriented and value higher degrees for enhancing
their employability. The demanding lifestyle requires many skills whereof academic
excellence is no compromise. It is, hence, critical that the mentor program is comprehensive
and free from costs. In addition, the active lifestyle requires the service being flexible and
convenient, which Mentor 1+ provides by face to face and online sessions.
In order to gain competitive advantage, Mentor 1+ has invested in personalisation as they
believe each student require different help such as, referencing or structuring assignments.
The company found a solution of including a test within the application process where the
mentor can evaluate and tailor a suitable program for each student. The sessions would then
run by one designated mentor per student to create better communication and a trustworthy

relationship. Furthermore, the staff consist of 20 mentors with high-quality qualifications
from various business backgrounds.
Since Mentor 1+ collaborates with Griffith University, it allows the company to utilise the
university premises for promotion purposes to reach the target market and students can
advantage of the free service that Griffith University pays. Resulting in a win-win outcome
for each party. The promotional strategies refer heavily to online and social media advertising
since the two generations are tech-savvy and environment cautious in terms of avoiding paper
flyers and templates. Other advertising tools relates to orientation week and the student email
portal.
Mentor 1+ service is expected to launch in trimester 1 of 2020 and to be capable of
withstanding the demand of expected enquiries; the company conducted a detailed 12 months
plan for implementing all prior and post business activities. After the first year of launching
the mentoring service, it is critical to growing the business further, and that could be done
through the following recommendations:
Within 3-4 years, the mentoring service could be offered in additional languages such as
Mandarin and Hindi. According to the survey, these two languages were predominantly the
most popular among international students. Therefore, a great business strategy to implement
in the mentoring program.
Mentor 1+ could expand their service in the next 7-10 years to other Universities in Australia.
Mentor 1+ should focus building its reputation and capital during the collaboration with
Griffith University and then expand its service to other Australian Universities such as the
University of the Sunshine Coast, Deakin University, Edith Cowan University, and many
others. Thereby, the company could grow independently with enormous international
potential.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................... I
1.0 MARKETING INITIATIVE........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 INITIATIVE...................................................................................................................................................1
2.0 GOALS & OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................. 1
2.1 MARKETING OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................1
3.0 TARGET MARKET & POSITIONING............................................................................................................ 1
3.1 SELECTION OF TARGET MARKET.................................................................................................................1
3.2 POSITIONING STRATEGY..............................................................................................................................3
3.3 POSITIONING MAP.......................................................................................................................................4
..................................................................................................................................................................... 4
..................................................................................................................................................................... 4
..................................................................................................................................................................... 4
..................................................................................................................................................................... 4
4.0 MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES.................................................................................................................. 5
4.1 PRODUCT.....................................................................................................................................................5
4.2 PRICE...........................................................................................................................................................8
4.3 PROMOTION.................................................................................................................................................9
4.4 PLACE........................................................................................................................................................12
4.5 PEOPLE......................................................................................................................................................13
5.0 EVALUATION & CONTROL...................................................................................................................... 13
6.0 IMPLEMENTATION & SCHEDULE............................................................................................................ 14
6.1 GANTT CHART...........................................................................................................................................15
7.0 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................. 16
REFERENCE LIST.......................................................................................................................................... 18

1.0 Marketing Initiative
1.1 Initiative
Mentor 1+ was created to support undergraduate and postgraduate international students, who
experience academic skills challenging during their first trimester at the Griffith University.
The company developed a mentoring service in alignment with the survey responded by
students. Mentor 1+ offers one on one mentoring for international Griffith Business School
students enrolled at Nathan or Gold Coast campuses. The service aims to assist international
students adjusting to a foreign academic environment with resourceful help towards academic
writing, assignment structuring, exam preparation and general tips. The mentoring sessions
are performed face to face or online on a weekly basis for up to 2-hours, with one designated
mentor at a chosen location. This mentoring solution would enable students to possess better
academic skills and perform in accordance with academic requirements.
2.0 Goals & Objectives
2.1 Marketing Objectives
Mentor 1+ always strives for best performance and achievement and hence, the company
desire: for 100 Griffith international students to achieve a GPA of 5 and above within the
next 12 months at Nathan and Gold Coast campus.
This goal would encapsulate evidence of the high performing mentoring team that support
international students to strive for academic excellence, meanwhile improving Griffith
University’s reputation.
3.0 Target Market & Positioning
3.1 Selection of Target Market
The target market for Mentor 1+ is no doubt that international students are commencing their
first trimester of either undergraduate or postgraduate business studies. However, this is too
broad, and hence, table 1 outlines a narrowed market segmentation of five categories
(Solomon et al. 2014).
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Target Market
Demographics  Student
 Female, male or unisex
 17 + years old - students under 18 must
meet welfare arrangements and legal
guardian requirements (Department of
Home Affairs 2019).
 Students enrolled at Griffith Business
School
 Generation Z and Y – majority
Generation X – minority (Mentor 1+
Survey 2019).
 63% of students from medium socio-
economic background (Griffith
University 2018).
 Limited disposable income from casual
or part time job (20h/week) or family
support (Department of Home Affairs
2019; Mentor 1+ Survey 2019; Griffith
University 2018).
 Tuition funding by family - mostly
India and Asian countries. Government
+ family support - mostly Europe and
Scandinavian countries (Mentor 1+
Survey 2019).
Psychographics VALS Type Innovators:
 Information seeker
 Brave and curious for international
experience
 Challenge seeker
 Problem solver
 Independent
 Sophisticated
 Future oriented
VALS Type Experiencer:
 Ambitious and greedy
 Extroverted
 Follow trends and fashion
 Spontaneous and thrill seeker
 Active
(Strategic Business Insights 2020)
Behavioural  Student who lack academic skills and
who desire for better academic
excellence
 Student comprises a moderate use of the
mentoring service during academic
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trimesters
 Usage towards due dates and before
exam period
 University oriented and collective
behavior through social media
Geographic  Students enrolled at Nathan or Gold
Coast campuses
 Queensland, Australia
Brand dimension  Online advertisement through media
channels
 Griffith reputation and credibility
important attributes
Table 1: Target Market
3.2 Positioning Strategy
As mentioned before, in the opportunity analysis, Australia is a growing location for
educational purpose and is the third most popular destination after the U.S (Department of
Education 2019). Therefore, it is important for Griffith University to strengthen its position in
the higher education industry by incorporating support services for international students.
Mentor 1+ competes with five other academic support services at Griffith University. Each
service provides related academic skills with minor to significant differences. Mentor 1+
provides mentoring services specifically for Griffith Business School students and for both
undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Mentor 1+ strives for high performance by
developing students’ skills to achieve their goals by a carefully planned mentoring program.
Students could possibly benefit from higher grades and greater GPA respective to students
not undertaking the service.
Figure 2 and 3 illustrates Mentor 1+ striving for quality, flexibility, personalisation, and
convenience with its service. Figure 2 outlines the company locating between high flexibility
and high quality as the mentoring program is focused on the students’ needs and the active
lifestyle that concluded the decision of offering the service flexibly through online channels –
for e.g. WhatsApp or Skype. The company highlights the importance of high quality with the
exceptional mentoring staff and aims to go beyond ordinary academic support services
whereas the competitors possess low flexibility due to set drop-in sessions or booking
requirements for quick consultations. Additionally, the quality of these competitors is low to
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moderate since few services offer support by students who do not have extensive experience
or training, and one specific competitor does not offer face to face consultations.
Figure 3 defines the convenience, and personalisation attributes that are highly important for
Mentor 1+ and the company are again, located between the two higher axes. Students might
have different needs in academic development, and hence, personalisation is a must when it
comes to tailoring a program for each student. Mentor 1+ also strives for students’ experience
and carefully aligns the skills needed for academic performance. Each student will benefit
from one designated mentor in order to create a more personal experience and enhance
communication. While the competitors’ attributes do not align with Mentor 1+ due to being
located at specific Griffith campus, or personalised programs are not possible. Mentor 1+
desire to close this gap by allowing students and mentors to choose the location, time and
method for each session.
3.3 Positioning Map
Figure 2: Positioning map by quality and flexibility.
Low Flexibility
High Flexibility
High QualityLow Quality
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Figure 3: Positioning map by convenience and personalisation.
4.0 Marketing Mix Strategies
4.1 Product
The service that Mentor 1+ provides relates to a mentoring program offered to international
students during their first trimester, as earlier discussed. The service is specially designed for
business students in both undergraduate and postgraduate pathways and differentiates from
the ordinary services at Griffith University. The service is free and based on few unique
attributes defined in table 3 by flexibility and convenience, one on one sessions, one
designated mentor per student, and a tailored program matching the students’ expectations.
Most of the competitors are not offering the same service as Mentor 1+, and this creates a
direct competitive advantage for the company at Griffith market.
The mentoring sessions are designed for a personalised experience, with one designated
mentor for each student who then tailors the program to fit the student’s needs and
expectations. For instance, a student might hope the program focusing on academic writing or
exam preparation. The sessions are held for 1 to 2 hours on a weekly basis from Monday to
High Convenience
High Personalisation
Low Convenience
Low Personalisation
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Friday between 8 am to 5 pm and either face to face or online. Thereby, students can choose
how, when, and for how long they prefer to get consulted. As students tend to be busy with
assessments, it is crucial to offer flexible options that are convenient. Table 2 outlines the
session process where students can choose.
Session Type Time Location Booking requirement
Face to face Monday – Friday 8am
– 5pm
(1-2 h)
Decided between
mentor and student –
e.g. café, Griffith
campus or other.
Each student is
required to book
sessions 48 h in
advance.
All sessions can be
cancelled 24 h prior
the session.
Online Monday – Friday 8am
– 5pm
(1-2 h)
Chosen between
WhatsApp, Skype, or
phone call.
Each student is
required to book
sessions 48 h in
advance.
All sessions can be
cancelled 24 h prior
the session.
Table 2: Session process.
Product Attribute Consumer Benefit
Flexibility & Convenience Face to face or online sessions between Monday
– Friday 8am - 5pm at chosen location or
through chosen channel.
Designated mentor per student To develop personalised experience and easier
communication between student and mentor.
Tailored program To focus on specific academic areas such as
referencing or assignment structuring.
Table 3: Product attribute and consumer benefit.
To participate in the mentoring program students are further required to sign up and undergo
an application process due to the high volume of international students at Griffith University.
Figure 4 illustrates the Mentor 1+ website where students can find the application process
under the ‘Apply’ tab. The process includes a mini-test that assists the mentor to evaluate
what the student might need help with – for instance; the test would incorporate true or false
statements regarding referencing, assignment structuring and academic writing. Followed by
comment boxes where the student can briefly state what they wish to receive help with. This
would then further help the mentor to tailor a suitable program aligning with the student
needs. Consultations would then run accordingly until both parties would be satisfied with the
reached outcomes. Additionally, Mentor 1+ collaborates with Griffith University, and the
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service is free for students, that allows more students to participate for enhancing their
academic skills.
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Figure 4: Mentor 1+ webpage.
4.2 Price
Solomon et al. (2014) state that most effective pricing strategies are related to cost-based
pricing as they often possess simple and risk-free calculation characteristics, and additionally
covers the full costs of producing a product. As Mentor 1+ is a startup company, it would be
safe to implement the cost-plus pricing strategy, that involves adding the mark-up of 30%
profit margin to each total cost of service components (Carlson 2019). Meaning, that Mentor
1+ desire for a 30% profit after the total costs of producing the mentoring service. Table 4
further introduces the pricing strategy of service that includes the tailored program as
mentioned before and the hourly based session prices. Followed by the profit margin to
conclude the selling price per student. The mentoring service is then sold with the selling
price to Griffith University as the collaborating partner and offered for the end customer, the
student, as a free academic support service. Griffith University relies heavily on international
students and the tuition fees that these students commit. It is essential to further build an
appealing reputation in the higher education sector, and hence, the high-quality mentoring
service is paid by Griffith University.
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