Brand Development For Educational Services

Brand Development For Educational Services Edumentor Educational Services, is an organization operating in its 6th year and is engaged into providing comprehensive, result oriented entrance test preparation for graduation level management courses (BBS/BFIA/BBA/BBE) at various institutes. The USP of the company is its extensive promotional strategies being implemented by the MBA Interns. Over these years, EduMentor has been able to grab a niche for itself in this highly competitive industry as it has always been focuses on product quality and delivery. A major emphasis is on the BBS/BFIA courses at Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (CBS), University of Delhi, as this is the best institution in the south East Asian Region for the same .The other institutes are the likes of IP University, Symbiosis etc. This year the company has expanded its horizon by introducing coaching for five new courses i.e. HM (Hotel Management), Mass Communication, Law, B.e.Led (Bachelors in Elementary Education) and CA (Charted Accountancy). Since students get only approximately 2 months to prepare for all the entrance tests, the institute begins its initial batches barely a day after the 10+2 examinations. Also, unlike the competition which consists of major players from the CAT/CA/CS market of other preparatory institutes, like Career Launcher, IMS, P.T. Education, BBA/BBS/BBE/BFIA is the core competency that EduMentor deals in, hence it basically operates seasonally, from about 2 months before the XIIth examinations, to about 12weeks after the same. But now this year with the launch of CA (Charted Accountancy) CPT preparation course, the company plans to operate annually. For other new courses and along with the existing ones the rest over year is spent in refining the course material, and conducting career counseling sessions at various schools (70 schools covered last year) which also provide a database of students which can be used later for over the Phone counseling, sales calls and information regarding free sessions and form dates. The role of the MBA program interns is critical to the complete process. The interns are taken in batches so that one batch works the first half of the critical activity which is the recruitment of a huge ground level workforce of associate level workers Primarily, this team of second batch interns is divided into two groups, the counseling team, that is responsible for career counseling at the respective centers and over the phone counseling of students and parents , which the author was a part of. The second group handles the vital component of the Board Centre activities. This activity aims at maximizing the promotion efforts to the core target audience, i.e., class XII students (mainly commerce stream). During this activity, 350 board examination centers were located by various methods by the team, and compiled onto a list of centers that is divided into North Delhi, South Delhi, East Delhi West Delhi. These zones are handled by zonal managers, under who up to 12 managers handle 4-5 board exam centers each. Each Zonal manager is responsible for building a team under him, which works on the D day i.e. the Board Examination day. 1.1 Company vision: EduMentor was started with the intention of providing specialized coaching to the students who wish to seek admission in BBS / BBA / BBE. Aim was not just to open a coaching institute but rather to create a Knowledge Hub where students are the top priority. That is the reason why our faculty consists only of those who have been to the best in the field of BBA/BBS/BBE, making us ‘The Only Specialist BBA/BBS/BBE Entrance Coaching Institute†. At EduMentor our core competency lies more in mentoring our students with those skill-set and weapons of education with the help of which they can easily fight their own battles and win them in the long run. Students come and go year by year but every year a lot of students are referred by old students making EduMentor. 1.2 Purpose, Scope, and Limitations of Project: Purpose: The purpose of the project is to get an overall idea about the marketing of EduMentor Educational Services. It aims at developing the promotional and business development strategies of the company after thoroughly analyzing the same of the competitors. As the aspects of this project are multidimensional so is its purpose. It will take into consideration the mutual benefit of the company coupled with gaining some practical knowledge about the Education market their overall marketing strategies processes. Value-addition to the Company Find out the various products and courses present in the industry Find various promotional and business development activity being undertaken by the company and the its competitors Make company know the best products, methods and practices present in the market and develop strategies accordingly. Find out the positive and negative aspects pertaining to specific area of operations. Suggest the company the best possible scheme coupled with awareness and timing of benefit. Overall business development of company in terms of revenue and value enhancement and making the company operations more efficient and effective for long term benefit. Academic Benefits: Got an insight of educational products and gain through knowledge of various promotional strategies. Real time experience of interacting with perspective customers and convert them into real customers. Real time experience of doing a market research practical experience in convincing the end-users to fill up the questionnaire Handling a team and act as a leader giving that winning edge which would not have come naturally Scope of Project: The objective of the project includes, the organizational Development at EduMentor Educational Services. EduMentor had entered the market of educational services 6 years back, so the basic aim of this project is Business Development that is generating business for them by attracting students year-by-year by virtue of its product and ensuring effective operational accuracy across all its centers. This would include structuring of the entire business so as to increase the efficiency of the work done at EduMentor. The project would enable EduMentor in Business development of the educational packages by reaching to the maximum number of students. Also it aims at developing promotional strategies (by keeping in mind the requirements of target audience and moves taken by the competitors) to increase conversion of students into these programs. The project will also help in measuring the students preferences for EduMentor educational package and how best EduMentor can come up with an educational package that meets the need/expectation of students based on the survey that will be done. Limitations of the Study: As this project undertaken includes a lot of activities and is very vast so considering the accuracy of all the aspects as required by the study is a major limitation. However, every attempt will be made to overcome any flaw which might occur due to this. Certain other factors which can form drawbacks to the conclusions of the project are: a) Reach The company covers Delhi NCR region, it doesnt go beyond the boundaries of our national capital, hence expansion is limited. b)Finance issues The company is not funded by outside source and due to this problem it has limited resources to offer during various Business deals which cater to improper results at the end of the season for the organization. c) HR issues The company doesnt have enough HR‟s to manage out the activity in spite of the fact that hiring of summer interns from prestigious colleges like ICFAI Hyderabad Gurgaon provides a little edge in management, still occurrence of numerous loopholes tend to occur. d) Work Definition The results and conclusions of the project cannot be generalized as the area of work assigned to me is restricted to the north zone (as Center Management) and NOIDA Zone (as Zonal Manager). 1.3Methodology:  § Ghost shopping In order gain insights of the strategies of competitors a study was conducted to gain knowledge about the business model of various competitors like Career Launcher and IMS and develop competitive promotional strategy for EduMentor accordingly and thus be the best among a few.  § Relation building Interacting with class XII students and their parents in order to get an idea of what all they expect from an institute preparing for BBA/BBS/BBE entrance exam and also to brief them about various options one has after XII. This is done by: e) Conducting counseling in various tuition centers f) On the day of the Board exams, we interact with the parents, do short term counseling and give them brief knowledge of our product and the services we offer.  § Market research The help of a questionnaire would be taken if necessary.  § Business development strategies As a part of business development strategy various activities like Board center activity was conducted throughout Delhi in order to reach the target audience. On the day of the Board exams, we interact with the parents, do short term counseling and give them brief knowledge of our product and the services we offer Also SPD (Sample Paper Distribution) forms an integral part of BCA in order to generate awareness among the target audience. The Board Center Activity is the biggest marketing tool of the organization. CHAPTER 2 PRODUCT DETAILS (STAGE 1) BROAD VIEW: PRODUCT AT EDUMENTOR EduMentor was established with the goal of providing specialized coaching to the students who seek admission in top colleges for the courses like: BBS (Bachelor of Business Studies) BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) BBE (Bachelor of Business Economics) BELED (Bachelor of Elementary Education) HM (Hotel Management) LAW CA-CPT (Charted Accountancy Common Proficiency test) ENG (H) (Common Admission test for English hons (CATE)) At EduMentor the core competency lies more in mentoring the students to the right path of education than merely preparing them to achieve the best results. The product mainly encompasses management courses at the under graduate level. The three major courses which are offered are BBA, BBE and BBS. Providing coaching for these three courses forms the product for EduMentor along with mentoring students for the same. All the courses are three full- time professional degree courses. A BBA/BBS degree provides adequate learning of managerial skills and knowledge of business activities to the students. However, BBE (bachelor of business economics) is a management degree which lays emphasis not only on the management skills but also helps the students to get adequate knowledge about the economy and its functioning. All the three courses have been designed so as to groom professionals for future, rather than mere academicians or â€Å"degree holder†. The course has kept in consideration the needs of the industry, so that students are job ready after their graduation unlike in the traditional sources where they are required to undertake additional professional courses to find a job. The approach to learning is a very practical one, complete with industry case studies, role plays and a lot of industry interaction. EduMentor provides coaching for undergraduate management courses. The primary programs being: BBS (University of Delhi) BBE/BFIA (University of Delhi) BBA (I.P. University, Symbiosis Pune, Christ Bangalore etc.) The Newly launched programs being: BeLed (University of Delhi) HM (I.P. University, Symbiosis Pune, etc.) CATE (University of Delhi) CA CPT (Institute of Charted Accountants of India) LAW (Various Universities throughout India) MASSCOMM (Various Universities throughout India) 2.1) BBS:BACHLOR OF BUSINESS STUDIES It is the prime pitch made by EduMentor; the company pitches itself to be the only specialist institute for its entrance coaching. BBS is a professional degree which has been designed on the same pattern as MBA programs. The subjects for the course are taken up from the curriculum of best ranking MBA colleges in India. During the two years or 4 semesters of BBS, students study the basics of all functions of management namely finance, marketing, human resource and specialize in one of these in the final year. BBS is an outstanding general management program, the curriculum for BBS is rigorous, flexible, and continually enriched with the latest developments in management theory and practice. The academic calendar is based on six semesters each six months in duration, followed by the University examinations. The Bachelor of Business Studies program enables graduates to think conceptually and adapt to change. In particular, the program is designed to: Develop intellectual and interpersonal skills Emphasize the broad economic, financial and managerial dimensions of dynamic business environment Facilitate the integration of academic knowledge and practical work experience Foster a high degree of professional competence in a specialist area Produce innovative and creative graduates Produce graduates who are motivated to continue lifelong learning and who cope effectively with change. Graduates of the Bachelor of Business Studies degree can look forward to a broad range of career opportunities in the dynamic and competitive environment of todays business world. 2.2) BBA: BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BBA aims at transforming a student into a corporate personality. This course with its intensive syllabus and a wide range of value addition modules enables the student to aspire for higher studies in premium business schools and India and abroad. Being a professional course it ensures a healthy balance between theoretical foundation and practical exposure to the present day business world. A quality BBA program offers more skill enhancement and practical knowledge than usual degree courses. Like an MBA program, learning through case studies, group activities, project writing, presentations, summer internship, etc. form an integral part of a BBA program. BBA graduates have an edge over others and are sought after by the industry owing to the exposure the course offers to operational environment in the field of Business. Most of the BBA programs require a candidate to pass in Class 12 / HSC examination. Some of the institutes may demand minimum marks of 50% in class 12 as an eligibility to pursue the program. However, students who have appeared their H.S.C examination and awaiting their results are also eligible to take these tests. 2.3) BBE: BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS BFIA: BACHELOR OF FINANCIAL AND INVESTMENT ANALYSIS Economists study the optimum use of financial resources for the success of an organization to increase productivity. They study production, distribution and consumption of goods and services on the application of economic policy in particular area such as finance, labor, agriculture, energy and health. The program- Bachelor of business economics is designed to develop broad business analytical skills as well as the technical knowledge required within the economics and finance environment. You will focus on the application of economic, finance and statistical theory to common business problems. Furthermore, class presentations, simulations and group assignments are used extensively to develop essential personal qualities including clear thinking, resourcefulness and the ability to work in a team and perform under pressure. As a BBE graduate one is expected to gain the necessary conceptual abilities, analytical skills and knowledge to equip one for a variety of professional career opportunities in industry, commerce or government service. In BBE the student verifies and reports how something is put into practice. As well as in the ability as in the activity the deepening of knowledge is the core factor. The students have to acquire an insight in the different functions that can be distinguished in a company, such as production, logistics, finance, marketing, informatics, control, etc. Future business economists are to be educated to deal with company problems in an integral way. Special emphasis is placed on ensuring the students qualifications for the job market and providing them with the necessary skills for academic research and further studies. As far as BFIA is concerned most management programs in a developing country are industry specific. Finance is one such area, which also happens to be an important subject, especially in todays global scenario. The rationale behind this course is to introduce students to the subject before they take it up at the MBA level as an elective. Furthermore, the thrust of the programs is on exposing the students to real time business problems, through three years of rigorous industry training, which runs simultaneously with theory classes. They are sent to Housing Finance Companies, Chartered Accountancy Firms and even to the Stock Exchange Board for experience. This course is meant for students who are keen on working in the core areas of finance, mainly with investment companies, capital markets, foreign exchange dealers, banks, mutual fund operations, insurance sector or finance companies. USP: Hard core finance content 30 Papers covered in six semesters. The opportunity for hands on training with our industrial partners. The papers covered in this course range from introduction to business and finance, to focus on areas like corporate taxation, auditing, corporate restructuring, merchant banking, investment analysis, portfolio management, etc. Pre Admission forms are not accepted. NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH THIS YEAR 2.4) B.El.Ed: BACHELOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION The Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) program is a four-year integrated professional degree program of Elementary Teacher Education offered after the senior secondary (class XII) stage of school. Conceptualized by the Maulana Azad Centre for Elementary and Social Education (MACESE) of the Department of Education, University of Delhi and launched in the academic year 1994-95, the program is an attempt towards fulfilling the need for professionally qualified elementary school teachers. B.El.Ed. is designed to integrate the study of subject knowledge, human development, and pedagogical knowledge and communication skills. Both professional and academic options are available to students who graduate with a B.El.Ed. Degree. The program aims to produce graduates of high caliber in the field of teacher education. A lot of effort is spent in the training of students and giving them a supportive and stimulating environment. A good number of students have been placed in government and private schools as professionally qualified elementary school teachers. Others are pursuing post-graduate studies and research in disciplines like education, linguistics, psychology, languages, history, social work, sociology, mathematics and political science. Many B.El.Ed graduates are pursuing research in educational studies in Central Universities. Some of them are working as teacher educators. 2.5) HM: HOTEL MANAGEMENT The boom in the tourism industry has resulted in the immense growth of hotel industry in India. The hotel industry promises a bright future for anyone who wishes to take up a career in this segment. The students opting for hotel management career courses must have an affinity towards socializing and understanding the needs of the people. As hotels fall under the service industry, the motive of hotel management courses in India is to prepare the students to face the challenges of this competitive world. As far as tourism industry in India is concerned, it is attracting tourists from across the world and this definitely calls for quality hospitality. Hotel Management as a Career Option Hotel management is one of the most interesting career options in the contemporary job market. Career training from a recognized and reputed hotel management institute is just an icing on the cake. In India there are many hotel management institutes and colleges which provide hospitality or hotel management courses. Hotel Management Course Admissions These hotel management courses make one aware of the operating-sections of the hotel industry like front office, general operations, sales and marketing, food and beverage, service keeping and catering. Candidates seeking admission to the hotel management courses in India need to pass their 12th standard examination with English as a subject. Students with a bachelors degree from any recognized university may also join some of the management training schemes offered by various institutions. Admission depends on the performance of the students in the written admission test, personal interview round and group discussion session. The time duration of the courses offered by several institutes may vary from six months to three years. Hotel Management Course Scope Hotel management job opportunities exists both in the private and public sector. One can look for various openings available in the hotels of the nation. Most of the hotels in India offer lucrative pay packages to the suitable candidates. The jobs offered are satisfying as well as highly rewarding. 2.6) CATE: COMMON ADMISSION TEST FOR ENGLISH (H) The Common Aptitude Test for English (CATE) for admission into the highly sought after B.A English (Honors) program offered by the Delhi University (DU). According to the CATE-2010 information bulletin, teachers of English at DU feel that a candidates good performance in the Class 12 English examination does not necessarily mean that they have an aptitude for studying English Literature. Earlier, the entrance tests for admissions to the English Honors course offered by colleges at DU were all conducted individually by the colleges themselves. The university administration had decided to change the system as it was believed that too many English entrance tests would put excessive pressure on candidates. 2.7) CA CPT (Common Proficiency Test) It is an entry level test for Chartered Accountancy Course. It is a test of four subjects i.e. Accounting, Mercantile Laws, General Economics and Quantitative Aptitude. This test is of 200 marks. This test is divided into two sessions of two hours each: A Simplified Entry to the Chartered Accountancy Course CPT will replace existing Professional Education (Course-I) which requires 10-month study period followed by an exhaustive theoretical examination. CPT is an objective type test to be held every February, May, August and November. This will reduce long waiting for entry to the chartered accountancy education and training. Common Proficiency Test will be objective type multiple choice based examination. Candidates will be allowed to opt for Hindi medium Question Paper Booklet for answering the questions. Detailed information will be found given in the Information brochure. PROGRAMMES OFFERED The BBS/BBA/BBE program is offered in two formats: Classroom Correspondence (Till last year) Table 1 Features Classroom Correspondence Program Program Basic Reference Material Yes No Classroom Training Yes No Class Assessment Tests Yes No Comprehensive Tests Yes No Simulated Tests Yes No Competitive Test Ranking Yes No GD PI Training Yes No The company provides a specialist coaching for the management courses, substantiating the claims with excellent course material, results and the best faculty pool from the industry. The advantage of being a firm of CBS alumni initiative provides it with extensive knowledge of the product and process forming the core advantage for the company. CHAPTER 3 SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING 3.1SEGMENTATION The purpose for segmenting a market is to allow your marketing/sales program to focus on the subset of prospects that are most likely to purchase your offering. If done properly this will help to insure the highest return for your marketing/sales expenditures. Depending on whether you are selling your offering to individual consumers or a business, there are definite differences in what you will consider when defining market segments. At EduMentor, the kind of segmentation that is done is, segment marketing, based on a) Nature of school, i.e. public or private schools. Segmenting schools on the basis of its ownership, so that economically less privileged students of government schools can also be targeted, is unique to only EduMentor. No other player in the market, cater to the untapped potential of government school students. b) The segmentation can also be done on the basis of subjects studied at the +2 level. Like on the basis of stream: commerce, Science and humanities. Though student from any stream can apply for these entrances, but the target market becomes a little specific when considering commerce students, because often these entrances and other related courses are the first choice for them. Likewise, even within commerce students, the market can be segmented on the basis of subject mathematics, studied at the +2 level. Mathematics is essential for the entrance exam of BBE; hence, the students with commerce with maths can be motivated in that direction. 3.2TARGETING Targeting is the second stage of the SEGMENT Target POSITION (STP) process. After the market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments and target it/them. Resources and effort will be targeted at the segment. Since BBS is a management related course it is a primary option for commerce students, so the biggest target students for the organization is students with commerce background. Humanities are going out of fashion, and the courses like Mass Communication and Hotel Management have tests on same pattern as of BBS. So, BBA training can help a student aspiring to clear a Mass Communication entrance test and also BBA entrance, like a backup option. After the primary data collection, the strategy used to reach to the prospective customers was done on the following segmentation. 3.3POSITIONING The organization has managed to form a niche for itself, in presence of strong competition from established players in the market. The positioning of the brand has been done from the very beginning, on two important propositions: The organization being the only institute for providing specialized coaching to the students who seek admission in BBS / BBA / BBE. That is the reason why the institutes faculty consists only of those who have been to the best BBA/BBS/BBE MBA institute making us „The Only Specialist BBA/BBS/BBE Entrance Coaching Institute‟. At Edumentor, the core competency lies more in mentoring the students to the right path of education than merely preparing them to achieve the best results. The core team comprises of alumni of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and the leading MBA institutes which enable the organization to guide the students, the right things at the right time. Plus, the team, being CBSites, are more aware of the changes which have taken place in the pattern of the written test, GD and PI over the years. In fact, the core team consists of members who are involved in suggesting ways of improvement in the selection process at CBS in capacity of being Alumni of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. Hence the STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning) for EduMentor can be summarized as follows: 3.47 Ps @EduMentor The top most players for undergraduate management coaching is I.M.S. in Delhi with maximum number of enrolments in various consecutive years, so methodology used by the I.M.S was analyzed so as to understand the need of the market and develop the strategies for EduMentor. PRODUCT: The main product of EduMentor is coaching in BBS/BBE/BBA. It has expanded its horizon by diversifying its portfolio covering various undergraduate entrance exam coaching. The undergraduate coaching product comprises of:- BBA/BBA/BBE entrance coaching CLAT : LAW entrance coaching Hotel Management Bank PO Media Fashion B.El.Ed CA CPT PLACE: EduMentor has its centers all over Delhi with a strong distribution channel. The centers are located all over Delhi are easily accessible making it a suitable option for the target audience. The centers are all located at prime locations providing it a higher visibility over the competitors. 13EduMentor Educational Services. PRICE: The price of EduMentor is slightly higher as compared to the other players present in the market. It reflects that EduMentor charges a premium on its price in lieu of its brand value and the market holding. The price of EduMentor varies from one zone to another depending on the demographic factors (mainly income) depending on affordability of the product at the place as well as the competition in that region. The pricing strategy forms the main part of competitor analysis as some segments of the market are price sensitive and respond sharply to the price variations in the market. The price for coaching in Delhi is kept at Rs.12, 500 by EduMentor PROMOTION: EduMentor being a zonal level player enjoys high brand awareness in Delhi and NCR region. The agenda of promotion for the company is to make the audience aware of the product offerings and remind them about them being the market leader. Due to Financial back-up, various ways used by them to do the promotion are:- Mobile ads (bulk SMS) IP College Activity Board Centre Activity Edupro(Ex-Student Referral Program) PEOPLE: Workforce at Edumentor comprises of very few permanent employees and because this company operates seasonally so major chunk of workforce constitutes of 45 MBA interns for three months. This team represents Edumentor in its peak season PROCESS: