Transcript ATMA
Australian TAFE Marketing Association Conference:
Internet and Marketing
Joanne Jacobs
Brisbane Graduate School of Business
Queensland University of Technology
Scope of content covered
TAFE Online
Who is online and why?
The Australian Digital Citizen
Marketing via the internet
Changing consumer expectations
Internet & decision making
Evolution of online marketing
Market research online
Strategic advantages and disadvantages of
marketing TAFE via the internet
TAFE Online
Problems with existing iterations of online TAFE
sites based on:
Poor design and navigation
Low integration of online and offline marketing
activities
Misunderstanding the links between the TAFE market
and the digital citizen
Good news is:
Most other organisations have also missed the mark
Web Attractors & Inhibitors
Attractors
Financial / economic reasons
Efficiency
Broader (global) markets
Promotional reasons
Inhibitors
Is there any point to online marketing?
TAFE is education. This is a service and practically
oriented. We don’t think it’s suited to the Internet.
Web sites not ready?
Adoption profile of Internet users
Innovation Adoption Overview
Innovators: Venturesome, (try anything once)
Early Adopters: Respectable (the Net is hip - adopt
now to be a social leader
Early Majority: Deliberate (needs and wants)
Late Majority: Sceptical (ends up needing, not always
wanting)
Laggards: Traditional (want not, adopt not)
Barriers to Adoption
cost : time and money
Internet literacy
fear : security, privacy, unwanted content
lack of desire : no perceived benefit
expectation gap : trialled and abandoned
Internet Behaviour Factors
Factors influencing Internet behaviour –
Time & space independence
Anonymity
Internet ‘culture’ and ‘netiquette’
Not for profit & information sharing influences
Lack of central controlling authority
TAFE sites need to be wary of these factors
Main motivations to use the Net
Convenience
24 / 7 , convenient access to banking & retailing
Information Motivation
Curiosity or deliberate desire to learn or seek
information
Global access
World wide resources, markets, communications
Utility / necessity
Work, education
Recreation
many forms of entertainment (online games, chat groups)
Anonymity
Freedom, reduced risk
Community
Online communities, common interest & experiences
Communication & Social Motivation
Interaction with other
chat rooms, news groups, discussions groups, mailing lists, e-mail
Inherent merit
Pleasure derived from surfing the net
Cybercommuning
communities based on shared interests, shared
emotional and psychological support
allows for clanning behaviour without the
mediator of geographic constraint
provides a more collaborative, networkingoriented experience for users
These aspects should be accommodated in TAFE
marketing practices
The Australian Digital Citizen (1)
Growth of internet
access still rising in
Australia.
52% Currently have
home access.
Australians spend an
average of 6:55hrs
online per month over
13 sessions
The Australian Digital Citizen (2)
65% of 18-24 year olds access the internet
64% of 25-49 year olds access the internet
37% of users aged 50+ access the internet
(Source: NOIE, eMarketer, 2001)
TAFE key markets have internet access and are
technologically literate
Changing Consumer Expectations
The modern consumer has become more
demanding and wants to research opportunities
before approaching the institution.
time pressures
customisation
empowerment & expectations
Role of the Internet in Decision Making
Online marketing assists decision to study TAFE
Problem
Recognition
Information
Search
Evaluate
Alternatives
Purchase
Decision
Post
Purchase
Behaviour
Internet Advantages for Decision Making
evaluation of alternatives
formal & informal sites add input
• EG: Formal websites, Newsgroups, Blogs.
purchase decision
convenience, global access
• Can you enrol online?
post purchase evaluation
online communities, help & info lines, relationship
marketing
• Maintaining your relationship with TAFE students
Evolution of Online Marketing
Level 1: Information publishing
Early TAFE sites, course listings, ‘online brochureware’
Level 2: Transaction based systems
Advanced TAFE sites, allowing enrolment online
Level 3: Mass customisation
Customised sites with student information services
and suggestive marketing
Online TAFE Marketing benefits
economics of increasing returns
need a critical mass use for value
marginal returns improve for all users of an online
TAFE system as online communities develop
long term orientation
provides capacity to sustain association with alumni
through cybercommunities
selling customers to customers
word-of-mouth promotion
Value of cybercommunity to TAFE
Support networks
for technical issues
for teaching support materials
Customer to customer communities
can generate positive word of mouth
C2C marketing
discussions between current users, potential users and
occasionally ex-users of the product
Online research for existing and potential users
of TAFE product
Why the Internet as a Research tool?
The largest storehouse of human knowledge in
history
A commercially active marketplace with highly
competitive firms
Broad reach at low cost
Proactive customers who now have have
opportunity to interact with content
Functions of Online Marketing Research
Scanning
scan the environment for early detection of
opportunities and threats
Risk Assessment
attempts to replace subjective opinions with objective
results based on research
Monitoring
used to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing
strategy
Primary Data Collection
Online surveys
email or website surveys
Low cost
Access to larger survey group
Faster response time
Online focus groups
chat technology, video conferencing
Clicktracking, unobtrusive observation &
ethnography
Internet Surveys-advantages
Mail and phone rates declining- new channel
needed
higher response rates- novelty, customisation,
instant feedback
Response accuracy greater- digitisation of data=
reduced errors, no bias, uncompleted surveys
can be checked
More enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing (due
to graphics, instant feedback and mouse clicks)
Internet Surveys-advantages
Less expensive- data tabulation, survey
distribution
Faster turnaround
Great for new product testing
Global reach
Customisable
Helps in finding certain highly specific research
targets
Can be made interactive (e.g. instant feedback)
Internet surveys-disadvantages
self-selection, interest driven
internet population not representative anonymity
of respondents – truthfulness
Cost of hardware, software & data connection
reluctance to divulge information
short attention span on-line (sometimes only 25 30 seconds)
lack of interpersonal experience
multiple polling
Focus Groups - Advantages
Cost - traditional focus groups-very costly
Facilities, incentives, transportation, food, transcription
of data
Efficiency
short period of time
Group Diversity
geographical, social, demographic
anonymity may reduce negative stereotypes
time-strapped consumers
Focus Groups - Limitations
screening problems
technical/environmental limitations
distractions
no eye contact
qualitative data - not what you say but how you say it
(or even what you don’t say)
product limitations
images and text okay
no physical handling of goods
Secondary Data Collection
Quantity – availability, storage
Quality – reliability & quality of data
Reach – low cost access
Competitor intelligence
Self search
Online Marketing Implications
Changes to the retail value chain
Changes to the nature of consumer behaviour
and customisation capacity
Segregation of the market (online/offline
components, levels of ICT literacy)
Increased capacity and need for credible market
research
Online marketing influences traditional markets
on a global basis
Contact details:
Joanne Jacobs
Brisbane Graduate School of Business
Queensland University of Technology
Ph: (07) 3864 2065
Fax: (07) 3864 1299
Email: [email protected]