Marketing Strategies For Engaging Generation – A Case Study Of Go! 21

Search Engine Optimization

Question:

Discuss About The Marketing Strategies A Engaging Generation?

Go! 21 is an Irish consultancy firm which is committed towards providing consultancy advice to the various students who want to pursue a career and complete their graduation or post graduation in a foreign university in Ireland (Go! 21 Education. 2018). The consultancy mainly operations caters to the South-east Asian students and provides them free multilingual online consultancy which assists them while their application process, accommodation and scholarship procedure. 

The Search Engine Optimization can be defines as improving as well as increasing the quality as well as the quality of the traffic on the path of the website with the help of organic search engine methods and results. In the given method, the visitors are attracted to their website by using Google techniques whereby the Goggle keeps showing the given advertisement irrespective of the fact  that the requirement of the company is related or not. Using this method, the company wants to attract the visitors who are interested in the products offered by the organization (Andreson, Narus and van Rossum 2016 pp.91-99).

Go! 21 use this method to optimize their website views and pays a good amount to Google who shows their website link whenever the term Ireland is used.  The facebook page, community page as well as the official website of the company is available easily on the net.

The video content marketing has recently become extremely popular due to the new trend of the increased usage of mobile phones and tablets. This is because it is extremely cheaper than a laptop or a monitor. The cloud based technology and fast Wifi helps the users to use the facility anywhere and everywhere. Hence, the new trend in marketing is video content marketing (Armstrong et al. 2015). It is cheap accessible and a very high Return on Investment. According to a survey conducted, around 55% of the population view videos and it is also observed that almost all videos on Twitter are viewed using a mobile phone. Hence, if the company gives its advertisements by using a video content that there are high view chances which would make the firm`s services very popular among the different users (Ardley 2016).

Go! 21 use this medium extensively by posting various videos on its social media websites and webpage as well. These videos tend to explain the services which are given by the company and also have a clip of the different customers narrating their experience related to the company.

Social media marketing refers to the usage of social media platforms and websites in order to promote a product or a service. Social media marketing has become one of the most popular methods of digital marketing whereby there exists a built in data analytics which helps a company to track its progress, check its success and view the success of their advertisement campaigns on social media (Babin and Zikmund 2015). There are a large number of options available for social media marketing which range from Facebook, twitter and Instagram. There are millions of viewers on these websites which can be useful for any business.

Video Content Marketing

Application to Go! 21have a large follower base on both the websites (Baker and Saren 2016). On Instagram the company has 790 followers and on Facebook it has about 1500 people talking about it. It posts various video clips and informational data on these pages.

The company makes use of various user refined system in order to customize its advertisement for the different crowds.

This method is a latest method in digital marketing which helps the company to list the company`s ad on the top and exactly on the right side of organic search listings. This system starts working when anyone clicks on the ad (Coombes and Nicholson 2013 pp.656-664). The payment is made on a limited budget, whenever the total amount paid to Google gets over, the ad stops running until they have been replenished again. This method is used to attract new visitors to the site.

Go! 21 understand the importance of digital marketing and have therefore invested in the pay per click scheme which is offered by Google (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2013). Hence, through this opportunity, go! 21 has its advertisements displayed in various educational websites, travel websites and other websites related to Ireland so as to ensure maximum clicks. These clicks take the user directly to the website of Go! 21.

In the domain of internet marketing, conversion optimization or better known as the conversion rate optimization is a system which is responsible for increasing the number of visits to a particular website. In this way the company will be able to make more customers and take interest in the content posted by the given page. The given method is often given the name of CRO.

The process comprises of three stages from saw the advertisement to click on the advertisement to buy the product (De Mooij 2013). This method involves highlighting the best aspects about the product so that the customer feels instigating towards the product and ends up buying it

Go! 21 are not using the conversion optimisation strategy. The given company does not believe that the use of the conversion optimization strategy will be useful to the company and therefore, it does not make use of the given tool.

The mobile marketing technique is one of the widely used techniques of multi-channel online marketing which aims to reach to a specific audience using their mobile phones, tablet or other devices with the help of mediums such as emails, Video Messages, SMS, websites , mobile applications and social media websites(Gronroos 2016). As the use of the mobile phone has increased greatly, the companies have started to make the use of this technique in order to grab the attention of the target audience.

Go! 21 has greatly targeted the younger crowd below the age of 25 for their university graduation programme. According to Foxall (2014), this particular target market makes extensive use of the mobile phones and the various applications to stay updated. This is the reason why the company makes use of SMS, Application and video messaging technique in order to grab the target audience`s attention (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014).

Social Media Marketing

Website Factors can be defined as those factors which make the website attractive and makes it appealing to a larger crowd. The given website of a company needs to be visually appealing, polished and quite professional as it creates a first impression in the eyes of the customer. Hence, it is the duty of the business to see to it that the website that they have developed for the customers are user friendly and clearly portrays the message of the company. Without that, the users will not like to visit it again (Hartley and Claycomb 2013). It is also very important that the given site can be easily accessed using either laptop or mobile phones. Convenience of the user also plays an important role.

The website of Go! 21 are extremely attractive. The website is divided into different sections, each of which has an attractive picture thereby making sure that the attention of the user is captured. The website is extremely simple to use and has a customer care support section which can be used to clear instant doubts and initiate discussions. This gives lot of advantage to the company in the long run. The website is accessible using both the mobile and computer based web browser.

Email marketing can be referred to as the kind of marketing technique whereby a customized mail is sent to very potential client and consists of an offer which may attract the customer towards the company (Kiel 2014). The mail may also consist of an advertisement, business request; solicit sales and donations along with building loyalty and brand awareness.

Any user who registers with the website, starts receiving email and other updates so that he/she can remain up to date with the latest offers and latest programs offered by the consultancy company.

This is one of the most recent forms of advertisement. The given form provides the user a convenience to provide an honest feedback asked on the kind of service that it received from the company. They are free to state their satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction towards the company (Kotler 2015). This feedback left by the user plays a very important role in deciding the fate of the company. If the feedback left is a positive one, then it can influence the other customers to use the given product and if not then it can tarnish the brand name. The business may choose to reply to the given feedback or not.

The company has an online presence on various social media websites and applications where the students leave behind various comments and their feedback must be read through and replied to as well. The main motive behind a feedback system is that the company is able to learn from its competitors.

The competitor of the chosen company Go! 21 is another company named MyStudy. The company is also an educational consultancy which provides the company with the given services same as Go! 21:

• Assistance with application process- The consultancy firm helps the students in applying to the various colleges in Ireland (my. 2018). They give them a comprehensive list of all the colleges present in Ireland and which ones would suit them the best.
• Accommodation help- The consultancy firm also guides the students to find suitable accommodations in Ireland during their university (Martelo Landroguez, Barroso Castro and Cepeda-Carrión 2013 pp.234-244).
• Scholarship help- The students who are extremely talented are also helped out with the different scholarships which are available in the given university
• Building the career- The consultancy firm helps in building the career of a vast number of students.

The digital marketing strategy of my study comprises of the following:

• A target Market- the Company has targeted a specific set of audience for the services the company provides. The company has decided to target segments of population aged below 25, living outside Ireland and preferably completed high school. This has made their marketing strategy quite refined and the company has been only employing those strategies which are appropriate for the given target market (Grönroos and Voima 2013 pp.133-150).
• Tools used- The tools used for approaching the customers through digital media include :
• Social media marketing- The Company has its presence in various platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. The company refines searches and follows all college groups, school groups and others in order to ensure that no target market is left out.
• Email marketing- It also uses email marketing as a strategy to reach out to its customers and sends them daily mails that help the customers to understand the kind of services being offered (McDaniel and Gates 2013).
• Video content- It uploads video clips on social media websites. These clips include videos of the various universities in Ireland along with the experience of the different users who have achieved admission to a good college through the study website.
• Mobile marketing- The company also sends various emails and messages to the prospective students so that a constant image of the company is developed using this tool
• Evaluation of strategies- The Company constantly reviews its strategies and changes them according to the needs of the target market and the needs of the competitive environment (McDonagh and Prothero 2014 pp.1186-1219).
• Auditing and controlling- My study also uses an auditing and controlling technique, with the help of which all the tools which it uses are constantly reviewed for the presence of any loopholes in their digital marketing strategy.

Pay Per Click

The study communicates with the target audience in the following manner:

• Emails- The organization keeps sending mails to the students who have availed the services in order to understand if they are facing any problems. It also sends mails to the potential customers to ignite their interest in the company`s services.
• Live chats- The Company indulges in various live chats on Facebook and Instagram in order to clear the doubts of the various students with respect to the services offered and the various students who got the admissions.
• Visit to colleges- They also conduct visits to the different colleges and high school exhibitions held and present the kind of services it offers to attract the attention (Wilson et al. 2016).

The most relevant and effective digital marketing tools available to Mystudy are:

• Social Media marketing

Just like Go! 21, Mystudy also sees to it that it makes considerable use of the social media techniques to attract the various students. The company is present on instagram and Facebook with a limited number of followers. It mainly gets its business with the help of word of mouth through these platforms (Foxall 2014). It understands that the target market is always present on the social media and thus it can grasp their attention.

• Website factors

My study has designed their website in a manner such that they are quite easy to use for their potential customers the website has a wide variety of sections which describe the various services which are offered by the customers and also provide a background of how the company has established itself and how they have fulfilled the dreams of the different students.

The website has a section where they have stated down the various universities they are affiliated to and how it has been successful in the past (Weinstein and Pohlman 2015). This speaks for itself and builds confidence which attracts the customers.

• Website factors- My study has a well defined website which is one of its greatest factors towards success. It has different sections with the help of which the potential students who want to get associated with the consultancy company can clear its doubts and learn more information about the company. It also has a live chat option which will help the company to clear the doubts of the various customers. Go! 21 can take this essence of their websites and make their website according to the guideless of its competitors in order to achieve high chances of success.

• Live videos and chats- As stated earlier, MyStudy indulges in a live chat on its social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to engage the different customers and make them believe in the services of the company (Chernev 2018). They also involve the experience of the other students, who have taken the services earlier so that the trust in the company is built and more customers take in these services. Hence, o1 21 should also utilise the social media platforms and use these services in order to gain popularity and build trust and loyalty in the minds if the students.

Very often the business houses lack sufficient resources with respect to the time, funds and the right people. As this is the age if start-ups many talented people would like to set up their own start-up. Hence, the cultural is slowly shifting whereby the people do not want to work for others, Hence Go! 21 are facing the problem of lack of resources whereby the business is unable to find the right people at the right time (Pasquier and Villeneuve 2017). On top of that the funds are also quite limited .Hence; the company cannot invest more in marketing techniques.

Increasing visibility or generating quality leads

Despite using various techniques like Pay per clicks and conversion rate, businesses like that of Go! 21 lack the sufficient funds which shall allow them to invest in more visibility technique which will grow its business. Visibility is the key to success these days and therefore the company is facing problems with respect to the visibility factor.

The right social media platform

There are a wide variety of social media platforms available for the business to use but very often the choice available to the company is quite limited because of large avenues available and limited resources. Hence, finding that one right social media platform is a difficult task for a firm.

The content that needs to be posted on the various advertising platforms available takes a lot of time and content preparation (Ramaswamy and Mosher 2013). This takes about months to prepare which is very difficult in the recent times of changing economy.

Keeping up with trends and technology

With the advent of technology, there are various trends which are upcoming and lead to amalgamation of various ideas and types of advertisements. For a normal business, it is extremely difficult to match up with all available avenues.

Conversion Optimization

The key strategic issues which a company like Go! 21 faces with respect to digital marketing are:

Attracting and Retaining the Clients

The clients are exposed to a wide variety of options these days and then this tends to make their choices quite varied. Hence, even through an avenue like digital marketing, attracting and retaining the clients is a very difficult task (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick 2016). Not all ads tend to attract the customers and for this reason, the company must make the ads in such a manner that makes them able to attract the clients.

 Attracting Top Talent

The company cannot carry out the digital strategies on its own and it needs a very qualified team for that purpose. However, hiring a top talent with expertise i n the various digital marketing capabilities is not an easy task and hence, the companies face difficulties with respect to the given aspect.

Managing Client Expectations

Another digital marketing issue faced by the company is management of the expectations of the different clients.  The clients pay a hefty amount of money to avail the services of the consultancy group and hence expect the company to solve all their problems (Ryan 2016). They set high expectations from the different firms and very often the companies face a lot of difficulties in abiding by these expectations.

Getting Results and Publicity for Clients

It is also difficult to get the results due to these high expectations that are set by the client. When the clients pay for a business, they begin to assume that they will get all their desires fulfilled in one go which is not easy. Hence, very often despite using the digital marketing technique, a business is unable to gain the required response.

Adapting to media changes

As media is greatly linked to technology and technology keeps on getting advance with time, the media landscape is ever changing and the company needs to adapt to those changes in order to ensure that it is doing its best. However, the companies find it extremely difficult to do so.The elements of a digital marketing plan to address the issues discussed

The elements of digital marketing plan to address the issues addressed are as follows:

 Customer is the kind and hence, it is considered extremely important for any given enterprise to plan and make the profile of the different customers that are actually required for a business like Go! 21 (Tiago and Veríssimo 2014 pp.703-708). This cannot be a normal plan like simply targeting the most convenient profile of customers. Proper brainstorming sessions should be conducting by the directors of Go! 21 in order to form the consumer profile

Identifying goals and tools needed

 Planning and goal setting is considered to be a very important aspect of any media plan. It is extremely important for the company to budget for the necessary digital marketing tools which are necessary for an educational consultant like that of Go! 21.

Evaluating existing plans

When all the planning has been done, the company should make it a point to review the plans and once go though it so that they are sure that everything is set as per the requirements and they also need to see to it that there is no loopholes in the given plans.

Mobile Marketing

Audit the media strategy

 When all the media tools and techniques have been set and applied as per the planned moves, Go! 21 should constantly revise its tools and methods and see to it that they are at par with their plans and that all resources that have been dedicated towards the planned tools (Järvinen and Karjaluoto 2015 pp.117-127).

Lastly as per the digital marketing strategy`s elements, Go! 21 should constantly revise its tools and strategy in order to stay updating with the changing media landscapes and customer preferences

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