Proposal for market for the australia university

Proposal for Market Research for the Australia Management Decision Problem (MDP) THE is in the process of assessing the brand positioning and communication strategy. Competition has been increasing and there is a need to maintain the present market share and as well to increase the market size to attract customers (students) from beyond the traditional market area that THE UNIVERSITY has been serving.
Some of the factors leading to stiff competition are
Changing education trends
Easy availability of information regarding the educational institutions and their offerings
Aggressive growth of educational institutions across nations and geographies
The core management problems are
Is there a need for change in the brand positioning and communication strategy to
reach the target group
increase reach of THE UNIVERSITY
2. Marketing Research Problem
Knowing the perception of THE UNIVERSITY among the target group will give an idea of the present standing of THE UNIVERSITY in the market place. Depending upon the perception a new branding and communication strategy can be designed to improve the brand image. Information regarding the positioning of THE UNIVERSITY in comparison to the other institutions can help in devising a branding to improve the rating so as to attract students from other areas apart from the traditional population group of THE UNIVERSITY.
3. Research Objectives (RO)
RO 1: What does the target group think about THE UNIVERSITY? What are the positive and negative aspects regarding THE UNIVERSITY as seen by the target group?
RO 2: What are the expectations of the target group from the present offerings/facilities of THE UNIVERSITY? Are there any additional facilities expected? Are other similar universities or educational institutions offering more?
RO 3: What is the ranking/position of THE UNIVERSITY among the other universities/ institutions of tertiary education?
RO 4: What are the sources of information for the target group regarding universities, educational institutions and courses of study?
4. Using the Repertory Grid on the RO 3 (ranking of THE UNIVERSITY among other universities/institutions of higher learning) will give valuable information regarding the attributes on which students rank institutions. We can have a list of elements (other universities and institutions along with THE UNIVERSITY) and the attributes like admission process, popularity of the institution among peers, history of the institution, choice of courses, size of the institution, accreditation of the institution, tie-ups of the institution with other institutions and reception of the institute’s students in the industry after graduation. This will give us an insight into the core necessities of the target group and further help in tailoring THE UNIVERSITY’s brand positioning and communication strategy towards the target group.
5. Content Analysis for RO 4 (sources of information regarding universities, educational institutions and courses of study). Universities are chosen by students depending upon the information available to them. Knowing their methods of information search and the places where they search for the information will further help in focusing our communication strategy. Based on the data collected like websites, magazines, publications, agency ratings which the target group uses to obtain information, communication can be improved to increase the reach and perception of THE UNIVERSITY.