Final Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan

Executive Summary

To compete in the current economic situation in Brazil and the International School climate in Sao Paulo it is imperative for St. Francis to create a marketing plan that addresses the needs and wants of the Sao Paulo market.  There are many opportunities in the market that we have not previously explored as well as there is a need for us to relook at our current clientele and what efforts we can make to retain their loyalty.  To understand how to move forward and continue to be successful, we need to create a comprehensive data collection and analysis system in order to fully support the learning environment at St. Francis.  Utilizing the data that we obtain from this system, there are two areas that require our focussed attention.  Those areas being: Internal Marketing creating a positive view of the school among students, staff, and parents and Developing Brand Equity through solidifying our identity and positioning within the Sao Paulo market.    

Rationale

Analysis of current marketing situation

At the present time we do not have a comprehensive data gathering and analysis system in place.  There are some points of data that come into the school but are either under-utilized, not utilized at all, or the information gained stays within the particular department that collected it.   

Analysis of current opportunities and threats

There are many opportunities that having a managed data gathering and analysis system opens up for our school.  Data collection and analysis will help us to inform policy, programming, staffing, and recruiting decisions in order to delve deeper into existing markets or look to move into unexplored markets.  The threat of not collecting and analyzing data lies in the missed opportunities of capturing market share due to the lack of understanding the needs and wants of potential clients.

Aim(s) of the marketing  plan

The aim of this action plan is to set in place a comprehensive data collection and analysis system, drawing upon a rich and varied data stream, which informs decision making that allows us to best position our school in the Sao Paulo market.  

Possible factors that might influence execution of the plan

• Rapidly changing economic situations giving false or no longer relevant data
• Change in cooperation expectations of staff members
• The ethical considerations that come with data collection regard how we track potential clients from their online behaviors.  Tracking website visits and search engine queries, some may believe to be not entirely ethical, are fairly common practices.

Action Plans

Strategy 1: Research and Data Collection

Result Statement: Create a comprehensive and sustainable research and data collection system to ensure that marketing decisions are in full support of the learning environment.

Link to Mission	Success Criteria/ Benchmark/KPI	Measurement tools	Action Steps	Project Owner	Timeframe	Resources money/time/ training etc
	All SOP’s written Accountability for data collection and entry is clarified for all staff There is 100% compliance for all data collection and entry procedures	Internal audit Internal audit Internal audit	Designate ‘home’ for all marketing data collected Designate who is responsible for any data entry not automated Create SOP’s for how and when data is transferred to the Marketing Director from the various Collection Tools Develop internal auditing system Create parent, student, and staff surveys geared toward gaining an understanding of perceptions Analyze data and report findings	Head of School & Marketing Director Marketing Director Marketing Director Marketing Director Marketing Director Marketing Director	July before classes resume July July July July to go out in August August	Marketing Development meeting Marketing Development meeting Marketing Development meeting 1 week 1 week 2 weeks

Rationale

Analysis of current marketing situation

Due to declining enrollment and shifting demographics of Sao Paulo it has become clear that we need to look to expand the segments of the market that the school is currently attracting.  The other international schools in the Sao Paulo area have strong brand equity and specific market segments that they cater to.  It is important for St. Francis to understand what market segments to target in order to position our school to attract students to our community.  

Analysis of current opportunities and threats

There are opportunities to target market segments that we have not targeted in the past.  One of those market segments is the American population in Sao Paulo.  If we position ourselves well we have the advantage over Graded, the main choice for Americans, in both our location and small class sizes.  With further market research we will be able to identify other market segments to focus on.

Aim(s) of the marketing  plan

The aim of the marketing plan is to strengthen brand equity.

Possible factors that might influence execution of the plan

-Long standing market perception and low brand equity may be too much to overcome

-There are no ethical considerations apparent in developing brand equity.

Action Plans

Strategy 2: Market Segmentation and Developing Brand Equity

Result Statement: We will strengthen our brand equity by defining our identity and which market segments we serve to maintain the loyalty of our current population as well as demonstrate to the wider community what our brand positioning is.

Link to Mission	Success Criteria/ Benchmark/KPI	Measurement tools	Action Steps	Project Owner	Timeframe	Resources money/time/ training etc
In order to strengthen our brand equity we want demonstrate how our mission differentiates our school from the rest.  The creation of the value proposition will illustrate why potential parents should believe in our mission as well.	2 new target market segments identified Value proposition is created	Internal audit Internal audit	SWOT analysis PEST analysis Market research and data gathering campaign Analysis of market research Mission review and alignment Creation of clear value proposition Launch of promotional campaign aimed at targeted market segments clearly portraying our value proposition	Head of School & Marketing Director Head of School & Marketing Director Marketing Director Marketing Director Head of School Marketing Director	July before classes resume July July-August August September September November	Marketing Development meeting Marketing Development meeting R$10,000 2 Weeks 2 Day PD focus 1 Day PD focus R$25,000

Rationale

Analysis of current marketing situation

In the recent years the St. Francis has seen a high turnover of teachers, especially foreign teachers.  As well we have had many students exit our school due to the decrease in foreign investment in Brazil and students seeking alternative international schools within Sao Paulo.  These two occurrences are detrimental to the school’s livelihood and indicate that we hold low brand equity within our community.  To counter this we will strengthen our brand equity through internal marketing by defining our identity within the Sao Paulo international school market and position ourselves to capture the market segmentations that are most aligned with our school vision and mission.  

Analysis of current opportunities and threats

There are many opportunities that developing our internal marketing can capitalize on to increase retention of both staff and students.  The opportunities include offering discounts on tuition, targeting students vulnerable to transfers (ie. those moving into the IBDP program), developing a stronger sense of community through community events, and increasing employee satisfaction with HR efforts.  Some of the threats that we are facing are coming from the other international schools enticing our quality teachers and students to their programs.  There is also another new international school, Avenues, planning to open in the August of 2017, that will looking to cut into our current market share.   

Aim(s) of the marketing  plan

The aims of the marketing plan are to strengthen brand equity and increase retention of teachers and students.

Possible factors that might influence execution of the plan

-Continued economic downturn of Brazil making retention and recruitment of teachers and students more difficult.

-Long standing staff who hold onto the negative school culture of the past.

-Ethical considerations will come into play when we think about staff contracts and who will be able to move our school culture into a positive tool.

Action Plans

Strategy 3: Internal Marketing

Result Statement: We will address the negative school culture in order to create common understandings and a positive, productive learning environment.

Link to Mission	Success Criteria/ Benchmark/KPI	Measurement tools	Action Steps	Project Owner	Timeframe	Resources money/time/ training etc
We believe that pupils develop best in the environment of a safe and supportive community	An increase of 25% in positive data indicators 5% reduction in foreign staff turnover 10% increase in retention of students moving into the DP program	staff climate survey Contract renewal data Admissions data	Trust building activities    *having fun together    *Closing the gap between divisions Team Building Activities Review vision and mission to ensure comprehensive understanding Community Building Events    *Parent coffee morning    *Parent/teacher recreational sports    *Charity fundraisers             -Quiz night              Create system for centralized documentation    *Critical information   *SOPs/Policies/Protocols Teacher share in the ownership of the process/marketing    *Technology Committee    *Staff Committee    *In the future-Marketing Committee Promote to targeted internal student segments that  have traditionally left the school for competitors	Head of School Heads of Departments Head of School Heads of Division Head of PE Marketing Director Office Manager Head of school to initially organize until committees elect governance Marketing Director & Head of School	PD week prior to first day w/children and once each quarter PD week prior to first day w/children PD week prior to first day w/children Monthly Bi-weekly Biannually July PD week prior to first day w/children Throughout year	2 days of orientation week and at least once quarterly 1 day of orientation week 2 day PD focus 2hrs per month 2 hrs bi-weekly 30 hrs of organizational time 1 week ½ day PD focus Bi-monthly meeting requirement 30+hrs