PROPOSED MARKETING STRATEGY TO INCREASE GROWTH OF USERS AND IMPROVE BRAND LOYALTY OF AN ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM (A CASE STUDY OF GOOGLE CLASSROOM AMONG HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS IN BANDUNG)

• Main Author: Elva Larissa, Desfiana
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Manajemen umum
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/54998
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Google Classroom was launched in 2014 and eventually becomes the front end of Google Education Suite which highly used at elementary, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities. Despite of its popularity among elementary and middle schools, Google Classroom users in higher educations like colleges and university remain low and has not been adopted widely since its launch in 2104. Their strategy in penetrating the higher ed has not been as clear the ones that they apply in K-12 education market. It is seen that Google Classroom lack of learning management system features which support the student learning experiences and seamless information flow between students and lecturers. As a result, the company suffers from poor rating given by the users while competing within the intense environment of the ed tech industry. This research aims to help Google Classroom in increasing the growth of users as well as the brand loyalty through marketing strategy formulation and implementation that will be discussed in the following chapters. The data of external analysis such as PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, and Competitor analysis are gathered from journals, books and articles. Additionally, interview with the existing users is also done to gain a broad picture about the issues and unveil the solutions needed. Meanwhile, the company’s competency and competitive feasibility are figured out through resources, and value chain observation. Lastly, it is followed by SWOT and root cause analysis. On the third chapter, it is found out that Google Classroom should reconstruct its business level strategy, and STP. Thus, the research proposes to shift its strategy from cost leadership into integrated cost leadership and differentiation to set sustainable competitive advantage in the market. Similarly, the new STP is also provided to ensure the alignment with the new business level strategy. Besides that, the business solutions are generated through TOWS matrix, and further grouped based on Marketing Mix to provide a comprehensive marketing strategy on different functions. Finally, the implementation plan within one year is described in details to fulfill the objective of the research. The plan provides key action information, required resource, and the person in charge.