Discussions: Marketing Mix, Applying Marketing Knowledge

Please respond to each discussion response. Tell what you like/dislike, agree/disagree. Please keep separate. Topic: At the end of textbook Chapter 1 (on page 21) you will find a list of questions under the heading "Applying Marketing Knowledge." Question 4 states that "A college in a metropolitian area wishes to increase its evening-school offering of business-related courses such as marketing, accounting, finance, and management." It then asks, "Who are the target market customers (students) for these courses?" Let's change that question to "Georgia Southern University wishes to increase its evening-school offering of business-related courses such as marketing, accounting, finance, and management." Further, let's assume that the target market customers Georgia Southern hopes to acquire are 25 - 35 year olds that either did not go to college or dropped out of college and are now in the workforce and want to get a degree to improve their career opportunities. A typical customer could be a 27 year old male that dropped out of college after his first year and took a job in an auto repair shop. At first he loved his job, but over time he has decided that he does not want to be an auto mechanic for the rest of his working life. In fact, he dreams of opening his own auto repair shop specializing in high-end foreign car repairs. While he knows he needs a business degree to make his dream a reality, he cannot afford to quit his job and go back to school as a full-time student. An evening program would be ideal of his as it would allow him to get a business degree by taking classes in the evenings - while continuing to work at his current job during the day. Further, let's assume that Georgia Southern's focus for this target market are individual residing in the Savannah area. What actions involving the four marketing mix elements might be used to reach the target market in the above paragraph. 

Discussion Response 1: 
If Georgia Southern wants increase their evening class numbers using the target market of 25-35 year old that did not go to college or dropped out of college and are now in the workforce and reside in the Savannah Area I can think of a few ways to market to them. All of these ways would fall under the marketing mix of promotion. If they aren't able to let their target audience know that these kinds of courses are available to them they wouldn't know to get in contact with the university to take them.
My first thought is local television ads. Since our market is just in the Savannah Area Georgia southern could pay for ads to run for their evening classes around the time that most middle class citizens work day ends, 5pm-9pm. This would increase the chances that their target audience would get a chance to see the advertisement.
Another way georgia southern could reach this target audience would be through local news, whether it be online or paper. Which the advancement of technology those in the 25-35 age range would have access to online media more within their home setting as well as on the go with their smartphones. But with electronic news could get the 25-30 range it could miss those within the 30-35 range so having that paper news aka newspaper, local high traffic buinesses, ect. georgia southern can reach more of their target audience. 
Discussion 2 response: There are many actions that could be taken to reach Georgia Southern’s target market. Firstly, they need to decide on the place. Since the ideal evening-school student would be in Savannah, place is the first thing to touch on. Offering many online or hybrid courses and courses in Savannah would encourage working individuals to continue their education. This way it would limit the commute time to and from school. With online courses, students could work remote after work and in their free time. With hybrid courses, students could complete most work online and only have to drive to Statesboro a limited amount during the semester. With courses in Savannah, students could have the traditional classroom setting without the long commute.
The product would be evening-school focusing on business related courses. Considering Georgia Southern can’t offer all of their courses at night, focusing on business related courses is a smart move. This is a broad topic that can be beneficial to most people in their professional lives. This topic expands the target market to more groups than a less diverse major would.
The next phase would be promotion. There needs to be clear communication between GSU and the student. Recruiters should go out into the community to try to spread the word about the expanded evening courses to non-traditional students. They could attend job fairs, conventions and trade shows. There they can meet people who may have a desire to go back to school, but didn’t think it was an option. Having billboards and commercials on local radio shows during traditional commute hours and lunch breaks is also an ideal way to reach a large target audience.
The customer value would play a major factor in the target market of 25-35 year olds who are currently employed. The courses would have to have significant short-term and long-term benefits for the students to feel that this was a worthwhile investment. The courses would have to be less expensive than a traditional 4-year, fully in person degree. Therefore utilizing the hybrid and online courses would maximize information while also lowering costs.