finishing school

“CREDENCE”

FINISHING SCHOOL SERVICES MARKETING

ASHUTOSH PHADKE (10) PRATIK DIWATE (32)

ABBAS SABUWALA (02) SHWETA DESHPANDE (43)

ANISHA MASUR (07) URVIL MATALIA (53)

AJINKYA JOG (04) PRIYANKA RAJPUT (35)

RITVIK BALGI (39)

SR

NO

INDEX PAGE NO.

1 VISION AND MISSION 2

2 FINANCING 3

3 PEST AND LEGAL ANALYSIS 4

4 SWOT ANALYSIS 6

5 SERVICES TRAINGLE 8

6 SERVICES QUALITIES 9

7 PRIMARY RESEARCH 11

8 MARKETING OBJECTIVES 15

9 MARKETING NEEDS 16

10 THE MARKETING SERVICE MIX 20

PRODUCT 20

PRICE 20

PLACE 21

PROMOTION 22

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE 22

PROCESS 23

PRODUCTIVITY 24

PEOPLE 24

11 BRANDING AND STRATEGY 25

12 CUSTOMER TOUCH POINTS 27

13 CRITICAL SERVICE FACTORS 28

14 COMPETITION ANALYSIS 30

15 PORTERS 5 FORCE MODEL 31

16 QUESTIONNAIRE 33

CREDENCE” FINISHING SCHOOL 2

Credence means dependence, faith, assurance, belief and

confidence... we offer all!

VISION

To promote the spirit of excellence, an orderly conduct, with the highest standard of

professionalism, in the work place and social environment for the benefit of all.

MISSION

To prepare participants for the employment market, both private and in the public sector.

To plug the skills gap that exists between leaving university and performing effectively in

the workplace.

To create and prepare a new generation of young people equipped with the necessary skills,

intellect and character to lead both corporate and public service effectively.

To ensure that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to deliver results for

clients.

To help participants develop the confidence that will position them for success in life and

the marketplace.

To equip participants with the communication and image skills necessary for success in

life.

To develop polished professionals with excellent business, social and communication skills


FINANCING

For every successful start-up, umpteen entrepreneurs will fail – despite having brilliant ideas.

Many of these failures will be down to one major problem that faces new businesses anywhere in

the world: finding finance.

One solution, with no bank borrowings, is Venture Capital (VC) – finance provided to early-stage

to our finishing school, usually through dedicated management funds in return for an equity stake

in our business.

But securing VC funding is not as simple as turning up and asking for a blank cheque. Funds have

no end of potential suitors. For example, Mercia Fund Management, a multi-million UK-based VC

fund, estimates that it receives 50 full business plans and as many as 200 website enquiries each

month but only does 10-15 major investments each year. (Source: Mercia Fund Management

website)

The most important part of getting noticed is doing the initial research. There are many funds out

there specialising in different sectors or geographical areas and it is a matter of finding the best fit

for our business rather than attempting to blanket the market with proposals and applications. The

VC fund finds universities and colleges to be a rich seam of potential. Thus, being IGTC

Mumbai alumni association will help us.

Our finishing school, Credence; will completely take finance from VC’s and by smaller investors

in what is called “private placement.” We will initially propose for Rs. 75 Lac in the first phase of

investment. This amount will be used for Long term investment and also for working capital. For

the second phase of investment, we will propose an investment of Rs. 1 Cr for further expansion

and setting up different branches after the market research.

Some VC’s which invest in education kind of business setups are:

Light box Ventures, Mumbai

Gray Ghost Ventures, Hyderabad

Felicitas Venture Capital Trust, New Delhi

Footprint Venture India Fund, Bangalore


PEST AND LEGAL ANALYSIS

In a world of constant change, where knowledge becomes obsolete every few years, education can

no longer be something that one acquires during youth to serve for an entire lifetime. In a finishing

school we focus on instilling the ability to continue learning throughout life.

Political:

Privatized schools have to follow a separate set of norms as compared to government funded

schools.

The skills required to become a teacher or tutor is ever changing and Train-the-trainers

programmes have to be constantly implemented.

Curriculum has to be flexible to keep up with changing times.

We train our students to be self-managing and self-financing, and help instill in them

entrepreneurship instincts.

Legal framework for contract enforcement has to be set up.

Mandatory employee benefits as per legal requirements.

Wage legislation, minimum wage and overtime rules and regulations have to be followed.

Appropriate permissions from regulatory bodies and processes have to be followed.

Provisions have to be kept for future legislations.

Economic:

Cost of providing Resources:

a) Staff: Teaching, Administrative, Maintenance

b) Stationary and Furniture: Library books, Study Material, Classroom Accessories

c) Technology Solutions like laptops, overhead projectors, wifi modems, landlines

Interest Rates

Competition resulting from other finishing schools in the vicinity

Risk of staff and faculty being lured by competition

Skilled workforce

Infrastructure Quality

Hike in demand for salary and incentives


Social:

Integration of various cultures and backgrounds

Adaptation to Modern lifestyles and changing mindset of people

Increasing use of Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, E-mails etc

Bridging the communication gap between people of different languages

Transparency of processes within the institute with the students

Law changes affecting social factors.

Technological:

Constant variations and advancement in technology

Possibility of choosing the wrong technology

Data getting stolen or deleted

Shift in usage of paper books to e-books

Software and Hardware becoming obsolete

Technology’s impact on product offering

Impact on cost structure

User friendliness of technology

Intellectual property issues

Legal:

New legislation may create risks of non-compliance with the law, create new administrative

burdens, etc.

Should be a non-residential area, if not, NOC has to be obtained from the residents.

Agreement with staff and faculty

Credibility of faculty members

Qualification of staff

Premises Papers

NOC from other offices in the same building and in the vicinity

Health and safety legislation


SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths:

Unparalleled, unique programme that provides world-class training and individual personality

development

Personalized learning environment and mentoring toward individual development

Fully air-conditioned, modern training facilities

Experienced, knowledgeable faculty who deliver hands-on individual training and mentoring

Holistic, structured curriculum delivered by experts from industry and academia

Close-knit environment

Variety of options for individually tailored courses

Weakness:

The industry of finishing schools is not very popular yet in India

Our competition is not only other finishing schools, but also other management

commerce etc. schools which also offer pseudo-finishing school courses

Lack of technological growth in this industry

Shortage of specialists in certain fields

Opportunities:

Fresh, relatively untapped market

Vast potential for growth

Ever-growing number of youth in country entering corporate sector

Possibilities to research the market demands and future scope for industrial projects

Collaborations with other colleges for guest lectures or short duration courses

Higher involvement of foreign universities in Indian universities

More room for collaboration with foreign universities

Positive government policies and modest prices encouraging importance of education


Threats:

All graduation and post-graduation schools making finishing school courses compulsory in

their curriculum

Since we are new in the market, our brand is still relatively unknown

Foreign university entering into Indian market can be considered as big threat by local

established management educational institutes and universities


SERVICES TRIANGLE

Before moving to the outcome of the primary research carried out on SPSS, the servicing triangle

forms the core part of services i.e. the SERVICES TRAINGLE.

According to the Service Triangle model,

The three most important edges of the service triangle are:

1. The company: Credence Finishing School is the most important factor of the triangle as

we provide service to the society.

2. Employees: Our employees make it what it is. Without their hardwork, Credence

Finishing School will not reach great heights.

3. Customers: Our students are the ones who give us business and take back home

something that is of great value and will be with them all their lives.

Due to our Internal Marketing we can enable the promises to our employees. They will

help build the brand and garner business for our school. This enables Interactive

Marketing between the employees and customers(students) which helps us to keep our

promises. External Marketing done by us will gain us more customers and that is how

we set promises.

External

Marketing

Setting promises

Internal

Marketing

Company

Employees Customer Interactive Marketing

Enabling promises

Keeping promises


SERVICES QUALITIES

Service qualities make the base of any service. The qualities of the service we provide defines

who we are. If the qualities we provide are up to mark then this would help to increase customer

base.

FIVE DIMENSIONS OF A SERVICE QUALITIES

In the Five Dimension Model of Service Quality:

The biggest factor is the Perceived Quality that our current and prospective students have about

Credence Finishing School due to our branding and marketing.

This Perceived Quality is fivefold and branches out to:

1. Tangible Quality: This is basically the infrastructure and the environment of our school

that is tangible for our students.

2. Reliability Quality: This is achieved when we constantly keep our students in the loop

and our processes are transparent. This helps us gain trust from our students.

3. Responsiveness Quality: Our employees and staff are extremely prompt and efficient.

They don’t keep anything pending and always deal quickly with problems and queries at

hand with utmost ease and efficiency.

Tangible Quality

Reliabilty Quality

Responsiveness Quality

Assurance Quality

Empathy Quality


4. Assurance Quality: We keep providing the best of services to our students and thus they

are reassured every time and every session is a new learning curve for the students and

creates great value addition for them.

5. Empathy Quality: We are very empathetic in our approach towards our students. We

understand they are doing these courses apart from their otherwise busy schedules. We

always accommodate them if in case, due to an genuine reason, they cannot cope up or

attend.


PRIMARY RESEARCH (MUMBAI & NAVI MUMBAI)

Do you feel the need to attend a finishing school?

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid No 33 21.7 21.7 21.7

Yes 97 63.8 63.8 85.5

Already Attended 22 14.5 14.5 100.0

Total 152 100.0 100.0

The above table indicates that majority (63.8%) of the respondents were interested in attending a

finishing school and 15% have already attending a finishing school. 21.7% were not interested in

attending a finishing school. We projected the forecast as per the response of the sample and

factored census data of Maharashtra 2011.

The sample data clearly indicates that the majority of students are undergraduates currently

studying science viz. Engineering, B.Sc, followed closely by Commerce and Management.

Management and Arts students are 3rd and 4th respectively and very few of the samples were

giving their 10th standard.

The modal age of the sample was 22-25 years. 50% of sample was less than 22 years old and

only 2% was 26 years old and above. This is appropriate for our sample survey.


A lower mean, indicates a higher rank and a higher mean indicates a lower rank.

Therefore communication skills has been ranked as the highest, followed by Personal Grooming

& Etiquette.

Course Rating

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Communication Skills 152 1.00 4.00 1.8026 .92098

Personal Grooming &

Etiquettes

152 1.00 4.00 2.4013 .94385

Organisational Behaviour 152 1.00 4.00 2.7039 1.09083

Networking 152 1.00 4.00 3.0987 1.08426

Valid N (listwise) 152

The respondents have voted to have short-term course duration rather than long term. Hence we

have incorporated the same in our plan. The above has provided us a basis to structure our course

and implement our marketing objectives.


Detail of course content

The above table was the basis for designing our course structure, along with the popularity of

subject. We have selected only Communication skills and Personal grooming and etiquettes.

Most of the respondents have opted to do the course on the weekend.

Email &

Message

Writing

Fluent

English-

Speaking

Public

Speaking

Body

Languag

e

Basic and

Advance

English

Grammar

Basic and

Advance

English

Grammar

Hindi-

English

Translation

50.00 67.00 81.00 68.00 35.00 28.00 22.00

Table

Manners

Formal

Dressing

Using

Perfume &

Accessorie

s

Personal

Hygiene

Corporate code

of conduct

Gentleman/

Gentlewom

an

manners

Style and

Image

Manageme

nt

58.00 62.00 24.00 38.00 62.00 45.00 65.00

Convincing

your boss

Working in

a team

Maintainin

g

Profession

alism

Work

Attitude

Personal and

Professional

alignment

Attitude

Manageme

nt

Conflict

Manageme

nt

Time

Managem

ent

Self-

Motivation

40.00 75.00 59.00 54.00 36.00 47.00 46.00 68.00 62.00

Social

Identity

Personal

Brand-

Building

Developing

Lasting

Relationsh

ips

Climbing

the

corporate

ladder

Using Twitter &

Facebook

Using

LinkedIn &

Profession

al websites

Using

Mobile

Application

s

48.00 56.00 51.00 39.00 23.00 55.00 20.00Total Score

Personal

Grooming & Etiquette

Organizational

Behaviour

Social

Networking

Communication

Skills

Total Score

Total Score

Total Score

Communication Skills Personal Grooming

and Etiquettes

Personal Grooming

and Etiquettes Social Networking

Frequency

Valid

Percent Frequency

Valid

Percent Frequency

Valid

Percent Frequency

Valid

Percent

Weekdays 28 30.8 25 27.5 25 27.5 26 28.3

Weekends 63 69.2 66 72.5 66 72.5 66 71.7

Total 91 100.0 91 100.0 91 100.0 92 100.0


The most comfortable batch size was found to be 20-25, followed by 26-30. That’s why we have

selected a batch size of 25.


MARKETING OBJECTIVE

Being new entrant in this industry the primary objective of our marketing strategy is Survival and

profit maximization.

Once we get established in the market and achieve brand reputation then we would like to

maximize our market share by opening new branches of our school and also by developing web

portal to provide our services.

Place refers to the physical existence of the service outlet where the customers will come into the

direct inter course of the service provider and where services will be delivered by the service

provider and received by the customers. Our Finishing school will be situated in the heart of the

city.


MARKETING NEEDS

Out of 22 people who said no, 11 (50% of the people) said that age segment of 19-22 is

appropriate for joining a finishing school

What do you think is the appropriate age

Total

< 18

years

19-22

years

23-26

years

> 30

years

Age 19-21 years Count 4 5 2 0 11

% within Age 36.4% 45.5% 18.2% .0% 100.0%

% within What do

you think is the

appropriate age

80.0% 45.5% 40.0% .0% 50.0%

22-25 years Count 1 6 2 1 10

% within Age 10.0% 60.0% 20.0% 10.0% 100.0%

% within What do

you think is the

appropriate age

20.0% 54.5% 40.0% 100.0% 45.5%

26 and

above

Count 0 0 1 0 1

% within Age .0% .0% 100.0% .0% 100.0%

% within What do

you think is the

appropriate age

.0% .0% 20.0% .0% 4.5%

Total Count 5 11 5 1 22

% within Age 22.7% 50.0% 22.7% 4.5% 100.0%

% within What do

you think is the

appropriate age

100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Out of those 11, 5 (i.e. 45.5%) are in the same age segment. Their ‘No’ can be considered as

attributing to other factors mentioned in Q 20. We must undertake need analysis for these

students, so that they can be convinced to join us.


From a marketing perspective, we can target our market segment, using the above mediums of

communication.


The majority of our sample lives in western suburbs and south Mumbai, also their place of study

is in western and central suburbs. This factor has caused us to place our finishing school at

Dadar, which lies at the intersection of these areas

Average Family Income of the respondents:


The above table has given us insight into the purchasing capacity of our target audience. We

refrained from asking direct questions relating to price, as in our pilot survey, each respondent

selected the least price offered to them. Hence the family income along with secondary data of

fees of other finishing schools have been the basis of pricing strategy.

Income Segment in Rs.

Lakhs

Median of

IncomeFrequency f*x

Below 4 Lakhs 2 7 14

4-8 Lakhs 6 36 216

8-12 Lakhs 10 40 400

Above 12 Lakhs 14 69 966

Total 152 1596

Average Family Income 10.50₹ lakhs


MARKETING SERVICE MIX

1. PRODUCT

The product includes types of courses and structure of the courses.

Type 1) Communication Skills:

Email writing

Fluent English speaking

Body Language

Public Speaking

Type 2) Personal Grooming Skills

Table manners

STYLE & Image management

Corporate code of conduct

Gentleman/woman manners

Formal Dressing

Personal Hygiene

2. PRICE

Pricing is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, as it is the only mix, which

generates a turnover for our finishing school. It costs to produce and design service which we

are going to offer it costs to market and advertise our service and costs to promote it. Pricing

is difficult and must reflect supply and demand relationship. As per our analysis, almost 65%

of the people we interviewed were interested in joining a finishing school. Pricing a product

too high or too low could mean a loss of sales for the organization. By benchmarking few

institutes in Mumbai, we have priced our courses accordingly.

(All values in Rs. Lakhs)

Revenue Calculations Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Revenue for Course A 40 62.5 90

Revenue for Course B 40 62.5 90

Revenue for Course C 0 0 50

Grand Total in Rs. Lakhs 80 125 230

Costs

Costs for Course A 14.6 20.4 24.28

Costs for Course B 14.6 20.4 24.28

Costs for Course C 0 0 14.6

Total Variable Costs in Rs. Lakhs 29.2 40.8 63.16

Total Enrolment in Nos. 400 500 800


Course Fees per student Year of operation

Communication Skills

Rs. 20,000/- plus Service Tax First

Rs. 25,000/- plus Service Tax Second

Rs. 30,000/- plus Service Tax Third

Personal Grooming &

Etiquettes

Rs. 20,000/- plus Service Tax First

Rs. 25,000/- plus Service Tax Second

Rs. 30,000/- plus Service Tax Third

Organizational Behaviour Rs. 25,000/- plus Service Tax Third (Refer the Excel sheet for detail analysis)

We have taken into account the following factors:

i. Penetration Pricing: Here our finishing school has set a low price to increase sales and

market share. Once market share has been captured our finishing school may well then

increase the price.

ii. Competition Pricing: Setting a price in comparison with competitors. Our finishing

school had three options and these were to price lower, price the same or price higher.

We selected to be on par.

iii. Optional Pricing: We will sell optional extras along with the service to maximise our

turnover.

iv. Cost based Pricing: We took into account the cost of service we will provide, and then we

decided on a markup which we would like for profit to come to the final pricing decision.

v. Bundle pricing: We will take this into account if customers want, more than one courses.

3. PLACE

This includes the channels of distribution for imparting education.

Classrooms

Webinars

Pre-cursory training courses

At first the sessions will be done exclusively in our classrooms. After the Brand recognition is

achieved a series of webinar courses will be launched. The next phase will also include short term

courses for corporates and special government sectors as required by HNI and High Profile

consumers. The place would be located at Dadar East near Kohinoor Hall, as 62% of the

respondents want the school near the Railway station.


4. PROMOTION

Traditional Media:

TV:

Educational Channels & Youth Information oriented channels

Newspaper:

Advertisements in Education Times, Hindustan Times, Times Ascent, magazines like 2015 Guide

to Top B Schools

Radio:

Bytes during peak hours on shows playing trendy current hits.

Digital Marketing:

Social media, website, google ads, direct mailers

Below the line (BTL):

Pamphlet distribution, mall demonstration

Events & Exhibitions:

Participating in job fairs, education expos, college festival,

sponsorships

5. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The physical evidence of service includes all of the tangible representations of the service such as

brochures, signage, letter heads, business cards, report formats & equipment.

Personal Grooming Course:

This course relies on a setting of a formal dinner room to simulate most of its training.

Thus the room will include tables and chairs of top quality, table covers, napkins, the entire

repertoire of cutlery required for a formal dinner setting.

Communication course:

This room will include top of the line a/v equipment, microphones, projectors and an auditorium

with state of the sound absorbing material. Voice Modulation meters will be present to signify

pitch and tone differences of students.


Posters:

The walls will be draped with posters showcasing various trivia w.r.t to courses.

It will also include our vision, mission and core values.

Library Room:

This room will have desktops along with headphones for a/v discourses of certain

complimentary training.

It will also hold the best books on the course curriculum for interested students to read-up on

during their free time.

Logo:

The blue color logo, accentuates uniqueness, reliability and responsibility of our employees. The

color exhibits an inner security and confidence promoting both physical and mental relaxation of

our customers.

6. PROCESS

While carrying out the process, every step in the process should reflect the

priority towards the customer.

PROCESS FLOWCHART:


SERVICES BLUEPRINT:

7. PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY

This includes the reduction of costs to improve bottom line by streamling processes.

All batches serviced punctually.

No unnecessary shifting of class timings or venue.

Pro-active planning of foreseeable problems in delivery and timely adjustment.

Decreasing variable costs by avoiding planning of ad-hoc events which will put pressure on all

service personnel.

8. PEOPLE

All of the human actors participating in the delivery of a service provide cues to the customer

regarding the nature of the service itself. Our administrative staff and maintenance staff will be

dressed in smart uniforms to indicate professionalism in the training school. In services like

counselling and teaching, which is a relationship based service, the provider is the service. The

personal appearance, attitudes and behaviors all influence the customer’s perception of the service.


Our staff including teachers both external and internal, administrative staff and management will

be appropriately groomed, approachable, professional, empathetic and flamboyant.

BRANDING

We wish to launch ourselves as a premium brand. We want to be the first choice for our customers

when it comes to personal training. The blue color logo, accentuates uniqueness, reliability and

responsibility of our employees. The color exhibits an inner security and confidence promoting

both physical and mental relaxation of our customers.

Credence means credibility, confidence, assurance, believability, dependence, and trust. This is

what we want to convey to our customers.

BRANDING STRATEGIES

We want to have long term relationships with our customers. Relationship strategy will help us

enhance our success and build brand loyalty. Our branding efforts will lead to lifetime revenue

and profitability contributions for the company. A customer may refer another customer to

Credence; a customer may purchase related products after the course like DVDs, books,

counselling, an extended course for themselves. Even one customer referral per year can increase

the lifetime value of the first customer to thousands of rupees in the space of just a few years. We

will regularly communicate with alumni in person or over phone. We want to retain our

customers through our brand strategies. A well maintained database is critical. Knowing who our

current customers are (names, addresses, phone numbers, etc), the revenue they generate, related

costs to serve them, their preferences, and relevant segmentation information (demographics,

lifestyle) will form the foundation for our database. By having such detailed database we can

tailor make courses in the future and extend our target audience. Relationship surveys from

current students will determine their perceptions of value, quality, and satisfaction with services.

We want to build to build relationships and tie customers closer to the firm. We want to bind

customers through financial incentives. A students’ referral will entitle him to gifts in kind and

cash.

We will promote the brand heavily from the first year of operations by sponsorships in college

festivals, mall activities, print advertisements, participation in job fairs, and distribution of

pamphlets. By doing so we will ensure brand awareness.


Branding Values and attitudes:

Value for money: We ensure that customer gets full value for his money

Quality: We offer the highest quality product and meticulous service and guarantee premium

service to our customers.

Professionalism: We are professional in our conduct. Our employees perform their tasks with

genuine earnest and honesty with sincerity, and maintaining professional etiquette and ethics in

the workplace. We wish to imbibe the same attitude for our students.

Fun: Fun is an essential ingredient of the brand Credence. Fun is necessary to do away with

negative feelings of dullness and dreariness. We ensure that each member of the Credence

family, whether an employee or a customer, has maximum fun.

Innovation: We innovate and do not imitate. We want to be recognized as leaders in our line


CUSTOMER TOUCH POINTS

TOUCH POINTS


CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

a) Communication Skills:

Most respondents accept that communication is an extremely important factor. Due to this fact,

communication is an important skill for leaders and top-level management. The effective leaders

or managers who are good at communication can set clearly mutual expectations, objective and

goals. Organizations use variety of channels to communicate, including, e-mail, face-to-face and

meetings, memos/notes/faxes and the telephone.

We believe that developing understanding between management team and employee, regular

communication between management and staff, create information clear and trustworthy,

maintaining clear to communication and sharp communication in organization all is support

effective communication in gaining employment and Personal development.

b) Providing the world class teaching staff and maintaining their key skills which will indeed lead

to have a good quality of outcome for the learners.

c) Having a pleasant and elegant interior design, with all the best equipments which are required

for exhibiting various tasks during the grooming and etiquettes sessions.

d) As we are relatively new in the market, we have to market ourselves aggressively to compete

in the market.

e) Highly trained, friendly and professional administrative staff

f) Certificate program


COMPETITION ANALYSIS

Competition is a fundamental reality of Business. In business, a company in the same industry or

a similar industry which offers a similar product or service is considered as a competitor. The

presence of more competitors can reduce the prices of goods and services as the companies

attempt to gain a larger market share and thus losing out on margins.

Competition and Buying Patterns

Finishing schools are a growing industry and becoming a competitive field. These courses are

designed to build self-confidence and provide exercise to varying degrees. Various skills such as

Communication Skills, Personal Grooming and Etiquettes, Organization Behavior and Social

networking all offer different skills to be incorporated in the personal development of the

student. With this in mind, our services act as differentiators from regular schools. Credence

promotes itself as an application based program that provides you a practical way of better career

prospective, in various fields mentioned above.

Main Competitors

There are 3 types of competitors:

Direct Competitors – These are businesses that offer similar services and who are also targeting

a similar target market.

Finishing School that offer a practical system of self-confidence.

There are few such schools in the city of Mumbai and hence we have to be unique in delivering

our values, we should concentrate on our Unique Selling Prepositions. We have to achieve trust

with the customers and to form our image in the minds of the customers by providing an

advantage in terms of uniqueness of services offered. However our objective is to compete with

the best Finishing School in Mumbai and further expansion in India.

Indirect Competitors – They are alternative available to the consumers, other than the direct

competitors, that provides the same fundamental solutions to the consumers’ need.

1. Online tutorials either paid or free, that teaches Fluent English-Speaking, Basic and advance

English grammar, etc.

2. Promotional Videos that claim to teach you the Table Manners, Formal Dressing, etc.


Potential Competitors – Potential competitors are services that may appear at some point in the

future, either as direct or indirect competitors. These potential competitors are not meant to be

taken lightly.

1. High schools, if they makes the courses compulsory in their curriculum.

2. New entrant: In the same market some internationally collaborated finishing schools entering

into the market, providing along with the international certificates and guest lecture.

Competitive Comparison

Finishing School offers our young group of people practical and simple soft skill techniques. It

does not matter whether you have any previous experience or not, come join us and be confident

and develop your skills with the help of our experienced staff and unique techniques.


PORTER’S 5 FORCE MODEL FOR CREDENCE

How will competitive forces affect our future student?

Our biggest threats are our rivals which could be in the form of:

a) Strong Competition by other finishing schools

b) High Fixed Costs

c) Limited Pricing Capacity

d) Branding by the people attending Credence Finishing School

e) Geographical Location of Credence Finishing School

Rivals

Strong Competition,High Fixed Costs,Limited

pricing capacity,Brand,

Geographical Location

Threat: High

New Entrants

New campuses offering

different/many more courses

Threat: Moderate

Buyers

Students

Parents

Alumini

Content Licensers

Corporations who will hire these

graduates

Threat: High

Substitutes

Lower Cost alternatives

Emerging or existing certificate programs

Threat: High

Suppliers

Faculty Staff

Administrative Staff

Book Publishers

Technology Services

Service Providers

Banks

Threat: Weak


Then there are our buyers who also pose high threat to us, like:

a) Students

b) Alumina

c) Parents

d) Content Licensors

e) Corporation show hire these graduates with soft skill qualifications

High Threat is also substitutes like:

a) Lower Cost alternatives that people can choose instead of our finishing school

b) Other Emerging or existing certified programs / courses.

We have moderate level of threat from New Entrants who can provide same or better service at

better prices

We have very little threat from our Suppliers like:

a) Faculty Staff

b) Administrative Staff

c) Book Publishers

d) Technology Services

e) Service Providers

f) Banks


QUESTIONNAIRE

Greetings of the day

We are the students of IGTC, Mumbai and we are conducting a survey for our service marketing

project about launching a Finishing school. A finishing school is a private school emphasizing

training in cultural and social activities. It consists of courses designed to impart soft skills with

focus on social etiquettes (national/international), communication skills, career development, etc.

We would like to ask you few questions regarding the same and would appreciate your 20 - 25

minutes of time.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Q1. Are you a student?

1. Yes

2. No

(If answer is “NO”, thank the person and end the questionnaire)

PART I

Q2. What are you currently studying

1. SSC (10thStd)

2. HSC (12thStd)

3. Science and Technology

4. Commerce

5. Arts

6. Management

Q3. Age:

1. 16- 18 years


2. 19-21 years

3. 22-25 years

4. 26 and above

Q4. Rank the following skillsets you think are the most important for self-development on a scale of

1 to 4 (1 being highest and 4 being the lowest).

1. Communication Skills

2. Personal Grooming & Etiquettes

3. Organizational Behaviour

4. Social Networking

Q5. Do you feel the need to attend a finishing school?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Already attended

(If answer is “YES”, then go to Q6 to Q15 and if answer is “NO”, then go to Q16

to Q20 and if answer is “ALREADY ATTENDED”, then go to Q21)

PART II – YES SECTION

Q6. Please rate the following: 1- Least Important & 5- Most Important.

Do you feel joining a Finishing School will help you to-

Reason 1 2 3 4 5


Gain employment

Personal development

Competitive edge over peers

Learning about new culture

Travel and living

Q7. What do you expect to learn in Communication skills? Select any that are applicable.

1 Email & Message Writing

2 Fluent English-Speaking

3 Public Speaking

4 Body Language

5 Basic and Advance English Grammar

6 Speaking on the Telephone

7 Hindi-English Translation

Q8. What do you expect to learn in Personal Grooming & Etiquettes? Select any that are applicable.

1

Table Manners

2 Formal Dressing

3 Using Perfume & Accessories

4 Personal Hygiene

5 Corporate code of conduct

6 Gentleman/Gentlewoman manners


7 Style and Image Management

Q9. What do you expect to learn in Organizational Behaviour? Select any that are applicable.

1

Convincing your boss

2 Working in a team

3 Maintaining Professionalism

4 Work Attitude

5 Personal and Professional alignment

6 Attitude Management

7 Conflict Management

8 Time Management

9 Self-Motivation

Q10. What do you expect to learn in Social Networking? Select any that are applicable.

1

Social Identity

2 Personal Brand-Building

3 Developing Lasting Relationships

4 Climbing the corporate ladder

5 Using Twitter & Facebook

6 Using LinkedIn & Professional websites

7 Using Mobile Applications

Q11. Please select your preference for the course duration. Any one

Intensive (upto 2 months)

Regular (3 to 4 months)


Extensive (5 to 6 months)

Q12. Please select when you would prefer to do each of the courses

Courses Preference

Communication Skills Weekdays Weekends

Personal Grooming and

Etiquettes Weekdays Weekends

Organizational Behaviour Weekdays Weekends

Social Networking Weekdays Weekends

Q13. If weekday, then which time slot would you prefer?

1 1pm-3pm

2 3pm-5pm

3 5pm-7pm

4 7pm-9pm

Q14. If weekend, then which time slot would you prefer?

1 9am-12 noon

2 12pm-3pm

3 3pm-6pm

4 6pm-9pm

Q15. Where would you like a finishing school? Select any one. Either weekday or weekend.


Location Weekday Weekend

1 Closer to railway station

2 Closer to bus stops

3 Closer to your place of stay

4 Closer to your college

PART III - NO SECTION

Q16. Do you think completing your bachelor degree is essential before enrolling in personality

development course?

1. Yes

2. No

Q17. Have you heard about a finishing school?

1. Yes

2. No

(If “Yes” continues, otherwise skip to common questions part 5)

Q18. What are your reasons for not joining a finishing school? Select any that are applicable.

1 Current age is inappropriate

2 Never considered it necessary

3 Financial constraints

4 Could not find the time

5 Others (___________________)


Q19. What do you think is the appropriate age for joining a finishing school? Select one.

1 < 18 years

2 19-22 years

3 23-26 years

4 27-30 years

5 > 30 years

Q20. Where do you remember reading/ hearing it the most?

1. Print

2. Broadcast

3. Internet

4. Posters

PART IV – ALREADY ATTENDED SECTION

Q21. What was the reason of joining a finishing school? Select any those are applicable.

1. Gain employment

2. Personal Development

3. Competitive edge over peers

4. Learning new culture

5. Travel and living


6. Others (___________________)

Q22. After the finishing school do you find a difference in yourself?

1. Yes

2. No

Q23. If NO, what could have been better? Select any those are applicable.

1. Course Content

2. Instructors

3. Study Material

4. Practical Approach

5. Timing and Scheduling

PART V – Questions Common to all

Q24. Please rank the elements you looked for in a Finishing School on basis of its importance to

you. (1 being most important while 9 being least important)

1 Finishing School should be located in the vicinity

2 Reasonably Priced

3 Flexible Timings

4 Instructor should have international credibility

5 The course should be certified

6 Batches categorized by age, gender

7 Detailed in-depth course teaching

8 Coaching and Counselling along with basic learning

9 Special counselling sessions when required


Q25. Do you feel the need of having an air-conditioned classroom?

1. Yes

2. No

Q26. Do you feel the need of having Wi-Fi enabled classroom?

1. Yes

2. No

Q27. Which batch size you think would be appropriate?

1. Below 10

2. 10 to 15

3. 16 to 20

4. 21 to 25

5. 26 to 30

Q28. Rank the following media on order of your preference which you prefer the most. (1- Most

important and 4- Least Important)

1. Print

2. Broadcast

3. Internet

4. Posters

Q29. Which social media you use the most? Rank them in order of usage (1 being highest and 4

being lowest)


1. Facebook

2. Twitter

3. YouTube

4. Pinterest

Personal Information

Q30. Name: _____________________________________

Q31. Gender:

1. Male

2. Female

Q32. Place of Stay:

1. South Mumbai

2. Western Suburbs

3. Central Mumbai

4. Thane

5. Navi Mumbai

Q33. Place of Study:

1. South Mumbai

2. Western Suburbs

3. Central Mumbai

4. Thane

5. Navi Mumbai


Q34. Family Income per annum:

1. Below 4 Lakhs

2. 4-8 Lakhs

3. 8-12 Lakhs

4. Above 12 Lakhs

(QUESTIONNAIRE ENDS HERE)

Thank you

finishing school

Documents