Towards more customer-centric marketing of training courses

Abstract

The thesis explores ways to make an organization’s marketing more attractive and customer-focused. The thesis focuses on ways to align marketing, especially the content of marketing messages, with the views and interests of customers. For this purpose, the thesis uses a specific course as a case study and examines how well customers' perceptions are aligned with the marketing messages used to market the course.

The study approaches the topic as a case study. The topic is first examined through an analysis of existing customer feedback and then through semi-structured interviews conducted with course participants. After that a content analysis of the marketing materials related to the course are analyzed. Finally, comparison between the results of the analyses is done to assess how well the marketing content matches the actual perceptions of the customers.

The main results of the customer feedback analysis and interviews show that customers value especially the practical applicability of the course, the comprehensive content and the expertise of the trainers as well as the opportunity to gain and share insights with other participants. However, there is room for improvement. Dissatisfaction with the linguistic inconsistencies and limitations of the materials in relation to the distance delivery of the course were identified. Increasing interactivity, modernizing the training materials and tailoring the content to different professional roles, among other things, would improve the course and customer experience.

The analysis of the marketing materials shows that the content related to customer experience and promotion is moderately aligned. Marketing materials emphasize technical aspects such as the course structure and the specific skills to be taught on the course, but little emphasis is placed on delivery methods, instructor expertise and interactive qualities, for example. The study highlights the importance of customer-centered marketing, balancing the technical and functional dimensions. The paper concludes with suggestions for improvement, such as the creation of enriched message content, the use of visual tools to convey value and the updating of course content.

The thesis concludes with concrete recommendations to make marketing more attractive and distinctive. Among other things, recommendations include making content more consistent with the visual identity and improving the process of collecting and analyzing of feedback. Further research is suggested to find ways to develop the customer feedback process and refine internal marketing practices to ensure that the quality of service matches external promises.