Question Hi Kevin,
My background is in Visual Communication and I am working as a Visual Art Coordinator in a Fine Art and Design College in the Emirates (Dubai). For the past two years I was creating catalogs and posters for the college but now the dean wants me to be in charge of studying our target audience (potential students and their parents) to develop a whole strategic plan to know how to market the College ..
I have no idea what to do and how to start! he mentioned surveys and finding the right venues to hit .. He wants a developed proposal on what are the best ways and means to market this place and why? and when should we start..
I have never done this before.. but I do want to learn and read about it.. to be able to meet his expectation.
can you help me please?
Answer Sarah-
This is very straightforward market research. The starting place is deciding who is your target market - age, geography, other qualifications.
Next is the decision as to method - how to best contact those targets so that they can be interviewed. I'm not familiar with what data collection options you have in the Emirates - telephone surveys, online surveys, mail surveys?
Selection of method will determine some other steps. For example, here in US if I'm doing a telephone survey, I will buy telephone number lists from companies who supply them.
I'll stop there, and let you ask any questions prompted by the above.
By the way, my daughter attends Art Center College of Design here in Pasadena, California - photography.
