O2O Marketing Strategies For ELT Institutions In Tier-One Cities In China

As globalization proceeds,the world needs a tool in order establish communication between different countries.As the English language is widely popular in international communication,lots of countries spend efforts on improving the English language proficiency among their nationals.China,as the world's second largest economy is in need of skilled workers with high level of English language.The ELT industry in China is considered the biggest in the world.The ELT market is especially fierce in first-tier cities in China,where the competition between the students and the workforce is the highest and English language proficiency is particularly important.Therefore,the small and medium-sized ELT institutions struggle to get a share of the market.The objective of this thesis is to analyze the situation and the development of the small and medium-sized online and offline English training institutions directed at K12 students in first-tier cities,and improve the companies' development by adjustments in their strategies.This research is based on two relatively small ELT institutions located in Beijing,24k Talk online English training school and Maker Education English training school.Both schools are analyzed internally and externally using 4Ps,PEST and Porter's Five Forces marketing theories.The research was built on primary and secondary data.The primary data concluded of qualitative interviews collected from 24k Talk and Maker Education CEO's and their subordinates.The secondary data included previous academic work on the subject matter as well as journals and business-related magazines.It was found that the private ELT companies will be forced to enhance their services further as the market in China matures.Moreover,the ELT companies at the initial stage of development should prioritize improving their brand awareness to be able to influence the market at a rapid pace.The larger institutions however should focus on providing exceptional teachers,innovation of the service and standardization of the company management.The 24k Talk and Maker Education companies should put attention to developing marketing strategies based on online marketing as well as apply a number of strategies that would optimize the operations of the school.This research consists of five main chapters being:introduction,literature review,research scope and methodology,analysis,and conclusion,followed by bibliography and related appendices.