European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching
ISSN: 2537 - 1754
ISSN-L: 2537 - 1754
Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu
Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
doi: 10.5281/zenodo.293733
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND IRANIAN EFL
LEARNERS’CHOICE OF LANGUGAE INSTITUTIONS
Farzane Safarzade Samani1i,
Seyyed Morteza Hashemi1,
Vahide Shahbazi2,
Hamed Sarhadi1
1
M.A in TEFL, Chabahar Maritime University, Iran
2
M.A in Management, Zahedan University, Iran
Abstract:
The demand for learning English in Iran as an EFL context is high. So, running a
language institute slowly is changing into a highly profitable and competitive market in
recent years. In order to survive and to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage,
higher institutions principals can employ marketing mix element
Ps in order to
satisfy customer needs and influence demand for the services. Current study sought
two purposes: applying of Ps to learners choice model of language institutions and
investigating the relationship between marketing mix and students decision making
for selecting language institutions. The data was collected quantitatively by a
questionnaire drafted in Persian. Subjects were a total of 120 males and females English
learners aged from 18 to 35. They were chosen randomly from two language
institutions located in Shahrekord and Chabahar, Iran. The findings of the study
revealed people element as the first important element (mean=17.8) followed by
program (mean=17.3) and the least important element was price element (mean=8.9).
Regarding the relationship of 7Ps and learners choice of language institution,
significance level of 0.596 (p > 0.05) showed that there are no significant correlations 7Ps
and Iranian EFL Learners Choice of Language Institution.
Keywords: marketing mix elements, programme, language institutions, Likert scale,
survey study
Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved.
© 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group
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INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
1. Introduction
Although there was a disconnection between Iran and some English-speaking
countries, the teaching and learning of English in Iran is prospering. Demand for
English is high, that is, widespread use of English in Iran as an EFL setting country
causes not only university and high school students but also secondary and elementary
students try to learn and make progress in English or even in other languages. In
addition, finding language certificate as one of the conditions of employment, job
applicants attempt to get their certificate and employees, on the other hand also seek to
improve their English to get a job promotion.
Looking beyond the internal benefits of English, it is a bridge to other countries
and communities, providing opportunities for individuals in education, work over the
boundaries of the country. Hence, running a language institute may slowly be changing
into a highly profitable and competitive market. Many people have some experience in
English teaching at various levels, however, not everyone has the skills to open,
organize and run an institution successfully. In order to survive and to achieve a
sustainable competitive advantage, educational institutions need to maintain or
develop a distinct image to create competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive
market (Hoyt & Brown, 2003).
Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating
and satisfying customer requirements profitably. Applying a simple marketing
framework is vital. It enables managers to plan their activities in advance, find out what
works, then use them again when and where they are most effective (Kotler &
Armstrong, 2008). Institution management needs to market their institution and
establish a unique difference which highlights their strength and givens the learners a
reason to choose that institution.
Since higher education institutions operate in a service environment, they need
to understand the unique aspects of service marketing in order to accomplish their
goals (Kusumawat et al. 2010). Current study sought two purposes: first, it focused on
applying marketing mix elements (7Ps) as one of the core concepts of marketing theory
‚l Muala & ‚l Qurneh,
to learners choice model of language institutions.
Second, it examined the relationship between marketing mix and students choice of
language institutions. Marketing mix is blend of tools that educational institutions can
employ in order to satisfy customer needs and thereby influence demand for the
services that its offers (Palmer, 2001).
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
2. Literature review
Models of student enrolment behavior theory started to emerge in early 1980s.
According to Hossler et al. (1999), most studies that have tried to understand the
universities and institute choice process could be included in one of the following
categories: economic models, status-attainment models and combined models.
Kusumawati et al. (2010) found that reference groups such as siblings, friends, peers,
relatives, teachers and other influential people influence a student s choice of an
institution. But the positive influences of personal factor on the student choice of an
institution should not be avoided (Kusumawat et al. 2010). There are five steps in
students choice of selecting a university or institution: there are needs and motives,
information gathering, evaluating alternatives, decision making and post choice
evaluation (Soedijati & Pratminingsih, 2011). Marketing mix element that its importance
is lauded by Rafiq and Ahmed (1995) is considered as one of the core concepts by which
students choice model can be defined ‚l Muala & ‚l Qurneh,
.Traditionally,
McCarthy (1960) proposed the services marketing mix, which included 4Ps: Product,
Price, Place and Promotion. As marketing became a more sophisticated discipline, a
fifth P was added People. More recently, two further P s were added, Process and
Physical evidence. Originally formulated for the service industry, they are just as
important in other sectors. As a service, higher education marketing is sufficiently
different from the marketing of products and it needs different marketing mix. Kotler
and Fox
suggested seven elements within an educational institution s marketing:
program, place, promotion, price, process, physical facilities and people that can be
explained as follow:
A. Program is all the courses and services that the institution makes available. Kotler
and fox (1995) claim that program is the most basic decision an educational institution
makes as it establishes the institution s identity and positions the institution vis-à-vis
other educational institutions in the minds of learners and determines how learners will
respond (Kotler & fox, 1995). In higher education, there are three main activities as
service offered: teaching, research and community service. Higher education should
evaluate its academic program and service product mix periodically, and particularly
when considering modifications (Soedijati & Pratminingsih, 2011).
B. Price is the key factor in the private sector of education where students pay tuition
fees that may vary not only amongst the program offered but also between competing
institutions (Ivy & Al-Fattal, 2010). The price needs to be competitive. But as it needs to
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
make a profit, this doesn t mean institution has to be the cheapest in the market.
According to Kotler and Fox (1995) price for students, consists of a monetary cost as
well as other cost, for example effort cost, psychological cost and time cost. However, it
is contended that price is the most important factor from parents point of view rather
than a student s perception.
C. The place: where customers pay for a service must be appropriate and convenient .
Regarding language institutes, the place element of marketing mix refers to the system
of program delivery; that is, the making of education available and accessible in terms
of time and physical- geographical distribution of the teaching and learning. The simple
example of this component is providing student with choices such as full-time, parttime and distance learning tuition (Ivy & Al-Fattal, 2010). In terms of closeness, Paulsen
(1990), Raposo and Alves (2007), and Dawes and Brown (2005) pointed out that
proximity to home is one of the strong influences in the choice process of selecting a
university (as cited in Kusumawati et al. 2010).
D. Promotion is the way a company (here an institute) communicates what it does and
what it can offer customers (here learners). It includes branding, advertising, PR,
corporate identity, social media outreach, sales management, special offers and
exhibitions. Promotion must gain attention, be appealing, send a consistent message
and above all give the learner a reason to choose the institute rather than another one
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Marketing communication mix (Promotion mix) consists of
the specific blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and
direct marketing tools that the company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing
objective (Kotler et al, 2007). On the other side, sometimes promotion can ruin the
institutional image to the public. That is when institutions promote unreal claims about
themselves.
Everyone who comes into contact with the learners will make an impression.
Many learners (customers) cannot separate the product or service from the staff
member who provides it, so the staff will have a profound effect, both positive and
negative, on customer satisfaction (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The importance of the
people ensue from the fact that the stuff of an institution to a great degree determine the
institution performance capacity and consequently builds the institutional cultural
capital, the ability to attract applications through reputation. Another people element
which can be added here is the other students in the institution. The importance of this
factor is clear in the fact that presence of the students of (dis)similar ethnic and socio-
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
economic backgrounds in the institution may affect the choice of prospective students
(Kotler & fox, 1995).
Many customers no longer simply buy a product or service .They invest in an
entire experience that starts from the moment they find the institution and last through
to service and beyond. That means the process of delivering the product or service, and
the behavior of those who deliver it, are crucial to customer satisfaction. By process
Kotler and Fox (1995) mean the management of the procedures within the institution;
these would include enrolment, recording of marks, examining and assessment, and of
teaching and learning.
Choosing an unfamiliar institution is risky for the consumer, because learners
don t know how good it will be until they try it. This uncertainty can be reduced by
helping learners see where they are enrolling. It is where the institution physically
located and what the institution looks like, for example the building appearance, décor,
and furnishings, the teaching and learning equipment provided, and other student/
staff facilities (Ivy & Al-Fattal, 2010).
2.1 Related studies
So far there has been conducted various studies regarding 7Ps marketing mix. These
studies; however are not very similar as they were conducted in different setting and
institution types, they have some principals in common. One of the studies conducted
by Ivy and Al-Fattal (2010) which investigated marketing activities of private English as
a Foreign Language Colleges in Damascus, Syria. A quantitative survey of students in
four different EFL colleges in Damascus were interviewed, the results of which are
reported. The results of the study revealed that much greater importance to students
enrolled at private EFL institute is the marketing mix elements of programme and
place. The aspects of physical facilities and pricing issues were also more highly rated
than the people and promotions element of the marketing mix.
In the other study conducted by Soedijati and Pratminingsih (2011) which
investigated the impact of P on students choice of university in Indonesia, the authors
employed the survey method with quantitative approach. The sample of the survey
was taken randomly consists of 300 students majoring in accounting and business
management, bachelor s degree programs at Widyatama University.The research
findings indicate that marketing mix has significant and positive relationship with
students decision making for selecting a university.
Chaidaecha and Roongrattanakool (2014) conducted a study on the factors
affecting decisions of undergraduate students on taking extra English courses in tutorial
schools in Muang District. The researcher adapted the factors based on the 8 Ps of
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
services marketing by Lovelock and Wirtz (2007) and collected data from 385
undergraduate students who were taking extra English classes in tutorial schools
during the second semester of the academic year 2014. The result showed that the mean
of people was the highest factor, followed by product elements, promotion,
productivity and quality, place, process, physical environment and price, respectively.
This study also showed that the mean of People was the highest factor for first
and second year level of undergraduate students while the mean of Product was the
highest factor for third and fourth year or higher level of undergraduate students. The
lowest factor for all year levels of undergraduate students was the mean of price.
3. Methodology
3.1 Design and method
Regarding the nature, this research is a quantitative and applied one and it is a
descriptive-survey in terms of research type. As in a descriptive study the data was
based on primary and original data for example a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a
way of collecting information by engaging in a special kind of conversation. Having
agreed to participate in the study, the respondent has the responsibility to answer
questions truthfully (Olsen & George, 2004). This kind of study is survey study which
typically focuses on a group s attitudes, opinions and characteristics ‛rown,
. The
current study also was cross-sectional, that is, the information about X and Y that is
gathered represents what is going on at only one point in time (Olsen & George, 2004).
The researcher collected and analyzed data quantitatively and interviewed some
participant to know the reasons of their answer clearly.
3.2 Participants
To fulfill the objectives of this study, total 120 learners (N= 120), among them 50
learners were male and 70 learners were female were selected. They were chosen
randomly from two language institutions located in different parts of Iran e.g.,
Shahrekord and Chabahar. The age of students ranged from 18 to 35. Adult learners
were specifically selected due to the fact that children were less likely to have chosen
the institution for themselves; parents often were responsible for this decision. All the
learners were native speakers of Persian majoring at different subjects.
3.3 Procedures
As mentioned before present study is a quantitative, descriptive-survey and applied
one. To collect information on research background and theoretical framework, library
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INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
method and to collect needed information on learners opinions, a questionnaire was
used. After filling out the questionnaire, some of the learners were interviewed by the
researcher in order to realize the reason of their selection. The questionnaire (which had
been drafted in Persian) was developed to investigate the choice model of language
institutions learners by means of Ps. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed
by experts and its reliability was also measured by using Cronbach alpha. Total 29
marketing tool measured under the head of 7Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion,
People, Process and Physical Evidence) and a question about the purposes of learning
English are included in the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to
two institutions located in two cities of Iran, Shahrekord and Chabahar. The
questionnaire was distributed by the English teacher to adult EFL learners. In total 120
completed questionnaires were returned from two institutions surveyed. The data then
was prepared for analysis.
3.4 Data analysis
Data collection tool is questionnaire, which contains the spectrum of 5 items Likert. The
response scale for each statement included: a) 1= strongly disagree, b) 2= disagree, c) 3=
neither agree nor disagree, d) 4= agree, e) 5= strongly agree The reliability of 5-point
Likert scales was assessed using the Cronbach alpha test to determine the extent to
which they produce consistent results, the overall score of 0.80 indicated satisfactory
reliability. In this study, the Table 1 shows internal reliability of the questionnaire which
was tested by using Cronbach s alpha.
Table 1: Internal reliability of the questionnaire
Cronbach’s alpha
N of items
.96
29
4. Results and Discussion
The study will reveal the underlying framework that learners used in the choice of EFL
institutes at which they are now enrolled. The mean score and standard deviations (SD)
of 29 marketing tools was measured. Each of the items was gain rated by respondents
using a 5- point Likert scale, where
strongly agree . Table
was strongly disagree through to
which was
shows importance ratings of marketing mix elements in
choosing language institutions.
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
Table 2: Overall importance ratings of marketing mix elements
N
Range
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
Program
120
21.00
6.00
27.00
17.3583
4.05383
Place
120
16.00
4.00
20.00
11.5917
2.68671
Promotion
120
18.00
5.00
23.00
14.1917
3.24179
Price
120
12.00
3.00
15.00
8.9000
2.84443
Process
120
16.00
4.00
20.00
11.8083
3.41104
Physical Facilities
120
12.00
3.00
15.00
9.3083
2.86326
People
120
22.00
6.00
28.00
17.8917
3.87146
As it is obvious in the table among the total of 120 learners, both male and female,
(N=120), the people element of marketing mix with the mean score of 17.89 and SD of
3.87 was overall the most important element of marketing mix. After that program and
promotion with the mean score of 17.35 (SD=4.05) and 14.19 (SD=3.2) respectively were
the second and third important elements of marketing mix. The next places of the table
were allocated to process (Mean=11.80), place (Mean=11.59) and physical facilities
(Mean=9.3). The least important element was price with the mean score of 8.90 and SD of
2.8.
Table 3: Males importance ratings of marketing mix elements
N
Range
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
Program
50
21.00
6.00
27.00
18.7000
4.43203
Place
50
12.00
4.00
16.00
11.3400
2.69247
Promotion
50
16.00
5.00
21.00
13.8800
3.36634
Price
50
12.00
3.00
15.00
9.2000
3.18799
Process
50
16.00
4.00
20.00
12.7400
3.58460
Physical Evidence
50
12.00
3.00
15.00
9.5600
2.96345
People
50
22.00
6.00
28.00
18.3200
4.18666
Table
shows males importance ratings of marketing mix. Investigating the priority of
marketing mix among male learners of institutions, revealed that program element with
the mean score of 18.70 and SD of 4.43 was the most important element in institutions
selection. People element (Mean=18.32, SD=4.1) followed by promotion element
(Mean=13.88, SD=3.3) were in second and third rank of the table. Then process by the
mean score of 12.7 and SD of 3.5 and place by the mean score of 11.34 and SD of 2.6
were found to be the fourth and fifth. While physical facilities element (Mean= 9.56,
SD=) and price element (Mean=9.20, SD=3.1) were found to be the least important
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
elements. On the other hand, table.
shows the females importance ratings of
marketing mix elements. People and program, respectively with the mean score of 17.58
and SD of3.6 and 16.40 and SD of 3.4 were the most important marketing mix elements
for females. Followed by Promotion (Mean=14.41, SD=3.1) and place (Mean=11.77,
SD=2.6) which appeared to be the third and fourth important elements. After that
process (Mean=11.14, SD=3.1) and physical facilities (Mean=9.12, SD=2.7) ranked at the
next places. Price by the mean score of 8.68 and SD of 2.5 were at the bottom of the
table.
Table 4: Females importance ratings of marketing mix elements
N
Range
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
Program
70
15.00
9.00
24.00
16.4000
3.48662
Place
70
15.00
5.00
20.00
11.7714
2.68744
Promotion
70
16.00
7.00
23.00
14.4143
3.15536
Price
70
12.00
3.00
15.00
8.6857
2.57380
Process
70
14.00
6.00
20.00
11.1429
3.14060
Physical Facilities
70
11.00
4.00
15.00
9.1286
2.79711
People
70
16.00
9.00
25.00
17.5857
3.62956
Regarding to investigating the relationship between
Ps and learners choice of
language institution, linear regression was run (table 5). The significance level which
was expressed on the value 0.596 (p > 0.05) means that there was not any significant
relationship between marketing mix and students decision making.
Table 5: The relationship between Ps and learners choice of language institution
Model
Sum of Squares
df
Mean Square
F
Sig.
1 Regression
17.257
7
2.465
.792
.596a
Residual
348.709
112
3.113
Total
365.967
119
a. Predictors: (Constant), people, promotion, place, price, process, physical, program
4.1 Discussion
It is not surprising that the elements of the 7Ps vary in importance. Students use those
7Ps to make their decision making process easier and better match the EFL institute
with their own needs. In discussion, the authors not only explained about the unique
results obtained from this research, but also compared the results with those of related
studies mentioned earlier in this story.
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INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
The findings of this study showed that the people element of marketing mix is the
most important item for the learners (total of male and female) in selecting an
institution. That is, teachers reputation, native English language teaching staff, warmth,
helpfulness and efficiency of administration staff, presence of friends and other
students of similar socio-economic background enrolled at the institution were the
most important criteria for the learners. Some students state that they prefer to keep
track their own teachers and teachers also tend to follow up each individual learner. In
Chaidaecha and Roongrattanakool (2014) study also the mean of people was the highest
factor and in Soedijati and Pratminingsih (2011), people were the third important
element which had positive correlation r = .
to the students decision making. ‛ut
in Ivy and Al-Fattal (2010) in Damascus, people element was the sixth important
element which was not very effective.
Programme took the second rank of the table. It means that specific course for
specific purpose, the institute reputation for teaches conversational English, the
duration of the course, the certificate issued at the end of the course, the books taught in
the institution. The problem with programme is that it does not exist until the service
provider performs the service, usually in the presence of the learners. So the learners
don t have any idea about what has been purchased in terms of quality. For this
reason, Gibbs and Knapp (2002) suggest that an institution is recommended to increase
tangibility of the programme offered by increasing what they describe as the
wrapping it is offering. Wrapping includes, for example, CD-ROMs, photocopied
lecture material and handouts, course books, free access to the Internet, discounted
materials. Programme in Ivy and Al-Fattal (2010) was the most important element.
Their subject believed that certificate issued at the end of the course and the materials
(or books) used in the institute are very important items. Programme with the
correlation of 0.526 was one of the elements which had the strong correlation with
students selection in Soedijati and Pratminingsih s
research.
The third element which was important for selecting an institution was promotion
e.g., the institute s prospectus/brochure, outdoor advertising in city streets, advertising
of the institute in the local press, radio or TV advertising, institute staff have visited
school or place of work, premiums for example; course books, bags, pens, diaries etc.
The use of slogans can also have an effective influence, as Such slogans are mentioned
and repeated frequently, and this convey to the public a summary of what the
institution is about. Chaidaecha and Roongrattanakool (2014) also found promotion as
the third important element. While in Ivy and Al-Fattal s
study the promotion
element appeared to be the least important factor in influencing student selection, when
compared to other items on the education marketing mix. They found out that the most
European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
important promotional tool was press advertising . Promotion by the r= .
showed a
weak correlation to students decision making.
The forth important element in ratings of marketing mix elements was process
that included social events and teaching methods. Social events are those events
organized by institution (exhibitions, plays etc). In Soedijati and Pratminingsih (2011)
research, process (r = 0.650), was the first element which had stronger correlation to
students selection compare to other components. Process in Ivy and ‚l-Fattal s
was the fourth important element.
Place and physical facilities took the fifth and sixth rank of the table respectively.
Easy access to the institute via public transport, where the institute is geographically
located, convenient time (e.g., the course is offered at times convenient to the learners),
suitable day (the course is on suitable days of the week) were the place items that were
asked about. It means that the concept of the place is not restricted to the physical
and geographical location of an institution. And physical facilities items were teaching
and learning equipment at the institute, Student facilities (library, computer room,
lunch room and the institute s physical appearance Décor and furnishing . Place was
the second important element in Ivy and Al-Fattal s
study. ‛ut in the study of
Soedijati and Pratminingsih (2010) it was among the elements that had the weak
correlation r = .
to students decision making. Physical facilities took the second
place in Ivy and Al-Fattal s
study.
Despite the presupposition that Pricing has major influence on marketing
strategy and this is a major issue that could affect the overall image of an institution, the
price element (The tuition fees, the flexibility of payment arrangements of tuition fees
and the discounts offered by the institute) was appeared to be the least important
element of the list. It also had the weakest correlation with student choice of university
in Soedijati and Pratminingsih s
study and in Ivy and ‚l-Fattal s
study it
took the fifth rank of the table. In Chaidaecha and Roongrattanakool (2014) study, the
lowest factor for all year levels of undergraduate students was the mean of price. The
reason why people choose this element as the least important one is that some of them
perceive more expensive offers to be of greater value and vice versa. So paying a higher
price for a more prestigious well-known institution is not denied.
Comparing males and females attitude in ratings of marketing mix elements
revealed that while the most important element for female was people, the most
significant element for men is program. The other elements for females respectively
were program, promotion, place, process and physical facilities and for males are
people, promotion, process, place and physical facilities. The least important element
for both of male and female was price. As the males and females institution are
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
running separately in Iran, by the compare of women s and men s opinion in ratings of
marketing mix, the mangers of these institutions can plan some strategies accordingly.
5. Conclusion
The general framework of this study suggested that institution principals need to
market their language institution and provide a unique tool to highlight their strengths
and to give the learners reasons to choose their institute. The findings of the study
showed what aspects of 7Ps were important to students when selecting an EFL institute.
In this study selecting people element as the first important element emphasized that
staff s and teachers reputation were considered to be vital for attracting the learners
attention successfully. Quality of higher education institutions programme was the next
trigger for learners satisfaction. Despite it was thought price element, the tuition that
learners pay for their education, as one of the effective elements that will drive
customers (learners) to buy the service (programme) of an institution, it had the lesser
importance for learners. It was because of the fact that learners found teachers
reputation, institute staff, the material taught in the institution, teaching methods, easy
access to the institute and teaching and learning equipment to get the most priority in
choosing an institution. This study is applied one for those mangers of language
institutions who has the responsibility to provide facilities and teaching staff
sufficiently and need guidance and practical contributions to improve their educational
service. In result of inability to manage such teaching and learning facilities and
teaching staff may decrease learners satisfaction.
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
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European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching - Volume 2 │ Issue 1 │ 2017
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Farzane Safarzade Samani, Seyyed Morteza Hashemi,Vahide Shahbazi, Hamed Sarhadi
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS (7PS) AND
IR‚NI‚N EFL LE‚RNERS CHOICE OF L‚NGUG‚E INSTITUTIONS
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