Towards Marketing the Training
Function, Fart II:
Making Marketing Decisions
by George Long, University of Lancaster and Roger Stuart, Principal,
British Rail Management Training Centre, Watford*
Introduction
The first part of this article[l] concluded with an intention
to pursue the implications for action of adopting a marketing
perspective on training. In this second part, we propose, then,
to consider, firstly, the practical consequences of marketing
training as a service rather than a good. Following this, we
will explore more widely a framework for these and other
marketing decisions that a training professional may assem-
ble, organise and implement towards marketing his/her train-
ing function.
Marketing Training Services
In Part One we established the criteria for viewing training
activities as services rather than goods products. Our own
and our clients' experience suggest that much of what has
been researched and catalogued[2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] concerning
the marketing of a wide range of service activities is in fact
directly applicable to the marketing of training services. Ac-
cordingly, in offering services, managers of training func-
tions will:
• Be offering largely intangible products, one important
consequence of which being that although a pur-
chaser/client may derive benefit from a training service,
he/she cannot acquire ownership of the service product
itself. The product cannot be taken away with him/her.
Though pride of ownership is not open to the client,
there can be pride arising from having been a party to
the performance, for example, having been the client of
an internationally known consultant, having attended a
prestigious course. Many trainers will be aware of tactics
for increasing the prestige of their services, for example,
by limiting attendance, setting up entry criteria, attrac-
ting senior members of the hierarchy, bringing in "big
names", none of which may affect the direct benefit of
the learning process, but all of which may raise the
perceived status of being an involved party.
Lacking ownership of the product also means that
clients of a training service cannot resell what they have
purchased (though they can, of course, attempt to
reproduce it for peers, subordinates, etc.) This inability
to resell considerably heightens the risk of purchase and
will make the clients of a training activity more than
usually concerned as to whether their purchase will pro-
ve to be of value to them. As a consequence, the pro-
*This article was written when Roger Stuart worked at the Centre for the
Study of Management Learning, University of Lancaster.
moter of the service will be required to make strong at-
tempts to influence potential clients beyond awareness
and understanding towards gaining acceptance and
conviction.
In further connection with the promotion of intangi-
ble training products, it is useful to note, as the recent
advertisements on ITV's Channel 4 remind us, that
media, such as television, films and video, are excellent
ways for advertising goods. However, the qualities of mo-
tion, colour and sound are of limited utility in promoting
intangibles.
• Be unable to store their products. Training services
cannot be kept in inventory until required, and if not con-
sumed at the moment of production, they will perish.
These features emphasise the importance of location deci-
sions in offering training services. The service needs to
be offered at the "right time" and the "right place". In
common with trends in services in general, "rightness"
in locating training is tending to move from being supp-
ly determined (to the convenience of the producer/per-
former) to demand led, emphasising convenience and ac-
cessability to the user. Witness some of the trends (such
as the growth of distance learning approaches) identified
in the preceding part of this article.
There are also a number of supply-side considerations
to the perishability of training products. When demand
for a service is continuing or predictable, it is possible
to plan staffing and service production. But, when the
demand for their services fluctuates (and this is commonly
the case), training functions face difficult scheduling pro-
blems. Some ways of alleviating such problems are seen
in the practices of bringing in assistance from outside the
organisation's training function at times of peak demand,
sharing services (consortia, for example) and setting up
reservation systems for a programme of events.
As with intangibility, the perishability of training ser-
vices also has implications for how the service is best pro-
moted. When demand is intermittent, advertising media
utilising the written word (direct mailing, notice boards,
directories of services, etc,) are most appropriately us-
ed, because such media have staying power and can be
referred to as and when the need arises.
• Be selling and then performing their training service
activities. Because of this the reputation of the performer
of the service is of paramount importance in increasing
the potential client's confidence to purchase. Clients fre-
quently rely on word of mouth reputation, particularly
PR 14,3 1985 • 29
 from respected users. This process is, of course, one in the clients' eyes, the risk of an inadequate, non-
which is difficult to control, but one which can be satisfying purchase. However, this concern may be
facilitated, for example, by capturing and citing quotes, strongly mitigated if the aforementioned policy of early
reaction data, etc. and direct contact with the client is pursued, the more
so if the opportunities for customising the product are
• Be attempting to describe the benefits of their service. stressed . . . and actioned.
A leader of a management development programme, be-
ing unable to demonstrate the actual nature of a partici- In following up our diagnosis of training as a service we can,
pant's learning experience, must have recourse to appeal- then, identify from the work in mainstream marketing a
ing to the potential client's imagination. He/she will at- series of actions that the trainers can consider adopting to
tempt to describe some of its features, and may emphasise add to their repertoires of responses in the marketing and
the benefits, for example, by citing the promotions and managing of their training services.
career advancements achieved by past participants on the Deciding whether they are in the business of providing
programme. goods or services is a fundamental decision that the trainers
He/she may also draw attention to the tangibles allied need to make — but it is only one of the myriad of deci-
to the service — the training centre buildings, etc (which sions which will ultimately shape the marketing programme
incidentally can be promoted through visual media). With they design. We have stressed the importance of this first
the growing technologising of training, there is an increas- decision since many of the subsidiary ones flow from it and
ingly tangible goods component to many Training ac- are determined by it. It is to these decisions that we now turn.
tivities. Both trainer and client should remember,
however, that these are at best support goods, and are Organising Marketing Decisions
not the core services themselves. As Lippitt[8] reminds One problem when faced with a changing view of the world
us, these: "Non-organic resources" . . . may be . . . "not is the sheer volume of questions that have to be asked —
wholly without a profit motive for some but not much and responded to! This volume can be at the least daunting
to the advantage of others." and at worst overwhelming. As the training professional
takes his first steps towards this morass we need to offer
• Be concerned to achieve the participation of both pro- some framework to support him in his efforts. The
ducer and consumer. Relative to the marketing of goods framework needs to have certain characteristics. It should
(where agents, brokers, wholesalers, retail chains and net- help classify and sort the decisions, be easily understood,
works abound), those concerned to market training ser- and relatively easy to operationalise.
vices should be looking to establish short delivery chan- Having decided whether we are in the goods or service
nels with minimal use of middlemen. Though initially business in general, we need to decide what business we are
they may have been brought together by a third party in more specifically. To aid that thinking we can follow the
(such as the client's boss) trainers will be looking to steps of a marketing plan.
establish direct contact between themselves and their
clients at the earliest possible moment. Marketing Plan
The participation of both parties is required for ser- The marketing plan is a formal document developed to pro-
vice performance. In addition, the effectiveness of that vide a vehicle for addressing decisions such as those refer-
performance will depend not only on the skills and red to above. It addresses three basic concerns and faces the
abilities of the trainer, but also those of the learner, and marketing trainer with the questions.
activities should be geared accordingly.
— Where are we now?
• Be acknowledging the importance of people and their — Where do we want to go?
services. Be it in selling or the subsequent performance
of a service, people are very much at the centre of many — How do we get there?
training offers. In common with other services, our ex- These concerns correspond to the three sections commonly
perience of marketing training has demonstrated the stress found in the plan.
that must be placed on personal selling. The most effec-
tive means of persuading potential clients to take part in A Situational Analysis
training activities is through personal contact in the one- In this analysis, the trainer should document where he is up
to-one situation. (Sending participants on courses may to in the development of training within the organisation.
get them there, but is unlikely to persuade them to take What is the nature of the environment he operates in? Is it
part — a phenomenon described by Benne[9] as the favourable or not? Can he rely on management support for
"tourist reaction" and further developed by Binsted, all or a more limited range of initiatives? What is the size
Stuart and Long[10].) Given the otherwise undemon- and nature of the potential market for training within the
strable qualities of training services, there is much to be organisation? What proportion of that potential has he
said for that selling to be done by the person who is at achieved in the past (i.e. what is his market share)? Who are
the heart of the service performance, that is, the per- his competitors and what share of the market have they
former him/herself. achieved? What changes are occurring in the environment
that will affect his performance? Are there any forthcoming
• Be offering a training product with fluctuating per- legislative changes with training implications? Are there any
formance standards. Despite all efforts at standardisa- changes in the type of trainees? What are our strengths and
tion, people-based training activities will vary from oc- weaknesses as a training department?
casion to occasion — as many potential clients will know.
Clients will not, therefore, be in a position to be certain Objectives and Marketing Strategies
of what, on the day, he/she will be offered. As with the Where do we want to get to and in what general direction
inability to resell the service product, this again raises, do we want to move? This section should be a statement of

30 • PR 14,3 198S
the objectives of the training department in general rather
than the objectives of individual programmes or activities.
It should contain forecasts of activities, numbers of par-
ticipants, mix of participants, etc. It should also be realistic
in the sense that those objectives should be capable of
achievement, even if they do entail a goodly degree of hard
work.
Marketing Tactics
In this, usually the largest, section of the plan, the trainer
needs to develop the action programmes he is going to use
to achieve the targets that have been set, either by himself
or in consultation with others. Traditionally these program-
mes have been developed around four areas. The decisions
about the goods and services we are going to offer or develop,
the ways in which they are going to be promoted, how we
are going to distribute them and what price we are going to
charge for them. These activities have been popularly
classified by McCarthy[ll] into the four Ps, viz:
— Product
— Place
— Price
— Promotion,
to which some authors add a fifth "P", Market Research
(silent P!). These decision areas group together the "con-
trollables", those elements or factors associated with an of-
fering that the manager is able to "set". This is in contrast
with those variables which for an individual manager are
given and to that extent "uncontrollable"; for example, the
general economic climate, government policy, the
demography of the market, etc. We would like to flesh out
this framework for marketing decisions by briefly describ-
ing each of the Ps in turn.
Product. Perhaps the most fundamental of the Ps, the
product, lies at the core of the offering. It is something which
can satisfy a need or want. There are a variety of product
categories, for example, "goods" and "services". Listed below
are some product decision areas to which we have added
training analogues:
— Quality (level of trainer competence);
— Features (content, teaching methods);
— Diversity (range of options for first-line, middle and
top management);
— Branding (course offered, usually externally, under
a heading; for example, BIOSS, Brunel University's
Institute of Social Studies), and
— Packaging (course handouts, manuals).
In directing our attention to product decisions, it is impor-
tant to consider the implications of a fundamental marketing
proposition: "Products are what consumers think they are,
not what a producer thinks they are" [12]. This quote from
Nickels acts as a timely reminder against a "production
orientation". How often in the field of training do we treat
courses as if it is what goes into them, and our perception
about what they are supposed to do, that is important, not
what the participants think they are about and take away
with them. Yet, in marketing terms, the course is what the
participants think and what they take away. It is easy as
course makers to forget the product must be seen from the
point of view of the course taker.
Place. Place or distribution is another major element in the
marketing mix. It is particularly important when consider-
ing services such as training, in which, as Rathmell[5] argues,
time and place utility is of paramount importance. Distribu-
tion decisions include:
— Physical location (when and where to hold updating
seminars — half yearly at head office or monthly in
the branches);
— Distribution channels (the number of middlemen bet-
ween you and the end user, for example, the manager
acting as a "broker" for his subordinates when it
comes to choosing training), and
— Service levels (how many people do we need before
we will run a course? How quickly would we mount
a new event from request to execution?)
In service industries like training, the distribution channels
tend to be short, having only two or three members: the train-
ing department (supplier), the manager (broker or sponsor)
and the participant (customer or end user). Compare this
with the distribution of consumer goods through the
wholesale chain to the retailer before they are exposed to the
shopper. The lesson to be remembered is, however, the same
in both cases: that the supplier has to manage all the rela-
tionships in the channel, not just the last interface, and that
mismanagement higher in the channel will prejudice the final
offering. This suggests that training's success is dependent
in an important way, not just on the events themselves, but
in the meetings, etc, that have paved the way to their delivery.
A final postscript before moving on to "Price" is a
reminder that in distribution channels, information and in-
itiatives flow in both directions!
Price. Price is unique amongst the elements of the marketing
mix in that is the only decision area which generates revenues;
the rest incur costs. Fundamental decisions in this area con-
cern the general approach to pricing — do you set the level
on the basis of costs or on the basis of what the market will
bear? We would recommend the latter.
A further concern in this area is the complexity of the
perceived relationship between price and quality. To deviate
too widely from the prevailing price in a market place is to
raise uncertainties in the buyer's eyes. If we expect to pay
£6,000 for a car, how do we feel when offered one for £2,500?
Is it "too good to be true", do we seize the bargain or
suspiciously look for the catch? In this context, how do we
feel about services or goods which are "free", like the Na-
tional Health Service? They seem okay, all right if it is the
only alternative, but really, for good care and the best atten-
tion, pay and go privately (not necessarily a view we would
share but one being expressed by the rapid growth in private
medicine). Thinking about training, then, most internal
courses are "free" in the way that the Health Service is. Is
it small wonder that often more senior executives will only
be "trained" if they are sent to the seminar or workshop run
by fee-charging outsiders?
Promotion. This is the most visible and publicly recognis-
ed element of marketing. To the layman, advertising,
marketing and selling are almost inseparable. In our analysis,
advertising and selling are just part of one of the decision
areas in marketing. The difference between marketing and
selling is more than semantic. The customer of marketing
becomes the punter of the salesman; his satisfaction as an
aim is subordinated by the importance of his name on the
order.
PR 14,3 1985 • 31
 The overall purpose of promotion is to inform or remind
the market about the availability of a product or service and
to persuade the market to buy. In this context it is instruc-
tive to take some of one's own publicity material and to assess
whether it really is designed to persuade or merely to inform
and remind. Promotional activities fall into four broad types:
— Advertising (non personal communication using paid
media, journals, magazines, newspapers, etc);
— Personal selling (direct calls on the potential client,
either personally or by telephone);
— Public relations (news stories or editorial comment
in papers which could be either independent or house
journals), and
— Sales promotion (the attempt to make sales by
"special" offers, e.g. "inviting selected participants
to a high-level conference").
Each of these activities has particular strengths and
weaknesses and so the training manager designing his pro-
motional plan should ask what balance of the activities is
best for communicating the messages about training that
need to be got across, given the amount of money available
for spending.
Market research. This activity covers those decisions a
manager makes to provide or supplement existing informa-
tion to ensure that the decisions made in the other mix areas
are taken on the basis of the best available data. Market
research can be continuous, providing regular and essential
data, perhaps course numbers, sponsorship of participants
by role or division, or it can be ad hoc, a special attempt
to gather data not normally available. The major sources of
data can be classified into experiments, surveys and the study
of secondary data records (statistics collected for other
purposes)[13].
As with promotion, market research is a relatively more
familiar element to training and development professionals.
Systems for the identification of training needs are essen-
tially aimed at researching the "market" for knowledge, need
and potential. Appraisals can also be construed as a form
of market research, especially to the extent that they are us-
ed to determine future action rather than "score" past per-
formance. Post-course evaluations can be compared with opi-
nion testing. Management development auditing relies heavi-
ly on survey techniques and shares its strengths and
weaknesses, particularly the indifference with which manage-
ment often treat survey results!
Given this already reasonably widespread level of applica-
tion, what does market research offer us? At one level the
answer is quite simple: variety of technique. As a technology,
market research has developed many tools and approaches,
relatively few of which have permeated the boundaries of
training; they have not been transferred and used. At a more
basic level, market research challenges us not to take our
customers for granted and to ensure that we have "our fingers
on the pulse". Research, seen in this light, is not an expen-
sive and somewhat optional luxury; it is rather an essential
and important activity, making us base our decisions on data
rather than on personal preference or supposition; in pass-
ing it also undermines any residual tendency to think that
"we know best what other people need or want".
The Mix-
in our description we have treated the five Ps as discrete;
obviously they are not. High-quality, high-priced, exclusively
32 • PR 14,3 1985
promoted items are not distributed through discount stores
and warehouses; it would not make sense — the message
would be confused. The concept of the mix projects the Ps
as ingredients and implies the need for a situation-specific
recipe which blends the ingredients together. That recipe
should create a consistent and mutually reinforcing offer.
By using and working through the framework of the five
Ps, then we believe that the trainer will find a concrete way
of evaluating the contribution marketing can make to his/her
endeavours.
Conclusion
In the two parts of this article we have made a simple pro-
position that a knowledge of marketing will help trainers
manage the training function better. We have attempted to
explain what marketing is about in terms of definitions, the
orientation which we have contrasted with other orientations
and the decisions that can be made to operationalise a
marketing approach. We have also, in passing, indicated the
importance of identifying strategic objectives before develop-
ing the tactics of the mix.
In conclusion we would like to suggest a task to the reader:
using the frameworks developed in this article, identify the
marketing decisions that you actually make and those which
are made for you by other people in the organisation. Then,
looking at those decisions, identify, firstly, any gaps that
should be filled or decisions which should be reviewed.
Secondly, and more importantly, review your decisions to see
whether there are any contradictions or anomalies, or
whether they really do form a set or mix of mutually rein-
forcing decisions which are likely to create a consistent and
successful set of activities and programmes. You will then
be well along the road to marketing your training functions.
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