524 Capstone IMC Plan

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
YSP524 INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

CAPSTONE PROFESSIONAL PROJECT

TITLE:

The Effect of Product Expectation, Product Quality, Service Quality,
and Brand Image Towards Customer Satisfaction and Its Impact on

Brand Loyalty of Aima Edu’s Customer

NAME:
ZHANG ANQI

SUPERVISOR:
Dr. Sharifah Nadia Syed Mukhiar

Executive Summary

In 2021, there were approximately 30 thousand international students from
China studying in Malaysia, Aima Edu is one of the intermediary agencies assisting
these students in obtaining offers from different institutions and programs. It is a
growing market as the number of students increases year after year, but there are
numerous competitors vying for the same customers. Because customer satisfaction
is one of the most valuable assets for an organisation as it helps to increase market
share and retain customers, thus, this project assessed the level of customer
satisfaction among Aima Edu's existing customers and examined its impact on brand
loyalty, as well as investigated the role of customer expectation, product quality,
service quality, and brand image on customer satisfaction.

This market research for Aima Edu was carried out using a quantatitive
method, where a questionnaire was distributed to 150 customers via online platform.
A comprehensive data analysis was conducted to meet the objectives of the study.
The findings successfully tested the hypothesis and revealed many issues faced by
Aima Edu. Its customer satisfaction was far less impressive as a service provider,
the brand loyalty was also mediocre as a result, which put Aima Edu on the verge of
crisis, and it needs to change quickly or it will fall apart when the next crisis hits.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic has already created numerous challenges in the
market. Given all that, an integrated marketing plan with strategic tactics is created
with the goal of increasing the brand's overall competitiveness, reaching a larger
audience, building a strong relationship, and leveraging the brand image while
utilising the most effective marketing platforms available in China.

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Company Profile
Established in 2016, Aima Edu Co., Ltd. is an intermediate agency for

studying abroad and overseas affairs, whose founder is Mr. Ishaq (Ma Jianjun), a
Chinese Muslim entrepreneur. Mr. Ishaq initiated his agent business after he
graduated from IIUM (International Islamic University Malaysia) in 2014 with the
intention of serving more Chinese students pursuing their studies overseas. Aima
Edu Co Ltd. is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the branches are
located in the Shandong and Guangzhou provinces of China respectively. Aima’s
business revolves around student recruitment and language training in Malaysia,
targeting Chinese students who are planning to enroll in Malaysia’s higher
educational institutions, from Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. A large number of
universities in Malaysia have authorized it as an official recruitment agency for them,
including 6 public universities and 8 private universities, such as UKM, UIA, UM,
USSI, SEGI, etc. Aima has so far assisted more than 3000 Chinese students
enrolled in those universities and managed to maintain a good number of applicants
annually.

Aima aims to provide a one-stop platform for student study abroad journey,
consisting of consultation, documents review & submission, airport pickup, medical
checkup, language training, and program enrollment. Language training is not
compulsory for every applicant, but it is available for students who are not proficient
in English. Aima is experienced in the study abroad industry and familiar with the
preference of every university, thus the chance of being permitted is guaranteed.

Since its inception, Aima has organized many activities to increase awareness and
build a good relationship with the clients, to name a few, day trips, orientation,
sharing talks, campus fairs, etc. In China, Aima has attended several on-ground
educational expos together with the university representatives to introduce study
abroad programs in Malaysia to high school graduates. Besides that, Aima
strategically uses Wechat, the most prominent social media platform in China, to
publish the latest information and services, reach out to potential candidates and
generate leads. During the Covid-19 pandemic, students are away from the campus,
Aima conducted several digital campaigns in adjusting to the situation, for instance,
an online cooking competition with cash rewards attracted great attention and huge
traffic to their Wechat official account. Aima strives to be the leading brand among its
competitors and constantly expands its partnership with universities and maintains
strong connections with clients.

1.2 Overseas Education
As a result of economic progress worldwide and globalization, an increasing

number of students are opting to study abroad in order to access superior
educational resources, and increase cultural awareness and international
perspectives (Forsey et al., 2012). Because of its vast population and economic
growth, China, the world's second-largest economy, contributes a substantial number
of international students around the world. In 2018, the total number of Chinese
students studying abroad reached 662,100 (Study Abroad Supervision Network
Service, 2019). Because of the large number of students studying overseas, there is
a huge potential market for overseas study services. Driven by the huge demand,

overseas education service is a fast-growing industry in China. The first official
overseas education agency was founded in 1993, and over the last 28 years, the
number has grown to 417 (Study Abroad Supervision Network Service, 2021).
However, many agencies in the market are not approved or authorized by the
Ministry of Education in China due to a lack of qualification, and the number is
estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands (Wang, 2021).

According to Cheng (2008), the emergence of overseas education agencies is
due to the following reasons: first, due to information asymmetry, intermediaries are
performing the role of filtering and delivering useful information to customers;
second, intermediaries must evaluate overseas educational resources based on
students' qualifications in order to make the best decisions; and finally, because
customers are subject to time and space constraints, the intermediary must assist
them in saving time and energy. Furthermore, as previously stated, the majority of
the agencies are affiliated with higher education institutions, and with direct
resources provided to them, the chances of admission are higher than applying on
students their own. Overall, overseas education agencies serve as a link between
students and overseas education institutions, and they are critical in the application
process (Du, 2020).

1.3 SWOT Analysis

➔ Strength:
Aima is a company that mainly relies on word-of-mouth shared by its

customers since it does not involve in any digital ads campaign and only utilizes very
minimum communication tools. Buttle (1998) believes that word-of-mouth is
independent of an organization's influence, and that positive WOM includes good
testimonials and endorsements favored by the company. Positive word-of-mouth can
influence consumer attitudes and behavior, as well as purchase decisions. He also
claims that customer referrals can be either customer-initiated or company-initiated.
Aima has gained both types of customer referrals from its marketing activities.

Customer-initiated referrals are from previous customers who recommend
Aima to their friends or family because they have a pleasant experience with Aima,
whereas company-initiated referrals are from customers who received incentives and
rewards from Aima to post e-word-of-moth on their social media. Aima uses
word-of-mouth and referral marketing to raise awareness because it is a trustworthy
source of information; according to a Nielsen study (2012), 92 percent of consumers
trust recommendations from friends and family more than advertisements.
Furthermore, according to a 2019 Tencent report, WeChat had 1.1 billion monthly
active users. It is an ecosystem with a high penetration rate, suitable for establishing
and maintaining loyal customers. It is considered private traffic that is free and can
be tapped repeatedly. Enterprises can control this segment of traffic on their own and
perform precise operations and transformations (woshipm, 2020). Aima has over
5000 contacts on WeChat, which are more than just followers but a valuable
resource.

➔ Weakness:
Aima has a very small target group, which are students who showed interest

to study in Malaysia, particularly the Chinese Muslims. A large number of Aima’s
clients study at IIUM, an Islamic university in Malaysia, and they recommend the
service to people they know, usually from the same district where the Chinese
Muslim group resides in China. However, Chinese Muslims are the minority in China,
whose population is very small compared to the majority. Furthermore, Aima focuses
solely on personal communication rather than mass communication, neglecting a
broader market perspective and failing to fully utilize digital platforms such as Baidu,
Weibo, and Red, which can bring massive traffic and conversion. Furthermore, Aima
has not expanded its business in recent years, and its clients continue to be
Chinese, with partnerships limited to Malaysia. Its touchpoints are limited and
insufficient, and as a result, brand recognition and customer retention are low.

➔ Opportunity:
According to a recent report (2020), the United Kingdom has surpassed the

United States as the preferred destination for Chinese students studying abroad for
the second year in a row. Aima should expand its operations in the United Kingdom
rather than focusing solely on the Malaysian vertical market. Furthermore, while the
Covid-19 pandemic has reduced the demand for studying abroad, it has also created
some new demands (Zhang, 2020). As more students demonstrate an interest in
online internships and research projects, Aima can use its resources to broaden its
business scope to include scientific research and internship projects in order to
broaden its product scope.

➔ Threat:
Competition has increased in recent years as the number of intermediaries

has risen; however, with greater transparency of information, they can no longer
profit from information asymmetry. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that
are vulnerable to the pandemic crisis will eventually close down. Even though Aima
survived the pandemic, it needs to be more adaptable and make strategic changes
based on understanding its customers' needs in order to avoid a future crisis.

1.4 Problem Definition
It is observed that an increasing number of startups are entering the market

because they are optimistic about the emerging market without fully considering their
skills and abilities, which has resulted in negative effects (Du, 2020). According to
data, more than 4,000 organizations within overseas education providers have
engaged in irregular operations, and more than 900 have been subjected to legal
proceedings (Study Abroad Supervision Network Service, 2020). Given the industry's
uneven service quality, it is critical for Aima to meet consumers' needs by offering
superior service in order to avoid the same outcome. It is also crucial for Aima's
long-term development since the firm size falls into SMEs and the company aspires
to be more vulnerable to competition. This research will assist Aima in maintaining its
competitiveness and efficiency.

1.5 Research Objectives
Currently, most the overseas education agencies in China are challenged with

uneven qualifications and unsatisfied customers that could endanger their survival.
Aima has proved its qualification through partnerships with lots of renowned
universities in Malaysia where a large number of their clients were admitted with their
assistance. Nonetheless, a company should not settle for numbers and leads but
give priority to the customers and seek to build a high degree of brand loyalty from a
full understanding of their needs and wants.

Inspired by the current situation of the entire industry, Aima is encouraged to
listen to customers’ true feelings and opinions towards them by conducting market
research, where some research questions are answered. The first objective of this
market research is to measure the customer satisfaction of Aima and to answer the
research question: How satisfied are customers with Aima; The second objective is
to identify the relationship between product expectation, product quality, service
quality, and brand image with customer satisfaction, and to answer the research
question: What are the factors that influence the satisfaction of Aima’s customers;
The last objective is to measure the relationship between brand loyalty and customer
satisfaction and to answer the research question: Does customer satisfaction have
an impact on brand loyalty?

2.0 Research Method and Design

With the guidance of clear and specific objectives and questions, descriptive
research is conducted in order to get a fruitful result that will benefit the well-being of
the research subject, Aima Eud. Descriptive research can discover relationships
between selected variables and can portray the characteristics of a group of people
(Dulock, 1993). Conducting descriptive research will help to answer the “what”
questions and understand the market phenomena. Questionnaires are one of the
most widely used methods in descriptive research, which will is also applied in this
research. Dillman (2001) believes that a questionnaire is a major method to collect
primary data, the most fundamental source of information in any scientific research,
and it also makes sure that the quantitative data is collected standardized.

The questionnaire is designed following a research framework. The
relationship framework of customer satisfaction, product expectation, product quality,
service quality, brand image, and brand loyalty are established based on a literature
review. Product expectation, product quality, service quality, and brand image will
directly affect customer satisfaction. And the brand image is tightly associated with
customer satisfaction. Based on the preceding discussion, a structure of customer
satisfaction and relationship among variables are proposed in the figure below.

Figure 1: Conceptual Model Diagram

The questionnaire has four sections, the first section is the customer
demographics that identify the age, gender, income, and educational background of
the respondents and help to figure out what is the channel they first heard about
Aima. The demographic part enables the marketer to determine the targeted market
and market segmentation. The second section covers the overall customer
satisfaction for Aima, the measurement is adapted from the research conducted by
Caruana, (2002). Consumers are asked to rate their overall satisfaction with Aima
using a 5-point Likert scale: “Very dissatisfied,” “Dissatisfied,” “Neutral”, “Satisfied,”
and “Very satisfied.”

The third section is exploring the factors contributing to customer satisfaction
using a 5-point Likert scale as well: “Strongly disagree”, “Disagree”, “Neutral”,
“Agree” and “Strongly agree”. A total of 15 items are constructed based on
previously used instruments from literature. The measurement items of product

expectation are adapted from Wang, et, al (2019). Product quality is measured by
extrinsic cues of perceived product quality, like price and advertising, and the items
are curated according to research conducted by Hameed (2013) and Parvin &
Chowdhury (2006). The measurement of Service quality is adapted from Nam, et, al
(2011). The items to measure brand image are also from Parvin & Chowdhury
(2006).

Section 4 of the questionnaire covered brand loyalty. As Jones & Taylor (2007)
have pointed out, the assessment of customer loyalty should consider the aspects of
repurchase intentions, switching intentions, exclusive purchasing, and willingness to
recommend, pertaining to behavioral, attitudinal, and cognitive, Aima’s brand loyalty
will be measured based on these indicators.

3.0 Discussion

According to the data that has been collected, the proportion of female
customers in the study is higher than males, which is consistent with the gender
distribution of Chinese overseas students; Most participants were between the ages
of 18 and 35, presumably because foreign students in Malaysia enrolling to language
institutions must be between the ages of 18 and 35 on the application date; The
income of the participants who have graduated is considerable, indicating that
studying abroad has a positive impact on their income; Most of the participants are
active undergraduate students at the time the questionnaire was collected, However,
20 percent of the participants are under the status of study-leave or drop-out. The
major cause of this result is that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused all Malaysian
universities to switch from face-to-face to offline teaching.

Although the statistics did not show any significant differences in customer
satisfaction scores among different English proficiency groups, it does show that the
majority of participants are not confident in their English skills, which can affect their
completion of studies and their overall experience with Aima Edu. The bold
assumption is that if more clients complete their studies successfully with good
grades, Aima's brand image will improve accordingly and more customers will
consider using their services. Furthermore, a regular supply of great students is one
of the partnership criteria for Aima's partner universities. In a nutshell, because
language skills are extremely important for international students, Aima's efforts
should be focused on improving its clients' English skills. At end of the day, it's not
about how many students they sent to Malaysian universities; it's about whether the
students can adapt to the language environment and finish their studies.

Based on the social listening conducted for Aima Edu via an online
questionnaire, it can be seen that many consumers are unhappy as well as
disappointed with the services provided by Aima Edu, which has been reflected as a
total mean score in each score of the Likert scale, with the majority of responses
leaning to 1= Strongly Disagree and 2= Disagree. The outcome indicated a relatively
poor total customer satisfaction score of roughly 2.9. The result does not seem very
optimistic for an organization that relies on customer satisfaction to generate positive
word-of-mouth. Customers always seek to experience maximum satisfaction when
they buy a product or service, thus lots of effort needs to be made for Aima Edu to
improve its customer satisfaction.

Aima Edu was a failure in achieving its customers' expectations, according to
a low mean score of the product expectation, which includes two primary services
that Aima Edu delivers, applying for admission and visa service. Visa service
received a slightly worse grade than the first, indicating that some clients had visa
processing difficulties that they did not expect.

Regarding product quality, the results revealed plenty of issues as a result of
the low scores in each measurement item in this section. First and foremost, the
price received the lowest score among all items, indicating that the price of their
products is considered unreasonable and unacceptable in comparison to its service.
Furthermore, it suggests that price is an important factor in their decision-making,
and Aima Edu should consider its pricing strategy when promoting its services. Aside
from that, advertising activities are one of the criteria for product quality; however,
according to the results, Aima did not invest sufficiently in its advertising campaign.

Similarly, service quality mirrored some communication difficulties between
customers and the service provider, Aima Edu. According to the statistics, their
personnel did not listen, answer, inform, or update customers in a professional
manner. Many consumers have met unprofessional staff when they have queries
about universities, their applications have been delayed, or they require guidance on
which programs and universities to apply to, based on the low total mean score of
service quality. Customers were unsatisfied because their concerns were neglected,
resulting in frustration and concern about the outcome.

According to the statistics, Aima Edu's brand image is generally poor; its
distinctiveness was not noticed by its customers; in other words, the market
positioning is unclear for the brand to stand out in the market, which would harm its
market competency. Clearly, there is a major disconnect between the company's
brand image and how people perceive the brand.

Eventually, every company wants to know how devoted their clients are, also
known as brand loyalty. For Aima Edu, the outcome is unsatisfactory, since statistics
suggest that it has a somewhat low mean score of overall customer loyalty. All
measuring items, such as repeat purchases, competitors, and recommendations,
have low ratings, showing that customers are not loyal. Most clients are unlikely to
do business with Aima Edu again, preferring to go with competitors who offer better
rates. Most importantly, the majority of customers do not intend to recommend it,
which indicates that Aima Edu will lose some of its market shares.

One of the contributions of this paper is that it measures and tests the
relationship between customer satisfaction, product expectation, product quality,

service quality, brand image, and brand loyalty in a different context than previous
research, which has focused on these effects in different industries, and this study
demonstrated these effects in the overseas study industry in the Chinese market.

The five hypotheses of the conceptual research model were found to be
supported in this study. Product expectation, product quality, service quality, and
brand image all have a positive influence on customer satisfaction and are predictors
of customer satisfaction, according to the findings. This study will assist firms like
Aima Edu in understanding the impact of product expectations, product quality,
service quality, and brand image on customer satisfaction. As a result, businesses
should pay attention to these elements and work to enhance them in the eyes of
their customers. Furthermore, the data revealed that customer satisfaction has a
positive impact on brand loyalty and is an antecedent of brand loyalty. The findings
will assist practitioners in recognizing the link between customer satisfaction and
brand loyalty. As a result, practitioners should attach importance to brand loyalty, as
better customer satisfaction will increase brand loyalty.

The research showed the importance of some elements in customer
experience, and the question arises of how Aima Edu can increase customer
experience in order to increase a company’s competitiveness and customer loyalty.
In this regard, plenty of marketing tools and communication strategies are proposed.

Suggestion
To begin with, although Aima Edu currently has its official accounts on Wechat
as the major touchpoints, the bulk of its consumers discovered Aima Edu through
word-of-mouth, according to the social listening conducted. Despite the fact that
word-of-mouth is a dependable source of information, a successful organization
needs a variety of methods to engage with the public, besides, there are some
improvements that can be made to ensure proactive actions to support their clients
and ensure they can go to relevant platforms to tell their issues or inquiries. Paid
touchpoints, Earned touchpoints, Shared touchpoints, and Owned touchpoints have
been shown to be effective methods of categorizing media content and should be
included by Aima Edu (Bayles, 2015).

Paid touchpoints are any paid media channels between an organization and
the media, generally in the form of traditional advertising or other commercial
material (Macnamara et al., 2016). Aima Edu should strategically use some of the
paid advertisement tools available in China, for example, Baidu, China's largest
search engine, implementing search ads on Baidu can increase leads and traffic. It is
also recommended for Aima Edu to have collaborations with key opinion leaders
(KOLs) on Red, the most trending social media platform, to raise brand awareness
while promoting their service and product to the targeted audience.

Earned touchpoints are editorial propaganda created through media relations
activities like word-of-mouth, electronic word-of-mouth, and public feedback or
reviews (Stephen & Galak, 2012). Amidst the fact that the majority of Aima Edu's
clients learned about their services through recommendations from family or friends,

the company has never used this feedback to officially promote their business. Aima
Edu should collect and publish some positive word-of-mouth from previous
customers as a way to attract new customers. They can also interview customers
who are delighted with the entire application process and to have the features in the
videos and access all touchpoints.

Shared touchpoints refer to all relevant content shared on social media, which
may also be described as media with known contributions and comments that are
available to followers, friends, and subscribers (Macnamara et al., 2016). Aima Edu
used to give its Wechat followers incentives to encourage them to repost the most
recent post on their own timeline. However, It will be more successful if students
share the posts on their own initiative. To get publicity, Aima Edu can engage more in
public relations, such as event sponsorship and charity, to gain more exposure and
build a positive brand image.

Owned touchpoints are those owned by the organization and have the ability
to control and publish information in order to communicate with the public while also
establishing the organization's brand identity; thus, they are a critical asset in making
the Paid, Earned, and Shared touchpoints work (Turgeon, 2020). Having WeChat as
the only social media platform is insufficient to gain market share in such a
competitive industry; therefore, Aima Edu must establish official accounts on other
popular platforms in China, such as Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like online
networking tool with approximately 573 million active users (Thomala, 2022).
Attracting followers and connecting with them on Weibo will not only increase brand
awareness but also strengthen relationships. Weibo enables faster interactions in

responding to comments and answering general queries. In addition, Aima should
establish its own website because it is critical in the customer journey. Customers
gain product knowledge and information through the website, and it also serves as
the landing page for search ads and other digital advertisements.

Apart from adding more touchpoints, Aima Edu has to deal with some issues
that have been highlighted in the study. Aima Edu has to make sure its employees
appreciate the importance of product knowledge by having a comprehensive
understanding of the product or services offered, which will reflect on employee
confidence, competence, and efficiency, as well as customer satisfaction (Newman,
2014). To tackle the dissatisfaction with the employees, Aima Edu can also upgrade
their engagements with tech solutions like Help Centers, AI Chatbots, and Live Chat.
These tools could help clients locate answers more quickly, and Aima Edu can also
answer more Frequent Ask Questions (FAQ) from students, saving them time from
having to answer each one individually.

4.0 Strategies & Tactical Plan

Based on the market research, the following issues are highlighted:
➢ The targeted audiences are not reached because there is no effective
approach taken by Aima Edu to target the customers
➢ Aima Edu is struggling to scale its business because the products and
services they offer are not diversified
➢ Aima Edu needs a new pricing strategy as the current price of their product
and service is not reasonable to the customers
➢ The brand image is not strong enough to be perceived by the customers
➢ Customers are not loyal to the company and are unlikely to repeat the
purchase due to the low customer satisfaction
➢ The language skills of the students are not qualified for higher education and
it leads to drop-out and is threatening Aima Edu’s credentials
➢ Brand awareness and social presence are low because there are no effective
marketing strategies and initiatives.

To tackle these issues and problems, the strategies and tactics are divided into three
categories and will work together in order to increase the performance of Aima Edu.

To Reach Targeted To Build Engagements To Leverage Brand Image
Audience
- Social Media - CSR
- Influencer Marketing - Referral Marketing - Webinars
- Paid Search Ads - Brand Community
- Website Content
- Pricing Strategy

1. To Reach The Targeted Audience
With the increasing number of Chinese students studying abroad each year,

the potential of China's study abroad market is huge, and the competition among
various study abroad companies is also very fierce. Each brand tries its best to
attract more customers, using various channels and advertising tools to expand its
influence. However, Aima Edu operates in a relatively passive mode, the main
source of its customers is those who actively approached them to seek assistance in
studying abroad affairs after they were recommended to its service. Aima Edu is
passively waiting for the customers most of the time. Although there are certain
customer resources in reserve, due to the lack of effective channels to reach the
potential customer, it is struggling to scale its size and increase its sales.

The main goal of marketing is to convey the right message to the right people
and to do that, Aima Edu needs to understand who its consumers are. Audience
segmentation is an online marketing practice that divides people into a
homogeneous group using certain criteria such as demographics, psychographics,
geographic, and media usage. By putting audiences into specific categories,
marketers can better reach and attract them by identifying the most approachable
platforms and channels. According to the audience segmentation methods, we can
break down the targeted audiences into the following two groups based on their
demographics and psychographics.

Table 1: Targeted audiences of the campaign

Targeted Demographics Psychographics
Audience (They think…)
Age: 18-25
❖ Chinese university is not
Family Income: the only option
RM 25,0000-50,0000
❖ Studying in the Wesern
Education: country is too expensive
High school
❖ A recognized degree is
Location: important in China
Guangdong, Shandong,
Henan, Sichuan, ❖ Studying abroad can help
Jiangsu Province. me to secure a job

Age: 26-35 ❖ It takes too long to get a
master's degree
Income:
RM 10,0000-15,0000 ❖ Overseas experience paid
off better in work
Education:
Bachelor/Master ❖ Study overseas is deal for
self-improvement
Location:
Beijing, Shanghai, ❖ Ph.D. studies in China
Tianjin. involves too much
competition

The first group we are targeting is the bachelor, Their age is between 18 to 25
years old and just graduated from high school. They come from China's most
populous provinces, where getting into university is difficult. They failed the university
entrance examination in China, but they still want to get higher education. They are
planning to get their bachelor's degree in overseas universities and hope to find a job
when they return to China. Because their families cannot afford to study in western
countries, they were introduced to universities in SEA countries because of their
reasonable costs. Studying in these countries can help them further their studies and
settle down in Western countries.

The second group is the Master & Ph.D., they are 25-35 years old, who have
working experience before, and can sponsor themselves in further studying. They
come from Chinese cities with higher education levels, They come from China's
better-educated cities, where employment pressure is higher, and those with
overseas study experience are given special treatment and can command higher
salaries. Because of the different education systems in China, it takes three years to
complete the postgraduate study, and it is very difficult to pass the postgraduate or
doctoral examination. Getting a Ph.D. in China requires connections and intense
competitive pressure.

Speaking of studying abroad, the prestige of the institutions, the range of
courses, the quality of education, and the usage of information technology, according
to Zeeshan et al. (2013), are all pulls factors for international students to study
abroad. The push factors are that an abroad course is superior to a local course and
that getting into any university in the own nation is difficult. Therefore, the advertising
campaign for Aima Edu will consider these push and pull factors in copywriting and
selection of media and platforms to touch the heart of the customers by highlighting
their motivation and needs in delivering the content.

● Website
A brand’s own website is a prime location to provide informarion for products,

and it also gives acess to many tools and strategies for advertising campiagn. In
order to reach more users, Aima Edu is going to build its own website, put specific
content on the site, and update products and related information frequently. In order
to give people a sense of what it feels like to study in Malaysia, the website will use
featured images and special design to protray a colourful lifestyle comes along in
their study journey. All the event and activities, as well as festival celebrations will be
included in the website page. Moreover, the best reviews and testimonials will be
displayed to establish social proof.

The structures of the website including titles and descriptions will be adjusted
according to the content so that each page will convey the message in the most
effective way because this allows Aima Edu to gain a higher ranking in search
results when users are looking for information related to studying in Malaysia.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will be used to build the website content around
the phrases that get the most traffic on the internet under the topic, and each piece
of site content will be focused on a different keyword. The proposed SEO tool to use
in China market is called 5118.com, it can help marketers to understand the real-time
changes in site data, also to understand a trend in the change of site keyword
ranking, which is beneficial for SEO site optimization work. This tool can also help to
track long tail keywords, which are more specific keyword phrases that visitors are
more likely to use when they’re actively searching for the products. Using long tail
keywords are much more likely to convert customers than keywords.

Table 2: Website Content

Top Keywords Long Tail Keywords Webpage Headlines
Study Malaysia Fees
Postgraduate/Bachelor Study - “How much does it
Fees In Malaysia cost to study abroad
in Malaysia for a year”
Study Malaysia Visa Malaysia Student Visa Fees
& - “Guide to Apply for
study Visa in Malaysia
Student Visa Process In in 2023”
Malaysia
- “Do I still need a visa
Study Malaysia Online Study Abroad Online Courses In for online courses”
Malaysia 2022
& - “Study in Malaysia:
What are the
Malaysia Study Abroad Is advantages of online
Online Class Or Face To Face courses”

- “Malaysia online
courses policy to
continue until the end
of the year”

● Paid Search
The service and product that Aima Edu provides is high-involvement and

primarily thinking-oriented, therefore the decision process is Learn-Feel-Do
according to FCB grid (Haley & Pittman, 2022). Search engine would be the ideal
channel for the product that falls under quadrant 1 in FCB grid, because it is where
users typically go to find more inforamation after a purchase journey has already
begun. People are searching using keywords when they have a need, and they are
looking around to see what they want to purchase and the search ads allow them to
find about the service provider, who aligns their offers to the customer's needs. Baidu
is a Chinese search platform, it represents approximately 70% of total online search
queries in China. Over 150,000 small and mid-sized Chinese enterprises, large
domestic and multinational corporations have benefited from Baidu's online search
marketing services.

Paid search uses a cost-per-click (CPC) model, where you pay eveytime
someone clicks your ad. In fact, the actual mechanics behind search ads are similar
across most of the popular search engines with some slight differences. Baidu
operates in the same method like Google Ads, the advertiser bids on specific words
and phrases included in the search queries entered by users, in hope that their ads
will be displayed alongside search results for the queries, the ad placement position
is high only if the Ads auction rating is ranked high. Upon display, if the user clicked
on the ad, then Google will charge the advertiser according to the CPC. According to
the Baidu Index, the number of times people using mobile phone searching the
keywords “study in Malaysia” has increased dramaticly since May 2022 as a result of
lockdown in Shanghai has lifted.

Figure 2: Baidu index data
Therefore, a paid search advertising campiagn will be run on Baidu for Aima
Edu to reach a wider audiences who are interested in studying in Malaysia. Based
on the statistics from 518.com, the top keywords under this subject are hard to bid
because there are too many competitors already bid on them, hence we will bid for
more specific words to get the best results with a lower budget. Since the public
universities in Malaysia usually have September intake and March intake,
considering the visa process time, the application should start as early as 5 months
before the deadline, and we will have the campaign run for 3 months in each
application season, which are October, November, December for spring intake; April,
May, June for fall intake. The schedule of application for PhD is more flexible, and
the size of group is relatively smaller, so it will not be included in the bidding. We will
bid for mobile device as there are more people searching this topic on their
handphones as the Baidu Index suggests. The time will be 8pm to 10pm on
weekdays because the data from ZDC (2012) shows that Chinese between 18-24 go
trough their phones around 8-10pm (53.4%).

Table 3: Scheduling for March Intake

Day Keywords Keywords Manual Bid Budget
RMB 300
Campaign A Campaign B RMB 250
RMB 250
Monday Study In Malaysia Master’s Course In RMB 3.0 RMB 200
UM Bachelor UM Spring Intake RMB 200
Spring Intake

Tuesday Study In Malaysia Master’s Course In RMB 2.5
UPM Bachelor UPM Spring Intake
Spring Intake

Wednesday Study In Malaysia Master’s Course In RMB 2.5
UKM Bachelor UKM Spring Intake
Spring Intake

Thursday Study In Malaysia Master’s Course In RMB 2.0
USM Bachelor USM Spring Intake
Spring Intake

Friday Study In Malaysia Master’s Course In RMB 2.0
IIUM Bachelor IIUM Spring Intake
Spring Intake

Total budget: RMB14,400

Table 4: Scheduling for September Intake

Day Keywords Keywords Manual Bid Budget
Monday Campaign A Campaign B RMB 500

Tuesday Top QS Ranking Master’s Course In RMB 5.0 RMB 400
Wednesday Malaysia UM Fall Intake RMB 400
Thursday University RMB 300
Friday RMB 200
UM Bachelor
Fall Intake

Malaysia Public Master’s Course In RMB 4.0
University UPM UPM Fall Intake

Fall Intake

Malaysia Public Master’s Course In RMB 4.0
University UKM UKM Fall Intake

Fall Intake

Malaysia Public Master’s Course In RMB 3.0
University USM USM Fall Intake

Fall Intake

IIUM Bachelor Master’s Course In RMB 2.0
Fall Intake IIUM Fall Intake

Total budget: RMB 21,600

● Influencer Marketing
Utilizing social media influencers to better reach the target audience is known

as "influencer marketing." This powerful marketing strategy aids businesses in
achieving a variety of objectives. In essence, we will pick a variety of social media
influencers to promote Aima Edu, and we'll use their influence to connect with the
target audiences who might be interested in our products or services. The
influencers must be appropriate for our products, which means that their followers'
demographics must match those of our target markets. Celebrities are helpful in
enhancing the brand associations through endorsements if they possess positive
and culturally desirable attributes (Jin, et, al). Therefore, the influncers must have a
positive image and always inspire their followers. In addition, the credibility of the
source is crucial to the success of influencer marketing, therefore we have choose
someone who have studying abroad experience to be more convincing.

The platform that we choose is Red, also known as Xiaohongshu, means a
littlre red book in Mandarin. Xiaohongshu is defined as the Chinese version of
Instagram, it is one of the most interesting and dynamic social e-commerce
applications in China today. It’s the best platform to read about product reviews,
share outfits of the day, learn about fashion tips, and discover high-quality brands
(Chen, 2021). Hence, its targeted audience is young, female, living in the first-tier or
the second-tier city. Since the 60% of the Aima Edu’s customer is female, impliment
a social media influencer campiagn is going to help Aima Edu to reach the largest
targeted audiences. The effectiveness of the influencer marketing can be assessed
through like, share and comment of the product mentioning in the post. In order to
control the budgest, we will choose the middle and small influencers.

Figure 3: User’s demographics of Red

Table 5: Budget allocation of Red influencer campign

Influencer Influencer Estimated Promotional Content Cost/post
Type size view/post (RMB)

Education (followers) 10k-20k Writing (3 notes) 1,000
& CTA 2,000
10k 5,000
10,000
Culture 20k 20k-40k Writing (3 notes)
Sharing 50k & CTA

Local Expert 50k-80k Product mention
& CTA

Vlogger 50k 50k-80k Video
& CTA

Total budget: 24,000

● Pricing Strategy
In the overseas studying market where there are thousands of small

businesses providing the same products and services, an effective pricing strategy
can help Aima Edu stand out. The current price of Aima Edu’s service is RMB
13,000, this price includes overseas study consultation, notary fee for application
materials, intermediary fee, airport pick-up fee in Malaysia, and enrollment
registration service fee. Tuition and visa fees are at the student's own expense. In
the customer satisfaction survey, most people think that this price is not reasonable,
so a more cost-effective price is needed to attract new customers. Hence, we will
have an Economy Pricing targeting customers who want to save as much money as
possible on whatever good or service they’re purchasing; and a Bundle Pricing that
pair several products together and sell them for less money than each would be
individually. These new pricing strategies will be included in the search ads as a
unique selling point to attract new customers and penetrate the market.

Table 6: New Price List Bundle Price

Economy Price Consultation
Documentation
★ Consultation Application
Registration
1 to 1 consultation with the experts to
discuss a suitable scheme for client And

★ Documentation 6 Months of language training with
native English teachers at the
Notarization of transcript and certificate, language center located in Kuala
documents verification Lumpur (worth 4,000)

★ Application

Notarization of transcript and graduation
certificate, material verification

★ Registration

Assist clients to complete enrollment
and select courses

Price: 8,800 Price: 10,000

2. To Increase Engagement
This part of the strategy aims for long-term customer engagement and

communications, that is, building a relationship with new and existing customers over
time in order to foster customer loyalty that results in repeat purchases and referrals,
which are critical for Aima Edu in conducting its business and attract new customers.
This will be acheived by reaching out to Aima Edu’s audience and allowing them to
be a part of the content creation through social media campaigns and other digital
touch points, with Aima Edu involving them in the process. In turn, they feel a sense
of ownership and connection with the organisation and services rendered, which
leads to increased brand relationship and loyalty.

● Social Media
Around 3.4 billion individuals worldwide utilized social media in 2019. With the

spread of smartphones and social media platforms, it has become an increasingly
effective tool for engaging various audiences. In China, Weibo is unquestionably the
most popular social media site. The number of Weibo users in China continues to
rise each year because of the growing popularity of Weibo among Chinese social
media users. Therefore, Aima Edu must establish a Webo account and diversify its
content on Weibo, from photos, videos, information dissemination, and offers, and
present it in attractive ways, in addition to responding to inquiries and interacting
continuously with followers. When clients receive individualized answers to their
inquiries that actually address their needs rather than a general response from the
frequently asked question collection, businesses are typically rewarded with
engaged customers (Nolinske, n.d).

However, without encouraging too much content published within a week, it is
crucial to maintain an active presence by publishing content on a regular basis,
Hartshorne (2021) argues that posting consistency is more important than posting
frequency and emphasizes more towards content quality which is more important
than content quantity and having a clear objective for published contents. hence this
proposed scheduling will establish consistency within certain days of the week and
each day will be focused only on certain topics. The key for Aima Edu to increase
customer engagement is to be consistent and understand that it is a long process,
they have to understand the consumers and constantly speak to their needs. The
data provided by Weibo can be useful for them to evaluate the result of their efforts,
from likes, share, comment and view, they can improve their content strategies.

Table 7: Scheduling for Weibo

DAY/TIME 10-12 AM 1-3PM 8-10PM
MONDAY
Monday Motivation Congratulation Post Regular Information
TUESDAY Quotes (show client’s dream Updates
WEDNESDAY #staymotivated offer) (policy and rule)
#mondaymotivation
A Famous Alumni Q&A
Malaysia Local News (Partner University) (On Weibo Stories)
Highlight
Student’s Photo Short Videos
Studying Tips Exhibition (Interview with the
(Excellent Graduates) #aimaeduphotowall current students)

THURSDAY Information Post QS ranking university Malaysia University
(activities/services) (1 university/week) Virtual Tour
(1 destination/week)
FRIDAY Interactive Post Local attractions in
Explore & Taste Test
(comment below about Malaysia Internet-famous Cafe
in Kuala Lumpur
your weekend plan) (Vlog/video)

● Loyalty Program
Building a customer loyalty program will help business to retain customers

and help to attract new customers as well. In order to establish a strong relationship,
Aima Edu will start two loyalty programs among its customers, one is referral
marketing, and another one is the brand community. Referral marketing is a tactic to
get loyal customers to actively recommend the company to their contacts. With the
help of referral marketing, brands can use the natural, organic, and altruistic nature
of referrals and manage them at scale (Kapadia, 2019). While a loyalty programme
is a group of people who appreciate or admire the brand, and who want to build
relationships with one another around shared interest. Aima Edu will introduce the
loyalty programs on WeChat where the existing customers are based.

Table 8: Loyalty Programs

Referral Marketing Brand Community — “Aima Club”

Goals: Goals:

To incentivize existing customers to share To create a space for the customers to
Aima Edu’s service with others connect with Aima Edu and each other

Channel: Channel:

WeChat personal message Wechat Group

Procedure: Procedure:

Acknowledge the clients about the benefits The Comittee will choose the members
as a referral, send them the referral card from students who are active and
passionate to join Aima Club
Benefits:
Benefits:
Referral gets 200 cash rewards while the
new customer gets a 10% discount on the 1. Monthly gathering
agent fees 2. Sponsored trips
3. Job opportunity
4. Extra resources

3. Leverage Brand Image
A brand is an intangible asset and a promise that communicates who you are,

what you do, and why it is significant; it is not what is projected to people, but rather
what is perceived. Put simply, brand image is all about how consumers feel about a
brand and how they perceive it. A positive image is a valuable strategtic asset
because companies that have a good reputation can differentiate it from the
competitors. Social responsibility is a management strategy that businesses make
use of it to create a positive impact on society and establish a good reputation.
Delivering high-quality products and services at a fair price is a company's first and
foremost social responsibility. This is followed by offering good after-sales support,
providing excellent customer service, getting involved in advocacy and civic causes,
and generally carrying out deeds that show how concerned the company is with its
clients, the environment, and society at large (Luenendonk, 2019).

Aima Edu's brand image has been proven to be negative in the market
research as a result of a combination of factors emerged in their customer journey
that shaped consumers' perception of the brand such as unsatisfied customer
service and unreasonable price. Hence, the objectives in this stage are to leverage
Aima Edu's brand image and change consumers' perception by improving its service
and creating initiatives that can demonstrate how much they care about their
customers and the community as a whole. The initiatives that Aima Edu is going to
launch will benefit not just its customers, but also all the students who belong to the
Chinese student community at Malaysian universities with which Aima Edu has a
partnership. All the Chinese student will be included as a targeted audiences in
conducting the following initiatives.

● Scholarship
Nowadays, businesses employ scholarships as part of their CSR education

initiatives to fund education among youths from poor families who cannot afford to
participate in university education. Since Aima Edu is an educational brand, a
scholarship program will be aligned with its mission and vision, which is empowering
overseas education in China. Although the higher education in Malaysia is one of the
most affordable options for students, some are struggling to pay their fees, they have
to pause their studies due to financial issues. Therefore Aima Edu will launch a
scholarship program aiming to aid outstanding Chinese students who come from
low-income familes to continue their studies. Aima Edu will collaborate with the
universities to ensure the qualification of the candidates, the amount of scholarship is
enough to cover their tuition for each semester and in order to receive the
scholarship every semester, they need to mantain a good CGPA.

Aima Edu's scholarship will be applicable to 15 bachelor's students each
semester. A special fund will be established for the scholarship, which will be largely
funded by Chinese entrepreneurs and alumni in Malaysia with associations to Aima
Edu. To promote this initiative, a poster contains a QR code that lead to registration
link will be posted acorss all platforms during the application period, there will be
ample time for students to apply the scholarship, from Feburary to March. The final
decision will be made by end of March, but the names will not be announced on
social media to protect their privacy. The supported students can be developed over
time to become a resource for the organisation. They can be trusted to work
effectively and absorbed into the organisation with employment, eventually paving
the way for a better future for them (Team B4S, 2017).

● Webinar
Social responsibility does not have to be limited to donating money or other

material items, it can also take the form of providing solutions to specific problems.
People frequently flock to those they believe have the answers they seek like
organisations or individuals who are considered authoritative in their field of
expertise. Therefore, Aima Edu will invest in creating and hosting webinars that are
loaded with informative and valuable information for the targeted audience as an
authority in the market they serve. A webinar is an online seminar that connects a
diverse group of people via the internet. It is an effective tool for addressing common
prospect questions and concerns. Once the students find the answers in the
webinars, they will start looking at Aima Edu as an authority in the field and the name
will come to their mind when they search for valueble infromation.

The webinar project will be organised around three major themes: study, life,
and career. A a core team of student representatives from various universities will
take the initiative in organising the webinar, they are motivated with opportunities to
gain practical experience and a certificate from Aima Edu. In the meantime, Aima
Edu will assist them with all the resources they require, such as inviting speakers
from large cooperations and government officers. To raise awareness about the
webinar, the promotion will be available across all digital touchpoints following the
schedule, and the recordings will be stored on the company's website after the
webinar to enrich the content. The founder of Aima Edu, Ma Jianjun will attend every
webinar to address the importance of the webinar, and he will be open to any
suggestions about their service and product, as well as deliver a short speech to
close the session and inspire students.

Figure 4: the webinar project steps

5.0 Timeline & Budget

Figure 5: The timeline & budget
All of the marketing strategies proposed for Aima Edu are for a one-year
period (2023), but the execution will vary depending on the circumstances.
Collaboration with KOLs for influencer marketing will take place in Q1 and Q3, when
spring or summer holidays begin in China, students are on semester break or have
recently graduated from high school or bachelor university. While the webinar will be
held in Q2 and Q3, in the middle of the semester, so that students can participate.
Baidu search ads are also used for recruitment in the second and third quarters.
Weibo and website content require a full year of execution because it is critical to
maintain an active presence by publishing content on a regular basis. The estimated
budget for the proposal is about RMB 67,000 for the execution in full year of 2023.
As for the evaluation for the tactics’ effectiveness, it can be categorized into below:

Table 9: Impact Assessment & Projected Outcomes

Initiatives / Touchpoints Projected Outcomes Measurements

Company Website ● Reach Targeted Audience - Site Traffic
● Promote Aima Edu - User Demographics
● Lading Page Optimize - Lead Generation
● Enrich Content - Click-Through Rate
- SEO Tools

Paid Search Ads ● Reach Potential Customer - Site Traffic
● Increase Visibility - Lead Generation
● Increase Conversion - Analytic Tools

Influencer Marketing ● Increase Brand Awarenss - Engagement: Likes,
● Reach Targeted Audience Share, Comments
● Increase Conversion
● Promote Product/Service - Conversion Rate
- Post Reach

Pricing Strategy ● Attract Targeted Audience - Testmonials
Social Media ● Increase Customer - Feedback
- Lead Generation
Satisfaction
● Increase Lead - Net New Followers
- Follower Growth Rate
● Gain Exposure - Post Reach
● Build Stong Relationship - Brand Mentions
● Loyal Customers

Referral Marketing ● Encourage Referrals - Word-of-mouth
Brand Community ● Increase Brand Loyalty - Lead Generation
● Increase Lead
- Number of Participants
● Strong Relationship With - Events And Activities
Customers

Aima Edu Scholarship ● Strengthen Brand Image - Number of Candidate
Webinars ● Increase Loyalty - Media Coverage

● Strengthen Brand Image - Number of Participants
● Enrich Content - Feedback

6.0 Conclusion

To summarise, Aima Edu's businesses are primarily involved in the delivery of
B2C products and services. Their assets are complimentary services that assist
customers in completing the application process; it is critical in providing good
customer satisfaction to foster long-term customer relationships and ongoing
business with more students. If customers have a positive experience with studying
abroad agent services, they are more likely to be satisfied and loyal. In order to
sustain and maintain an effective communication with the audience, Aima Edu must
continue to use the right channel of touch point for the right content messaging
because for the millennial population, face-to-face communication is no longer
relevant; rather, they like to communicate through social media.

Having a nourishment plan paves the way for Aima Edu to develop a
sustainable brand and long-term customer relationships. It improves Aima Edu's
brand reputation and increases competitive advantage in a growing market. A
sustainability plan improves the final product while increasing productivity through
sustainable business practises. It is critical for Aima Edu to maintain efficiency and
productivity by conserving resources; this integrated marketing communication saves
time and reduces costs, as well as shows the ability to turn Aima Edu's initiative
goals into reality.

7.0 Reference

Agbor, J. M. (2011). The Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Service
Quality: a study of three Service sectors in Umeå.

Ali, R., Leifu, G., YasirRafiq, M., & Hassan, M. (2015). Role of perceived value,
customer expectation, corporate image and perceived service quality on the
customer satisfaction. Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), 31(4),
1425-1436. https://doi.org/10.19030/jabr.v31i4.9328

Buttle, F. A. (1998). Word of mouth: understanding and managing referral marketing.
Journal of strategic marketing, 6(3), 241-254.
https://doi.org/10.1080/096525498346658

Caruana, A. (2002). Service loyalty: The effects of service quality and the mediating
role of customer satisfaction. European journal of marketing.
https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560210430818

Chen, T. (2021, 8 July). Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) Marketing – A Complete
Guide
https://walkthechat.com/xiaohongshu-little-red-book-fostering-e-commerce-via
-word-mouth/

Dulock, H. L. (1993). Research design: Descriptive research. Journal of Pediatric
Oncology Nursing, 10(4), 154-157.
https://doi.org/10.1177/104345429301000406

Dabholkar, P. A., & Overby, J. W. (2005). Linking process and outcome to service
quality and customer satisfaction evaluations: An investigation of real estate
agent service. International journal of service industry management. Vol. 16
No. 1, pp. 10-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230510587131

Jin, S. V., Muqaddam, A., & Ryu, E. (2019). Instafamous and social media influencer
marketing. Marketing Intelligence & Planning.

Haley, E., & Pittman, M. (2022). Remembering the FCB Grid: Thinking, Feeling, and
Involvement in the Age of Social Media. Journal of Advertising, 1-13.

Hartshorne, D. (n.d.). How often should you post on social media in 2022? Sendible.
Retrieved January 25, 2022, from
https://www.sendible.com/insights/how-often-to-post-on-social-media

Kapadia, A. (2019, 28 October). What Is Referral Marketing? B2C
https://www.business2community.com/marketing/what-is-referral-marketing-02
253574

Luenendonk, M. (2019, 23 September). Using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
to Improve Your Brand. CLEVERISM
https://www.cleverism.com/using-corporate-social-responsibility-improve-bran
d/

Martin. N. (2019, May 26). Why Millennials Have Higher Expectations for Customer

Experience Than Older Generations. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolemartin1/2019/03/26/why-millennials-have

-higher-expectations-for-customer-experience-than-older-generations/?sh=7

61b74cd2ec1

Macnamara, B. N., Moreau, D., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2016). The Relationship Between

Deliberate Practice and Performance in Sports. Perspectives on

Psychological Science, 11(3), 333–350.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616635591

Norasmah Hj. Othman. (2007). Keusahawanan remaja Malaysia. Serdang :

Penerbit Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Newman, E. (2014, July 14). Importance of Product Knowledge in Customer Service.

Yonyx.

https://corp.yonyx.com/customer-service/importance-product-knowledge-cus

tomer-service/

Nielson. (2012, November 4). Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile
Advertising Grows.
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2012/consumer-trust-in-online-
social-and-mobile-advertising-grows/.

Nam, J., Ekinci, Y., & Whyatt, G. (2011). Brand equity, brand loyalty and consumer
satisfaction. Annals of tourism Research, 38(3), 1009-1030.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2011.01.015

Nolinske, T. (n.d). Customer Engagement and Customer Loyalty. Cause or Effect?
National Business Research Institute
https://www.nbrii.com/customer-survey-white-papers/customer-engagement-lo
yalty/

Oliver, R. L. (2000). Customer satisfaction with service. Handbook of services
marketing and management, 247-254.

Suchánek, P., Richter, J., & Králová, M. (2015). Customer satisfaction, product
quality and performance of companies. Review of economic perspectives,
14(4), 329-344. https://doi.org/10.1515/revecp-2015-0003

Sharma, N., & Patterson, P. G. (1999). The impact of communication effectiveness
and service quality on relationship commitment in consumer, professional
services. Journal of services marketing. Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 151-170.
https://doi.org/10.1108/08876049910266059

Stephen, A. T., & Galak, J. (2012). The effects of traditional and social earned media
on sales: A study of a microlending marketplace. Journal of marketing
research, 49(5), 624-639. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.09.0401

Turgeon, V. (2020, April 2). PESO Model for PR: Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned
Media. Brandpoint.
https://www.brandpoint.com/blog/earned-owned-paid-media/

Thomala, L. L. (2022, May 11). Number of monthly active users (MAU) of the leading

blogging apps in China as of December 2021. Statista.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1154433/china-leading-microblogging-app

s-monthly-active-users/#:~:text=Sina%20Weibo%2C%20China's%20most%

20popular,users%20as%20of%20December%202021.

Team B4S. (2017, 15 November). Scholarship as CSR initiative: Benefits and
challenges. Buddy4Study
https://www.buddy4study.com/article/scholarship-as-csr-initiative-benefits-and-
challenges#:~:text=Empowerment%20of%20education%3A%20Organizations
%20these,afford%20to%20pursue%20formal%20education.

Vantamay, S. (2007). Understanding of perceived product quality: Reviews and

recommendations. BU Academic Review, 6(1), 110-117.

W​ ang, M. Y., Zhang, P. Z., Zhou, C. Y., & Lai, N. Y. (2019). Effect of emotion,

expectation, and privacy on purchase intention in WeChat health product

consumption: The mediating role of trust. International Journal of

Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(20), 3861.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16203861

Zeeshan, M., Sabbar, S. D., Bashir, S., & Hussain, R. I. (2013). Foreign students’
motivation for studying in Malaysia. International Journal of Asian social
science, 3(3), 833-846.

ZDC (2012). 2012 China Mobile Internet User Survey Report.
https://m.zol.com.cn/article/3230602.html

8.0 Appendix:

● Webpage Ideas

● Search advetising in Baidu
- Ads that includes links

- Ads that includes contacts

● Influencer marketing in Red
- Post ideas: Attention-Interest-Desire-Action

● Social media in Weibo
- Regular post ideas:

● Referral marketing
● Aima Club