Marketing Workshop with North Melbourne Language and Learning

North Melbourne Language and Learning (NMLL) is a community based, not-for-profit organisation, located in the North Melbourne Housing Estates. The organisation specialises in the educational needs of newly arrived migrants and refugees by providing English language courses and computer skills.

North Melbourne Language and Learning has a strong emphasis on community development, ensuring that its students not only gain critical skills but also belong to their wider community. This approach helps improve the confidence of students and enables them to consider further study or career opportunities.

This afternoon I conducted a marketing workshop for North Melbourne Language and Learning to provide an opportunity for input from volunteers, students, staff and board members into the development of the marketing plan.

North Melbourne Language and Learning clearly delivers a critical need within the community and has strong enrolment in its classes. In this case a marketing plan looks as how an organisation could further its reach and strengthen its connection to stakeholders, such as funding bodies and its target market.

Discussion is essential when developing a marketing plan as this ensures that the identified objectives meet the needs of the organisation. Objectives frame a marketing plan and the identified strategies are designed to achieve these marketing goals. It is therefore critical that all members of an organisation understand the merits of the marketing plan and work towards its implementation.

Feedback was particularly important from the participating students, who discussed how they discovered the courses available at North Melbourne Language and Learning and their reasons for seeking study opportunities. Likewise, volunteers, staff and board members were able to place context in terms of their activities and the roles they undertake within the centre.

The workshop will ensure that the finalised marketing plan is able to be implemented by North Melbourne Language and Learning with clearly identifiable actions and goals.