The purpose of the BTEC marketing initiative is to help BTEC better understand the market for professional development training in biomanufacturing. BTEC’s Industry Training program has grown organically since its inception in 2009. A comprehensive marketing plan will support BTEC’s growth as they continue to expand online, on-demand offerings and maximize hands-on training.
The marketing plan contains three main components:
- Analyze the current state of biomanufacturing training and determine the total addressable market (TAM), Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), and Service Obtainable Market (SOM). Identify market trends, identify projected growth for biomanufacturing training, and map current biomanufacturing training offerings.
- Identify the target customer and understand who BTEC’s customers are, where they come from, and what might influence their buying decisions. Create customer profiles and personas for primary targets.
- Identify competitors among academic institutions, government-sponsored entities such as National Institute for Bioprocessing Research (NIBRT), regulatory and standards organizations, instrumentation, and equipment vendors. Complete Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis for key competitors.
The primary year-one goals were to identify a research partner within the NC State University Poole College of Management and to refine research scope and study objectives. In Spring 2024, BTEC completed an agreement with Dr. Stacey Wood, Langdon Distinguished University Professor of Marketing, Executive Director, Consumer Innovation Consortium, Department of Business Management, Poole College of Management. BTEC will work with Dr. Poole in year two to meet the goals of the study. The marketing study will help BTEC expand its reach for online, on-demand training. It will also help BTEC maximize the value of hands-on training within the BTEC facility by underpinning curriculum planning with courses better aligned with customer requirements.
This project directly supports BTEC’s strategic goal to enhance the knowledge and skills of biomanufacturing industry professionals. The marketing plan provides a framework for BTEC to better market future on-demand and hands-on training offerings. Upon completion, the study and associated survey tools will help improve the impact and quality of professional development training and education for the biomanufacturing professionals targeted by BTEC’s Professional Development Training program. BTEC anticipates sharing this research and associated survey tools widely among NC State College of Engineering stakeholders supporting professional development training, as well as to the entire NC State University population. KIETS support for this initiative leverages in-kind support from BTEC.