How universities can be top marketing experts too
The rules of the game are changing in the higher-education space, and marketing teams are scrambling to keep up. Many are having to rethink existing campaigns and find new ways to attract and retain students.
So what’s causing the changes? The two dominant factors are increasing competition between institutions and the evolving needs of students. Both have big implications when it comes to marketing.
The increasing competition means it’s now more important than ever for higher-education institutions to stand out in the marketplace. It’s no longer enough to rely on reputation and past successes. Those that succeed in the future will be the ones that are successful in building their brand and clearly communicating their points of difference. Universities have also expanded their offerings into new areas. Many now have a broader range of courses as well as comprehensive online teaching capabilities. These new resources need to be communicated with target markets.
Universities also need to have effective ways to establish long-term relationships with students. Attracting new students is one goal, but this relationship must be extended through to further studies and the creation of an alumni.
Meanwhile, the needs of students themselves are also changing. Education represents a significant investment in both time and money and most are being much more selective about which institution they choose. They also want to be confident their studies will support future careers in what has become a rapidly evolving economy. They’re also much more savvy when it comes to marketing. Having grown up in a digital world, they’re used to brands communicating with them via a variety of different channels. They expect universities to take a similar approach.
So what can institutions do to improve their marketing activities and drive success? Four key steps to follow are:
1. Identify students across touch points: Your student demographic has changed: the introduction of online learning, changes in international participation, and more diversity in available courses means you need to cater for a different type of student than you did 10 years ago. Marketing teams need to understand exactly who they are targeting, why, and what channels will be most effective. It helps to create ‘personas’ of ideal students based on market research. You can then know the tone of voice that should be used in communications to be most effective. This process moves beyond more traditional demographic segmentation towards dynamic personalisation.
2. Engage through different channels: Once the target potential students have been identified, the marketing team must then decide on the communication channels that will be most effective in reaching them. A consistent, omni-channel messaging campaign should then be developed using avenues including everything from email and SMS to mobile, Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms. Interestingly, research shows 65% of students choose their institution because of the personalised attention they received prior to enrolment.
3. Empower your internal teams: Marketing teams need to be equipped with the tools and data they will need to devise and deploy their communication campaigns. This data can be obtained from existing students, demographic trends and analysis of the success of previous initiatives. Analytical tools can also be deployed that will allow insights to be gained that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.
4. Deploy marketing technology: The most successful marketing teams are those that make use of an integrated platform to underpin their activity. The platform can take the research and data about prospects and feed it into a number of different marketing activities. Having an integrated platform ensures all activity is meshed together and produces the most effective result. It can also ensure marketing budgets are aligned to the best communication channels.
By taking an integrated, data-driven approach to communication, higher-education marketing teams will be well placed to succeed in what is a rapidly evolving area.
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