Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Colleges Make (Violate Them at Your Own Risk)
2002; American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers; Volume: 77; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0010-0889
Autores Tópico(s)Leadership and Management in Organizations
ResumoAs a higher education marketing consultant since early 1990s, I have seen many things that have caused me to shake my head in disbelief plans created without forethought, or hastily thrown together to satisfy a board; budgets decreased and expectations increased; and feeling that it is good to be the best kept secret. But as I started to think about marketing mistakes that were very consistent from campus to campus, it was clear I could identify ten main items. Having worked on many marketing plans for colleges and universities across country, I have also placed them in rank order, with #i being worst of mistakes to make. Many of you will realize your institution has committed some of these mistakes, but hopefully very few will recognize all of them on list. Either way, time is right to get help. At end of each listing, key strategies are detailed to help you avoid that particular mistake. Use them wisely! From home office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 10 Promotion tactics will not save a strategically flawed institution Too many institutions believe that to get more students, they just need to promote more. For some this may indeed be case. However, they are ignoring one simple fact (which will actually be addressed in full in another key mistake): that a car that is a lemon, no matter how much you polish it up, is still a lemon on inside. When you market a poor institution, all that happens is that more people find out you're a poor institution. Let's think about four Ps of marketing. If you do not offer right courses (Product), for right price (Price), in right time and place (Place), it does not matter how much you tell them (Promote)... they will not attend. All that will happen is that prospective students will find out you don't have right courses, at right price, in right place and time..and they will look elsewhere. KEY STRATEGY Get your house in order internally before you market externally. Promotion will not save a poor institution. Constantly review your marketing mix (Product, Price, and Place) to ensure this is not a problem for your institution. 9 Trying to make marketing too complicated Given all advances in marketing in last ten years (such as One-to-One Marketing, Guerrilla Marketing, Branding and Image Building, etc.), solution is simple: have something your market desires and tell market through a mix of promotional vehicles. There are a couple of important items to keep in mind as you think about marketing. Your audiences will not be able to grasp complex messages, so remember KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. Next, remember your audience's favorite radio station is W11-FM, or What& In It For Me? Make sure that as you develop marketing strategies, you make them personally relevant to audience with which you are communicating. How will your institution benefit target audience? Talk to them about what is important to them, not what is important to you. KEY STRATEGY Do not wait for perfect plan. Start with a few strategies, build consensus and momentum, and adjust accordingly. If you wait for perfect plan, it will be outdated by time you finish it. Develop a scaled-back plan focusing on key areas first, and then move into completing a full marketing plan. 8 Ignoring 5th and 6th Ps The 5th and 6th Ps of marketing are Policy and Politics. Address territoriality very early, or your best marketing efforts will fail. Many times this is accomplished by enabling policy changes. Remove barriers related to policy and politics and you will become a more marketing-oriented institution. Addressing territoriality may be as simple as determining what is important to internal (political) audiences. Keep in mind that product, price, and place issues are strategic and require input and direction of stakeholders, while promotion tends to be more tactical and of less interest to stakeholders. …
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