Two kinds of marketing strategies to develop at the college level
In my experience as an outreach specialist I find that there are two marketing theories that are applicable to development of educational institution which are:
Direct Marketing because is has allow me to have a direct contact with the prospects get their immediate feedback and impressions
Relationship marketing: although at the college level is a bit challenging to have this implemented do the volume of customers which are students this kind of strategy strengthen the interpersonal relationships with our clients.
We have been successful with utilizing Relationship Marketing as well as Online Marketing. The way we utilize Relationship Marketing is by conducting surveys in the classroom during the first 2 weeks of class. We ask about their experience with every department they have had contact with; their classes; teachers; experience as a whole & then asking if they would recommend a friend or family member and getting them to refer someone by giving us their name & contact information. We agree to call these candidates first to meet with them for career planning.
Our online marketing has actually yielded the most enrollments; If you utilize an online marketing platform, you must implement training for reps to understand the consumer they are working with, who is in control of how they receive information; more informed;more affluent; who place greater value on getting information and making an informed decision;Reps need to be trained on how to email effectively; how to observe laws about spamming & to always use a disclaimer/opt out phrase in all outgoing emails. If reps are trained to understand their prospect, they will respect them & give them the information they need to be able to make a decision to visit your campus. We provide them with links to do their own personal research on careers, on our school, on salary ranges, etc via email & then offer them information & a tour, more personalized information in the form of an appointment. This works well with a more educated consumer.
Really interesting; I am new to the area and this helps realize the many steps involved & training needed. Thanks.
