Charlotte Fenney, head of education marketing, Euro RSCG Heist, an education marketing agency
It is a great time to look at ways to take your brand to an international audience: Agents are key to many institutions’ international recruitment strategy but there has been an over-reliance on the reputation of the UK higher education market generally as well as that of individual institutions. Universities have to get better at tailor-made campaigns to international markets – segmented by country, study level and discipline. Digital and social media has huge potential in shaping the future of overseas recruitment.
The emotional attractiveness of the brand proposition will remain important: Though higher fees will result in more decisions about where to study being made on the basis of affordability, students will still make decisions with their hearts more than their heads. It’s this emotional part of the decision-making process which is influenced by your social peers, rather than just messages from the brand. The Trip Advisor style of communications for prospective students will allow audiences to take both emotional (heart) and practical (head) factors into account.
Thomas Hay, student recruitment and events manager, University of Glamorgan
Universities must communicate clearly about courses and student debt: Universities need to provide high-quality information, advice and guidance to students on a range of higher education topics, including fees. It has been suggested that students under the new funding regime, from 2012 onwards, may actually have more disposable income in the future than those on an equivalent salary who went through higher education under the current system. However, it is equally as important to make the distinction between graduate debt and debt accrued as a result of, for example, a bank loan or credit card spend: there are no penalties for an inability to pay, and a finite repayment period, after which any outstanding debt is cancelled.
The student union relationship is key to marketing yourself to prospective students: It is essential to have student ambassadors at open days and work hand-in-glove with the student union on visits and marketing. Investing in infrastructure that the student union requests will not only help that relationship but will also be attractive to new students as it is all part of what our university offers them.
Recognise the increasingly influential role that parents, teachers and careers advisers can play in a student’s decision: Then tailor communication with these stakeholder groups to ensure a wider appreciation of who the institution is and what they do.
Martha Campos, marketing officer, School of Education, University of Birmingham
Use social media and networks to help international students “try before they buy”: International students are often unable to attend an open day with home students so if they can join a group and feel as though they know what it will be like to be part of the university community in advance of coming to study it can help to reassure them and make them feel welcome. This can be done by combining official university groups, run by online communications teams, with informal student groups. Encourage prospective students to make contact on Facebook as current students often start Facebook groups, for their countries of origin or even their courses.
Make use of market research to inform your recruitment strategies: Universities need to use market research that considers how course choices have shifted for the academic year 2012-2013 to inform their recruitment strategies. For the 2012 academic year, the application process that starts nearly a year in advance means that subject choice for new students is not likely to change.
Gayle Daley, senior marketing executive, postgraduate recruitment, Anglia Ruskin University
Marketing departments should educate academic staff about the value of marketing: Academics need to see the student as a customer and consider the whole student journey and experience as part of their role. Teach academics strategies to get their good work noticed. For example, how social media activity may contribute to the new students arriving in their classrooms.
Marketing the distinct career benefits of individual courses will become increasingly important: The National Student Survey reports will become ever more important in determining the courses universities continue to offer. In addition, reporting on the successes of past students – what they did and where they are now – will feature more in marketing material. Prospective students are going to want to see that we can demonstrate value for money in our offering.
Locality and flexibility of study play a large part in students’ decision-making process: Students will want to see whether their studies can fit comfortably into their lifestyles, especially with the rise in fees leading to more and more students considering part-time study as a practical alternative.
Georgina Thomson, marketing and communications officer, Cardiff Law School
With the growing importance of marketing, trust is key: To gain trust, marketing officers need to ensure that their messages are backed up in reality. Effective marketing means matching what an individual institution has to offer with its target students’ wants and needs, and then they need to deliver what they promise: institutions who do this effectively will build trust rather than sabotage it. A good reputation needs to be maintained through effective two-way communication with students and continuous improvement of the student experience.
Don’t get bogged down with what’s happening in the policy arena: Though there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty surrounding fees – and we are increasingly dealing with queries, concerns and frustrations – the majority of students appear to be far more concerned with entry requirements and career paths.
Strong internal communications are key to consistency in communicating distinctiveness: Large staff numbers in many higher education institutions can make communicating your core brand values difficult. The best place to start developing a sense of distinctiveness is with a strong vice-chancellor who frequently talks to the staff, and encourages everyone to share the same message. This is not the case at every institution.
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