MARKETING HIGHER EDUCATION A periodic electronic Newsletter to help you market your school, community college, college, or university. Vol. XI, no. 8, August, 1997 -------------------------------------------------- A Marketing Team for Higher Education by Robert (Bob) S. Topor For most institutions of higher education assembling a team to participate in marketing means bringing people of many skills together. Here's a quick reference guide to the kinds of skills you may want to consider at your school. Of course you may not need to orchestrate all these skills at one time but these are the kinds of services you may require at one time or another. Advertising: Advertising firms help promote your services by creating and disseminating a mass-media message. Their assistance may include everything from positioning your school to creating a slogan or advertisement to targeting your audiences and buying air and advertising space. Ad agencies can provide creative help. They can also help in placing media efforts on your behalf. Public Relations: Public Relations help manage the public perception of your school and its offerings via mass media. They arrange publicity, place stories, handle crises and other marketing functions with a goal toward promoting the introduction, marketing and promotion of your school's services and activities. Direct mail: Direct mail offers a varied range of services to help distribute your message via conventional mail, creating the copy, overseeing printing and production of a mail piece or brochure, identifying and purchasing mailing lists; and shipping, receiving and warehousing support materials. Full service direct mail firms can do everything needed along the way from idea to the prospect's mailbox. Multimedia: Multimedia firms offer a means of increasing the impact and comprehension in the presentation of a message (exhibits, for example) by combining two or more media (video, sound, animation, text and/or graphics). Interactive multimedia uses computer technology to create kiosks or disks, enabling participants to select and play specific segments of your message most important to them. Graphic Design: Graphic designers practice the art of visual communications with messages that promote your services, including the design of logos and identification systems, brochures, packaging, lettering, catalogs, etc. Creative writing: Translating higher educational offerings into words is not as easy as it may appear to be. "Wordsmiths," people who have the ability to write in many levels (research, academic, promotional, scientific, news, web sites) are often called in to be part of the marketing team. Trade show services: Trade show firms provide specialized services needed to introduce and promote services in trade shows. These services include planning of banners, booth design, presentations, multimedia, demonstrations and everything you may need to set up an exhibit at a high school fair, for example. Sales training: These firms provide sales training services to improve the effectiveness of your representatives in the introduction, marketing and "sales" of your services. Sales seminars can include off-site seminars as well as consultants who create customized programs delivered on your campus. The idea of "sales" for higher education is a new one, but one that will become increasingly important. Printing and typesetting: Produce all printed materials, including presentations, cards, brochures, viewbooks, annual reports, case statements, books, mail pieces, etc. You may have in-house staff to provide these services. Sales promotions: Includes services that promote your school and its offerings by making current and potential users more aware of your institution and its offerings through its services, logo, slogan. Includes organizational T-shirts, pens, watches, cups, contests, etc. Consulting: Marketing consultants come in-house and provide an impartial, objective point of view in troubleshooting as well as expert advice on how to make your marketing teams and strategies more effective. Also includes researchers who help match your offerings with users by using data to target and recommending the right media to reach them. Consultants are available to do audits of your web site in comparison to competitors. Web master: Professional support in the creation, posting and maintenance of web sites is an exploding business and one that is critically important to your academy. Data mining: This is a new idea but you will find it developing at an incredible rate in the future. The idea involves using computers and electronic systems to extract meaningful information to use for marketing. A tip: You can use Bob Topor's Web site to download the second revised edition of his guidebook. Marketing Higher Education- A Practical Guide. This is a basic text to help you in your work. You have permission to make multiple copies for use on your campus. Go to Bob's site at http://www.marketinged.com and look for the book at the home page! ********** NOTICE: As a subscriber to this electronic newsletter, you have permission to reproduce and use this article on your campus. All others please note ©1997, Topor Consulting Group International. Comments about, or requests to reprint should be directed to Bob Topor at topor@marketinged.com. ********** Bob Topor Topor Consulting Group International e-mail: topor@marketinged.com -------------------------------------------------- Colleges on the Web: the Web Team by Elizabeth (Liz) Pollard Building and maintaining an institutional Web site requires a variety of skills and expertise. Because it is basically a publication in the electronic medium, it needs the same kind of careful planning, writing, and design as your viewbook or your catalog. Because it takes advantage of the technology available on the Web, it also requires technical skills. Because it is also a marketing and public relations tool that has the potential to reach an unparalleled audience, a worldwide one, it calls for the coordination of experienced professionals in those fields! A Web site for a college or university does some basic things on a much grander scale. It provides a quick, convenient, current reference point for current and potential students and their parents, faculty and staff, and potential donors, and it presents the image of the institution to millions of viewers on the World Wide Web. It combines into one package printed and other media, and it offers a focal point for input from all corners of your campus. It cannot be allowed to scramble up without supervision! Many institutions are currently assigning the management of a Web site to one person with the technical skills to place the input of many departments and individuals into the HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format. This person is often a programmer, and the input is frequently gathered haphazardly. Sometimes no one from the marketing area is involved until after the site is launched, and by then it's too late without redesigning the entire effort! The most effective approach to Web site development and maintenance is that of a TEAM comprised of many individuals. Let's take a look at the kinds of expertise needed on that team, and the communication and coordination necessary to do a super job! Technical Skills: A good HTML programmer is certainly needed, a "WEBMASTER" for lack of a better term, who can make the institution's input understandable to the computer. S/he must be able to communicate effectively with the marketing professionals and understand their needs. It's also helpful if this person can handle direction from publications people, work effectively with graphics professionals and designers, and understand the necessary details of the academic parts of the site. The ability to translate into HTML information from all parts of the campus and keep it up to date responsibly is also a must! The ability to walk on water, while not a prerequisite for the position, is also a definite plus! The Webmaster must be able and willing to call on other specialists when needed. Those with the skills to handle multimedia presentations, animation, the graphic arts, and specialized needs are not always wrapped up neatly in the same package as a skilled programmer. The Webmaster should also be able to update the site as often as needed, which means constant availability to the team, preferably a full time professional. When coordinators check on the links at the site and find some things have moved, or other sites have disappeared entirely, the Webmaster must be called on to make the changes quickly and accurately. Blind alleys and error messages call for the Webmaster to correct the problems before large segments of the audience notice them and disappear themselves! When calendars and schedules change, or newsmaking events take place on campus, there must be someone who can make these known immediately at the institution's Web site! Academic, Service, and Administrative Resources: In order to accurately present the academic and organizational picture of the university, there should be representation from schools and colleges on the Web team, as well as from key segments of the administration. They will provide the input on course schedules, classes, teaching and research which, after all, are the primary reason for a college or university! They will also pull together offerings with the mission and goals of the institution! The facilities and services which support the education offered to students must be accurately and attractively presented. Libraries, laboratories, and other support for research efforts add appeal to students and potential donors! Sports and recreation efforts and facilities, and other resources must be represented. Measures taken to provide a secure and pleasant campus are important to the parents of potential students, and these should be portrayed effectively and appealingly. This is the part of the picture where the utmost skill must be exercised in reflecting the school's actual offerings. Here is where tact and judgement are necessary to bring together the views of organizers and educators. The degrees, majors, and courses available must be described for potential students and parents, and the organization which governs the students' education must be made reasonably understandable for the layman. It may be worth considering, depending in part on the politics at your campus, that student input could also be useful in the Web effort. Writing/Layout/Design of the Site: The language used at a Web site must be complete and accurate and include all necessary details of things like admissions requirements, financial aids, and course descriptions, but it must also be brief and creative enough for high school students to take the time to read it. The institution's catalog may be placed on the Web in its entirety, but it will not be read unless there is more succinct, summary description or introduction that leads to it. The campus itself must be portrayed in an appealing way. Photos of campus landmarks, residence halls, student union, and actual classrooms, among other buildings, can be interspersed with text to add interest. However, DON'T rely on buildings entirely in these photos! Institutions are made up of PEOPLE, living, learning, teaching, working together. Make sure there is LIFE at your Web site that represents the actual life on your campus! All schools, divisions, and departments must be described. The organization of the institution affects how it deals with problems, as well as with life and education. The interests of faculty and researchers must be presented in a way that appeals to the layman if the college wants the public to read about it! All aspects of an institution must be presented in a logical manner and the visitor guided effectively through it! Most of all, in a largely visual medium, the layout of the Web site must put all the text and graphics together in an attractive format, or visitors won't stay long enough to peruse it! Color, photos, and similar window dressing should fit together in an attractive way. Typography, logos, contact information, and other means of establishing identity on every page must all be checked out constantly. The skills of PUBLICATIONS PROFESSIONALS are needed to accomplish this, as well as GRAPHIC DESIGN PROFESSIONALS and skilled WRITERS, EDITORS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, and ILLUSTRATORS. Marketing/PR Coordination: In order to make all this varied input present the institution's image in the best light for marketing it to the world, a coordinator is needed who may, or may not, have technical skills. Since the Web site has the potential to present the campus to the widest audience possible, the coordinator should have the BEST MARKETING interests of the university at heart. A MARKETING and/or PUBLIC RELATIONS professional to supervise the management of the site is therefore highly desirable! The marketing coordinator on the team should be responsible for pulling together input from all sources, supervising its presentation, the writing which describes it, the design and layout of the site, and the color, graphics and other effects which add appeal. In addition, this person will be able to apply the best principles of basic marketing and public relations to ensure that the whole picture is presented. S/he will keep track of the information presented and ensure that it is complete, up to date and appealingly presented. This coordinator's communication skills will be taxed to the limit, but will provide an effective means of bringing together all members of the team! As the site grows and develops over the months and years, here is where the heaviest responsibility lies for periodic review to ensure continued accuracy, currency and appeal! MAINTENANCE of the site should be supervised and directed by such a MARKETING/PR professional. A person with all these skills can effectively coordinate the development, maintenance, and promotion of the site itself, and the marketing of the institution! The improvement in results should be obvious! ********** NOTICE: As a subscriber to this electronic newsletter, you have permission to reproduce and use this article on your campus. All others please note ©1997, Topor Consulting Group International. Comments about, or requests to reprint should be directed to Bob Topor at topor@marketinged.com. ********** Liz Pollard Smoke Signals Enterprises email: lpollard@smokesig.com NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Professor Emeritus Elizabeth (Liz) Pollard... My colleague Bob Topor and I often team up to provide WEB AUDITING SERVICES to professional marketers (like you!). We assess higher education web sites for many significant factors. We compare your web efforts to your competitors' web sites. If you are interested in this service contact me directly by e-mail at lpollard@smokesig.com or by phone at (405) 247-2251. Cost for this comprehensive auditing service is $250 for your site and $175 for each competitor's site. Information about this service can be found at my Web site at http://www.smokesig.com We require a PO # for this service. You will get a comprehensive report (by e-mail) which can be used to improve your Web site marketing efforts and gain better results. -------------------------------------------------- Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing Higher Education By Robert (Bob) S. Topor As I get older and reflect on my career in marketing higher education, about 40 years, both inside institutions and viewing them from the "outside," (as a consultant invited in behind the scenes) I think about the major problems I have faced and I have observed others face. I present these problems ("sins," as I call them) not to focus on negative ideas, (because, quite honestly, there have been more positive ones than negative ones) but to give you, my friend and reader, opportunity to learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others. So, although this title suggests bad and negative ideas, if you take time to analyze the following "sins, I hope it helps you in your work. That is my intent, pure and simple. DEADLY SIN NUMBER ONE Be arrogant. Know you are the center of the universe and everything you do rotates around you. Just go with basic instinct. Criticize others for not being equally arrogant and hard-headed. Find fault with many things. Be outspoken and loud. At meetings, voice your opinion to draw attention to your accumulated wealth of knowledge. Trust no one. Criticize others behind their back. After all, you are the center of your own world, one you have created through your hard efforts, successful record, superior intelligence, accumulated degrees, broad experience, and devotion to work. Hog the spotlight because you know you deserve it. Trust no one but yourself! DEADLY SIN NUMBER TWO Do not think about trying to understand your audiences. Why bother? after all, YOU know what it is THEY want and need. Plan all your efforts around that fact. Think that your audience is one homogeneous whole. Do not consider segmentation. It is not PC. DEADLY SIN NUMBER THREE Forget about research. You know it is too expensive, so why bother? Poo-poo it when people start to mention doing research. DEADLY SIN NUMBER FOUR Rely on numbers. Forget about trying to get at "abstract" issues to better understand the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and attitudes of the people you are trying to reach. Numbers are much more impressive (and important) to you. DEADLY SIN NUMBER FIVE Don't bother with computers and all that irresponsible babble about them. Think and know computers will not have any effect on your life. Resist all attempts to computerize your work. Rely on your old (and trusty) IBM Selectric! DEADLY SIN NUMBER SIX Never walk around your campus thinking about issues other than the ones that are on your mind and schedule today. Never have lunch with students. Lunch at the faculty club to get better visibility! DEADLY SIN NUMBER SEVEN Don't bother to return phone calls. Always rely on someone else to do that sort of "menial " work for you. To Hell with the caller! ONE MORE! Do not approve any requests for staff training. It is a total waste of money. After all, training is just an excuse for a vacation. People who attend conferences are just dodging work. If they were serious about their job, they would just stay here at their desks... like you do (and always have done)! AND EVEN ONE MORE... Defend your position about competitions, such as CASE conducts. Know that people who enter them are just trying to gain attention and build portfolios at your expense; to draw attention to themselves and really do not have your institution in mind. Veto any attempt to enter competitions... they are too expensive! So there you have it. I feel better since I have vented accumulated years of frustration. I hope you think about these ideas and apply them to your efforts.. today and tomorrow! With love, -Bob ********** NOTICE: As a subscriber to this electronic newsletter, you have permission to reproduce and use this article on your campus. All others please note ©1997, Topor Consulting Group International. Comments about, or requests to reprint should be directed to Bob Topor at topor@marketinged.com. ********** Bob Topor Topor Consulting Group International e-mail: topor@marketinged.com -------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL OFFER For Marketing Higher Education newsletter subscribers ONLY. Download the updated second edition of Bob's "classic" book, Marketing Higher Education - A Practical Guide, directly from his Web site at http://www.marketinged.com Special Deal: As a subscriber to this newsletter you have permission to make copies and distribute on your campus... a great aid for marketing committees! Make as many copies as you like (limited to your campus). You can get this book from the Home page on Bob's web site. It costs $40 (U.S.) It is easy to download to your computer, then you can reproduce it in your print shop or make photocopies. The first edition of this book has been one of CASE's best selling publications and has been used around the world. If you have questions call Bob at (650) 962-1105. ********** Original posting: 8/23/97 Marketing Higher Education Newsletter is published by Topor Consulting Group International (http://www.marketinged.com). Newsletter posted by WEBB Internet Marketing & Consulting (http://www.firstchapter.com). copyright 1997 Topor Consulting Group International