MARKETING HIGHER EDUCATION A periodic electronic Newsletter to help you market your school, community college, college, or university. Vol. XIII, no. 2, February, 1999 -------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Institutions as "Marketing Oriented" Organizations: The President as the Guiding Force by Craig Shoemaker, Ph.D. & Ray Muston, Ed.D. A How-To, Reference, & All-Purpose Guide: A Review by Elizabeth "Liz" B. Pollard A New "Four-Letter" Word for Higher Education: Sales! by Robert "Bob" S. Topor & Elizabeth "Liz" B. Pollard -------------------------------------------------- Institutions as "Marketing Oriented" Organizations: The President as the Guiding Force by Craig Shoemaker, Ph.D. & Ray Muston, Ed.D. Professor Liz Pollard and I are happy to present this guest article, written by Craig Shoemaker, Ph.D. & Ray Muston, Ed.D. In it, Craig and Ray provide some important ideas about our favorite topic: Marketing Higher Education! -Bob Topor & Liz Pollard Introduction Financial pressures confronting higher education institutions are forcing them to cut costs, develop more efficient operations and pay more attention to stakeholder needs. The competitive intensity for students and financial resources will challenge the ability of many small colleges and universities to survive into the twenty-first century. Glossy admissions brochures and catchy slogans do not give an institution a market orientation. It takes a philosophy and a culture that go deep in the organization. Being market-oriented is more than applying the traditional four Ps of marketing, marketing programs and marketing strategies. Market-orientation is an "attitude" pervasive throughout an organization where customer involvement in the service production process means administration, faculty and support staff work effectively together. It is unlikely any organization ever became market oriented with a bottom-up approach. Market orientation requires commitment and power of those at the top. Administrative officers in institutions must understand the concept of market competitiveness where concentrating on the marketís perception of value is a necessity. In the marketís eyes, the value of the institution doesnít come from the effort and expense put into producing it. Its value comes from the benefits the alumni, donors, and current and prospective students perceive it to be. The competitive intensity for students and financial resources will challenge the ability of many small colleges and universities to survive into the twenty-first century. No longer will institutions of higher education rely on quantitative measures such as enrollment and development growth as indicators of institutional quality. "Growth" will increasingly reflect qualitative dimensions related to the ability of institutions to adapt to changing economic, social, and customer needs and expectations. Those institutions that succeed into the twenty-first century will do so for a number of reasons, but one factor may be their ability to plan and successfully execute marketing strategies and make realistic adjustments in plans and programs consistent with the institution's purpose and mission. The traditional population of higher education students is changing. Many institutions have, out of necessity, broken their historic paradigm of focusing only on traditional-aged, on-campus students by using alternative delivery methods and technology to make education accessible to nontraditional market segments. The contemporary consumer mix more often includes first time students, continuing adult students, and adults with shorter-term goals to re-tool or reposition skills to maintain their position in the workplace. Student interest in available postsecondary options is also changing among institutional sectors, fields of study, and careers. One thing certain for independent higher education institutions is that change itself will play an important role in institutional development and survival. Administrators and faculty of independent colleges and universities can influence the adaptation of their institutions to the changing environment. While many of these institutions will extend traditional approaches and policies, others will seek means to enhance the adaptation of their institutions in a new direction. The role of institutional leadership is central to the shift to a vision which encompasses coordinated systems which are customer centered (Kotler, 1995). The more effective presidents will likely be those who proceed with the difficult task of transforming the culture of the institution to be sensitive and responsive to the changing needs of its internal and external stakeholders. Some presidents will employ marketing strategies and programs to meet articulated institutional goals such as growing enrollments and endowments, attracting higher quality students, and improving retention rates. Others simply want to maintain their existing size but focus on improving the quality of education. All will necessarily confront the need to share leadership and responsibility for change with those closest to the customers, faculty, staff and current students. The realities are all will be different as a consequence of change in the environment and the educational marketplace. Purpose of Marketing The purpose of marketing strategies in higher education is to assure a rational and deliberate methodology to recognize, anticipate, and react to market changes. Marketing is the proactive management of the relationship between the institution and its various markets using the tools of marketing: product, place, price, and promotion. Marketing is not a panacea to be considered when enrollments or endowments are in steady decline and the continued viability of the institution is in question. The fundamental questions for every stakeholder involved in institutional planning is: "To what extent do we want to intervene and influence the destiny of our institution rather than be reactive to the environment?" and "What marketing practices and programs are most effective?" Our research shows that the concept of marketing in colleges and universities remains an unfocused product of a naive perspective of the real meaning of marketing. In fact, results indicate that after a full decade of discussion about the merits of strategic planning and marketing in higher education actual behaviors still reflect a bias toward promotion and sales activity at the expense of good market research and product development. (Muston 1985, Shoemaker1997). Marketing for small colleges and universities has historically been interpreted as synonymous with the admissions brochure. Management and operational techniques in such areas as budgeting, information systems, personnel, and finance have been modeled and refined from the business world, but marketing has not been readily or uniformly accepted. In the college and university environment, marketing has been viewed as selling and advertising, both of which bordered on being unethical in the academic world. Most college administrators believe industrial-type marketing cannot or should not be incorporated into educational management. They believe that colleges and universities should take a passive, not active stance toward marketing. Study Methodology The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of the president's role in shaping and implementing strategic marketing among independent colleges of the Midwest. We wanted to see how well strategic marketing functions were incorporated in ongoing leadership of independent colleges. We also wanted to see how the role of the institutionís president might be related to the presence of strategic marketing initiatives and programs. Data for the study reported here were collected from three sources: 1) standardized data sets, 2) survey of presidents of participating institutions, and 4) on-site interviews and observations at four case-study institutions. These primary and secondary sources of institutional information provided the data used to study the relationship between marketing strategies, practices, and initiatives with measures of institutional performance. The IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data Systems) provided data for selection of the study sample and to identify enrollment and endowment trends. The Iowa College Student Aid Commission provided an additional source of institutional performance as well as the selection criteria for the institutions used in the case study. Primary data were acquired from the presidential survey instrument. The survey instrument was constructed to elicit presidential perspectives and to define institutional performance measures. A total of 205 independent colleges and universities in ten Midwest states were selected for the study. Institutions targeted by the study represented a segment of higher education institutions-- private, independent colleges and universities. The decision to survey presidents presumed that development of a coordinated marketing strategy depends on a commitment from the central institutional administrative leadership and effective integration of academic and student service units. Presidents of ninety-eight private, independent institutions selected for study responded to the survey. Case studies provided a better understanding of institutional marketing. Four independent institutions in Iowa were selected for case study. Historical enrollment data provided by the Iowa College Student Aid Commission provided the selection criteria. Profiling a Marketing-Focused Institution Marketing holds that the key to achieving institutional goals consists of determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors. Our presumption was that the president, as the driving force of institutional culture and direction, is responsible for developing a marketing-oriented environment that is pervasive throughout the institution. A pervasive marketing climate also requires a major cultural shift in the breadth of participation in planning and communication than has been the case in many institutions. The following factors will provide the distinguishing profile of a market- and customer-focused institution. The president is actively involved in providing institutional marketing leadership. The president must personally exemplify strong commitment to a marketing culture. Presidents personally involve themselves in areas they consider strategically or operationally important to their institution. Presidents were asked to consider a list of nine selected marketing practices and identify those they provided personal approval. Those areas reserved for the presidentís final approval were considered most important. Presidents ranked personally approving Admissions and Development plans highest. These practices likely ranked higher than others because presidents viewed student tuition and endowment funds vital in providing the revenue stream necessary to support continuing operations of the institution. When presidents were personally involved in the areas of planning, strategy development, initiating marketing research studies and approving printed promotional materials there was evidence institutional performance was improved. Mean values of the performance measure of the ratio of student inquiry to student application were higher for presidents who report providing final approval of printed materials. A significant relationship was found between these two variables. Presidents who rated coordinating their institutionís marketing strategy high in importance realized measurable gains in conversion rates of student inquiry to student application and consistently ranked in the top quartile. By comparison, presidents who did not rate coordinating their institutions marketing strategy high in importance ranked in the bottom quartile of this measure of institutional performance. The marketing process is integrated to reflect, recognize and involve all institutional stakeholders. For higher education institutions to embrace and receive a full measure of value from embracing a marketing orientation they must understand that marketing is a culture that must be pervasive throughout the institution. This means having a clear appreciation for what marketing comprises and what it can do for the institution. The breadth and depth of an institution-wide marketing orientation means involving individuals in developing a marketing attitude, sharing of expertise, building commitment, and good communications. All institutional stakeholders must understand and support essential enabling marketing strategies to ensure integration of operational responsibilities at every level within the institution. Distribution of the marketing plan to the various stakeholders within the institution is an effective method of communication and represents an excellent way to build commitment. Marketing plans were well distributed among top institutional officers but less often to other institutional stakeholders. Less than 30 percent of the presidents reported distribution of marketing plans to deans, department heads, faculty, staff, alumni, or student government officers. Participation in writing the institutionís marketing plan brings shared expertise, commitment from participants, and assists in communicating the plan throughout the institution. It was clear from survey responses institutional planning was top down in participation. Top officers representing key administrative areas were most likely to assist in development of marketing plans. Slightly more than 50 percent of responding presidents reported involving a faculty representative and only 31 percent reported involving an academic dean in the planning process. Mean values of retention rates were both higher as well as significant when academic deans participated in writing marketing plans. Outside marketing consultants are used to build and enrich institutional marketing culture. Outside consultants can be used to analyze local problems and assist in designing and organizing marketing strategies and programs. They can provide new ideas for an institution to consider when developing marketing initiatives. They can provide legitimacy for changes an institution wishes to make. And they can often help an institution that is stuck get unstuck. Over two-thirds of the responding presidents reported using an outside consultant. Generally, presidents who reported using an outside consultant were more likely to employ marketing strategies, programs and initiatives. An outside marketing consultant's impact on institutional planning was most evident in the areas of institutional planning. Presidents who reported using an outside consultant were more likely to have a marketing committee and a marketing plan to provide marketing direction than those who reported not using outside consultants. Regular and structured marketing research studies of all important stakeholder areas are conducted. Institutions must obtain information on stakeholder needs and gather marketing intelligence to help satisfy these needs efficiently. Every marketing decision poses unique needs for information, and relevant marketing initiatives can be developed based on the information gathered through marketing research. The presence of marketing research studies or programs to monitor change in the external environment is primary in the development of marketing strategies and programs. Marketing research was not well developed in independent colleges and universities studied. Presidents reported they were most likely to focus marketing research studies on current and prospective students and least likely to research their own faculty and staff. Independent institutions are dependent upon alumni and donors for endowment and operating funds. The percentage of presidents reporting researching these two stakeholder areas was below 60 percent. The percentage of presidents reporting conducting marketing research studies on parents (38 percent) and high school counselors/principals (28 percent) was also lower than one might expect. Clearly the bias was on prospective students. Although mean institutional retention rates for presidents who reported conducting marketing research studies on current students were higher than those reporting not conducting marketing research studies on current students, no significance was found. While over 82 percent of responding presidents reported conducting marketing research studies on prospective students, mean values of the ratio of students admitted to students enrolled were not significantly related. Although the mean value of the ratio of students admitted to students enrolled appeared higher for those presidents who reported conducting marketing research studies on high school counselors, no significance was found. Most presidents reported marketing research studies on new students was important, but presidents who forecasted an enrollment increaseabove 15% by year 2000 were more likely to conduct research on this important market segment. A marketing-oriented planning culture exists that includes participation from all stakeholder areas. Scanning an institutionís various environments for trends is at the heart of planning. Making important decisions would be easier if presidents could correctly anticipate the environment and its impact on student enrollment. Higher education presidents often make two types of mistakes. First, many presidents wait for events or trends to fully emerge before incorporating them in their planning. Second, many presidents wrongly assume that the past correctly forecasts the future. Marketing planning is a natural outgrowth of higher education's concern for the allocation of limited human and financial resources in cash-constrained environments. Opportunities differ in an institution's different markets. A central concept of marketing planning is that institutions be strategically defined to take maximum advantage of such opportunities and that missions must be assigned consistent with the differences among them. Marketing planning describes the process of planning that (a) is built on sound assessments of market opportunity and institutional capability and (b) involves the development of the institution's total strategic approach to its various markets. Previous research found that less than 50 percent of higher education institutions had written marketing plans to provide overall marketing direction to the institution (Muston 1985). Less than half of the presidents in this study also reported no marketing plan. This study found the presence of a written marketing plan was associated with an overall higher level of institutional marketing. Presidents who reported the presence of a marketing plan were also likely to have retention, recruitment, home visit, and campus visitation plans then were those presidents who reported not having a marketing plan. Presidents who reported the presence of a marketing plan were also more likely to conduct marketing research studies (These relationships were significantly related). This suggests that institutions are using the results of marketing research studies to assist in the planning effort. Higher levels of retention are evidenced when institutions have a marketing committee. Mean values of retention rates were both higher as well as significant for presidents reporting the presence of a marketing committee. Marketing evaluation systems are in place to assure continuous monitoring and improvement of marketing programs and strategies. Marketing research studies and marketing plans focus on assessing institutional strengths and weaknesses against the backdrop of evolving opportunities, and results in a determination of the institution's ability to fill these opportunities, their relative attractiveness, and ways and means of taking advantage of them. Institutions typically implement more than one marketing strategy. Different strategies target different markets. These strategies embody ways in which institutions take advantage of market opportunities, and are employed to meet institutional objectives. Improving student retention and recruiting new students are clearly top goals of every institutional president. Marketing strategies and programs focus on the attainment of institutional objectives and periodic assessment provides validation of the success or failure of marketing strategies. Over 81 percent of responding presidents reported the presence of a written recruitment plan to attract potential students, but less than 60 percent of presidents reported the presence of a written retention plan as a strategy to improve student retention and graduation rates. Two-thirds of responding presidents reported conducting marketing research studies on their current students. Because matriculated students renew their enrollment decision every term and the costs of attrition are substantial, presidents considered retaining students nearly as important as attracting new students. Nearly 64 percent of presidents who reported the presence of a marketing plan indicated they also had a retention plan. The mean retention rate reported by presidents in this study was 59.33 percent with a standard deviation of 15.46 and a range of 85. This wide variance suggests either presidents did not know their retention rate or some institutions are actually only retaining 15 percent of their students while others are retaining 100 percent. Presidents who reported retention rates in the top quartile were more likely to employ important marketing practices. They were more likely to focus on planning and to conduct marketing research studies on various institutional stakeholders. Once a student is admitted, the institution makes an effort to persuade the student to enroll. Therefore, the goal is to convert admitted students to enrolled students. The mean admission to enrollment rate for institutions in this study was 50.78 percent with a standard deviation of 18.57. Once again this wide variance suggests either presidents did not know their admission to enrollment conversion rate or some institutions are actually only converting only 26 percent of their students while others are converting 95 percent. A relationship between the conversion rate of students admitted to students enrolled and various marketing initiatives was expected. Twenty-two marketing practices, strategies and programs from the survey were examined for significance. Only one was found: Admissions personnel who are marketing trained. Choice is at the heart of marketing, and institutions must understand the process consumers use to decide what and when to buy their education. Before students submit an application to an institution they must have some level of awareness of the institution. The goal of admissions is to convert these initial inquiries into completed applications. The literature notes a 10 percent conversion rate is average. The mean inquiry to application conversion rate in this study was 26.6 percent, with a standard deviation of 21.7. Once again this wide variance suggests either presidents did not know their inquiry to application conversion rate or some institutions are actually converting only 4 percent of their students while others are converting 84 percent. Less than 15 percent of responding presidents reported conversion rates above 50 percent. A significant relationship between the conversion rate of student inquiry to student application and various marketing initiatives was expected. Four were found significant from twenty-one marketing practices, strategies and programs examined: 1) presence of a written marketing plan, 2) presence of a marketing committee, 3) use of an outside marketing consultant, and 4) Board of Trustees/Directors have oversight of institutional marketing direction. Presidents who reported conversion rates below 15 percent were more likely to focus on various planning strategies to aid in improving this important measure of institutional performance. Individuals in key institutional areas are formally marketing trained. Individuals academically or experientially trained in marketing are more likely to understand and successfully implement marketing strategies. Forty-eight percent of the responding presidents reported their admissions personnel were marketing trained and thirty-four percent reported their development personnel were marketing trained. Marketing training of the admissions staff makes a difference in recruiting prospective students. Mean values for the ratio of students admitted to students enrolled, and the ratio of student inquiry and student application were both higher and statistically significant when admissions personal were marketing trained. Recommendations Broad stakeholder participation in planning brings shared expertise, commitment from participants and assists in communicating the plan throughout the institution. Results from our presidential survey and the case studies indicated that institutional planning was top down in participation and resultswere poorly communicated to stakeholders. Presidents should consider broadening the involvement of stakeholders in institutional planning. Marketing decision-making at independent colleges and universities should be information driven. Results from our survey and the case studies indicated marketing research was not well developed. Marketing research should become a structured and routine activity at independent institutions. This study examined marketing strategies and initiatives at independent institutions in the Midwest. Results of the research indicated a significant relationship between measures of institutional performance and admissions personnel who were marketing trained. Considering this finding an institutionís key decision makers (administration, faculty and staff) should be marketing trained. The large number of people who must interact makes good communication and dialogue necessary for successful planning difficult. They have widely varying backgrounds and are often physically and organizationally remote from one another. The distribution of the institutionís planning efforts needs to be expanded. As it implements its strategy, institutions need to track the results and monitor new developments in the internal and external environments. Higher education institutions can count on one thing-- their environments will eventually change. And when they do, institutions will need to review and revise their implementation, programs, strategies, or even objectives. Institutions develop a system to evaluate and provide feedback of the effectiveness of the institution's planning system. Our research found that strategic planning and marketing among and within independent colleges was no more disciplined nor sophisticated than that found among state universities in the 1970's. The opportunity for improving the direction and efficacy of many institutions of higher education still remains for those who would implement a truly integrated strategic marketing initiative. REFERENCES Adams, M. F., & Bumgardner, L. G. (1991). "The role of public relations in a successful fund-raising campaign." Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 3(2), 169-75. Allen, B., & Peters, W. M. (1982). "College presidents are receptive to using strategic planning techniques." Marketing News, 9. Bassin, S. (1985). "Universities need concrete plans to sell their intangible products." Marketing News, 19, 26-30. Bensimon, E. M. (1989). 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"Carleton college gets an "A" for its recruitment push." Adweek's Marketing Week, 31, 30-31. Schwartz, J. (1993). "The school as brand: Marketing Northwestern." Brandweek, 28-30. Sellers, J. D. (1993). Dysfunctional organizational attributes of small private colleges during periods of decline (financial decline). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO. Shoemaker, C. (1997). The current role of marketing at midwestern private higher education institutions and the role played by the president. (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Iowa, 1997). Simon, H. A. (1987). "Making management decisions: The role of intuition and emotion." Academy of Management Executive, 52-70. Smith, L. R. A.C.S.T. (1984). "Marketing planning for colleges and universities." Long Range Planning, 17(6), 104-117. Strang, C. (1986). "Marketing no longer dirty word to universities." Marketing News, 20, 23. Strang, C. (1987). "Research gives schools competitive edge." 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Industrial marketing management, 11, 303-310. ***** Craig Shoemaker & Ray Muston ***** NOTICE: As a subscriber to this electronic newsletter, you have permission to reproduce and use this article on your campus. All others please note ©1999, Topor Consulting Group International. Comments about, or requests to reprint should be directed to Bob Topor at topor@marketinged.com. ********** -------------------------------------------------- A How-To, Reference, & All-Purpose Guide: A Review by Elizabeth "Liz" B. Pollard Lauriston, Robert, Editor. The PC Bible. 3rd Edition. Companion Web site: http://www.thepcbible.com Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 1999. $34.99 US, $52.50 Canada. ISBN 0-201-35382-2 Purchase from Peachpit Press, 1249 Eighth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710. Web site: http://www.peachpit.com This is an all-purpose guide to the PC, how to choose one, how to put together components, how to organize the hard disk, use the software, get on the Net, and what you will find there! 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The companion Web site offered to readers (http://www.thepcbible.com) provides updating features on a continuing basis. These include sample files for use with the tutorials, product updates, recommendations and tips, corrections and clarifications, and answers to frequently asked questions. All in all, The PC Bible should be useful to any office where personal computers are a routine part of doing business. It can answer many of the everyday questions, and solve a large proportion of the problems that inevitably confront one with new hardware, software, or peripherals, and it could save countless hours on a technical support phone line! ***** -Liz Pollard * Smoke Signals Enterprises Web Site: http://smokesig.com Email: lpollard@smokesig.com ***** NOTICE: As a subscriber to this electronic newsletter, you have permission to reproduce and use this article on your campus. All others please note ©1999, Topor Consulting Group International. Comments about, or requests to reprint should be directed to Bob Topor at 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. NEW! 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It combines ideas from the business world with ones for personal satisfaction and success. You can use these ideas both in your business ventures as well as your personal life and success activities. Bon Appetit! This book is easy to download from Bob's web site: http://www.marketinged.com -------------------------------------------------- A New "Four-Letter" Word for Higher Education: Sales! by Robert "Bob" S. Topor & Elizabeth "Liz" B. Pollard One of the criticisms you may encounter as you plan to market your school, community college, college or university is the idea that marketing is sales. And that sales are not appropriate endeavors for higher education. You may encounter (you are almost sure to) people on your campus who think that sales efforts are very inappropriate for a chaste institution of learning. Counter the argument (and misunderstanding that marketing is sales) by considering some of the following ideas: There is a real difference between marketing and sales: Marketing consists of those actions by which you make potential users (customers) aware of your products or services. Marketing is an exchange process. Marketing involves understanding your (providers') offerings as they are perceived by key external and internal target markets. The marketing exchange consists of a provider giving up services in exchange for a user's payment and consumption of those services. Payment may, in some cases, be non-monetary. For example, a volunteer may give up her/his time in order to support one of your activities. Marketing involves understanding (using research) services, and users and their perceptions of your offering(s) as compared to their perceptions of your competitors. Sales, on the other hand, involves actions specifically tailored to close an order or to accomplish consultative sales. Consultative sales are used to determine a user's needs, wants, problems and opportunities. Consultative sales can be used to determine how your offerings can help answer a prospective client's concerns. Consultative selling is a way for higher education to approach direct selling through a professional, client-oriented approach. Marketing or Sales? This concept of direct sales may be new for many areas of an institution of higher education. Higher education has, over the decades, used forms of sales for admissions. Admissions reps have gone out into the marketplace to let potential students, parents, counselors and others know about offerings. It is doubtful that they thought of themselves as sales people but the fact is that they have, over the years, performed a true sales function. Other areas of an institution use sales more directly, especially within a campus. Food services operations recover costs by selling meals. Book stores offer texts and other reading materials (and lately computers, peripherals, and software as well) in direct exchange for a price. You can probably think of many other areas where goods or services are provided on campus to students, faculty, and staff for money, and the proceeds help support the operation. Some of these goods and services are essential to the institution's operations, and some may also be marketed to consumers off campus. Most of them, however, are considered ancillary to the school's real purpose, education, and their sales are often identified by a euphemism, such as "support activities." Sales have been foreign to many other parts of institutions of higher education however. The idea of sales has been limited for the most part to admissions (and even in admissions, people performing sales functions have not thought of themselves as sales people). Sales: a four-letter word. It's time to consider sales for many other aspects of higher education. Sales efforts can be used on campus and off campus. Of course, it would be folly (at most institutions) to call these activities "sales." It's much better to identify them as consultative efforts. Sales staff can be called educational information specialists. The point is that the word sales (much as marketing was just a few years ago) is a very negatively charged word for most educators! Some are doing it. Sales is one of the outreach activities established at a University Publications service group that had been converted from general funds support to fee-for-services. Since the University was not supporting the Publications operation with general funds, management decided to establish a sales function. A client services person was assigned duties normally associated with a true commercial sales operation. The position was called publications consultative representative! Activities carried out by this individual really fell into the realm of sales: establishing sales contacts, telemarketing, meeting, describing services, bringing back information (feedback), assessing opportunities for new offerings, developing mailing lists based on services and products purchased, assisting in promotion and advertising. This has proven to be a very efficient and effective way to assist the publications department on a campus where users are free to purchase services from any off-campus vendor. When in a marketing mode you are concerned about: 1. understanding your offerings; 2. identifying target markets; 3. using research to achieve the most effective exchange possible; 4. assessing your services and offerings as perceived by potential users (target markets); 5. determining user needs and wants; 6. timing; 7. pricing (if actual money is to change hands); 8. promotion; 9. determining where the exchange will take place; 10. positioning your services amongst competitors (in the minds' of target audiences). When in a sales mode you are concerned about: 1. determining what the user needs to help in making a positive decision about your offering; 2. making sure that appropriate information is available to assist the user in the decision to "buy" (participate); 3. communicating with the user in the most effective ways possible; 4. determining "feedback" about your offerings and those of competitors; 5. closing the deal. As you can see from these lists of concerns, sales and marketing go hand in hand. However, the functions of a marketer are quite different from those of a sales (consultative) representative. Each has foci for specific activities. Things work best when sales are used in conjunction with marketing. Sales tend to be more personalized. Marketing's job is to winnow out target audiences and individuals from large audiences based on their needs and wants. One way to think of this entire process is to think of a funnel. Marketing operates at the wide part of the funnel. Marketing's job is to refine and reduce large numbers of people to smaller, more homogeneous groups. The sales function is to convert the smaller groups to actual "sales" (commitment and actions). Sales and the concept of consultative representation for various aspects of higher education (including non-traditional "sales" areas such as alumni, development, athletics, grantsmanship, facilities, summer sessions, continuing education, ROTC, entertainment, affirmative action, computers, the arts, public relations, public affairs, community relations, housing, transportation, etc.) is a new and radically different idea for most institutions, yet many of these services are important points in marketing the institution. As demographics shift in our society, be prepared to consider marketing and sales activities in languages other than English: Tagalog, Vietnamese, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, etc. Don't be surprised if your suggestion for sales activity on (and off) your campus is met with wide eyed disbelief! However, for those institutions that have begun to experiment with this idea, results have, in many cases, been quite positive, This is a new and different idea--but it is one you will see being applied more and more frequently as the higher education marketplace tightens up! Sales (like marketing) will evolve from a "four-letter word" to practical and useful application. These days your best sales may come from your Web site. With the overwhelming success of the Internet, higher education institutions find that their Web sites are the point of sales action. The Web is the medium with the largest possible consumer base for the presentation of your services, and its use has grown exponentially in the last few years. To young people, one of an educational institution's largest audiences, the Web (or the Internet) is the first stop in looking for any kind of information, including the latest on colleges! Thus your Web site is going to reach a very large part of your target market! The Web is also a very inexpensive place to distribute your message, it is a rapidly changeable and changing medium, allowing for frequent updating, and as such, is very attractive to institutions of higher education! A decade or so ago it would have been sheer folly to attempt to publish a newsletter of this sort with the word marketing in its title. Now this publication has become very well accepted in this country and in many others! Marketing has come of age. Many have discovered the positive and fruitful results marketing can afford an academy of higher education. As budgets tighten and as institutions down-size, it becomes more and more important to be able to do more with less! Marketing and sales are ways to achieve that end! Just as you have become accustomed to see positions identified as "marketing" in The Chronicle of Higher Education, be prepared to find positions identified, not necessarily as "sales, but performing sales functions!" It will happen. ***** -Bob Topor * Marketing Evangelist Web Site: http://www.marketinged.com Email: topor@marketinged.com & -Liz Pollard * Smoke Signals Enterprises Web Site: http://www.smokesig.com Email: lpollard@smokesig.com ***** NOTICE: As a subscriber to this electronic newsletter, you have permission to reproduce and use this article on your campus. All others please note ©1999, Topor Consulting Group International. Comments about, or requests to reprint should be directed to Bob Topor at topor@marketinged.com. ********** -------------------------------------------------- Original posting: 2/28/99 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 1999 Topor Consulting Group International