by Bob Topor, Senior Consultant, Topor Consulting |
by Bob Topor, Senior Consulting, Topor Consulting |
by Bob Topor, Senior Consultant, Topor Consulting |
by Bob Topor |
by Bob Topor |
| * | PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter will not be published in July and August as I will be on vacation. Have a great summer! God Bless you and yours. |
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by Bob Topor
Commercial Prototypes
The logic is simple. People want to belong to a community, and activity
will flourish in places where a community settles in, regardless of
whether these places exist in cyberspace or in the real world. So, contrary
to the business models adopted by most e-retail businesses, we should first
focus our effort on developing an online community before taking the plunge
into marketing higher education. Colby College has done a good job of this.
Targeting
First, you succeed in attracting a regular flow of traffic to your website
(much as I do with this web site and newsletter. My primary objective is to
help you with valuable information and ideas. My secondary goal is to sell
my consulting services and books.). Second, your website must evolve into
an effective medium for reaching out to a specific target audience and many
marketers are keen to tap this market. There are several advantages in
taking this approach:
You can use your school's advertising revenue to help support your e-mail
operations.
You can market your services to an existing market without having to rely
on aggressive advertising and promotion to bring in the traffic by
re-directing traditional advertising budgets to e-marketing.
The development of a vibrant online community is a very important prelude
to the success of e-marketing. It is no wonder then that large commercial
corporations are now spending millions of dollars to develop huge portal
websites. These mega- portals offer almost everything under the sun to
appeal to every possible Internet user in cyberspace.
Nevertheless, there is still plenty of room for niche players despite the
onslaught of the mega-portals. You can specialize in a specific market
niche (i.e., education) and fine-tune your information, services and
product offerings to serve your target audience better. In other words,
size does not matter if you have the right marketing strategy and business
model in place.
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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. ********** |
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by Bob Topor
Everyone wants more visitors to their academic websites, and with online
competition increasing daily, marketing your academy online can seem like a
daunting task. But as we come across ever more imaginative ways to lure
them in, I can't help feeling that the immense majority of educational
webmasters are overlooking a vast untapped online market. Potential markets
of many millions of educational "surfers", many of which are likely to be
interested in your educational website. But if such huge markets exist, why
are nearly all higher ed webmasters overlooking them?
The answer is language. Myopic language!
We take it for granted that English is the language of the Net. Most of us
don't give it a second thought that many tens of millions of people are
surfing the web in languages other than English. The rate of new user
growth in the United States may be starting to slow down, but in Europe and
elsewhere it's just heating up. Everyone's getting online! And the mixture
of languages is enormous - French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish,
Swedish. In many of these countries, the Internet is being embraced in ways
not seen in the US. One such example is Finland -now widely recognized as a
pioneer in the use of new Internet technologies and ways of using the
Internet. It is also home to techno giants such as Nokia and Erricson.
Historically, the Europeans were colonist empires, and consequently, their
languages are spread throughout the world. Spain and Portugal dominated
central and South America, and the French reached Canada, the Caribbean and
large parts of Africa. Consequently Spanish is the official language of
twenty countries, is spoken by over 250 million people, and is the third
most widely spoken language in the world. Then of course, there's China.
With over 1 Billion people -that's over 16% of the population -it's not
going to be very long before we have to sit up and take notice of this huge
emerging market.
So how do you tap into these markets if you seek foreign students? Firstly,
you need a translated version of your website. If you have a large site,
you may prefer to produce an abridged version. Translation services are
easy to find locally, or you can find them online. Ideally, use one where
the translator translates into their native tongue.
There are some online services where you can just type the URL of a
webpage, and it will provide you with your page instantly translated. These
services are inexpensive or even free (such as
www.freetranslation.com or www.plustranslation.com ). It is
advisable, however, to get a fluent speaker of the language to check the
results before you use them. There can be many problems when you rely on
"automatic" translators. Be cautious!
You don't need to go to the trouble of new domain names, new hosting
accounts—just put them on the same server as your current site. Next, you
may want to include links from your homepage -perhaps in the form of flags
relating to the language - to channel foreign language surfers who
inadvertently end up on your English language site.
Once you have translated your website, you must of course promote it.
Register it with search engines and directories in the appropriate
countries. You can find listings of search engines and directories, country
by country, at www.searchenginecolossus.com . If you have an
international domain (such as .ed), you shouldn't have too much trouble
registering, though you may come across some that insist you are registered
in that country. If so, you will need to weigh up how important that search
engine is, against the potential number of surfers for that
country/language. If it's too big to ignore, then you can register a domain
for that country, and set up a separate website.
2. Translate your website, using local translators, software or
online services.
3. Have someone check the translation. (this is critically important).
4. Place links on your homepage, showing you have other language
options.
5. Promote your website in the local countries, through
directories, search engines etc.
Related Ideas:
The direction your academy wants to take in terms of foreign student
expansion should be your key to language(s) on your web site.
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by Bob Topor
but to their capacity for experience." Credibility is one of the most critical factors that will affect your online marketing success. Being credible is simply the perception of being trustworthy and believable. Why do people buy brand name goods and services on the Internet and in the off-line world? One of the key reasons is that the brand represents a level of quality that they know and trust. So how can you build credibility on the Internet for your academy? A key factor is being consistent. People are more likely to trust a school or person who acts in a similar manner most of the time. For example, if you publish a newsletter to your customers or potential clients (as I do this), aim for similar quality in each issue. Also, be consistent in your style of writing. I publish on a regular basis - irregular publication schedules cause confusion and create mistrust in the minds of readers. Consistency applies to all aspects of your activities. Don't change your "guarantee" terms every couple of weeks. Ensure that all your offerings or services consistently meet the quality and value standards that you're promoting. Credibility is something that is earned. Therefore, you need to give of yourself to get trust back in return. There are many ways to do this. Some software businesses offer free trial periods so the customer can try before they buy. Others offer a "shareware" version for people to trial. This process enables the potential customer to check that your product will do the job you say that it will. How can you offer a potential student a "taste" of your school? Sharing your knowledge is a useful way to build your credibility. This can be done through monitoring discussion lists and boards that your potential admissions students frequent. Answer questions that they pose. Be a regular contributor to the list so that people come to know and respect your knowledge. Making outlandish claims in advertisements or on your web site can harm your credibility. Telling the truth is always the best way. Ensure that your offerings provide more value than promised. Take the time to walk in your customers' shoes before writing your ad copy or your web site promotional material. This will enable you to clearly state perceived benefits that your potential customers are looking for in a way that they will find believable. Testimonials can be a powerful way to generate trust in your product or service. A testimonial is a statement from a happy customer saying how your product or service helped them. Set up systems to gain unsolicited testimonials whenever you can. When you gather testimonials to publish on your site, ensure that you have permission to publish them. Also, never make up testimonials to boost your credibility as more often than not you will be caught out and be discredited. Don't just state what your academy's qualifications are on your web site or in your promotional material. Instead, state how your school's qualifications can benefit your potential customers. For example, state how your expertise will provide the solution your prospect needs in a way he or she will understand. Following sound business practices will help your credibility also. This includes ensure that your school's address and phone numbers are clearly shown on your web site. Also, ensure that you are contactable via phone and email and respond promptly to each contact. Have you had phone messages or email that were never responded to? How did that influence your perception of the business. Prompt delivery of what has been ordered also helps build the right impression of your business. So too does quickly responding to claims on your guarantee. Efficient business procedures that are focused on providing customer satisfaction will always help your business image and credibility. Strong credibility takes a long time and much effort to build. It can be destroyed quickly and sometimes can never be regained. Have you noticed that once a person or a business gains a bad reputation it can be extremely hard to change? For your school to achieve it's full potential, it is important that you set standards and live by them so that you are constantly building your credibility. Remember that each thing you do in your business will affect the image of your academy. Being focused on providing solutions to your customers, providing consistent quality and value for money, and being accessible will all help you achieve the credibility your academy needs to succeed.
on the side of the ablest navigators."
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A new book . . .
to Their Most Influential Mentors" Many of us have been blessed with a teacher who has truly changed our lives. I was. Her name is Margaret Jackson. She was my art teacher in seventh grade. Miss Jackson was a bright, friendly, inspiring young teacher fresh out of college. She told me "Bob, you have talent and should go on to college and study art." I replied, "Miss Jackson, I come from a big family and we are not very wealthy. I don't see how I could go to college." My teacher replied, "Bob, you can compete for a competitive scholarship." "O.K, I replied." That was the start of four years of preparation. In fact, my high school only offered art as an elective for three years. My teacher, Miss Jackson, appealed to the school Principal and State Board to allow me a fourth year of art. In fact, my teacher let me choose which art supplies I preferred for my final year of art. Incredibly I won a full tuition scholarship to Syracuse University in art! That was the beginning of my career which culminated in marketing higher education, the title of this e-newsletter. I regularly communicate with Miss Jackson and have over the years since 1954 when I graduated from high school. She has been my constant behind-the-scenes cheerleader, almost a member of my family. I owe much of what I have achieved in my professional life to "Miss Jackson." "To Honor A Teacher" is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing, 4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. It sells for $14.95 (U.S.) and $22.95 (Canada) To order bulk quantities, write Special Sales Dept. I highly recommend this gem of a book for inspirational reading.
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 For a modest fee of $1,500 Bob Topor will review your college web site and provide a professional marketing critique which will cover:
Submit an official PO number to Bob (via e-mail: topor@marketinged.com) and Bob will schedule a timely review (based on your needs). This review will include strategies and recommendations for improvement (if necessary). The reviews are delivered by electronic mail to provide a speedy response. Requests are handled on a first come, first served basis. All reviews are confidential and guaranteed to be provided by Bob Topor of Topor Consulting Group International of Mountain View, California.
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My daughter-in-law (and office manager) suggested that I extend a SPECIAL
OFFER to my newsletter subscribers. This is your opportunity to purchase
all my books ( regularly $244.85 -U.S.) for only $125. postpaid.
Here is how you can get this valuable marketing library of these titles:
This is a special offer and may not be repeated! (No substitutions) Book descriptions are found at my web site (www.marketinged.com) |
| Posted by: FIRSTCHAPTER INTERNET MARKETING www.firstchapter.com e-mail: firstchapter |