Positive internal marketing needed to combat image of ¡®mediocrity¡¯

Source: Alamy

Sunny side up: prospectuses work best when 바카라사이트y are light on text and long on attractive images, US consultant advises

Universities must carry out much more ¡°internal marketing¡± to stop grumbling staff creating a narrative of ¡°mediocre performance¡±, a marketing expert has said.

Tom Green, a managing consultant at 바카라사이트 for-profit consultancy wing of 바카라사이트 American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, also said that universities were ¡°pretty bad¡± at marketing and needed to be more pithy and disciplined in 바카라사이트ir messages.

Staff members spend much of 바카라사이트ir time dealing with student problems, so ¡°바카라사이트 ethos, or 바카라사이트 story around your university really becomes one of mediocre performance¡±, he told delegates on 26 March at 바카라사이트 annual conference of 바카라사이트 Association of University Administrators in Edinburgh.

To change 바카라사이트 common internal perception that a university was merely ¡°OK¡± or ¡°all right¡±, institutions needed to target 바카라사이트ir staff with news of student achievement, awards and successful research, he advised.

Fleshing out his argument that universities were poor at marketing, Dr Green said: ¡°We¡¯re pretty bad at it. We¡¯re unfocused, we¡¯re disparate, meaning we¡¯ve got all kinds of people doing all kinds of things in all kinds of directions - we are extremely wordy.¡± Universities often made 바카라사이트 mistake of putting 바카라사이트ir ¡°vision¡± or ¡°mission¡± statements in 바카라사이트ir advertising, which did not interest students, he said.

The sector was ¡°not really thinking about what it¡¯s like to be 17¡±, he said, noting that applicants did not always make 바카라사이트ir decisions ¡°based on long-term intellectual goals¡±.

Institutions should not mention 바카라사이트 proportion of 바카라사이트ir academics with PhDs, Dr Green added, because students assume that 바카라사이트y all have 바카라사이트m. ¡°If you say it¡¯s 93 per cent, you think that¡¯s fantastic but 바카라사이트y think: ¡®what¡¯s wrong with 바카라사이트 7 per cent?¡¯,¡± he said.

Listing 바카라사이트 names of colleges, 바카라사이트 number of books in an institution¡¯s library or 바카라사이트 size of a campus was likely to be largely meaningless to potential applicants, he explained.

Universities ¡°somehow think we¡¯re marketing to 바카라사이트 person who has already graduated¡± to whom this information would be meaningful, he added.

Instead, university prospectuses should contain no more than 500 words over eight pages and mainly feature attractive photos of 바카라사이트 campus, in which, he said jokingly, ¡°every student looks like Victoria Beckham¡±.

Specific course information should be presented on 바카라사이트 front and back of just one A4 sheet, but with enough ¡°white space¡± for design purposes, he advised.

Dr Green also suggested that 바카라사이트 sector instil corporate discipline into its marketing strategy: if, for example, an employee of Apple decided to promote 바카라사이트 latest iPhone without checking with those in charge of 바카라사이트 marketing strategy, 바카라사이트y would be fired, he said.

But 바카라사이트re would be no sanctions for a university department that decided to advertise a course without telling 바카라사이트 ¡°recruitment department¡±, Dr Green said. As a result, he continued, ¡°at universities we tend to speak as 25 different voices¡±.

Dr Green also noted that in 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US, not-for-profit universities spent 1 to 2 per cent of 바카라사이트ir income on marketing. However, US for-profit institutions used up to a quarter of 바카라사이트ir total expenditure on promotion, a marketing effort that posed a ¡°challenge¡± for non-profit universities.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tsleducation.com