Marketing Higher Education: who is the real customer?

As usual for this time of year, the newspapers are focussing on A Level results. There are the blond teenage girls celebrating their success, outrage at grade inflation, IT disasters as university websites crash and the inevitable hard luck stories of missing out on a university place.

But this year, I've been particularly interested in the universities' recruitment campaigns. This is the first year that tuition fees have been in place for English universities, and competition from new, private providers has come to the fore.

So the question for the universities' marketing teams is "Who is our real customer?"

In years gone by, when education was fully funded, and only a tiny percentage of school leavers secured a university place, careers teachers were usually the main influencer in the decision. Few of the parents would have been to university themselves, and the dissemination of information was so much more difficult in pre-internet days. One hopes that their main consideration would have been the academic record of the institution, and the employment track record of their graduates.

But how that picture has changed. The Government has entitled its Higher Education White Paper "Students at the heart of the system", and much of the universities' advertising has clearly been directed at prospective students, focusing on employment prospects and having a good time, in equal measure.

But what about the parents? Is the much greater financial burden going to bring them more closely into the equation? Interestingly, they are clearly the target market for some of the advertising for student accommodation, homing in on proper, grown-up issues such as security, laundry and cleaning facilities.

So who is the customer these days? The answer, of course, is all of them; teachers, parents, students and their friends. 

But the interesting omission is the future employer. Most people are not up to date with the changes to Higher Education, and unless employers make it their business to keep in touch with these changes, they will not be able to make informed decisions about the relative value of the vast array of qualifications in the pile of CVs on their desks. 

And unless they can tell the difference, the fees may seem like a high price to pay.

How can you brief an agency if you don't know what you need?

Choosing a marketing agency can be a nightmare for smaller businesses.

You know there is a problem, but you don't know how to solve it. Why should you? You're not a marketing specialist. And there comes a time when you have to get professional help.

But if you don't know what you need, how can you brief an agency properly? This was the subject of a debate I had this week with the MBA students at Surrey University.

Marketing agencies come in all shapes and sizes, each offering a different specialism, and a different solution to your problem. How are you supposed to choose between them, and then measure the success of what they do?

The traditional approach to briefing an agency pre-supposes that you know exactly what you need, and will be able to measure the results. And if you work for a large organisation with a track record, this may well be the case.

But for smaller businesses, the trick is often to work out what you don't need, rather than what you do. To be on the receiving end of the sales pitch from an SEO agency, or an online directory or even a local PR company can be a bewildering experience. 

So our conclusion was that there continues to be a difference between marketing agencies and marketing consultancies.

If you know what the problem is, and how to solve it, then a specialist agency is the right route to take. But if you just know there is a problem, then you really need a marketing consultant to work with you on your strategy. Once you know what you need, you can find the best agency to solve your problem.

And you'll save a fortune on marketing campaigns that just don't work.

How creative are your customers?

 

One of the classic mistakes of new product development is to ignore your customers, and their potential for giving you good ideas. But it isn't as easy as you might think to get the ideas from them and into your business. One of the best known quotes from Henry Ford illustrates this beautifully: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Consumers are experts on what they want, what they don't like and the problems caused by the products and services that we offer. What they aren't so good at is coming up with something better. But why should they? That is our job. So the trick is to play to their strengths. Listen to what they don't like, either face to face or through social media. Even better, watch them using your product. The point at which they start having difficulties, or swap to a different product or service to complete the task, is your cue to step in. Solve their problem, and make life easier. That's your job, not theirs. So use their experience, but don't expect them to hand you the answer on a plate. If you are interested in generating new ideas for your organisation, join us on February 21 for an early morning seminar at Farnham Castle. To check availability click here.  

 

Q: What's the difference between creativity and innovation?

The words creativity and innovation are often used interchangeably, but in a business context there is a crucial difference.

Creativity is all about coming up with ideas, and the more off the wall they are, the better. Inventors are creative, and they are often way ahead of their time. 

Innovation, on the other hand, is about turning good ideas into something of commercial value. It is a structured process, rooted in the real world, and backed by knowledge, analysis and judgement.

Many start up businesses are in the creative category, based on one person's passion for one good idea. But to grow into a sustainable, larger organisation there has to be a focus on innovation, which allows the development of multiple new ideas, making choices between them and marketing them effectively.

If you are interested in becoming innovative, rather than just creative, join us on February 21 for an early morning seminar at Farnham Castle. To check availablity click here.

How not to launch a new product

We see so many businesses with a great idea for a new product, but so few make a success of it. What are they doing wrong, and does it have to be such a risky way to grow the business?

1. The first mistake so many make is not to listen. Just because you think it is a good idea doesn't mean anyone else will. Ask people in your target market and LISTEN to what they say.
2. Be honest with yourself about the feedback. If the consensus is that it won't work, then take action. As Google say "Fail fast".
3. The best new products are simple. Don't over engineer the solution, just because you can. 
4. And finally, don't expect people to buy it just because it is new. You need to plan your marketing and implement it well.

If you are planning to develop your business this year, come and join us for an early morning session on developing new products. It's on February 21 in Farnham. Find out more. 

Innovate or stagnate. Which is it to be for 2012?

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that recession can be a time of great opportunity. While competitors fall by the wayside, companies with the right attitude can prepare the foundations for explosive growth once the economy starts to turn. 

One of the things that characterises an innovative organisation is its environment. People won't share new ideas unless they know that they will be given fair consideration. And you can't expect reasonable suggestions from the team unless they really understand the market and their customers. 

So creating a very focussed workforce, that looks at their market with an enquiring mind and values each other's judgement is fundamental to successful innovation. 

For more thoughts on the innovative environment, have a look at James Caan's book "The Real Deal".

 

What are you reading today?

Brian Tracy

The great personal development guru, Brian Tracy, bases his philosophy for peak performance on seven rules. His start point, which is both practical and inspiring, asserts that you can learn every skill you will ever need in order to achieve great success. Even people at the top of their game started from a position of no knowledge. So continual learning is critical to personal success.

Although learning comes in many guises, books still come out on top. Whether for inspiration, learning new skills or just for fun, here are our current favourites:

For inspiration: Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers explores the ways in which seemingly unconnected circumstances can come together to create outstanding results.






For learning a skill: Andy Bounds' The Jelly Effect takes a step by step approach to communicating productively. By following the rules, presentations and proposals become consistently more effective.



Just for fun: William Boyd's Any Human Heart. What a great story of human values.



What could you learn that would help you become more successful?