Differentiating Your School for Adult Students

1. Differentiating Your School for Adult Students presented by Dr. Robert A. Sevier Senior Vice President, Strategy Stamats, Inc. Cedar Rapids, IA 52406 (800) 553-8878

2. About Stamats Research, Planning, and Consulting • Brand clarification and development • Image and perception studies • Recruiting and marketing assessments, plans, and counsel • Tuition pricing elasticity and brand value studies Strategic Creative • Institutional, admission ,and advancement websites • Mobile and social media solutions • Recruiting and advancement campaigns and publications • Virtual and experiential tours • Full media advertising campaigns Stamats is recognized and respected as the nation’s higher education integrated-marketing thought leader. Our comprehensive array of innovative services has set the standard for pairing insightful, research-based strategic counsel with compelling creative solutions. We promise our clients the highest level of professional service and attention to detail in the industry because, in the end, we know our success is measured entirely by theirs.

3. The Problem • Too many schools… • Offer the same basic programs as their competitors • Taught by the same great faculty • Largely deliver the same experience • And market themselves the same way • As a result • Offerings have become more vague • Competition has increased • Revenues have fallen • Margins have become razor thin

4. A Working Definition of Strategy • The purpose of strategy is to differentiate your school/program from your competitors in ways that target audiences value • Let’s unpack this: • Differentiation • Competitors • Target audiences value

5. What Is Differentiation? • A source of competitive advantage that depends on developing and communicating a quality, attribute, or characteristic that is of value to your customers and not offered by your competitors • Competitive advantage • Of interest to students, high barrier to entry, high margin • Developing • Rooted in your mission and vision, based on true marketplace needs • Communicating • Generating awareness, generating specific program awareness

6. Differentiation – continued • Quality, attribute, or characteristic • Tangible • Intangible • Of value to customers • Based on research • Not offered by competitors

7. Differentiation – continued • Most differentiation strategies depend on one or more of the four Ps: • Product • Price (almost always a losing strategy) • Place • Promotion (may give you a temporary edge) • The more of the four Ps you can involve in your differentiation strategy, the better off you will be • Try to differentiate on those variables that: • Are valued by students • Have a high barrier to entry

8. From the Perspective of Prospective Students Expecteds high in relevance, low in differentiation Drivers high in relevance, high in differentiation Relevance Neutrals low in relevance, low in differentiation Fool’s gold low in relevance, high in differentiation Points of differentiation Source:McKinseyQuarterly.com; modified

9. Competitors • With whom do you truly compete for prospective students? • And other resources: media attention, donated dollars, etc. • Generally, three types of competitors: • Win from (not really your competitors, you beat them up) • Lose to (not really your competitors, they beat you up) • Split 50/50 • In most cases, you will have your best chance to improve share against the third group: split 50/50 • Try to limit your competitors to five

10. Competitor Research • Secret shopper • Compare programs • Compare support structures • Compare cost • Compare financial aid strategies • Compare completion rates • Your goal is not to be more like your competitors, but different from them in ways students find compelling • Where they zig, you need to zag

11. Target Audiences Value • Based on research, do you understand: • What your students seek? • Their fears about going (or going back) to college? • What motivates? • The outcomes they envision? • Institutionally centric and audience-centric • Caveat emptor and cave emptorum Get inside their heads!

12. Strategy is not about doing more or spending more. Strategy about being different in ways your target audiences find compelling.

13. Understanding Integrated Marketing Communication • …or how IMC, brand marketing, and recruiting all fit together

14. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)

15. Brand Marketing 101 (briefly) • A brand is a valued and differentiating promise a college, university, or school makes to its most important audiences to meet a need or fulfill an expectation • Perry Forster: “A brand is a promise expressed as a benefit that your target audiences value” • Rob Frankel: “Truly successful brands are perceived by the target audience as the best, or even only, solution to a particular need” • Big question: What particular need do adult students have?

16. What Is the Difference… • Between a program that is unique…and a program that is compelling? Unique

17. What Competitors Do Well WhatStakeholdersValue WhatAudiencesValue YOURBRANDPROMISE

18. Direct Marketing (DM) • Designed to generate a response • Primary direct marketers: • Admissions—want to visit, apply, attend? • Advancement—want to give? • Historic DM channels: • Telephone • Postal mail • Emergent DM channels: • Email • Text messaging • IM • Blogging (and all its permutations) • RSS feeds • Social networks (social media)

19. Internal Communication • Consider engaged employees as another channel • The key is to keep them informed

20. What Is mROI? • Measuring return on investment • Measurement used to assess the performance of a given marketing initiative (tracking) • If we do not evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing and recruiting strategies, they will always be seen as a cost and not an investment • Barriers to measurement: • Time • Money • Politics • We just don’t want to know (fear?) • Poor data collection habits • Turf

21. The Role of Research • Without data, it is only an opinion • Research generally falls into two broad categories: • Generative • Designed to generate messages, ideas, and channels • Clarify strategies • Evaluative • Designed to test effectiveness • mROI • Well-led organizations use research to reduce uncertainty and clarify options The next few slides are drawn from our annual Adult StudentsTALK™ study and other sources.

22. “Deal Makers” for Adult Students Flexibility/Scheduling —“On my schedule, not just when you want to teach.” Convenience —“In-and-out parking; one-stop shop.” Credit for life experience — “Acknowledge what I have already learned through my professional experience.” Accelerated completion — “Time is money.” Valid learning experience — “I’m not here for the social life.” Multiple learning alternatives — “I’m very interested in online options.” Course availability —“The course needs to be there when I can be there.”

23. 96 percent of adult students would turn to an institutional site for information on enrolling in college

24. More than50 percent of today’s adult students are stealth prospects until application

25. College Selection Criteria: Master or Professional Degree Students Which factor is most important to you? n=305

26. Top Adult B.A./B.S. Programs Source: IPEDS • The top 10 degree programs listed above account for over half (54%) of all baccalaureate degrees awarded from primarily adult serving institutions Note: Because IPEDS data does not include degree completions by student age, institutions that had a high percentage of undergraduate students aged 25 or greater were classified as an adult serving institution.

27. Location Pricing and financial aid Brand marketing Create meaningful segments Channel preferences Web strategy Social media strategy 14 (or so) Differentiation Strategies for Adults • Programming/curriculum • Faculty • Service and support • Transferability • Scheduling of classes • Time to completion • Program delivery options

28. Cost and Convenience

29. Affordable

30. #1: Programs/Curriculum • There is no greater asset than having programs that: • Students value • Lead to higher paying jobs • Your competitors do not offer • If you offer the same programs (the first P), then you must differentiate either on price or place • A promotion-based differentiation strategy is not sustainable

31. Academic Program Marketability Audit • Cost • Revenue • Quality indicators: • Graduation rates by major • Student satisfaction score within major • Percent of students employed in their major or in graduate school within six months of graduation • Demand indicators: • Prospective student interest in major • Enrollment by major • Job and employment trends • Percent of top five competitors that offer this major

32. Quality/Demand and Net Contribution

33. Establish Five Centers of Excellence • Centers of excellence are programs which: • Offer substantial quality • Are undersubscribed (you have capacity) • Are high margin • Are scalable • Lead to higher-paying jobs • Are of high interest in the marketplace • Students, employers, donors, the media • Have an effective champion in place • Offer co-branding opportunities • Do not have a significant competitor • Have a high barrier to entry

34. Write a Business Plan for New Majors • Four key decision areas: • Strategic • Marketplace • Economic and resource • Promotion

35. #2: Faculty • Adult students value faculty who: • Understand the unique needs of adults • Are approachable • Are emphathetic • Are available • Are competent • Have “real-world” experience (though adult students are tired of that phrase)

36. #3: Service and Support • There is a saying in the service industry: FedEx fast and Disney friendly • It is not about customer service, but rather a complete understanding of the importance of the customer • As much processes as people • Streamline and integrate processes • Train and reward your people

37. Individuals Who Demonstrate • A high motivation to serve others • Enthusiasm • The ability to listen • A customer-sensitive orientation • Flexibility • A high degree of initiative—1% better each day • A positive attitude • Resilience • Confidence in themselves and their job • Unflappability • Did I mention the ability to listen?

38. Consider Experience Marketing • An organizational commitment to identifying and managing, to a specific end, the key touch points that define an experience that a customer has with a product or service • Organizational Strategic • Identifying Research-based • Managing Purposeful • Specific end Begins with the end in mind • Touch points Where individuals and elements of the organization “touch” • Experience To go or live through, to gain understanding or perspective

39. Experience Marketing • Define • Dissect • Design • Deploy • Determine

40. Variety of classes within the program (can customize program) Graduate school placement Library (coffee bar, study space, connectivity) Registration Manage Your Academic Experience • We discovered, based on research with adult students, that the academic experience comprises 14 or so sub-experiences: • Classroom experience • Advising • Availability/flexibility of classes • Technology • Facilities—smart classrooms • Faculty commitment to teaching • Faculty mentorship • Internships—co-op • Transfer friendly (both to and from) • Job placement (starting salary implied) • How well are you managing each of these sub-experiences?

41. Remember… • Many adult students are barely in school • It doesn’t take much for them to disengage

42. #4: Transferability • Programs that well-serve adults make it as easy as possible for students to transfer in…and out • Transfer ombudsmen • Knowledgeable • Powerful • Empathetic • Generous and fast acceptance of credits • Watch out for blanket “credit for life experience” • Look at: • Baruch College, the University of California, Missouri State University

43. #5: Scheduling of Classes • When adult students think of class scheduling, one word comes to mind: Flexibility • Not only do they value a variety of scheduling options, they expect to have great latitude about choosing options that work best for them • At certain times of the year, a student may want evening classes; at other times they want classes in the late afternoon • They want the ability to choose

44. #6: Time to Completion • Credit for life experience • Easy transfer of credits • Approachable core curriculum • Aggressive sequencing of classes • Few pre-requisites • Good advising

47. #8: Location • When considering location, adult students look at: • Safety • Traffic flow/drive time • Parking • Availability of amenities • Coffee shop, wireless, a place to stash their books, backpacks, kids • Are the facilities modern, clean, well-lit? • Will the majority of their classes be taught in one spot or must they navigate a large campus? • Have you established a sense of “place” for adult students?

48. #9: Pricing and Financial Aid • Adult students, like all other students, are deeply concerned about college cost • Increasingly require financial aid, especially aid that is not comprised largely of loans • Wary of the word “value.” Instead, use the word “affordable” • Broad pricing strategy: • If you are a brand buy, you should price in the middle of the top third of your competitors • If you are a commodity buy, you should price no higher than the middle of the bottom third of your competitors

49. #10: Brand Marketing • A brand is a valued and differentiating promise a college, university, or school makes to its most important audiences to meet a need or fulfill an expectation • Has four foundation stones: • 1) Importance; 2) Believability; 3) Distinctive; and 4) Emotionally engaging • Four steps: • Make a brand promise (strategic) • Communicate your brand promise (tactical) • Live your brand promise (experiential) • Strengthen your brand promise

50. Brand Marketing–2 • One of the biggest marketing challenges for adult programs is not the budget, but the internal political environment • Deep concern about how the brand for adult programs should relate to the brand for the larger university (the super brand) or other entities on campus • Suggest you work out a brand architecture that contains a unified brand communication strategy for both the super brand and all sub-brands