April 13, 2012

The changing face of UK university marketing and communications

Apr. 13, 2012 at 11:30 AM | By Kenny Nicholl | Comment Count

In March, Hobsons hosted over 100 domestic recruitment and higher education marketing professionals at the Hobsons University London conference. The conference brought home the unprecedented, but not entirely surprising, changes in the way UK universities are thinking about recruiting and retaining domestic students. Terms previously used only by the international department like reputation, perception, expectations, personalisation, segmentation and nurturing are consistently becoming the norm.

Change #1: Perception is Most Important

At Hobsons U, Ben Page from Ipsos Mori, highlighted the importance of being responsive as “it is perception that is most important”- Ipsos Mori carries out a range of public sector research in the UK including the annual National Student Survey. With student choice at the heart of recent higher education reforms, measures like the National Student Survey, university rankings and the forthcoming Key Information Sets will become increasingly important.

Change #2: Student ROI

A recent survey of 2012 applicants by YouthSight, discovered a noticeably growing focus on return on investment in higher education. The return on investment debate has traditionally focused on student experience on campus or employability outcomes post study. But what about before students even set foot on campus, when they’re gearing up to make their final decision? Simple market economics dictate that as the new fee structure is introduced students will not only begin thinking more about the return on their investment but the very investment itself.

Change #3: Unprecedented Recruitment Incentives

Undergraduate admissions in the UK are down 8.5% this year. While this percentage is much less than predicted, there are still well over 40 institutions experiencing a double-digit drop in enrollment. For them, this represents an income gap of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Furthermore, I’ve heard of a number of universities taking previously unprecedented steps; such as calling campaigns and cash incentives to ensure students enroll. What’s my prediction: more and more domestic recruitment teams will look closer at what they can learn from their international counterparts.

What’s next?

There is no doubt that the face of domestic undergraduate recruitment in the UK is changing as improving offer conversion rates are fast becoming a necessity for universities in the “squeezed middle.” For the first time, UK universities are actively targeting and nurturing particular cohorts of students from inquiry to enrollment. Meanwhile customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, personalized student communications and even personalized videos or virtual orientations, all common in the U.S., are moving overseas to the UK. University marketing teams are now aware that, if they aren’t speaking directly to a prospective student or their parents, the competition might be.

What other changes or education trends do you think will shape the face of higher education marketing and communications?