Poland is significantly ahead of Ukraine in the development of marketing strategies for higher education institutions. That is why Poland’s experience can be used to improve the effectiveness of marketing activities in the educational services sector and, subsequently, to enter the international market for educational services.
As for the use of specific marketing strategies at U.S. universities, a service called “Student Search” began operating at colleges as early as the 1970s. On this service, all visitors provided their contact information, which was later actively used to send personalized postcards, letters, and catalogs detailing the institutions’ offerings. The Internet revolution of the 1990s shifted the communication between university representatives and prospective students to the virtual realm, greatly simplifying the process and enabling instant messaging.
Since 2008, the University of Notre Dame and Stanford University have operated an exclusively online application process. The University of Notre Dame has estimated that eliminating paper documentation at this stage alone saves up to $20,000 per year, which can be spent on continuously updating the university’s website—a move that, in turn, will encourage prospective students to visit the Notre Dame website more often.
Since the cost of tuition at U.S. universities is quite high, it is extremely common to award grants to top students, which can be used as a tuition discount. Individual (tailored to a specific student) financial aid packages are offered. Harvard and Stanford Universities, which receive large donations, recently made a bold decision to fund the education of certain students whose combined family income falls below the poverty line.
In the long term, U.S. universities see the potential for educational development in maintaining close ties with their alumni. To this end, they celebrate special milestone events, organize themed travel programs bringing together alumni and faculty or alumni with other alumni, distribute magazines and newsletters to alumni featuring their notable achievements, and they maintain a database of alumni, which is showcased to prospective students.
Various incentives are also used to encourage alumni to make voluntary donations and provide recommendations in support of the educational institution. Alumni are required to participate in conferences, forums, and meetings with prospective students. Furthermore, an important aspect of marketing activities at U.S. educational institutions is working on the style and image of the university or college—its own brand identity. For example, everyone knows that Santa Clara University’s mission is embodied in the three “C’s”—competence, conscience, and compassion.