THE BOX MODEL

I often criticize vendors who promote using business fads to “solve” recruitment challenges.  Still, there are definitely some business principles we could benefit from using more.

That was driven home at a conference I attended a few weeks ago.  One of the presenters led a session on how to promote institutional value in this new era of community-based marketing.

At one point, the speaker said, “Education is expensive, so focus on increasing value.”  Seth Godin recently said something similar.

They couldn’t be more correct.

The Value Equation

value = benefits (real and perceived) - cost

During recruitment, there aren’t many ways to lower cost.  Awarding scholarships and granting merit appeals are a couple techniques near the end of the recruitment cycle.

But at all points during the college selection process, you should focus on increasing awareness of your institution’s benefits.

Benefits come in 3 primary categories:

1. product (the Ivy League, for example)
2. service (small class sizes)
3. people (Nobel Prize-winning professors)

Whichever benefits you promote, try to ensure they are as unique as possible within your market.  That helps make your branding, positioning, and differentiation efforts more effective.