Chapter 3: Services and Education as a Service
3.5 Positioning of a University
process with many manual components or allow the student to do this online from their home computers.
The underlying concept in developing each of these elements of the marketing mix for services is to use them to support each other, to reinforce the positioning of the product and to deliver appropriate service quality to achieve competitive advantage (Payne, 1993, p.124).
Consumers use a set of criteria based on features or benefits when evaluating and deciding amongst the competing alternatives in a product or service (Palmer, 2011, p.157 and Hawkins et al., 1998, cited in Yamamoto, 2006, p.561). Amongst the literature a wide range of factors have been identified as influential in a potential student’s decision about which university to attend:
• Reputation of the University and the specific programmes (Hayes, 1989; Moogan Baron and Harris., 1999; Soutar and Turner, 2002; Vaughn, 1978 cited in Veloutsou et al., 2004, p.161). Veloutsout et al. (2004p.161) suggest that “this is usually related to the earlier performance of the institution rather than its current performance, structure and offering”.
Garden (2003, p.168) suggests that reputation in a service is often overlooked. Garden (2003, p.168) also suggests a University should communicate its strengths and positive elements to the community.
• The location of the university and the geography of its surroundings (Joseph and Joseph, 1998, p.91 and Veloutsou et al., 2004, p.161).
• Distance from home (Soutar and Turner, 2002, p.40). This could include the time taken to get to each university and access to public transport (Soutar and Turner, 2002, p.40).
Distance from home was also identified in Garden’s study as part of the university decision (Garden 2000, cited in Garden 2003, p.173).
• The institution’s infrastructure such as the library facilities, classrooms, computer labs, campus security and the university accommodation (Coccari and Javalgi,1995; Vaughn, 1978 cited in Veloutsou, 2004, p.161).
• The campus atmosphere (quite or lively) (Soutar and Turner, 2002, p.40).
• The costs associated with study at the University (Chapman, 1986 cited in Veloutsou, 2004, p.161and Joseph and Joseph, 1998, p.91). The costs could be related to University fees, cost of living in the area and the possibility of securing financial aid (Veloutsou, 2004, p.161).
“Students who rate the financial aspects highly consider the practical implications of being able to afford an education” (Bonnema and Van der Walt, 2008, p.321). Garden (2003, p.170) confirms “the reality in South Africa is that a large group of scholars cannot afford to pay for tertiary education and many rely on scholarships and bursaries to continue their education.
• The quality of the teaching staff (Garden, 2003, p.165 and Soutar and Turner, 2002, p.40).
According to Garden (2003, p.165) “Potential students seek institutions that boast highly qualified lecturers, as highly qualified lecturers would be seen as an indicator of a quality university and therefore quality education”. According to Garden (2003, p.165) “potential
students seek institutions that boast highly qualified lecturers, as highly qualified lecturers would be seen as an indicator of a quality university and therefore quality education”.
• The future career prospects and opportunities following graduation from the university (Chapman, 1986; Hayes, 1989; Newell, Titus and West, 1996; Soutar and Turner, 2002 cited in Veloutsou, 2004. p.161-162). This factor would include the compensation, i.e.
earning potential and growth, job availability and growth and job requirements (Yamamoto, 2006, p.561).
• Employability According to Bonnema and Van der Walt (2008, p.318) these are aspects of the institution that will enhance the chances of gaining employment after the completion of studies. This also shows a concern for long-term need fulfilment and not just the short term aspects of being a student.
• The quality of life during their studies The surroundings and available facilities becomes important as students will spent a few years of their lives living in the area (Chapman, 1981, Coccari and Javalgi, 1995 cited in Veloutsou et al., 2004, p.162).
• Course content This includes the academic and practical components of the course (Bonnema and Van der Walt, 2008, p.318).
• The type of course they want to do e.g. business, law, engineering (Soutar and Turner, 2002, p.40). This was also identified by Garden (2000, cited in Garden 2003, p.173) as being very influential in a student’s decision of which university to attend.
• Sporting These include the opportunities for and the quality of sport at the institution (Bonnema and Van der Walt, 2008, p.318). “Sporting also implies a number of social factors such as winning, being part of a team, team social events and meeting people”
• Significant persons; friends, parents, high school Joseph and Joseph (1998, p.91) state that the ‘significant persons’ influence the student in three ways: 1) comments made by these people shape the students’ expectations of a particular tertiary institution, 2) they may offer direct advise on which institution the student should choose, 3) the advice of friends that attend a particular institution also influences their decision. Chapman (1981, cited in Joseph and Joseph, 1998, p.93) believes that of all the significant persons, the parents are the ones who have the greatest impact on the students’ choice. Conversely in Maringe’s study (2006, p.473) teachers were found to be the strongest factor in influencing the student’s choice of course while parents were the least important. Maringe (2006, p.473) suggests that
“secondary school teachers could be the universities’ greatest allies in helping students decision making about higher education study”.
• Institution’s efforts to communicate with students: written information, campus visits and admissions/recruitment. Joseph and Joseph (1998, p.95) conclude that “promotional activities developed by tertiary institutions should support their market positioning and reflect the importance of the value of education and degree (content and structure) attributes”. To achieve this they suggest using “testimonials of alumni who are presently employed which would emphasize the value of education, use testimonials of employers who would attest to the quality of graduates. This could build up the reputation of the degrees offered by an institution. Promotional material provided to potential students must have clear and concise information in relation to the courses available, the entry requirements and the availability of specialist programmes” (p.95).
• Security: This can include safety on campus at night Garden (2003, p.177).
Soutar and Turner (2002, p.40) argue that some of the factors that influence a student’s decision of which university to attend are more important than others and in determining their university preferences students will consider what is important to them and, consciously or unconsciously, trade-off between these attributes.
Maringe (2006, p.467) argues that the reasons applicants choose universities and courses are central to institutional positioning. “Consumers in Higher Education now exist in a positional market, where institutions compete for the best students while the applicants compete for the most preferred institutions” (Maringe, 2006, p.469). Bunzel (2007, p.152) proclaim that “various corporate marketing strategies are being employed in the academic world as universities search for ways to improve ranking”. In operating and surviving in such a competitive environment some universities are also choosing to follow the advice of Kotler and Armstrong (2004, p.259) who suggests that they create positions that will be advantageous for their products in the selected market.
Veloutsou et al. (2004, p.170) maintain that “attracting and retaining students suited to the courses offered must be one of the most important objectives of any university” and conclude that this requires “the development of unique selling points and communicating this to potential students”.
Paramewaran and Glowacka (1995, cited in Ivy, 2001, p.276) who did a study on university image advocate that “higher education institutions need to maintain or develop a distinct image to create a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive market”. “It is this image that will impact on a student’s willingness to apply to that institution for enrolment” (Ivy, 2001, p.279). Similarly Garden
(2003, p.173) suggests that universities communicate effectively by highlighting its strengths especially those that are important to its target market.
However this can be a very challenging task for universities. Universities are finding it more challenging to attract the appropriate students with their limited resources (Veloutsou et al., 2005, p.280). This is supported by Ivy (2001, p.279) who states that many universities globally are experiencing difficulties with decreasing student number and decreasing funding.
“If educational institutions are to develop strategies that will attract a sustainable share of the market, they need to know their customers, understand their needs and develop strategies to satisfy those needs” (Joseph and Joseph, 2000, 43). “To become the university of choice you must be positively represented, the students, advisers and general stakeholders must know who you are, and what you offer in order to consider you as a choice” (Veloutsou et al., 2005, p.280).