Lane Community College needs real marketing
During the past decade and a half, Lane has gone from being mostly funded by property taxes, which didn't depend on the number of students, to a new state funding formula that will make its revenues almost 100% dependent on the that statistic. This has led to a gradual awakening to the need for marketing college services to potential students. Students should be pleased with this.
So far Lane's marketing has consisted mostly of advertising and PR. These are important, but consumer marketing consists of much more. The college is overlooking principles that American business has found to be effective. Here are some examples, along with ideas to apply them so as to benefit both the college and its students.
1) Consumers love packages.
When students come to Lane and say they want to major in something like history at the UO, they get a laundry list of AAOT classes that will meet their requirements. But they are not told (at least not anywhere I can find on Lane's Web site) that experience has shown that an excellent two-year program consists of classes A, B, C, and D, with a few options. People who really want to tinker still can, but a large number will welcome a low-stress recommendation with the maximum probability of success. The college will stop wasting time pretending to be neutral when it's not, or shouldn't be.
2) Consumers respond well to guarantees and badly to uncertainty.
When students check the upcoming class schedules at Lane's Web site, they get a cold message that tells them that even if they find the classes they want, and even if they can get in, the course is not a contract and, well, good luck. This is after they also discover that classes in the catalog may never get offered and when they are, there may not be enough seats to accommodate all the demand.
One of the advantages of (1) above is that the college could actually make a promise about the core classes in its packages. It could say, "If you follow our advice and take a package, starting in September, we promise to offer the required courses in the terms you need them, and enough sections to accommodate everyone." There would of course be the fine print, but consumers are used to fine print. They still appreciate a heartfelt guarantee.
3) Consumers expect cancellation fees for high demand services.
When you get a cheap plane ticket for the day before Thanksgiving or book a hotel room for New Years Eve, you don't expect to be able to change your mind and walk away scot free. But students at Lane are given the chance to register speculatively and withdraw without expense to themselves during the first week of classes.
It's no expense to them, but it's a big expense to the college and to the students who may have wanted to get into the section. Leaving aside the chaos during the first 10% of a 10-week course of instruction, and the students who end up taking classes at times that are inconvenient, the college loses about $400 every time a seat that could have been filled is left empty. The habit of registering without a serious commitment could be brought to a halt with a $50 penalty for withdrawal.
4) Consumers respond to off-peak pricing and everyone benefits.
Check the cost of flying United at any online booking service. You'll see there are small variations in the ticket prices for different times of the same day, and for different days of the week. United is saying that, if you don't care when you travel, they'll sell you a ticket for a flight that doesn't have people breaking down their doors for a seat. As a sidelight, it means that if you really need a particular flight and are willing to pay for it, you can.
Lane has high demand for classes in Fall/Winter/Spring during weekdays at midday times, especially MWF. It has spare capacity late afternoons and evenings, weekends, and Summer. Yet everything costs the same. It appears to believe that after the prime sections fill, demand will transfer to others, but consumer behavior is not that flexible. If a single mother in Junction City with a child needing daycare can't get a workable schedule, she may just give up.
The UO has tried some discounts and considers them a success. Discounting off-peak sections would save some people money, make classes possible for others, and raise enrollment which would benefit Lane.
I've been watching the budget crisis unfold for two and a half months and despite hearing that there would be fundamental changes considered, I haven't heard any even bruited, let alone seriously pencilled out. There are changes that could be made to benefit students while improving the budget situation at the same time. It's discouraging that they don't seem to be on the table.
So far Lane's marketing has consisted mostly of advertising and PR. These are important, but consumer marketing consists of much more. The college is overlooking principles that American business has found to be effective. Here are some examples, along with ideas to apply them so as to benefit both the college and its students.
1) Consumers love packages.
When students come to Lane and say they want to major in something like history at the UO, they get a laundry list of AAOT classes that will meet their requirements. But they are not told (at least not anywhere I can find on Lane's Web site) that experience has shown that an excellent two-year program consists of classes A, B, C, and D, with a few options. People who really want to tinker still can, but a large number will welcome a low-stress recommendation with the maximum probability of success. The college will stop wasting time pretending to be neutral when it's not, or shouldn't be.
2) Consumers respond well to guarantees and badly to uncertainty.
When students check the upcoming class schedules at Lane's Web site, they get a cold message that tells them that even if they find the classes they want, and even if they can get in, the course is not a contract and, well, good luck. This is after they also discover that classes in the catalog may never get offered and when they are, there may not be enough seats to accommodate all the demand.
One of the advantages of (1) above is that the college could actually make a promise about the core classes in its packages. It could say, "If you follow our advice and take a package, starting in September, we promise to offer the required courses in the terms you need them, and enough sections to accommodate everyone." There would of course be the fine print, but consumers are used to fine print. They still appreciate a heartfelt guarantee.
3) Consumers expect cancellation fees for high demand services.
When you get a cheap plane ticket for the day before Thanksgiving or book a hotel room for New Years Eve, you don't expect to be able to change your mind and walk away scot free. But students at Lane are given the chance to register speculatively and withdraw without expense to themselves during the first week of classes.
It's no expense to them, but it's a big expense to the college and to the students who may have wanted to get into the section. Leaving aside the chaos during the first 10% of a 10-week course of instruction, and the students who end up taking classes at times that are inconvenient, the college loses about $400 every time a seat that could have been filled is left empty. The habit of registering without a serious commitment could be brought to a halt with a $50 penalty for withdrawal.
4) Consumers respond to off-peak pricing and everyone benefits.
Check the cost of flying United at any online booking service. You'll see there are small variations in the ticket prices for different times of the same day, and for different days of the week. United is saying that, if you don't care when you travel, they'll sell you a ticket for a flight that doesn't have people breaking down their doors for a seat. As a sidelight, it means that if you really need a particular flight and are willing to pay for it, you can.
Lane has high demand for classes in Fall/Winter/Spring during weekdays at midday times, especially MWF. It has spare capacity late afternoons and evenings, weekends, and Summer. Yet everything costs the same. It appears to believe that after the prime sections fill, demand will transfer to others, but consumer behavior is not that flexible. If a single mother in Junction City with a child needing daycare can't get a workable schedule, she may just give up.
The UO has tried some discounts and considers them a success. Discounting off-peak sections would save some people money, make classes possible for others, and raise enrollment which would benefit Lane.
I've been watching the budget crisis unfold for two and a half months and despite hearing that there would be fundamental changes considered, I haven't heard any even bruited, let alone seriously pencilled out. There are changes that could be made to benefit students while improving the budget situation at the same time. It's discouraging that they don't seem to be on the table.
posted by Rob Spooner at 9:24 AM
1 Comments:
well, as part of the massive budget cuts they have closed the Labs in the CIT department on the weekends... this really downgrades the department even more than what it already is.
advertising more -- I think they are taking your advice... look at this
http://www.lanecc.edu/cml/directions/index.htm
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