Marketing Plan Fiscal Year 2000-2001
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Table of Contents (menu)
a. Higher Education Marketplace
b. Campus environs
c. Competitors
Preface
It might be said that a marketing plan is to a business or institution what a prescription or medical treatment plan is to a patient. Each offers a set of proposed actions (tactics, treatments) for handling a specific set of priorities (marketing concerns, symptoms). Each may include a combination of symptom-relief in the short term and evaluation of and treatment for underlying causes in the long-term. Each may require modification as new problems emerge or if results aren’t either effective or seen as quickly as anticipated. Each relies upon periodic re-evaluation to determine if progress is being made.
With this comparison in mind, the primary area of concern being addressed by this year’s marketing plan is increasing enrollment.
Because of this focus on enrollment growth, there is a considerable amount of crossover between marketing and enrollment management and admissions activities in this year’s marketing plan. This focus is also the reason why many of the tactics and strategies proposed for implementation this year are designed to be carried out either solely by or in partnership with enrollment management and admissions’ personnel.
However, it should be noted that as priorities change from year-to-year, the focus of future marketing plans will likely shift as well to handle new concerns, everything from legislative relations and politics to alumni relations and development. Though there may always be some degree of collaboration between marketing and enrollment management, successfully addressing other issues will likely require correspondingly higher levels of input and involvement with other campus and community groups.
Executive Summary
Tennessee Technological University is a four-year accredited public university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees from six colleges or schools. Best known for its engineering and science programs, the university also offers high quality programs in education, agriculture, human ecology, business administration, nursing, arts and music.
One of 45 institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents system, Tennessee Tech University offers an excellent, affordable education. According to the 2000-2001 Annual Survey of Colleges of the College Board, Tennessee Tech has the lowest tuition costs of any four-year public institution in the state.
In addition to its affordability, Tennessee Tech consistently ranks high in student and alumni satisfaction. In 1999, students ranked the university number one in student satisfaction among institutions in the TBR system. That same year, 93 percent of TTU alumni reported that they were satisfied with their education — more than those at all other TBR universities. Tennessee Tech University also has the distinction of having the highest graduation rate of any TBR university.
The beautiful campus is conveniently located between Nashville and Knoxville in picturesque Cookeville, a friendly community which was recently named a "Dream Town" by BizJournal.com and one that consistently ranks as one of the most affordable cities in the United States (according to the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association’s quarterly cost of living index).
The university’s enviable size is small enough to offer students personalized, one-on-one attention – a rarity at most public institutions – yet still large enough to provide them with numerous opportunities for educational and social enrichment unparalleled by any private school.
The university’s marketing goals are to increase new student enrollments from its primary market areas and improve name recognition and familiarity with university offerings amongst residents of its secondary market areas. Other objectives of the marketing plan are to encourage TTU faculty, staff, students and alumni and the community at large to take pride in the university and work together to help it grow and prosper.
Situational Analysis
The Higher Education Marketplace
A Very Brief History
Historically, most colleges and universities have existed, and in some cases even managed to thrive, without integrated marketing plans. While at one time or another most have engaged in promotional activities or explored improving their product, by and large this has not been done to meet a set of marketing objectives.
This is in part because competition has not traditionally been amongst institutions for students, but amongst students for the opportunity to attend the institution of their choice. As a result, most colleges and universities have considered integrated marketing activities expensive and unnecessary until recently.
This was especially true in the 1940’s when the GI bill allowed veterans who might never have afforded a college education the opportunity to pursue one. Then the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965 further paved the way for more individuals than ever to pursue a college education. These acts of legislation and the baby boom from 1946 to 1964 provided a seemingly endless pool of students for the majority of higher education institutions through the 1970’s. During this time, more colleges and universities were built while others experienced tremendous growth, including Tennessee Tech.
While overall college enrollments have continued to increase since the 1970’s, for many colleges, including Tennessee Tech, enrollments peaked during this period and then began to change — holding steady or, in some cases, declining. A number of factors contributed to this.
Factors Contributing to Stagnant or Declining Enrollment
Chief among the factors contributing to stagnant and/or declining enrollment are declines in the pool of available students in some regions, changes to the makeup of this population, the rapid advancement of technology and increased competition.
As a result of these and other changes, many institutions now find themselves in the uneasy position of competing for students. It’s not a role with which the majority of the academic world is entirely comfortable — this climate of competition. And yet, one thing is clear, it’s no longer enough to conduct business as usual. Some schools have been able to maintain their competitive advantage while others have faced steep enrollment declines, a few have been forced to close. Ultimately it may be that only those institutions capable of finding newer and more creative ways of outwitting the competition to attract and retain students will continue to survive.
Regarding the first factor, it all comes down to numbers —— specifically birth rates. Baby boomers swelled the ranks of college attendance from the mid-fifties through the early-eighties. But as the boomers graduated and entered the workforce, many colleges began to suffer enrollment declines or as in TTU’s case, stagnant numbers. (Even so, there have been exceptions, like the Nashville Metro area, where new residents moving in to take advantage of economic growth and opportunity have increased demand.)
The good news is that though overall U.S. birth rates dropped from 1965 to 1980 causing a corresponding dip in many colleges’ enrollments, they rebounded between 1980 and 1993. In fact, annual birth rates between 1989 and 1993 rivaled those recorded at the height of the post-war baby boom. The first of these baby boomer offspring began entering college in the fall of 1998 and their influence will continue to be felt through 2010. In Tennessee, the projected number of high school graduates statewide is expected to rise by 13 percent between 2001 and 2010 (according to the Chronicle for Higher Education’s 2000-2001 Almanac Issue).
More research is needed to examine how population trends will continue to affect Tennessee Tech’s enrollment. And it should be remembered that one of the primary reasons enrollment totals are important to TTU is that funding for higher education is based on these numbers.
The second factor is the face of college prospects has become more diverse and will continue to become so. Because of this, colleges and universities looking to grow their enrollment will have to expand their recruitment efforts among minorities and non-traditional students. Retaining these students may require the development of even more new programs.
For example, as members of the largest segment of the population — baby boomers — enter retirement age they will likely seek out lifetime learning experiences in large numbers. Most will want to continue learning for fun and personal improvement but some may look to pursue second careers (witness the 50-year-old grandmother who recently entered medical school). Colleges and universities offering programs specifically targeted to this group stand to benefit. For Tennessee Tech, which lies just 30 miles from one of the nation’s most popular communities in which to retire (Crossville/Fairfield Glade), the benefits could well be tremendous.
Diversity is also a factor because the racial and ethnic make-up of the U.S. population is undergoing a dramatic shift. In California, for example, members of differing racial and ethnic minority groups now comprise more than half of the state’s population, in effect creating a minority majority. While the shift is not nearly as dramatic in Tennessee, as of 1999 nearly 20 percent of the state’s population or one out of every five residents was a member of a racial or ethnic minority group.
The third, and perhaps most significant, factor is this — technology has forever changed the college recruitment process. Technology may not have necessarily changed the needs of students, but it has helped to create savvier prospects that demand that institutions be more responsive to their needs, whatever they may be.
Today’s college prospects are more sophisticated than the 17-year-olds of even a decade ago. They are informed consumers who know how to comparison shop and, thanks to technology, can do so 24 hours a day. Raised in an era of consumer advocacy, today’s teens quickly recognize poor customer service, bureaucracy and red tape and, thanks to the World Wide Web, even have an outlet for sharing their negative experiences on a broad scale.
They are also impatient — this is the group that taps its foot while waiting on the microwave — not only do they expect that their needs will be met, but they expect them to be met much more quickly.
Technology has also increased competition with the development of a vast array of new options such as on-line degree programs. It has enabled students to learn more than ever about offerings of which they might never have previously even been aware. By increasing competition and making for more discerning customers, it’s ironic that this enhanced technology has ultimately created the need for greater personal attention, increased customer service and more responsiveness from the higher education establishment.
As the pool of traditional students continues to decrease and the threat of competition increases, colleges and universities, including Tennessee Tech, must become more responsive to the needs of current and prospective students just to survive. To thrive and grow, they must move beyond this, reaching out to greater numbers of non-traditional and minority students and work to develop and market their product with the needs and wants of these potential students/customers in mind.
Campus Environs
For Tennessee Technological University, these and other factors have contributed to an enrollment that has either remained steady or suffered modest declines in the last decade. Even more unsettling, during the same time that Tennessee Tech has experienced stable enrollment, some of its primary competitors have seen dramatic growth.
To identify the challenges facing TTU in its struggle to maintain and grow enrollment, a SWOT analysis was conducted with various groups on campus. This feedback was combined with the results of the 1999 Student Satisfaction Inventory conducted by Noel Levitz to provide a clear-cut understanding of the university’s key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Competitors
Though Tennessee Tech University’s competitors differ depending on the market area, the primary ones statewide (according to figures from the ACT Enrollment Information Service) are UT Knoxville and Middle Tennessee State University.
Other regional competitors include UT Chattanooga, East Tennessee State University, UT Martin, Vanderbilt University, Austin Peay State University and the University of Memphis. Tennessee Tech also faces regional competition from a few community colleges including Motlow State, Volunteer State, Roane State and Chattanooga State. (NOTE: While on one level, community colleges are indeed TTU’s competitors, on another many of these two-year institutions are considered partners, collaborating with the university to offer regional programs and prepare students for transferring to four-year colleges.)
To get a clear idea of threats posed by Tennessee Tech’s primary competitors, SWOT analyses based on the perceptions and observations of TTU’s admission counselors will be conducted for nearly all four-year competing institutions located in the state of Tennessee. Further analyses of TTU’s competitors will be on-going with marketing strategies and tactics modified as new information warrants.
Target Markets
Tennessee Tech’s target markets include both geographic targets, referred to as hot spot markets, and geodemographic market segments. These areas were identified by examining;
Geographic Target Markets
Among the geographic target markets are those areas identified as having the highest potential for yielding the greatest number of new freshmen enrollees. Though the entire state of Tennessee is theoretically a geographic target market for Tennessee Tech, concentrating efforts in the hot spot geographic areas within the state and on certain geodemographic targets located within those areas has the greatest potential for yielding additional enrollees.
Additional information about Tennessee Tech’s hot spot markets has appeared in previous editions of Growthchart and a copy of CCA’s geodemographic analysis is available from the university’s marketing director.
Geodemographic Market Segmentation
The CCA analysis identified 6 clusters as being more likely to yield additional TTU enrollees and provided information on defining characteristics and preferred outreach methods for these groups. Further, CCA used the data to show where in Tennessee these families are most likely to reside.
For maximum response, the approach used to reach each of these market segments will depend on the preferences and characteristics of each particular target. It should also be noted that marketing efforts will not be limited to members of these clusters, only that these clusters are those CCA identified as most likely to yield additional Tennessee Tech enrollees based on enrollment in the fall of 1996.
Information about Claritas and PRIZM clusters is available from the university’s marketing director or on-line at www.dellvader.claritas.com/YAWYL/default.wjsp.
Out-of-state Target Markets
Work identifying potential out-of-state target markets continues. A preliminary analysis of high schools with the most Tennessee Tech enrollees has been conducted, but additional examination is necessary to accurately pinpoint out-of-state target areas.
Further coordination with Alumni Relations and Admissions will also help to identify additional out-of-state target markets as well as areas within the state with excellent alumni participation.
Marketing Objectives and Enrollment Goals
Overall objectives of Tennessee Tech University’s marketing plan are to:
Interim enrollment goals are provided here with the understanding that marketing will have the greatest impact on generating additional inquiries.
However, long-term marketing efforts, particularly those related to institutional image, will also affect enrollment. For the purposes of this document, the university’s enrollment goals are listed with the understanding that marketing efforts will contribute to part of an overall enrollment management plan with some of the tactics needing to be carried out by Admissions and other departments in order to meet these goals.
Interim enrollment goals.
Specific marketing goals for fiscal year 2000/2001 are to:
Marketing Strategies
Key to reaching these goals is the university marketing committee’s decision to focus on the following core selling points; excellent academic reputation, comfortable campus — sized just right, offering personal attention, secure, friendly and value – an affordable, academically outstanding education.
Though many positive factors are marketing strengths of Tennessee Tech University, these three specific elements taken together make up the core of TTU’s unique market position. Individually, these characteristics are shared by other institutions across the state, but together they form the basis of Tennessee Tech’s unique market position.
While some institutions of higher education in Tennessee are able to offer at least two of these strengths, only Tennessee Tech University truly offers the unique combination of all three.
Marketing Tactics
Marketing tactics may include advertising, admissions and enrollment management activities and publications, alumni relations activities, campus and community relations and changes to the university’s web site. For maximum effectiveness, these tactics are constantly being evaluated, updated and improved.
A complete list of tactics and a timeline for their implementation is available from the marketing director. Updates on specific activities will also appear in future editions of the Growthchart newsletter.
Approval Process
A: Approval Process for the Marketing Plan
1. The preliminary marketing plan will initially be presented to the director of Public Affairs, the Vice President of University Advancement and the marketing committee for review.
2. Recommendations for changes will be made and the plan will be modified according to these recommendations, if any.
3. The finalized marketing plan will then be presented to the university President for final approval.
B: Approval Process for Creative Work Within the Plan
1. Creative work integral to fulfilling the marketing plan–including scripts, storyboards and advertising copy–will be reviewed and edited by the marketing director, the director of Public Affairs, and the Vice President of University Advancement.
2. If the project is for a specific department, college, school or organization approval from the highest ranking official with that group will also be sought on creative content and design.
3. If time is a concern, the marketing director and the director of Public Affairs need only obtain the approval of the Vice President of University Advancement and the University President, or their designee(s), to proceed with creative content.
Further:
1. The finalized marketing plan will be shared with a number of campus groups including the A&A Officers, Dean’s Council, Executive Advisory Committee, Faculty Senate, Staff Advisory committee, Student Affairs Committee and the SGA.
2. The marketing plan will be available for review by anyone on campus and updates on marketing activities will appear in the Growthchart newsletter published in the Tech Times.
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