What role do you see marketing and branding playing in DE and e-learning ventures?
The marketing and branding strategy of a DE institution or business can have many positive impacts. For one, marketing campaigns can spur interest and raise brand awareness of the DE institution or venture. Louis (2023) noted that “the beginning of any marketing effort is the need to build brand identity and brand story in the marketplace. The underlying task of brand development is differentiation – ensuring that the institution is seen to be both a way of meeting a potential student’s need and doing so differently from others”. Increased presence and brand identity in the marketplace can have rippling effects, such that there may be an increase in traffic and volume to an institution’s website or physical location. In so doing, it can help DE institutions recruit and retain students. “From powerful images, quirky images, and quotations the aim is to catch the eye, imagination and interest of a potential or existing student help them make a commitment to the next step in their learning journey” (Louis, 2023).
Not only that, but there is also the goal of encouraging students to become brand ambassadors for the institution. According to Louis (2023), “the aim of the marketing team is to ensure that every student and alumnus is more than satisfied with their learning experience, but is an active brand ambassador. The best form of marketing is “word of mouth” and a recommendation from a graduate to a potential student is the strongest form of marketing, as well as the least expensive. This is why the question “would you recommend this course/program to a friend or colleague” is a critical piece of data when looking at student satisfaction.” Although misleading marketing campaigns can have repercussions as was evident in the University of Phoenix (UoP) case, institutions can still reap positive returns on this investment once done correctly and ethically.
Will marketing and branding play a role in your business case? If so, how?
Marketing and branding will definitely play a significant role in the review gamehub. For the most part, since “word of mouth” has been proven to be one of the best marketing strategies, then the goal is to ensure that the review gamehub is adding value to students so that they in turn can recommend the tech tool to their peers and colleagues. Consequently, their recommendations will help the business to gain traction and attention from more people within the target audience. So far, representatives of the target market have indicated that they will recommend the review gamehub to others as highlighted in the image below. As such, the marketing prospects of the venture seem promising and bright.
Marketing tactics like social media adverts can increase traffic to the website and help create a buzz in the market. Meanwhile, other tactics can help build a community and develop a sense of belonging for users so that there will be continued use of the hub as well as repeat customers. "When you understand that this is a group of people who really feel a sense of belonging -- that this brand matters to them -- you start to build your marketing plans around the sense of joining a community". This evokes the 80/20 rule. If 80% of the business will come from 20% of the customers, then it is very important to focus most of the marketing and branding efforts on the retention of repeat customers through the development of a community. Essentially, marketing and branding whether it be on a large or small scale can have positive effects and implications on the business.
As always, I anticipate your comments, questions, and queries!
Krista
MDE student
University of Maryland Global Campus
University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC
References
Jean-Louis, M. (2023). Marketing online and distance learning. In Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education (pp. 605-621). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-19-2080-6_33
The CMO. (2011). McKinsey Quarterly, 3, 39–41.