FROM ENROLMENT TO ALUMNI:

THE RELATIONSHIP MARKETING & MANAGEMENT OF

UNIVERSITY-STUDENT RELATIONS

A Study of U.S. and Canadian Universities

Transition from Discrete to Relational Exchanges

“The New Social Contract”: We have transitioned from a discrete exchange to a relational exchange; ever purchase has an opportunity for another (Macneil,1980).

“…relational exchange transpires over time; each transaction must be viewed in terms of its history and its anticipated future” (Dwyer, Schurr, Sejo, 1987).

 

The Relationship Development Process according to Scanzoni (1979)

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5

Awareness Exploration Expansion Commitment Dissolution

Relationship Marketing

Relationship Marketing: “Refers to all marketing activities directed towards

establishing, developing and maintaining, successful relational

exchanges” (Morgan & Hunt, 1994).

“synthesis of marketing, customer service and quality

management” (Christopher et al. 1991).

“Relationship marketing emphasizes a long-term interactive relationship

between the supplier and the customer, and long-term profitability

with each partner in a win-win situation”(Worthington,1996).

Relationship Management

Public Relations is Relationship Management: “We have started to conceptualize

public relations as relationship management” (Bruning, 2000).

§  “organizations and publics need to determine common interests and shared goals” (Lendingham, 2004).

§  “link exists between organization-public relationships and outcomes such as enhanced satisfaction and improved levels of loyalty” (Bruning, 2000).

Relationship Marketing Techniques

Relationship benefits are part of establishing and maintaining the relationship via communication and social engagement.

u  Seller Expertise: refers to the proficiency with which an organization utilizes to “sell” its product. It includes cross-training techniques in order to create a more informed seller on all aspects the buyer may want information concerning the organization. The focus is on the buyer, in so much as the end goal is to create a better service atmosphere in the buyer-seller exchange.

u  Communication: refers to the strategic use communications in order to establish and

maintain a relationship with an audience. u  Interaction Frequency: the frequency which an organization and its public interact

in person or online. u  Relationship Benefits: Advantages or rewards gained from establishing,

participating in and maintaining a relationship with an organization.

(Palmatier, 2006; Journal of Marketing)

Relationship Marketing & Enrolment

u  Goal: “building a relationship from the moment of inquiry until after graduation…

enhance the student experience and meet the student’s needs”

(Vander Schee, 2010).

u  Outcome: “12% increase in enrollment at both institutions, student satisfaction increased, and

complaints decreased to zero in one year. Simultaneously, job satisfaction and productivity increased on the administrative side” (Vander

Schee, 2010).

Four Components of Relationship Marketing applied to university

enrolment in two American Universities:

q  Seller Expertise q  Communication q  Interaction Frequency q  Relationship Benefits

Relationship Building Strategies for University Retention

Communicate value to the

students

Maximize opportunities

for social engagement

Foster Community

Create opportunities for students to develop

relationships with university reps.

Bruning, 2000

Research Problem

Communication Strategy

Relationship building tactics

Feedback & Measurement

What are the best practices for building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with students during their

years at the university?

Research Questions

1. What relationship management strategies do university communicators employ to establish long-term mutually beneficial relationships with the

student body?

2. What are the current techniques among university communicators with regard to student relationship building?

3. How do universities evaluate their success in relationship building students?

Methodology

§  Qualitative study of university practitioners in a management position

§  36 item questionnaire §  Questions formulated with Relationship Management Theory &

Relationship Marketing Techniques §  Three areas: Strategy, Tactics, and Measurement §  17 Qualitative interviews §  1-2 hours in length

Organizations Studied

o  Participants varied in:

o  Job titles

o  Audience

o  Enrolment Size

o  Public v. Private

10 American: Ø  8 Cal-State Ø  1 private Ø  1 UC in the top

30 in the world rankings

Six Canadian: Ø  5 Ontario Ø  1 Quebec Ø  1 top 20 in the

world rankings

§  Director of Public Affairs

§  Vice Provost of Student Services

§  Dean of Student Affairs

§  Alumni Advancement

§  Dean of Graduate Studies

§  Director of Student Life

§  Dean of Students

§  Director of Social Media

§  VP of Communications

§  VP Students & Registrar

Participant Job Titles

Results: Communication Strategies

Reputation & Affinity Building

Student Citizenship

Community-Building

Peer to Peer Communications

Activation Communication

Access to Student Leaders

Dialogic Communications

Interactive Social Media

Community Building Activities

Shared Mission Statement

Inter-Departmental

Planning & Eval

Best Practice: Tactics

Results: Measurement & Feedback

Measurement

Open & Click Rates

Interactive Social Media

Open Forums

Feedback Loops

Student Focus Groups

Evaluations & Surveys

Event Attendance

Qualitative Email Measurement

University Administration

Collaborations

Town Halls

Cross-Training

Student input

Bi-Monthly Meetings

Campus Comm.

Groups

“State of the Union”

Staff Dev. Curriculum

Share Mission

Best Practices:

Freshman Class Groups

Timely Response

Provide info not available anywhere else

Open & Transparent

SM Crisis Monitoring

Use Storify to combine channels

Adapt to new channels quickly

Memes

“Super” User

Dialogic

Facebook Chat

Peer to Peer

Best Practices: Social Media

From Enrolment to Alumni

Awareness

Enrolment Exploration Engaged Student Graduation Active

Alumni

Ideal Student Life Cycle

Relationship Management Best Practice: Maximize the opportunities to demonstrate commitment,

communicate shared goals and establish trust with regular social engagement and dialogic communication

at each life cycle stage.

Contribution to the Practice

§  This study contributes best practices in the areas of strategy, tactics and measurement for creating and implementing a community-building strategy for relationship management.

Limitations and Further Research

§  Variety of departments with different goals; audiences

§  Limited to two distinct geographic regions; California and Ontario

§  Large sample from Cal-State School system

§  The study did not look at the student perspective

§  Unable to measure interaction frequency quantitatively

§  No qualitative analysis of print materials and communications.