Small + Complex = Really Bad Combination

“Most colleges and schools which with we work are far too small to be complex. From a marketing and strategy perspective, small and complex is a deadly combination.”

Travel to a few independent colleges or schools, schedule a visit with the President's cabinet, and query them as to what their biggest challenges are each day. I suspect that you will find one of the core issues facing nearly all of them is how to integrate data - which is currently living in silos - in an effective way to make good institutitional decisions. If I had to predict how the conversation would go, they would complain that too much information exists without much integration and data mining. And, to make it worse, they would most likely complain that most people in the organization have little knowledge about what is happening in other parts of the campus.

Most colleges and schools which with we work are far too small to be this complex. Most consumers expect that a large organization will be hard to navigate and rarely client-centered. But, they tend to believe that small organizations - like a small liberal arts college or an independent school of fewer than 1000 students - will be easy to navigate and very client-centered. In other words, large often means complex and small often means client-centered and intuitive. From a marketing and strategy perspective, small and complex is a deadly combination.

As we move into a world where the consumer trend is back to the local, smaller retailers as a backlash against the impersonal, big-box companies, or nimble, agile online systems, this is an important issue. How is your school or college working toward making your organization client-centered and easy with which to work? How is your information technology organized and is it integrated? And, how many information silos exist with your organization? Answering these questions may be one of the more important strategic questions for small, tuition-driven organizations in the future.

How Campus Symbols and Imagery Inform Your Communication Strategy

I have been reflecting a lot lately on the impact of symbolism on communication. I think we often underestimate the power of simple symbols in our campus culture and what they communicate to people about our shared belief system. And, as I often find, subtle symbolism on school campus actually overrides or conflicts with the marketing messages that the school or college is projecting.

Walk on any school or college campus and you will quickly get a feel for the culture of the place, but it is likely not just from words spoken. If you pay just a little bit of attention, you can pick up icons, symbols, and other visual expressions of culture just by walking around snapping a few photos or videos. For example, a campus with really poor or aging navigational signage might have a hard time reinforcing a marketing message that it is an open and inviting community to all. Or, a campus with a very formal communication interaction or style between faculty and students may have a hard time building a credible marketing message of student-centeredness. My favorite examples are schools and colleges that really focus on a message of socioeconomic diversity yet create feelings of exclusivity in the way they dress their campus imagery, from facilities to facades to campus entrances.

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“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

— Will Rogers

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My good friend, colleague, and ISA partner Robert Rytter of Jensen Design Studio performs for our clients what he calls “The Million Dollar Walk’. On that stroll through campus with key leadership team members, he points out the visual conflicts in messaging that the campus may create, the opportunities for better creative expression, and how to think different - and bigger - about what your campus says about you. After all, you only get one chance to make a first expression.

I encourage you to take a walk around your campus with a newcomer, a first time visitor, and ask them what they "see" and what it communicates to them when walking around campus. You might be surprised that some of the marketing messages your campus has been working so hard upon are being eroded by subtle symbolism. And, you might find some interesting ways to reinforce some of your key messages with more intentional symbolism.

Using Intelligent Design to Overcome Barriers to Online Learning

When AirBNB and Uber developed their respective platforms, they used intelligent design to overcome a key barrier: trust. They were trying to bring two strangers together share something very private: a home or a car. How could they use design to overcome trust as a barrier? How could they foster personal safety through sharing of information, a rating system, and common goals?

As online education becomes a dominant force in the education space, it needs to deploy the same intelligent design to overcome the key barrier consumers and educators worry about: engagement. How can online tools promote engagement in the same - or better - way that physical space can? How can we develop and deploy the tools to not just deliver learning, but enhance the experience in such a way that it expands the learning environment?

Why People Need to See Themselves in the Picture

It has been over a decade since Apple retired the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads. They were ingenious ads designed to personify the end user of their respective products. So, cleverly, Mac users were communicated as younger, more stylish, fit, hip, and, simply, cool. And, the PC guy was essentially the opposite persona, a slightly overweight, traditional, unstylish guy with the flare of an accountant. Sorry, number crunchers. The ads did an amazing job of positioning Apple products in the minds of their customers through giving them someone with whom to relate.

People need to see themselves in the picture in any product they purchase. They need to see people that share their values, views, and look and feel so that other people might relate to them. It is why so many smart companies switched to testimonial advertising over a decade ago, developing a cast of characters to tell their story for them.

If your school or college is following old school methods of telling your own story through institutional speak, using your own images, you have probably lost a generation or more of customers at “hello”. People need to see themselves in the picture of your organization through a cast of characters that carry the message, using language they relate to, and sharing their values, lifestyles and perspectives.

Why the Best Marketing Research is Sitting in Your Lobby

This is a true story. About three decades ago, I was tasked to manage the final production of a new admissions campaign for a university. I was an assistant director of admissions and the default person to get the job over the finish line. The creative firm had done their work, turning in final proofs of our new print and digital collateral at that time, and it was the first generation of a website.

Part of the job, I assumed, was to get the president’s approval on the material. Ours was a hands-on president, very active in both enrollment and philanthropic endeavors, so I walked the final proofs up to his office for final review. As active as he was in our agenda, I assumed he would have an opinion about our final communications product. As I sat down with him for our scheduled appointment, his response startled me. It went something like this.

Me: “Here are the final admissions campaign proofs. I thought you would want to review them and sign off before we head into post-production. What do you think? Do you like them? We think our creative team did a fantastic job on our behalf. It was resources well-spent.”

Mr. President: “Ian, why does it matter if I like them? In fact, if I like them, I can assure you that some 17 year old prospective student will hate them. I share nothing in common with our audiences. Why don’t you go ask the prospective parents and students sitting in the admission office lobby right now, waiting for their tours? They are the ones whose opinions really matter.”

I was awestruck. And, he was right. Yes, of course, the best people to review them are actually the people who need to see themselves in the picture, the ones who will actually consume the material. I had just received some very sage advice from an experienced leader very early in my career.

The best marketing research is sitting in your admission lobby. The next time you finalize a new communications campaign in print, web, socials, or advertising, ask them first. They are the ones that need to see themselves in the picture. They will give you free, honest feedback, and, just maybe, be really happy that you asked.

Why Don't Educators Design for the Marketplace?

Why is it that educators historically have designed programs that serve intrinsic organizational interests rather than the needs of the market? Progressive educator Francis Parker always argued that “the work of the school is determined by the needs of society”. If this is truly the purpose of education - and I believe it is - shouldn’t we be developing programs that fit into the marketplace? And, that includes developing and designing programs that scale and price to different audiences and needs.

Famous management guru Peter Drucker was also very critical of the education industry for the method in which educators developed programs. His observation that educators are program-focused rather than market-focused has always been intriguing to me. Let me define the difference between the two approaches.

Program-focused marketing is the process of developing educational programs that the school or college faculty believe inherently possess value. Of course, this approach often leads to high delivery costs and inflexible delivery approaches, among other things. But, the approach remains true to the educational philosophy of the faculty. This approach focuses on developing their perceived best approach to delivering education and then placing the challenge of finding customers who want it and can pay for it later. And, it often produces extremely high quality programs. But, in some cases, for what audience?

Market-focused marketing is the process of defining the potential audience prior to program development. This approach starts with learning what customers want in their programs, how much they will pay for it, and how they best want it delivered. Used by most business, this approach places the client first in program development, followed by creating the experience they want.

Of course, no one approach is best. It's certainly not an "either-or" situation. They are both essential inputs in program development. We all should work from our competences and reach markets that want them. But, it has always seemed to me that education has it backwards, placing the organization desires before the client needs. And, if strategic planning is finding the intersection between mission and market, then both inputs are needed.

Peter Drucker knew what he was talking about in many areas of marketing and management, but he sure had a lot of insight on program development. In my view, I would start with designing for market first. It saves a lot of headaches down the road.

The "3D Test" -- How to Keep Your Organization Relevant

In several recent keynote talks with organizations, I have shared the simple “3D” test for keeping your organization relevant. It is a simple and easy to remember construct that you can apply to any organization to assess positioning in a competitive marketplace. We have been asked to share it in print, so here it goes.

The 3D’s of creating relevant positioning include:

1. Defendable: Are your marketing claims defendable? In other words, are they believable? Would others believe your claims of competencies, features, and benefits to be true? And, honestly, are they?

2. Desirable: Are your claims desirable by others? In other words, do people really want what you offer? And, is it really valuable to others?

3. Distinctive: Is what you are offering to the world truly unique? Are you the only one of a kind or can others get what you offer somewhere else at a lesser price or with fewer barriers to access?

The 3D test gets at the heart of organizational competencies, market desires, and competitive realities. Great organizations create positioning that meets all three dimensions. This ensures that they market within their competencies, offer things that people truly want, and develop products and services that have little competitive overlap.

Try the 3D test on for size for your organization. It may change not just the way in which your school or college develops promotional language, but also how it creates new programs and services.

Why Cause Marketing Works

Is your marketing message just not capturing the hearts and minds of your intended audience? Maybe your organization is stuck in old school messaging, developing talk points about product features and benefits rather than true relevance.

Cause campaign marketing for non-profits have learned a simple trick that may help. Rather than talk about themselves, they focus on the problem they are trying to solve and back themselves into the unique solution to it.

The cause marketing recipe looks something this:

1. Here's the problem (ex: no clean water in developing countries or AIDS)

2. Here are some solutions (that typically don't work)

3. Here's our unique solution which really works (outline benefits)

4. Here is how you get involved (the call to action)

Four simple messaging steps. And, notice in those four steps, the organization does not take the front seat until late in the game. The problem to be solved is the focus, rather than the organization, right from step one.

And, here is the brutal truth for cause marketing. It is the best (only) marketing and messaging model to use when an organization has clearly articulated a vision, or an answer as to “why” they exist. Most organizations are stuck on “what they do” rather than “why they do it”, having failed to articulate a vision, and cannot aspire to use cause marketing.

But, if your organization has effectively developed and articulated a vision - an answer to why - cause marketing is the most authentic and effective way to build a messaging campaign. And, if it works for other outstanding non-profits, it may work for your organization.

The Summer of Road Trips

It is fair to say that the term "resiliency" is trending in the academic sector. It is not a new idea or concept. But, it is the most recent term that we have affixed to our industry since "sustainable", "accessible", "community", and "diversity" took a foothold in the past decade or so.

You can learn a lot about culture and economy if you simply pay attention to inbound marketing messages. A simple content analysis of messages often tells you major themes in our culture. As the economy begins a rebound and people begin moving back to work, I have been paying close attention to the constant barrage of marketing messages hitting North American households.

Watching television commercials last night in between shows, I noticed a clear theme drawing upon the classic American vacation road trip. Whether it was automobile manufacturers, retail goods, or consumer services, lots of marketers were focusing upon the return of the simple vacation. Many messages showed images of families exploring lesser seen nooks and crannies of our nation, quiet open roads, and scenic byways.

I suspect the summer of 2020 will emerge as the summer of road trips. Americans will return to their roots by highway and interstate. Families will seek quieter, simpler destinations, avoiding air travel all together, and seek nature and beauty. Many will leave urban homes for rural destinations, seeking less congestion and chance of infection from COVID-19. And, if this trend is accurate, it could be one of many cultural shifts that we witness as a result of the pandemic.