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Friday after the workshop people stayed later than anyone ever does on a Friday evening. They were all a-buzz about the ideas that they came up with during the workshop. There was a great deal of excitement. Thanks for the great job getting us on track. Their enthusiasm is boundless! Dr. Ray Hoy, President, Wor-Wic Community College, Maryland

Workshops

Two-day workshops offered on-site at individual colleges or for groups such as statewide college systems. The workshops involve a broad base of campus individuals and help build a college-wide understanding of marketing, a marketing team and strategic marketing plan.

A two-day on-site workshop includes key individuals from the college involved in the marketing process. Individuals involved in the workshops would include, but not be limited to public relations, marketing, enrollment management, admissions, financial aid, research, planning, academic affairs, faculty leadership, and executive leadership.

This team approach is recommended since effective marketing cuts across so many college areas. By involving each of these areas in the planning process, the college has the advantage of each of the important perspectives and creates a team and buy-in process that will make marketing work as the plans are implemented.

When the internal marketing professional says that marketing is everyone's business, it appears as if he or she is trying to shove off their job on their colleagues. When an outside professional says it - and proves it with strong arguments and a myriad of examples - it is believed.

Marketing Workshop Outcomes

The marketing workshop provides the college with:

A broad base of college individuals will have an understanding of marketing and ideas for marketing action to include action in the following areas:

* curriculum delivery
* service
* promotion
* recruitment and inquiry follow-up
* retention
* research

The group process approach provides the college with a knowledgeable, motivated team that is willing and anxious to implement the activities from the workshop because they have been involved in creating the plan.

The college will have a concrete structure, process and teams in place to create and implement marketing plans on an on-going basis.

The college will have an outline of action areas for marketing and the six work groups will each complete a Marketing Action Plan for one of these activities during the workshop. Each group will then complete 3-5 additional plans within a month after the workshop from the workshop list; these plans will constitute the college-wide Strategic Marketing Plan.

While enrollment increases cannot be guaranteed, virtually every one of the over 100 colleges with which we have worked has seen increases in enrollment, many very dramatic. Every college has seen results that include a concrete written strategic marketing plan, a committee structure for marketing, and committed individuals that implement marketing activities that make a difference.

Sample Agenda

The proposed workshop could consist of the following components, but is customized for each college or group.

College-wide Workshop - First day
Morning presentation by consultant:

Workshop

Specialized Target Marketing Workshops

In addition to the overall college-wide workshops, our company has worked with a number of colleges to develop special targeted marketing focuses. While all these areas are covered in our typical consulting, they can also be expanded to an in-depth focus and can include audit meetings and full workshops leading to action plans around these specialized topics.

Areas for consideration can include the following. In all cases the workshop includes extensive hands-on examples from two-year colleges, and guidelines to create action steps and implementation to make changes.

Career/academic programs. Focus can be on low enrollment programs, targeted new areas. Audits can include interviews with business leaders, advisory committees, students and alumni as well as faculty and administrators of the programs.

Minority marketing. Again focus groups can include community leaders, advisory committees and internal areas.

Customer service training. Approach includes customer service at all levels, including customer service techniques, as well as analysis of policy changes and systems for enhanced customer service.

Advocacy/PR planning. Help you create a strategic plan to reach target audiences including legislators, business leaders, community leaders, media and the general public with the value of the college and the need to support it.

Branding/Messaging.. Help colleges develop an appropriate, unique branding through research, focus groups with a variety of target audiences, and workshops to help evaluate logo, graphic design and key messages and benefits, along with tools to communicate these effectively.

Continuing Education/Workforce.  Help colleges apply the marketing model to continuing education and workforce, recognizing their unique audiences and delivery, yet helping them position the area as part of the overall college brand and gaining an understanding of their role and products, both externally and internally.

For further information, a formal proposal or to schedule a workshop for your college call Sandy at 480-634-7161 or email her at sandra@sandragolden.com

View our article on "Making Marketing Work" [ Word File or  PDF File] describing why and how to involve a broad based team from your college in marketing planning.

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