Sign of the Times, Coke Pushes for "Value-Based" Marketing Compensation

I've had writer's block for a few weeks ... trying to find some societal thread to marketing continuing education, but in a way that would not necessarily repeat the same themes of the past. Something finally hit me over the head today, as I was reading my online version of Advertising Age. Today, AdAge reported that the Coca Cola Company is moving to a "value-based" compensation model for those marketing and advertising firms working with the company. This means that if you don't produce, they're probably out or they won't make much. If they do produce, the article suggests that the agency can make a 30% profit margin.

What the article also emphasizes is "value over effort." This is my link to continuing education marketing. All too often, college and university continuing education units put a great deal of emphasis on design and brochure creation and not enough on strategy and customer-centricity. Academia has allowed many of its marketers to react to advertising needs, repeat media purchases because "we've always done it this way," and not report the hard data and metrics of success. What is also lacking is the prioritized return on investment of the institution's many marketing efforts ... which one works better, which one reaches more and converts more and which one requires less effort to produce (while producing a reasonable or strong return).

What Coca Cola is doing is measuring and rewarding based on accountability. Gone should be the days of "we can't measure it because it is part of the branding initiative" at the continuing education unit. Gone should be "it is too hard to measure" or "we know it works well because students tell us." So what can universities and colleges do?

• Challenge their customer relationship management and enrollment systems. Our systems should be able to track a person as they come in, leave or become stalled.
• Have a strategic competency in your marketing staff or be building one.
• Review the process where inquiries come in. This shouldn't be a black hole. They either call, leave electronic data or walk in. We should be able to capture it.
• Sit in the seat of the prospect/customer. We secret shop the intake process for many of our clients. Might be a good idea for you to do the same.
• Build a marketing culture that is based on science and not the back of a cocktail napkin regarding a "good marketing idea." Strategy starts on science.

While you as an educational professional might be saying "This is soda that we are talking about. This isn't relevant to education." It is relevant, as one of the best marketers in the world is changing its culture. It isn't just about selling soft drinks. It is about asking our marketers for metrics, measures and accountability. It's about asking for more science and discipline and not just creative ability (while it is important, it is just part of the puzzle). Coke is it ... we should follow suit.

Urban Legend on Adults Returning to College

Ok, are you sick of reading emails on "Recession Strategies" or receiving discounts called "Your Economic Stimulus Discount?" I am. What also seems to be overkill is the belief that with this economic situation, that adults are going to enroll in masses to complete or seek their degrees. Continuing education is supposed to benefit from times like these ... don't buy it! Times are different and history doesn't necessarily always repeat itself. Until someone produces some hard data that adults will return to college in masses, consider it a myth of the past and not for the future. Let me offer up why we are in a different situation:

• We happen to be in a war right now ... which makes economic factors for the nation different, as well as with individual attitudes and perspectives, as compared to the recession in early 2000's and in the 80's.
• While we had a recession in the early 2000's, we as individuals, as corporations and as a nation also were not carrying anything close to the level of debt we are currently carrying. Much of this recession was caused by a loss in manufacturing jobs and the dot-com bubble burst.
• For education, we have greater competition. Ten years ago, we had different avenues for revenues and differentiation ... we could offer distance education courses. We had a magic bullet if we needed it. Also, our universities as a whole were more financially stable.

For this recession, there's not a lot of extra money floating anywhere. In the recession of the 2000's, colleges and universities could find it. If it wasn't coming from the companies, it came from the individuals. The same held true for the recession of the 80's. Not today though. Both wells have run dry.

So, what's my point or how can I help. My earlier threads point to fixing the internal house and CRM. My presentation at UCEA this week pleads to colleges and universities to focus on better marketing and operations and not to chase the gadgets. Social networking, such as Facebook, mySpace, Twitter and blogging are great, but will they generate new enrollments? For the most part "no."

You need to focus your marketing on areas of strength. You need to do a better job at closing the deal with inquirers ... stop putting your least trained people on the other end of the telephone call and don't push them back to the web if they have questions.

Download my latest presentation at UCEA. Also, keep an eye out for my next whitepaper that further addresses the needs and expectations of marketing managers with their deans and vice versa.

UCEA, the Celtics and Marketing in a Tight Economy

Well, I couldn't resist ... just got back from the Celtics game. I am attending the UCEA conference in Boston and couldn't resist tying in what turned out to be the best basketball game that I've ever been to with marketing continuing education. It may be a stretch and it may not be fully coherent, as the Magic Hat #9 may be talking. Here's the linkage ...

This is not about the co-promotion strategy of Dunkin Donuts and the Celtics, as you see it all over place, nor is it about cross-selling memorabilia with the experience ... although I almost bought a green foam finger. It is about marketing in tight economy. You've got to create value and the experience for consumers to spend on an experience. I must admit, when I bought the tickets to the game, I wasn't sure whether it would be a good experience for my guests, who were my past clients and prospects.

Can you say double overtime, come from behind victory by the Celtics? My guests had a great time ... we high fived, danced to Ferris Bueller music and tried to get on the Jumbotron. The end result was an emotional bonding with my guests through what turned out to be experiential marketing. Everytime they see the Celtics, they will remember the game. Hopefully, they will remember me when they need marketing assistance or consultation.

Without risk, there cannot be reward. My risk ... buying the tickets on my dime (not the company's as it might be perceived as excessive), inviting folks, guiding them to the game, committing to dialogue and friendship and then following up after.

Continuing education marketers need to look at whether they are centered on product or the end benefit to the adult learner seeking the degree. This isn't necessarily about your product and the degree that you offer, but what you can do for their lives. This means that you have to connect with them through advertising (not marketing), you need to welcome them and you need to show them the vision so they remember you when it comes to making a decision. In my travels, many colleges and universities don't have all these elements in alignment ... they address advertising, but fail to create experience. They create brand strategies that have a short-term effect. Customer relationship management and giving a proper greeting is lacking for many.

While the Celtics are a marketing machine, we can learn from them. The experience today was rare, but all the strategic planning better prepared them for a positive outcome. For continuing education marketers, it isn't about spending more on advertising, but fixing things internally with little additional cost so you can create a better experience. ... a double overtime come from behind win.