ESL Marketing – Know your student demographics

June 3, 2010

Do you know what countries your students come from? Better yet, can you articulate what percentage of your students is from which countries? Although most program coordinators or managers could tell you where the majority of their students come from, you might be surprised how many do not know basic statistical information about their own programs and students. Depending on what privacy laws apply to business and schools in your area, you may be able to ask your participants’ age, occupation, gender, marital status, number of children and so on. The more information you can collect, the clearer picture you can build of your typical student. Before you go ahead and design a questionnaire though, I would recommend that you familiarize yourself with any privacy laws that may apply in your country with regards to the collection of personal information.

Most programs keep statistical information in some form, either on registration forms or in a database. Few actually use the data for any real purpose. If you have statistical information, it really is worth the time and effort to compile it into useful reports that can help you assess who has been registering in your program over the past little while.

I suggest that you go back at least 3-5 years to compile your data. You want to know:

  • where your students are from
  • what is their first language
  • how old they are (age range and average age)
  • ratio of males to females
  • information on education or occupation

The idea is to build yourself a “big picture” of who is registering in your program.

After you have that picture, you can assess whether or not the demographics you have fit the demographics you want. For example, if you have mainly female students and you think some gender balance would benefit your program, you could tweak your marketing materials to attract more males (for example, appealing to all-male schools or men’s sports teams).

An analysis of your student population costs you little money, just an investment of your time. It’s an investment that could help your program grow in phenomenal ways.

This post is adapted from “Idea # 9: Assess your current program demographics” in 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

What do others really think about your marketing materials?

May 17, 2010

Ever heard the expression, “He couldn’t see the forest for the trees”? It refers to someone who loses his perspective on a situation because they are too involved (and invested) in the situation to see it clearly. This is what can happen when you market your program. You may think that your current brochures, web page, etc. are just fine– but what do others think about them? Do you really know?

What’s the solution? Have your marketing materials audited. If you have your current marketing materials audited, you may get a clearer picture of what outsiders really think of your materials – and your program. An audit is usually conducted by an impartial third party, and it involves an objective evaluation of your materials to determine what is good about them and what you need to improve.

This may mean hiring a marketing professional or educational consultant to review what you currently have. What she will probably do is review and assess how you:
•    use branding (for example, your logo and image)
•    convey the information (language, style, readability)
•    use colour, graphics, font and typesetting
•    can make your marketing more effective

An audit may also include an evaluation of the texture and quality of paper you choose for your printed materials, the accessibility of your web site, a ranking of your web site in search engines or an evaluation of your office stationery. These are all factors to consider when you are thinking about how you present your image to the world.

An audit of your marketing material done by an objective outsider may surprise you. A good consultant will give you no-nonsense feedback about your marketing materials and valuable information on how to improve them. These improvements may give your school the competitive edge it lacks.

There are hundreds of marketing consultants out there. It may benefit you to hire someone who specializes in educational or international marketing so you can get the best assessment possible.

Once the audit is complete, you will then have to decide which, if any, of the auditor’s recommendations to use. This will depend on cost, time and your own perception of how you wish to present your school. But inevitably, you will come away with a fresh perspective on how others view your school through your marketing materials.

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This post is an adapted excerpt from 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program It is been adapted from “Idea # 8: Have your current marketing materials audited.”

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, ESL, marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

University’s English Language Program accreditation revoked

May 10, 2010

Inside Higher Ed has just released a news article entitled “Entangling Alliance” that reports that the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida has its accreditation revoked by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA), an international standards and accreditation organization for English language programs. The function of the CEA is similar to that of Languages Canada, which grants accreditation to language schools in Canada.

The CEA reportedly revoked USF’s accreditation after it entered into a partnership with a company called “INTO University Partnerships” a private firm which handles the marketing, recruitment and student services for international students, including English as a Second Language Programming. Inside Higher Ed quoted Theresa O’Donnell, Executive Director of the CEA, saying “We did not accredit the partnership, we accredited the University of South Florida’s English Language Institute”.

This is hot news for English Language Programs considering entering into public-private partnerships for international student recruitment and marketing or English language programming. This will no doubt have implications for the University of Southern Florida as an institution, and more importantly for its current and prospective students.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

3 Comments | ESL, ESL agents, languages, marketing, recruitment, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Specialized courses: Essential for a healthy marketing mix

April 28, 2010

In 1982, W.P. Kinsella wrote Shoeless Joe, a novel that was later turned into a major Hollywood movie starring Kevin Costner. The most famous line of the book is, “If you build it, he will come.” The basic premise of the book is that if you have an idea or a dream, go with it. The rest will take care of itself.

While this feel-good book, and the movie it was made into, may smack of naïveté on some level, the main principle is one that we can use in marketing our schools. If you build a specialized program, based on a sound curriculum that you can deliver well, the students will come.

Is there something that your school does better than any other in your area? Do you have a program to train foreign language teachers? Do you offer a specialized course in medical or veterinary terminology, for example? How about a course in business communications? If you have at least one course or program that differentiates you from other schools, you can focus on being the best there is for that specialty. You can still offer basic language training or other programs, but having a specialized niche will ensure you a unique market share, and add both revenue and students to your program. It can also add flair and a sense of uniqueness to your program. I’ve seen programs that offer English and sports or English and activities such as surfing, and they truly set themselves apart from the hundreds of other English programs in the world.

Specialized courses often referred to as “ESP” or “English for Specific Purposes”, in the English as a Second / Additional Language field. Together, generalized and specialized courses combine to form your marketing mix. Finding the right mix can boost your revenue significantly.

Specialized courses deserve special attention in your marketing plan. For example, if you offer a program for language teachers from foreign countries, you could easily research the contact information for language schools abroad and add that information to your database.  Then you have the tools to do a targeted direct mail campaign to those schools that would catch the attention of those teachers and school administrators.

Also consider that specialized courses likely require specialized curricula. You’ll want to ensure that whatever materials you are using fit your niche market really well.

Generally, it takes longer to see results for specialized programs. That is because it may take prospects longer to find out about your niche and respond to your marketing. I’ve seen more than one niche program fail because administrators gave up on it too early. One semester or session is not enough to test the market to determine if there is a demand for your specialized course. These types of program may require extra attention in their infancy, simply because their target market is very specific.

You may want to dedicate a certain amount of time (for example, one hour a week for an entire year) just to marketing this particular program. This may mean contacting associations, schools or other audiences with an interest in your niche to advise them of your program. For example, if you have a program to train teachers, then a direct mailing to teachers’ associations abroad may help you promote these courses. It may cost you time to build your mailing list, or it may cost you money to buy such a list. You won’t see a return on your investment until participants begin to enroll.

If you persist, within a couple of years, you can have a booming program.  The trick is to carve yourself a niche and be patient while the world discovers your uniqueness. If you build it… they will come.

This post is adapted from “Idea #5: Carve yourself a niche” in 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, education, ESL, marketing, marketing mix, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Revenue-Generating Language Programs at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions: Emerging Themes from a Documentation Analysis

April 24, 2010

I wanted to share a research paper with you that has been published in the ERIC database. It’s from a conference I did a couple of years ago. It talks about my thesis research that was in progress at the time of the conference. My research focussed on the marketing of revenue-generating ESL programs at a Canadian post-secondary institution. It started out as a documentation analysis and then evolved to include powerful interviews with program directors. This paper, done at about the halfway point of my program, shows some of the major themes that were emerging in the research. Here’s a quick overview:

Title: “Revenue-Generating Language Programs at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions: Emerging Themes from a Documentation Analysis”

Presented at: Canadian Society for the Study of Education, annual conference, Vancouver, Canada, 2008

Abstract: This presentation identifies emerging themes in a study combining documentation analysis (Atkinson & Coffey, 2004) and interviews that examine policy statements, promotional materials and various institutional documents from selected English as a Second Language (ESL) programs at one Canadian University. It looks at how and why ESL programs are perceived to be tools for revenue generation and some of the implications this has, both at the program and institutional levels. The philosophical, ethical and practical challenges of international marketing of educational programs that generate revenue are explored.

Full paper is available in .pdf format from ERIC: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=Eaton%2C+Sarah&searchtype=basic&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&objectId=0900019b804095aa&accno=ED508999&_nfls=false

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Revenue-Generating Language Programs at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions: Emerging Themes from a Documentation Analysis | education, ESL, languages, leadership, marketing, recruitment, research, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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