Marketing Strategies of Universities

Research questions further updates. The central research question is: How does the process by which students decide to enrol and study at XYZ University look like in terms of the marketing concept of the buyer journey? The sub-questions are: 1. What is the theory of customer journey mapping (in particular that part of it that is called buyer journey) in the marketing literature? 2. What are the features of a buyer journey in higher education and how can they be modelled for doing research on them ( including the role of social media and eWOM.) 3. In light of 1.and 2., what is a suitable research model of the buyer journey relating to XYZ University (recognizing its typical international markets)? 4. What are the various typical personas that apparently opt for XYZ University and how can this information be 

Running head: CUSTOMER JOURNEY
How does the process by which students decide to enrol and study at XYZ University look
like in terms of the marketing concept of the buyer journey?
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Abstract
The paper will help to understand that the ways customer journey mapping has been
impacting the mentality of the customers in choosing universities. The purpose of the paper is
to make one understand the ways in which customer journey map will help in marketing of
the universities. There will be an interview, which will help to analyse the marketing factors
of an university to increase the number of enrolment.

2CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................3
1.1. Background of the Study.................................................................................................3
1.2. Problem Statement..........................................................................................................3
1.3. Research aims and objectives..........................................................................................3
1.4. Research Questions.........................................................................................................4
1.5. Research Hypothesis.......................................................................................................4
1.6. Purpose of the Study.......................................................................................................5
2. Literature Review...............................................................................................................5
2.1. Customer journey mapping.............................................................................................5
2.2. Ways of reaching the students.........................................................................................7
2.3. Marketing in education...................................................................................................8
2.4. Stand out in market.........................................................................................................9
3. Research Methodology.......................................................................................................9
3.1. Research Philosophy...........................................................................................................9
3.2. Research Design............................................................................................................10
3.3. Data Collection Method................................................................................................10
3.4. Sampling method and sampling size.............................................................................10
3.5. Data Analysis technique................................................................................................10
3.6. Research ethical consideration......................................................................................11
3.7. Limitation of the Study.................................................................................................11

3CUSTOMER JOURNEY
3.8. Proposed timeline of the study......................................................................................12
Reference List..........................................................................................................................13
Appendix..................................................................................................................................16

4CUSTOMER JOURNEY
1. Introduction
1.1. Background of the Study
Studying in universities has been a difficult task as there are various criteria that has
to be followed by the student as well as the universities that will help in more enrolment of
students. The Universities needs to make business plans that will help in increasing the
number of students that will bring in changes in the values of the college. According to
Assimakopoulos, Antoniadis, Kayas and Dvizac (2017), the universities have to ensure that
the students are aware of the facilities that are available in the universities. The universities
have to make a plan that will help in creating journey plans of the students. The paper will be
focusing on the processes that has an impact on the student while being enrolled in a
University and the ways the university has a marketing concept of the buyers’ journey.
1.2. Problem Statement
Difficulty in understanding the ways that will help in bringing more number of
students to be enrolled in the University. In the words of Blair (2018), the universities must
ensure that the students are aware of the facilities and faculties that are available in the
universities. The responsibility of the universities to provide an advertisement that will help
in making the students aware of the universities (Bejinaru 2017). The problem that is being
faced by the universities is to develop a customer journey map that will help in the analysis of
the market.
1.3. Research aims and objectives
The paper will aim to provide ways in which students prefer to choose the universities. It
will help in creating a journey map that will give a clear view of the marketing strategies of
the universities.
The following are the objectives of the research paper:

5CUSTOMER JOURNEY
 To understand the theory of customer journey mapping.
 To understand the features of a buyer journey in higher education.
 To find XYZ University favourably ways to reach the emotional and cognitive
intelligence of potential students.
 To find a suitable research model of the buyer journey relating to XYZ University.
 To understand the various typical personas that apparently opt for XYZ University.
 To find the strengthen XYZ University’s recruitment policies.
1.4. Research Questions
The following are some of the research questions:
Question: How does the process by which students decide to enrol and study at XYZ
University look like in terms of the marketing concept of the buyer journey?
Q1. What is the theory of customer journey mapping in the marketing literature?
Q2. What are the features of a buyer journey in higher education and how can they be
modelled for doing research on them?
Q3. What is a suitable research model of the buyer journey relating to XYZ University
according to Q1 and Q2?
Q4. What are the various typical personas that apparently opt for XYZ University?
Q5. How can this information of Q4 be used to strengthen XYZ University’s recruitment
policies?
Q6. How can XYZ University favourably reach the emotional and cognitive intelligence of
potential students?

6CUSTOMER JOURNEY
1.5. Conceptual framework
I
Fig 1: Conceptual Framework
(Source: Created by the researcher)
1.5. Research Hypothesis
H0: The marketing concept of buyers’ journey of XYZ University will not help in changing
the decision of the students’ enrolment in the university.
H1: The marketing concept of buyers’ journey of XYZ University will help in changing the
decision of the students’ enrolment in the university.
1.6. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to focus on the journey map of the students in being used to
enrol students in XYZ universities. According to Paul, Bhuimali, Aithal and Bhowmick
(2018), the universities must make people aware of the condition that will help in the
development or increase in the number of students to be enrolled in the university. The paper
Research
Customer Journey map Impact on university
marketing
Contact
Aspiration
Comparison
Application
Enrolment
Acceptance
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Making people aware of the university
Eligible students applying for enrolment
Acceptance by the university
Final enrolment
Contact more and more people
Compare the lacking with others
Understand the needs of the customer

7CUSTOMER JOURNEY
will focus on the steps that will help to increase the number of students in the university. In
the word of Kihla, Bhatt and Garde (2019), there are steps that the students follow before
choosing a university and it depends on the business concept of the university that influences
the student to get enrolled in the university.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Customer journey mapping
According to Clayton, Hettche and Hashbrouck (2019), the customer journey map is a
business step that is being followed to develop the business steps bring in changes in the sales
of the organisation. The customer mapping will help in bringing changes in the development
of the sales of the university. It helps in focusing the customer interaction with the business.
With the help of customer, mapping there will be development in the business on partial
customers’ needs at different stages in the buying funnel. It helps in the identification of the
logical journey of the customers (Zhuang, Zhou and Lin 2017). It will help in showing the
gap between the desired customer experience and one actually receives it. It also ensures to
focus on the priorities of the customer. With the help of customer journey mapping there is an
increase in the effectiveness of the expenditure of the organisation.
In the words of Mogaji and Roberts (2016), it is the responsibility of the University to ensure
that the customers’ needs are being satisfied. The organisation needs to come into with the
contact from packaging to manuals to TV ads and social media posts. It helps kin the
development of the relationship with the customers brining in changes in the marketing in the
universities. The customer journey mapping consists of few steps that will help developing a
better relation with the customers ensuring development of the plan and making it absolute to
the customers to choose their products. According to Grubb, Scott and Good (2017), making
the customers aware of the existence and the facilities that are being available in the market

8CUSTOMER JOURNEY
will help in the development in the increase of the number of customers with the increase in
the enrolment in the universities. The development of the customer journey mapping will
help in finding the interest and the aspects that will help in bringing more and more
customers. For instance, a step wherein one has to perform research based on the important
factors that will help analysis of the aspects that customers are interested in. Develop contacts
and try to find customers that will let people know about the existence of the XYZ
University.
As Wang and He (2019), mentioned that when the customers will be aware of the
existing University in the market there will be comparison between other universities that
will help them to estimate the best University brining in enrolment of the students if they find
it suitable in the organisation. When the University will be finalised the students will be
providing an application to the university that will help in creating of other process to be a
part of the university. This customer journey map is a clarity to the organisation that people
will be opting for their university and analysis of the competition in the market.
As Vieira and Arends-Kuenning (2017), the acceptance process is the process wherein
the students are being accepted by the universities and in the final stage of the process, the
students are being enrolled. Hence, the customer journey map will be providing one with a
clear view of the students who are being enrolled for the Universities. The customer journey
map will help in building relationship with the customers and provide them with strategies
that will help in the development of the relationship with the customers that will enhance the
marketing of the organisation.
2.2. Ways of reaching the students
It is necessary that the universities must have a knowledge of the existing market and
the needs of the customers that will help in developing facilities that will be meeting the

9CUSTOMER JOURNEY
needs of the students. According to Wang and He (2019), advertising in an important factor
in business. No matter what is the business one will be running advertisement will help in the
development of a better and effective business that will be meeting the needs of the
customers. There can be numerous universities with great facilities and faculty; however,
reaching the customer and making them aware of the existing plans and facilities will help in
the development of the business as well as increase the number of enrolment in the
universities.
Solis (2017), advertisement is an important factor that will help in the development of
the business. In spite of using various ways of developing the business, the universities must
consider to invest a large sum of money in the advertisement of the universities that will help
in developing the business of the universities. Advertising must be done skilfully that will
help in making people aware of the existing university that will help in bringing a large
number of employees in the business. Pamphlets, posters and magazines are some of the best
ways of advertisement that will help in the increase of the business bringing in a large
number of customers or students being enrolled. In the modern era, social media is one of the
greatest platform to reach the students. One of the best way to make people realise the
facilities that has existing in the organisation. Moreover, it has been observed that there has
been increase n the number of enrolment with the increase in the advertisement in social
media. Use of social media by the organisations has been proved to be efficient that has
increasingly improved the enrolment number of the organisation. The customer journey map
has been provided in the [Appendix], it will help to explain the process that will help in
meeting the needs of the customers developing a plan that will be satisfying the needs of the
customers.

10CUSTOMER JOURNEY
2.3. Marketing in education
According to the research of Mogaji and Yoon (2019), marketing is like a web that
has been spreading all across the world in every sphere of business. Marketing will help in
the development of the business and enhance the field that will help in the development of the
business in any sphere (Vieira and Arends-Kuenning 2017). The customer journey map will
help in providing marketing schemes that will help in more number of enrolment of the
students in the organisation.
According to Vieira and Arends-Kuenning (2019), marketing will help in making it
more aware to the people about the existence of the University. The organisation must find
out various ways of marketing that will help in the development of the business of the
universities. As Ogwe, Thomas and Sitinei (2019) have mentioned it, developing marketing
plans will help in the development of the working process of the organisation bringing in
changes in the advertising of the organisation. The organisation must know the ways that will
help in the development of the sale and productivity of the organisation. Advertisement plays
a major role in bringing in customers. Several universities have been advertising that will
bring in changes in the production and efficiency of the universities. The XYZ University
must find ways of advertisement that will help in the improvement and bringing in more
number of enrolment.
It may seem that education has been become a place of marketing however, there is a
great impact of marketing on education. Education has been a great place of marketing as
people has been helping in the growth of the economy of the country. Marketing has been
affecting education as it has been one of the most preferred business that will help in the
development of education as well as marketing. Marketing will help in the development of
the education providing quality education to various students.

11CUSTOMER JOURNEY
2.4. Stand out in market
The XYZ University must find ways that will help in the analysis and estimation of
the competition in the market (Bejinaru 2017). Analysis of the market can be performed with
the help of the frameworks or tools that helps in the analysis of the competitive advantage of
the market of the university. The tools that can be used by the universities in more number of
enrolment of the students SWOT or PESTEL will analyse the maket as well as the schemes
that will help in the development of ideas that will provide the university with competitive
advantage. The university with that analysis of the market will help to find that areas wherein
they can develop their business with the help of various other methods. The market analysis
will help in understanding the competition that exists in the market as well as the position of
the University in the market (Peter and Zambre 2017). Segmentation, targeting and position
is an important factor that helps in building numerous customers and exploration of the
business that will help in increasing the number of enrolment in the universities. With the use
of the tools or frameworks there can be development of the university and will help in
making people know about the existence of the organisation. The PESTEL or SWOT will
help to understand the ways the university can have an impact on the market and develop its
competitive advantage in the market.
3. Research Methodology
3.1. Research Philosophy
According to Clayton, Hettche and Hashbrouck (2019), research philosophy is the is
the detailed analysis of the study that has been developed. Interprevitism, positivism and
realism are the three types of research philosophy that helps in the detailed analysis of the
study. The management of functions and activities is known as interprevitism whereas
realism is the mixed approach of research philosophy. In the words of positivism is the way

12CUSTOMER JOURNEY
in which the study conducted is based on logics and critical analysis of the materials. The
research philosophy that is being followed for this particular study is positivism as the
analysis will be critical that will help in the development of the research philosophy.
3.2. Research Design
In the words of Flick (2015), there are three types of research design analytical,
explanatory and exploratory. The analytical or the descriptive is the way in which the paper is
being described in details. The exploratory design will help to understand the concept of the
paper in the initial stage of the research whereas the explanatory has been developed to build
a relationship between the two variables under consideration. In this study, we will be
focusing on the descriptive or analytical design that will give a clear and detailed
understanding of the topic.
3.3. Data Collection Method
There are two types of data collection method; primary and secondary data collection
method. The primary data collection method is the information that is being gathered from
survey or interviews from the people who are being involved in the task. Whereas the
secondary data collection method is the process, wherein information is being collected from
printed sources like newspaper, articles, journal or internet sources (Gast and Ledford 2014).
The information that is being used for this paper is through secondary as well as primary
sources.
3.4. Sampling method and sampling size
There are two three types of data sampling method followed for this paper. The
sampling techniques that will be used for the research paper is both probability as well as
non-probability sampling techniques (Panneerselvam 2014). The simple random sampling

13CUSTOMER JOURNEY
will also be used to understand the details of the topic that will be gathered from the
interview or survey that will be taking place.
3.5. Data Analysis technique
In order, to gain a comprehensive and comparative data collection, out the analysis of the
quantitative data collected by the means of the survey must be carried on that will be
transformed into numeric and percentages. Later on, the data can be converted into charts and
graphs that can be presentable in graphical or pictorial representation of the same. For the
qualitative data collection method, the data analysis techniques will be the thematic
approaches that will be undertaken. According to Smith (2015), the information that will be
written will be based on various themes that are related to the research topic. There are two
types of data analysis that is being both performed here in the paper; it is qualitative as well
as quantitative.
3.6. Research ethical consideration
While performing the research paper, strict guidelines will be followed. According to
Simonsohn, Nelson and Simmons (2017), no interviews will be forcefully performed. While
performing the survey the information must be gathered from the people who are interested.
There should not be any sort of logo or symbols that will be an indication of advertisement of
the XYZ University. The survey paper must be a clear indication of the survey based on
which the interviews will be performed. In case of any permission that is, being required
from the University there should be an authorised letter from the University. According to
Brändle (2017), any plagiarised file will be a barrier for the development of a good research
paper. One should ensure there would not be any kind of violent approaches or norms that
will create an issue in the regulation of the ethical guidelines.

14CUSTOMER JOURNEY
3.7. Limitation of the Study
No matter how well a research paper is being developed, there will be limitations in
the paper. For instance, timeframe is a great issue that is being faced by the researchers.
Availability of the material and information sources is another issue that is being most
commonly faced by the researchers while collection of data. Moreover, it has been observed
that often permission is not being granted to carry on the surveys or interviews (Garibay and
Vincent 2018). However, one must ensure that the research is being performed appropriately
and in a right way ensuring ethical way of data collection.
3.8. Proposed timeline of the study
Activities 1st to 3rd week 4th to 10th week 11th to 13th
week
14th to 21st
week
Selection of the
topic

Data collection
from
secondary
sources
 
Literature
review
 
Analysis and
interpretation
of the data
 
Finding of the
data


15CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Conclusion of
the study
 
Submission of
the final work

Fig 1: Gann chart
(Source: Created by the researcher)

16CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Reference List
Assimakopoulos, C., Antoniadis, I., Kayas, O.G. and Dvizac, D., 2017. Effective social
media marketing strategy: Facebook as an opportunity for universities. International Journal
of Retail & Distribution Management.
Bejinaru, R., 2017. Knowledge strategies aiming to improve the intellectual capital of
universities. Management & Marketing, 12(3), pp.500-523.
Blair, S., 2018. Traumatic Events Impact on Colleges Enrollment of Students with Learning
Disabilities.
Brändle, T., 2017. How availability of capital affects the timing of enrollment: the routes to
university of traditional and non-traditional students. Studies in Higher Education, 42(12),
pp.2229-2249.
Clayton, M.J., Hettche, M. and Hashbrouck, R., 2019. Message Strategies of North American
For-Profit Colleges and Universities: A Qualitative Analysis.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project.Sage.
Garibay, J.C. and Vincent, S., 2018. Racially inclusive climates within degree programs and
increasing student of color enrollment: An examination of environmental/sustainability
programs. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 11(2), p.201.
Gast, D.L. and Ledford, J.R. eds., 2014. Single case research methodology: Applications in
special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.
Grubb, J.M., Scott, P.H. and Good, D.W., 2017. The answer is yes: Dual enrollment benefits
students at the community college. Community College Review, 45(2), pp.79-98.

17CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Kihla, V.B., Bhatt, B.K. and Garde, Y.A., 2019. Analyzing students enrollment of gender
categories from different colleges of Navsari agricultural university. Journal of
Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 8(2), pp.2037-2042.
Mogaji, E. and Roberts, B., 2016. Marketing strategies of United Kingdom universities
during clearing and adjustment. International Journal of Educational Management.
Mogaji, E. and Yoon, H., 2019. Thematic analysis of marketing messages in UK universities’
prospectuses. International Journal of Educational Management.
Ogwe, S.L., Thomas, J. and Sitinei, E., 2019. Competitive Strategies Adopted by Private
Universities in Kenya. KIRINYAGA UNIVERSITY, p.105.
Panneerselvam, R., 2014. Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt.Ltd..
Paul, P., Bhuimali, A., Aithal, P.S. and Bhowmick, S., 2018. Business Information Sciences
Emphasizing Digital Marketing as an Emerging Field of Business & IT: A Study of Indian
Private Universities. IRA International Journal of Management & Social Sciences,(ISSN
2455-2267), 10(2), pp.63-73.
Peter, F.H. and Zambre, V., 2017. Intended college enrollment and educational inequality:
Do students lack information?. Economics of Education Review, 60, pp.125-141.
Simonsohn, U., Nelson, L. and Simmons, J., 2017. Research Methodology, Design, and
Analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 69(1).
Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
Solis, A., 2017. Credit access and college enrollment. Journal of Political Economy, 125(2),
pp.562-622.
Vieira, R.S. and Arends-Kuenning, M., 2017. Affirmative Action Policy in Brazilian
Universities: Effects on the Enrollment of Targeted Groups.

18CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Vieira, R.S. and Arends-Kuenning, M., 2019. Affirmative action in Brazilian universities:
Effects on the enrollment of targeted groups. Economics of Education Review, 73, p.101931.
Wang, H. and He, L., 2019, January. Exploration on the Enrollment System of Big
Categories in Universities. In 2018 International Workshop on Education Reform and Social
Sciences (ERSS 2018). Atlantis Press.
Zhuang, C., Zhou, Y. and Lin, F., 2017, September. Analysis of Digital Marketing Strategies
of Overseas Universities in China with University of the West of Scotland as An Example. In
International Conference on Transformations and Innovations in Management (ICTIM
2017). Atlantis Press.

19CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Appendix
Fig 2: Customer journey mapping
(Source: Wang, H. and He, L., 2019)