| Everything in the world today needs to be | | | | noticed, any educational institution will need to |
| marketed well; even education, hence marketing | | | | break through. A lot of colleges today are |
| strategies and distance learning go hand in hand. In | | | | adopting different marketing strategies and |
| order to create a lasting impact on the minds of | | | | distance learning has become an especially volatile |
| the target audience, educational institutions | | | | market. Many colleges are using web based ads |
| offering distance learning programs need to be a | | | | and promotions aggressively for marketing their |
| cut above the rest. Education is a service and any | | | | courses; the internet being a relatively cheaper |
| service needs to be marketed well to be | | | | advertising medium, has taken over the other |
| attractive to the consumer, who in this case is a | | | | traditional mediums like print and TV. Pop-up ads, |
| student. | | | | email and banners are, however, mainly mass |
| How Technology has Affected Education | | | | marketing tools and are largely ineffective. What |
| It's a changing world, and technology has become | | | | education needs right now is relationship |
| the backbone of any distance education program. | | | | marketing. |
| Marketing strategies and distance learning are | | | | Relationship marketing is essentially establishing, |
| symbiotic, since education is essentially a service | | | | developing and maintaining successful long term |
| and deals with human beings. Hence student | | | | relationships with students. Education being a |
| enrollment and retention are very critical aspects | | | | service cannot adopt marketing strategies meant |
| for a college to consider. The internet is rife with | | | | for a manufactured product. Marketing educational |
| dotcoms looking to make quick profits, which are | | | | services is more about building trust and |
| posing a serious threat to the more serious | | | | commitment, more about making students loyal |
| academic institutions looking at providing quality | | | | alumnus. Marketing strategies and distance learning |
| educational experience to its students. Many | | | | are correlated because they deal with the |
| universities have not only started offering online | | | | creation of a product that cannot be copied by |
| versions of their on-campus programs, but are | | | | anyone else, and with creating an atmosphere of |
| also working on creating a virtual campus for its | | | | nurture for students right from the enquiry stage. |
| online students. Today the student is out shopping | | | | For the student, any educational institution is |
| for courses and institutions; he or she is tech | | | | attractive if it has the right mix of pricing, |
| savvy and enrolling in a particular course is just a | | | | academic experience, and credibility. If a college is |
| click away for him or her. | | | | able to provide services beyond these three |
| Weapon of Choice - Modes of Marketing | | | | parameters, it has earned the loyalties of any |
| It is a cluttered world out there, and to be | | | | student enrolled with it. |