Implementing Market Research in the Education Sector 101

When to move forward, how to get buy in, whether to engage a partner or go it aloneand how to leverage this information to get started in market research for your institution

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• When Do you Need Market Research?

• To Partner Externally or Not?

• The Research Process

• Food For Thought

• Q & A

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“I already know my (Prospects, Students, Parents, Alumni, Faculty) and the market.

- Mark Twain

Why do I need market research?”

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

When Do You Need Market Research?

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• To provide direction for alternative courses of action (e.g. marketing campaign or messages, brand positioning, new program or course, pricing, etc.)

• To help you explore changes in the market (or changes in target audience preferences)

• To understand a new market, a new set of potential students

• To resolve internal disagreements

When Do You Need Market Research?

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vs.

vs.

vs.

vs.

vs.

vs.

vs.

Time

Time

Cost

Confirm/validate

Target audience availability

What you have is good enough

Blind

Cost

Value

Value

New insight

Cost

It doesn’t give you what you need to know

Identified

Trade-offsTrade-offs

Evaluating Tradeoffs: Research or NOT?

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InternalInternal Outside CompanyOutside Company

Objective Perspective

Expertise

Research Experience

Time and Resources

Blind Study

Internal Knowledge Significant

Dedicated Resources

Immediate Need (can’t wait!)

Existing Information Sufficient

Initial Stages

Internal or External Research?

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What Information Do You Need to Provide?

• History (what brought you to this point?)

• Your Institution’s Challenge(s)

• Current Services and Market Information

• Competitive Environment

• Target Audiences/Segments

• Issues/Questions You Need to Answer

• Timing

• Budget

Educating the Outside Partner

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Problem Formulation

Research Design and Planning

Research Execution

Analysis, Conclusions and Recommendations

Implementation

External Market Research Process

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The Business Problem

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“The formulation

of a problem is often more essential than its solution.”

- Albert Einstein

The Business Problem

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What is the circumstance that demands research?

Who are the stakeholders in the decision?

What decisions will the research information support?

What does administration want to learn that they don’t know already?

What specific information does administration need?

How will you take action based on the results?

Here are six questions to help you diagnose and clarify the research problem.

What Do You Need to Solve?

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• What information is needed to answer the well-defined business question?

• Defining research objectives is the most important step in designing a marketing research plan.

your research

objectives.

Crystalize

Crystalize

your research

objectives.

Translate Problem to Research Objectives

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How will research help address or answer the problem?

Causal

Descriptive

Exploratory

Must be actionable!

Objectives can be:

Defining Research Objectives

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Describe the research action. What needs to be done (action) and with whom (segment)?

What information do you need?

How will the information be used?

3-Step Process to Define Objectives

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Find out their preferences, rationale, feelings, and beliefs about each site.

Obtain reactions of prospective adult learners, who are considering online learning, to four different branded online websites.

Web designers and marketing will use the findings to screen beta sites for further development, usability testing and/or potentially for quantitative research surveys.

Research ActionResearch Action

Information NeededInformation Needed

Information UseInformation Use

3-Step Process to Define Objectives

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− What is the total market size?

− What do adult learners think of our courses, programs, etc.?

− What product or services do adult learners want?

− How many will enroll in this course?

−What is the available market to us? How large is the market that is applicable for this course?

−What benefits do prospective learners see in our brand? What are “must have” features versus “nice to have”? What must be changed?

−What do adult learners really value (i.e., what differentiates our institution, the brand?)

−What would the demand be for different new course offerings or prices ? How would this course(s) compare relative to what our competitors offer?

VagueVague

ClearClear

Defining Research Objectives

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Qualitative Research•Necessary to obtain a deeper understanding of issues, such as requirements and unmet needs.

•Allows more freedom for exploration based respondents' areas of interest.

•Ability to probe and explore topics

•Research tools include: − Observational research− Focus groups− In-depth interviews − Social media/Crowdsourcing

Quantitative Research•Necessary to quantify requirements, such as:

− Size of demand− Usage habits− Feature and benefit assessment− Price/Value/Willingness to pay

•Usually a pre-defined questionnaire (can have open-ended responses).

•Requires a relatively large number of interviews to provide a robust and statistically valid result.

•Principal research tools include: − Telephone interviews− Web-based surveys− Intercepts/Mail

Methodologies

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In-depth exploration

Respondents can participate in a focused discussion

Moderator can adjust content as needed

"Scientific" findings not needed

Small sample size precludes generalization

Content or images to be displayed

Respondents can see and react to stimuli

Preliminary step to quantitative methods

Delineates issues to be included in surveys

When to Use Qualitative

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Understand the market and MEASURE itProvide valid, reliable results/Achieve “scientific” or statistically significant result

Profile market segments or entire markets

Quantify trends

Test feasibilityQuantify level of interest and likelihood to enroll

Confirm or disprove hypotheses

When to Use Quantitative

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Don’t underestimate the value of a good database!Does your institution maintain a student, alumni and prospective student database? Who has it?

Other sources of databasesPanels Chat rooms Social media Associations

The need for centralizationDo you have a central repository for information?All student information = a valuable institution asset!

Value and Use of Databases

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Sources of information and feedbackStudents EmployersAlumni Board MembersProspective students ParentsFaculty Administration

Focus on all of the key decision makers and influencersDo you know and have you considered the decision making process?

•Who is involved? •How does it work? •What influences the decision? •When are decisions made? •Why are decisions made?

Defining Target Audiences

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Analysis and reporting should tie directly back to the purpose and goal of the research.

Know where you are going and what decisions you are trying to make.

To be useful, information must be presented in a manner that is easy to understand and

actionable based on the objectives of the study.

If you don’t know where you want to end up, then it doesn’t matter which direction you take. – Lewis Carroll (paraphrased)

Alice in Wonderland

“Planning: Designing a desired future and identifying ways to bring it about.” - George Steiner

Ensuring Actionable Results

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Your ExpectedInvolvement

Market Research Project Flow

Project Formulation

Research Design

Logistics Planning

Execution AnalysisConclusions and

Recommendations

Implementation

Issue Resolution

Cycle of Involvement

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Experts love to talk - we listen!

There is always another question after the question after the question

Everyone has a unique perspective - you need to know the perspective

What you learn today may be outdated tomorrow

Rules to Remember

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1. Identify “customer” needs instead of “market” needs

2. Make sure you are asking the right question

4. Be sure that you are talking with the right audiences

5. Educate your consultants

6. The best plan is one with a back up plan

What have you learned in your experience?

3. Beware “rose-colored glasses”

Lessons Learned

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“If you haven’t got the time to do it right, when will you ever have the time to do it over?” - Evan Schwartz Business Week

A bad product is a bad product is a bad product.

Beware of alleged needs that have no real market.

The existence of a market does not ensure the existence of a customer.

Price does not determine cost; cost does not determine price.

Never delay the end of a meeting or the beginning of a cocktail hour.

Final Thoughts

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Q & A

Thank You

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To discuss how we can work together, please contact:

Amy S. DubinExecutive Vice President

Campos Inc(412) 471-8484 x512

www.campos.com

adubin@campos.com

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