Top 10 marketing mistakes made by adult educators

By Jon Horn

Continuing education, for all of its strengths, often struggles with the effective marketing of programs. When done poorly, marketing represents an expense that undermines profitability. However, effective marketing results in a return-on-investment that easily justifies the original expenditure. This article explores several common mistakes in continuing education marketing.

1. Not allocating enough marketing to new programs

Treating a new program like a mature program is a recipe for disaster. New programs, like babies, require extraordinary attention and care. Marketers often spend 10-15% of expected revenue to market a mature program, 15-20% on a growing program, and up to 25% during a new program launch. The additional marketing costs during startup and growth are essential to generate increased awareness and interest.

2. Relying too heavily on course catalogs

Assuming your direct mail averages a 1% conversion rate, after postage costing $.30 to $.45 cents per piece, it now costs $30 to $45 dollars (not including design or printing costs) to generate one registration – and this price is only going up! Therefore, direct mail should be reserved primarily for highly qualified individuals. However, continuing education departments continue investing a huge portion of their marketing budget in course catalogs.

Instead, marketing dollars should be distributed in approximately the same proportion as the source of registrants. If 50% of registrations occur because prospects found your website online, 50% of the marketing budget should focus on improving that marketing channel (organic search optimization and pay-per-click marketing). If 30% of your registrations come from repeat students, allocate up to 30% of your marketing budgets to re-engaging previous students (in truth, since these individuals are already pre-disposed toward your program, they may not require the full 30% of your marketing budget, but don’t overlook them altogether). 

3. Forgetting a clear “call to action”

You might be amazed (or maybe not!) at the number of marketing pieces without a clear call to action. EVERY marketing piece should include one or two specific and actionable steps that the target audience can take. Whether that “action” is registering, visiting your website, or calling for more information…make sure your prospects understand what you want them to do next.

Remember that prospective students are only interested in one thing: what's in it for them! Don’t tell people how great your university is, how long you've been teaching, or other details unless they directly translate into value for students. Tell prospects exactly what you want them to do. Requests like “register now” or “join our mailing list” or “sign up for an information session” or “contact a student advisor today” are more compelling than simply listing your website and phone number.

4. Failing to track ROI for marketing efforts

This is especially important when using several marketing channels for the same program. While ROI tracking can be cumbersome, it helps you understand which of your marketing efforts should continue and which should stop. It is also important to note that you can use sampling to reduce the costs of ROI tracking. You don’t have to track the source of registrants for a year. If your volume is high enough, tracking your marketing channels for 3-4 weeks may be sufficient.

5. Having a poorly defined or inaccurate target audience

Understanding your true target audience is a critical step in the marketing process. The more you know about your prospects, the easier you can reach them and convince them to attend your courses. If you understand who is likely to attend your programs and why they will attend, you are well on your way to successful marketing. Use this understanding to select the marketing channels you choose, call to action messages, and even the design of the marketing piece.

6. Focusing on new students at the expense of past students

Previous participants are more likely than strangers to enroll in your programs, but most marketing efforts focus on reaching new prospects. Lawrence Friedman's The Channel Advantage puts it this way: "The cost of acquiring new customers is typically three to six times that of retaining existing ones."  Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company reports that businesses may lose as many as 1/2 of their customers over a 5 year period, but businesses who boosted customer retention rates by as little as 5% saw increases in their profits ranging from 5% to a whopping 95%.

7. Ignoring the marketing funnel

Most participants don’t register after just one marketing interaction. Instead, most progress through a process of awareness, interest, engagement, and conversion.

• Awareness means that they know you exist.
• Interest means that they are aware of an offer that might be useful to them.
• Engagement means that they are interacting with your organization. This might include calling for more information, or registering for an information session. 
• Conversion is the sometimes extended process of enrollment and the corresponding financial transaction.

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8. Lacking a cohesive marketing strategy

A formal marketing plan helps your staff allocate the budget across marketing channels, create a timeline, synchronize marketing activities, and assign roles. Marketing without a plan is like a road trip without a map. You may eventually arrive at your destination, but the process may be long and confusing.

All marketing, from the website to catalogs to word-of-mouth, should stem from a set of pre-established goals. These goals, along with a defined target audience, suggest which marketing strategies will be effective and when they should occur for best results.

9. Spreading marketing budgets too thin

A former marketing VP from Home Depot once told me “if you have a limited marketing budget, choose 2 or 3 marketing channels and focus on them. You don’t have the time or money to reach people through all the available channels.” Programs often spread small marketing budgets across five or six channels (radio, print ads, direct mail, search engine, email, and event marketing). Not only does this dilute your marketing message, but each channel requires time, creative energy, and expertise. Small marketers don’t have the staff to produce a marketing campaign spanning many channels. You’ll usually do better to find 2 or 3 channels that work best and stick with them.

10. Starting marketing efforts too late

Even for low cost programs, most prospects progress through a series of steps before enrollment (from awareness to conversion). Your marketing efforts should begin early enough to give prospects time to move through these steps. Awareness building should start weeks or even months before your programs begin to allow time for participants to hear about and become interested in your programs. Expect a substantial percent of your registrants to occur last-minute, but don’t let their late enrollment obscure the fact that many probably learned about the program weeks before.

Conclusion

If your program is making some of these mistakes, you’re not alone. Many of the best continuing education programs in the country are in the same boat. As you move forward, keep these pitfalls in mind and look for ways to move your program toward more effective and profitable endeavors. You’ll be amazed at how small changes can sometimes lead to great results!