More than advertising and sales, marketing is part of a company's intelligence, directing the adoption of strategies that value strengths and opportunities to win customers and win the market.
With that in mind, it's easy to understand why, increasingly, developing good Inbound marketing strategies is essential for the success of any undertaking. And this undoubtedly also applies to educational institutions.
Like any other customer, students (whether they are independent or under the guardianship of guardians) are increasingly demanding and find an ever-increasing offer of educational institutions and sources of knowledge.
According to the 2023 Higher Education Census, Brazil has more than 2,600 higher education institutions, 88% of which are private. This reinforces the level of competition and the urgency for strategic differentiation.
Faced with this increasingly competitive scenario, many universities have a common question: how to stand out and attract new students? In this post, you will understand the importance of getting to know other countries and their marketing strategies to revolutionize your campaigns!
In this post you can see:
Good reading!
Before "leaving the country", it is important to understand why it is worth knowing the marketing strategies of other companies or other educational institutions. It's common to look at this idea with suspicion because nobody wants to copy anyone, right?
One example is the adoption of practices such as 'Data-Driven Marketing' in US higher education, already considered a strategic guideline at universities such as Harvard and Stanford for personalizing communication with students.
But it is necessary to understand that the market in which you are inserted works as a kind of thermometer or compass, and can be an important guide for business, even in the educational scenario.
This means that by monitoring what direct or indirect competitors are doing, it is easier to identify trends, positive ideas that can serve as inspiration and even ideas that went wrong and that, therefore, serve as a lesson for the entire segment.
In addition, by studying and knowing who your competitors are, you have the possibility to discover their strengths and weaknesses and in this way, you can highlight your company's differentials, building a competitive advantage.
And since the subject is to know other educational institutions, of course we could not fail to mention Benchmarking, a technique widely used within companies to generate insights.
Have you heard about Benchmarking? The term may even sound strange, but the strategy is already widely used in the competitive universe of companies to study the competition.
Benchmarking, or translating, reference point,it is a process used to analyze other companies in the same segment, where you can observe from the best practices used by the current one to a performance comparison.
By applying the Benchmarking technique, you can find out how your educational institution has performed in the market compared to others in the same sector and thus analyze its performance.
See also these contents:
In addition, another great benefit of Benchmarking is that the tactic can generate good insights to improve the productivity and efficiency of your processes.
Not to mention that with Benchmarking your Educational institution gains more market knowledge, discovers new trends, improves your view of the market and of yourself, and even builds a solid argumentative base.
The answer is yes. If you want to revolutionize your campaigns, this investment is worth it. And it is not about thinking that what is done "out there" is always better and, therefore, deserves to be copied by those who seek success.
Indeed, there are foreign countries and especially brands that are known for their revolutionary marketing campaigns.
Bearing in mind, for example, the combination of technological resources and education, there is much that can serve as inspiration for educational institutions, from the use of technology in the classroom, trends in social networks or even news from marketing automation.
But, beyond innovation, the idea is that by being in contact with the culture of other countries and new strategies, you can open your mind to discover different ways of communicating.
The focus is to use all this exchange of experience that you will have with new cultures, to improve and make the experience of your potential student more enriching.
Once you are immersed in these new tactics, you have the opportunity to adapt them to your educational institution's purpose and can give new direction and power to your own campaigns.
In other words, looking for what's out there will allow you and your educational institution to know the strategies trends abroad and have a much broader view of their market and its possibilities. And, consequently, be able to use this information in an even more strategic and assertive way.
Okay, now that you understand what Benchmarking is and you already know some of the benefits of keeping an eye on your competitors, let's talk about your educational institution? After all, how can this process make a difference and contribute in practice to the performance of your brand?
Gone are the days when it was possible to say, with certainty, that education in Brazil was not similar to that of other countries that can be considered a reference.
The reform of secondary education and the arrival of international institutions with digital presence in Brazil, such as Minerva and edX, have increased the public's familiarity with global teaching and marketing experiences. This requires Brazilian institutions to also update their communication and positioning strategies.
To understand this, let's consider two factors: first, the reform of Secondary Education brought the Brazilian school closer to the format already known in European and North American countries; second, foreign educational institutions are already positioned in the Brazilian educational market, including offering several free courses.
This means that the target audience of educational institutions already has, in an increasingly natural way, proximity to education trends abroad, as well as the associated marketing strategies. Ignoring this is having to face a growing difficulty in communicating and conquering this audience.
In addition, following the scenario outside the country and competition in higher education can be a way to innovate in your strategic planning for capture and retention, as well as a great way to keep an eye on new digital trends.
After all, we cannot talk about strategies and education without mentioning the digital universe.
Potential students are increasingly inserted in the virtual environment and with the boom of social networks, and technological advances, it is no longer possible for educational institutions to ignore this!
The truth is that to stand out today in the educational scenario, it is increasingly necessary to invest in online strategies and bet on the new marketing trends for content production.
And of course, to keep up with all this and reach this audience, there's nothing better than seeing how other IEs are applying this in practice, isn't there?
Having ideas that can add new tools to your strategies can be much easier when you follow the foreign educational market and are inspired by successful cases.
Not to mention that by monitoring companies in your segment both inside and outside the country, your Marketing team can identify which areas of your company need more attention or improvements.
It is also possible to discover references and successful cases in the educational environment, and thus improve your strategies with good insights.
But, attention! Remember when reviewing other companies, it doesn't mean that what they do is better or that every set of actions should be applied to their strategies.
It's important to know that there will be amazing ideas that won't be applicable to your product or service.
Therefore, reflect on what is really worth adapting to your reality or not. Keep in mind that the focus of this process is to generate powerful insights and improve your strategies, okay?
Were you interested in the subject? Now it's time to put it into practice! If you want to start investing in educational marketing and change your results with effective retention strategies, get in touch with our team of experts.
Marketing is no longer just a promotional tool: it is part of the institution's strategic intelligence. In a scenario with more than 2,600 educational institutions in Brazil, standing out requires planning, data and real differentiation.
Yes. Observing good practices and even the mistakes made by direct and indirect competitors allows you to identify trends, avoid mistakes and adapt successful ideas to the reality of your educational institutions.
Definitely. Countries like the USA use data-based educational marketing, with personalized actions and a focus on the student experience. Knowing these models helps to expand horizons and innovate locally.
Yes. International inspiration should be analyzed and adjusted to the objectives, student profile and cultural context of your institution. The important thing is to use these references as a catalyst for innovation, not as a copy.
The reform has brought Brazilian education closer to international models, and this directly influences students' expectations regarding the academic experience. Marketing needs to keep up with this evolution to remain relevant.
With international institutions offering courses in Brazil and an audience increasingly exposed to global experiences, it is essential to innovate to remain competitive. Updating your strategies ensures effective communication and better results.