How to Differentiate Your MBA Program
In a post-pandemic world, MBA program enrollment competition is fierce. To stand out among your competitors and meet your enrollment goals, you must have a bulletproof value proposition that is fully integrated into your content marketing strategies. Your institution’s value proposition, however, may not always fit the bill for adult learners who have busy schedules, prioritize flexibility, and value clear, tangible career outcomes. A combination of storytelling and data-driven strategy can help you differentiate your MBA program and institution, address the specific challenges of your prospective students, and exceed your enrollment goals.
Share your student success stories to differentiate your MBA program
Graduate success stories can help prospective students visualize themselves achieving the same or similar accomplishments by completing your program. This approach leaves prospects with a positive impression of the student experience, helps them justify the cost-to-benefit ratio, and can make your program stand out among your competitors’ generic marketing materials. You can help connect prospects with graduate outcomes through:
- Website, direct mail, and social media testimonials that celebrate graduate success stories, new titles or roles, and other professional achievements.
- Recruitment event Q&A sessions where prospects can ask graduates candid questions about their program experiences, their employability after graduation, and why they chose this specific program among a sea of competitors.
Graduates who have been asked to share their positive program experiences are also more likely to re-share their feature stories through their social media channels, are more willing to connect with prospects organically, and often feel honored to be asked to participate. It’s a win-win for everyone and can differentiate your MBA program!
Make sure your strategy is data informed
While student success stories foster emotional connections with your prospects, it’s equally as important that your strategy and brand story are also driven by data – especially in a hyper-competitive market with rising costs and waning budgets. It’s crucial to elevate your program’s specific skills, knowledge, and outcomes, of course, but applying sophisticated data analysis to your enrollment strategy can take your brand value a level above the competition. A data-informed marketing strategy can:
- Highlight your program’s ROI through data points that directly address an adult learner’s unique needs, wants, and concerns.
- Elevate your engagement and conversion rates while tailoring your efforts to prospects’ individual needs through personalization and timing.
- Give you a competitive advantage over programs that aren’t as familiar with the specific needs of your prospective students.
- Help your marketing efforts remain nimble throughout the cycle by providing real-time feedback about your current results compared to historical data.
- Enable you to measure the effectiveness of your current marketing strategies and set realistic goals for the enrollment year and beyond.
Aligning your enrollment strategy with current market trends and data-informed goals drives engagement, produces results, keeps your budget in check, and helps your program’s unique value stand out.
Are you ready to differentiate your MBA program and optimize your enrollment strategy? Contact GPRS today and we can help you leverage our resources and experience.
