Services Marketing

Chapter 29 : Marketing of Education Services

Classification of Education Services Market for Educational Service
 Characteristics of Education Services and Implications for Marketing

Intangibility Inseparability Heterogeneity Perishability

Education and Strategic Marketing

Marketing Mix and Education Service

Product in Educational Services
Place in Education Service Pricing decision in Education Service Promotion in Education Service
People and Education Service
Process and Education Service
Physical Evidence in Education Service

Technology and its Role in Education

Education in India

Flaws in the System
What Does Today's Education Marketer Lack?

Chapter Summary

Marketing of education is gaining momentum with the entry of private institutions, change in people's attitude towards education and the changing scope for the different courses being offered. The technological changes and shrinking global boundaries have increased the significance of marketing for education services. The education service can be described as a high contact, consumer and people based service.

However, innovative methods like using multi-media kits while providing the service are making interaction between and instructor and student less significant. With the changes in customer education and the job market, the market for unconventional courses is increasing. So no marketer can afford to ignore these markets. As the education service is intangible, inseparable and perishable, certain implications exist for marketing.

And service quality is not consistent for all customers, or even a single customer at all times. So the marketers' job becomes tough. They are required to ensure that these features of the education service are better utilized to meet the varying needs of customers. The marketing mix can be better utilized to overcome the problems associated with the service specific features of education.

By offering education with enhanced features like updated syllabus and industry interaction, they can improve the quality of the product. With franchising and better infrastructure facilities and experienced instructors, marketers can meet customer expectations. With the right mix of all the Ps, tailor-made customer focused courses can be offered.

Technology like computers, LCD projectors and multimedia, has helped service providers offer better service to more customers. It has enabled instructors to deliver the service in less time in an effective manner to even a large group in high contact regular education. It has enabled them to concentrate more on knowledge management rather than on preparation of teaching notes.

It has paved the way for increasing the scope of the market and scale of operations with the introduction of modern systems like web based training. There has been a complete transformation in the field of education in India in the past 10-15 years. Of late, a shift in focus from conventional courses like engineering and commerce to specialized courses like environmental management, hotel management and fashion designing can be witnessed.

With the opening up of the gates to private and foreign institutions to provide education services, intense competition can be seen in the years to come. Though India has made significant strides in providing education to the masses, there is more to be achieved. More than 1/3 of the population still remains illiterate.

As education is being perceived as a necessity across all segments, marketers can explore the opportunities in job-focused and application-oriented education. There are some basic flaws in the Indian education system like neglecting employment oriented education and participative education. These have to be corrected by the marketers, if they are to survive in this globalized era.

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