About the author

Lawrie Drysdale is a senior lecturer in educational administration in the Department of Education Policy and Management, Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. He lectures in Marketing in Education, Leadership, and Human Resource Management. His current research interests are in marketing in education and leadership.

Abstract

This article calls for school leaders to recognise the reality of marketing and develop a more in-depth understanding of its meaning and application. The article advocates a wider definition of marketing and suggests that an understanding of marketing in non-profit and service organisations would be beneficial.

Introduction

If the number of newspaper articles, advertisements, bill boards, brochures, scholarships and public relations exercises aimed at promoting schools are any indication, school administrators and governing bodies are taking marketing seriously. A real danger, however, is that in their efforts to respond to the changing environment, schools will uncritically apply a limited notion of marketing. Only by understanding what marketing really means will schools be able to exploit the true potential of marketing. This monograph examines the meaning of marketing and attempts to examine a number of issues associated with marketing in schools. The key issues identified in the monograph are:

1. The confusion over the definition of marketing.
2. The poor of image of marketing in the community.
3. The distinction between the marketing of schools and marketing in schools.
4. The application of marketing to all organisations, including education.
5. Marketing in non-profit organisations.
6. Marketing associated with service organisations.
7. Research into marketing in schools.
8. Marketing as a philosophy, function, strategy and relationships.

The Dilemma of Defining Marketing

The first major dilemma when dealing with marketing is that academics disagree about its meaning, while most people-in-the-street think it is selling and advertising. Almost every textbook has a different definition of marketing. For example, Baker (1996) lists 16 different definitions. Crosier (1975) reviewed over 50 definitions and classified them into three major groups.

1. Marketing as a process or function.
2. Marketing as a concept or philosophy of business.
3. Marketing as an orientation - the phenomenon that makes the concept and a process possible.

The biggest contrast in the many definitions of marketing arises from marketing being defined as either a philosophy or a function. The definition adopted by the American Marketing Association Board of Directors defines marketing as a function.

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational goals (Bennett, 1988, p. 166).

This definition depicts marketing as a set of planned and coordinated activities that an organisation engages in to elicit a favourable response from potential and current customers.

An alternative view suggests that marketing is a philosophy or a mindset. This definition represents marketing as a way of doing business. Rather than a set of activities carried out by a marketing department or marketing experts, marketing is regarded as being 'everyone business' (McKenna, 1991). This approach to marketing is defined by McDonald (1989 p. 8).

Marketing is a management process whereby the resources of the whole organisation are utilised to satisfy the needs of selected customer groups in order to achieve the objectives of both parties. Marketing, then is first and foremost an attitude of mind rather than a series of functional activities.

The problem of defining marketing is brought into sharper focus when the textbook versions of marketing are compared with the view that most people hold. For the vast majority of people marketing is selling or advertising. Baker (1996, p. 4) notes that most people believe they know what marketing is, but, in fact, do not. People experience what they think marketing is because, at a basic level, people are constantly engaged in exchanges of various kinds. They are exposed to 'the trappings' of marketing every day through the various forms of media and entertainment. Therefore it is not surprising that for most people marketing is "selling with knobs on" (McDonald, 1989, p. 6). Thus, one of the dilemmas for marketing is that most people substitute a part (selling) for the whole (a complex process). The irony is that if marketing were done well, it would eliminate the need to sell because it would do such a good job of anticipating and meeting customer needs that the sale would take care of itself.

An Acceptable Definition of Marketing

Whatever definition of marketing is considered, there are common core elements that can be identified - the concepts of satisfaction of needs and wants; products and services; value exchange; markets; and relationships (Kotler, 1994, p.6). Payne (1993, p.21) provides a view of marketing that seems to be inclusive of marketing as a function, philosophy, or orientation. He sees the central idea of marketing as a matching process: the matching between what the organisation (school) has to offer and the wants and needs of the customer (students and parents) in order to achieve the goals of both the organisation and the customer. Essentially, marketing aims to provide customer satisfaction by meeting their needs and wants through appropriate offerings.

Marketing is a process of perceiving, understanding, stimulating and satisfying the needs of specially selected target markets by channelling an organisation's resources to meet those needs (Payne, 1993, p. 12).

The better the fit between what the organisation offers and the needs of the customers, the greater the satisfaction for both parties. Payne suggests that this relationship is dynamic and, as needs change due to changes in the external environment, so the organisation must match these needs by modifying its offerings.

Marketing is a Dirty Word

One of the most potent factors working against the acceptance of marketing as a legitimate activity for schools is that it is a 'dirty' word; many people view marketing with deep suspicion. Numerous marketing practices seem to hinge on manipulating, persuading, and propagandising; many people perceive it as dishonest, distasteful, deceitful, exploitative and inherently objectionable. It is accused of attempting to influence people to want what they do not need, by exaggerating, overstating, embellishing, misleading or over-promising what the product or service is, and exploiting people's vulnerabilities (Star, 1989). This effectively amounts to an attack on the ethics of marketing.

For teachers this anti marketing view can run even deeper. For some teachers, to accept marketing is to endorse a system that promotes insidious competition for students and resources at the expense of collaboration and good will, and to encourage greater cost cutting by allowing governments to abrogate their responsibilities to provide adequate funding. It is also seen as assisting in establishing greater inequalities between schools.

The distinction between the marketing of schools and marketing in schools

There are two areas of concern with 'marketing': the first is associated with the cost of marketing of schools; the second is the sensitive issue of marketing in schools.

The marketing of schools is seen by many as being highly manipulative, intrusive and a waste of money. The issue of marketing of schools basically relates to the amount of time and energy involved, along with the expense. The criticism centres around marketing being a cost to schools, rather than an investment, thus robbing students of much needed resources, and diverting these away from key areas of staff and curriculum development. The argument is that directing funds to self-promotion rather than enhancing academic standards will have negative effects on the school (Budge, 1995).

The second area of concern is marketing in schools. For example, the concern that students are being subjected to advertising in schools and bombarded by insidious messages is a major issue in the United States. The criticism centres on cash-strapped schools, so hungry for resources that they allow the over-commercialisation of their schools by marketers (Jones, 1998). In return for corporate dollars, schools display corporate logos in places such as cafeterias, school buses and book covers. There is a view that such activities should be barred and that children ought to be taught in an advertising-free environment; they should be helped to understand popular culture, and enabled to make their choices (Karpatkin and Holmes, 1995; Sandel, 1997).

Activities that attract criticism relate to the following (Richards, Wartella, Morton and Thompson, 1998).

1. Direct advertising in schools.
2. Free or discounted products.
3. Curricular involvement with brand identification.
4. Direct sales of products in schools.
5. Fund-raising activities for schools.

Problems identified as a result of the above activities include (Richards et al., 1998):

a) the commercialisation of schools transferring control to people outside education;

b) commercialisation compromising the integrity of education;

c) advertisements in schools and school materials carry the weight of an endorsement that implies schools approve of the sponsor or the product;

d) promotional-sponsored education materials blur the line between education and propaganda, and lead to distorted lessons;

e) sponsored programs and materials often by-pass review processes intended to safeguard students from biased or otherwise flawed materials;

f) the idea that teachers can serve as the gatekeepers against the biased messages often found in sponsored materials is naïve;

g) the idea that school-business partnerships should have a commercial payback aspect is unethical;

h) the idea that students are not influenced by in-school advertising because it is everywhere reflects a naiveté about the nature of advertising; and

i) in-school marketing contributes to the din of commercialism targeted at students and promotes materialism.

Despite the misgivings and concerns of many parents and teachers about the misuse of marketing, for most schools marketing will play an important role in determining the success of a school.

The Foundations of Modern Marketing

Part of the confusion and lack of understanding associated with marketing is due to the fact that marketing is a relatively new discipline. As such, it is still to gain the respect and credibility that more established and traditional areas have earned. In order to understand marketing today it is important to understand its evolution over the past fifty years. For example, the debate over whether marketing is a philosophy or a function has its genesis in the 1950s and 1960s; its broad understanding can be traced from its evolution as a new discipline.

The foundations of modern marketing date to the 1950s where the idea of marketing being a philosophy or a way of doing business was firmly established in the literature. This era saw the introduction and acceptance of the 'marketing concept'. A number of writers articulated the idea that the main purpose of any business was to create a satisfied customer (Dalgic, 1998; Drucker, 1954; Keith, 1960; Felton, 1959; McKitterick, 1958; Levitt, 1960). Their views formed the basis for the marketing concept &endash; adopting the customer's viewpoint by putting the customer at the beginning rather than at the end of the production-consumption cycle. Peter Drucker (1954) is acknowledged as having coined the phrase 'the marketing concept'. He explains it in terms of a philosophy.

Marketing is not only much broader than selling; it is not a specialised activity at all. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer's point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise. (Drucker, 1954, pp. 35-36)

This view of putting the customer in centre stage was reinforced by a number of writers at the time. For example, McKitterick (1958, p. 78) stated that:

The principal task of the marketing function in a management concept is not so much to be skilful in making the customer do what suits the interests of the business, as to be skilful in conceiving and then making the business do what suits the interest of the customer.

The Marketing Myopia by Levitt (1960) identified three issues: the tendency of the firm to narrowly define marketing; the failure to respond to changing consumer needs; and the preoccupation with the products firms produce, rather than the markets they serve. He suggested that firms should work backwards from the customers' needs to product creation, rather than the other way round. More recently, Kotler (1994) conceived the marketing concept as 'the up-side-down triangle' where management served the worker, who in turn served the customers.

From the 1960s, 'marketing management' dominated the development of marketing thought. This era represented a shift to a managerial approach to the study of marketing and firmly positioned marketing as the principal function of the firm. The emergent marketing textbooks highlighted a management perspective (Alderson, 1957, 1958; Davis, 1961; Howard, 1957; Kotler, 1967; McCarthy, 1960). This emphasis on marketing as a function became the outstanding feature of the marketing landscape for the next 30 years.

In its evolution, marketing borrowed heavily from other disciplines such as economics, psychology, sociology and mathematics. Many of the key marketing principles emerged in this era: the 4 Ps &endash; product, promotion, price, place (McCarthy, 1960); the marketing mix (Borden, 1964); channels theory (Bucklin, 1966); the hierarchy of advertising (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961; Rogers, 1962); the product life cycle (Kotler, 1965; Polli and Cook, 1969; Vernon, 1966); the generic product definition and strategies (Ansoff, 1957; Drucker, 1964; Levitt, 1960, 1969); and market segmentation (Alderson, 1958;Bass, Tigert and Lonsdale, 1968; Coleman, 1961; Evans, 1959; Smith, 1956; Westfall, 1962; Wind and Cardozo, 1974). This era also saw the development and application of marketing strategy. Marketing strategy was composed of several interrelated elements, including product/market selection, distribution systems, market communication, plant location and brand strategy (Corey, 1999). A theory of marketing emerged.

Since the 1960s, marketing has continued to evolve, with different strands emerging, including marketing in non-profit organisations, services marketing, strategic marketing, market orientation and, finally, relationship marketing.

Besides non-profit and services marketing, a significant development in the 1980s was a change of emphasis towards the importance of the environment and strategic planning.

By 1990 it was clear that the new concept of marketing was outdated and the times demanded a strategic concept. The strategic concept of marketing, a major evolution in the history of marketing thought, shifted the focus from the customer or product to the firm's external environment. (Keegan, 1995, p. 5)

As a result, marketing embraced the strategy concept. Strategic marketing differs from marketing strategy in that the former takes into account the direction, perception and planning that goes on in the organisation in relation to its environment, whereas the latter involves more functional and operational decisions in relation to managing the marketing process to attract and maintain customers.

The 1990s saw two further developments in marketing: market orientation and relationship marketing. Market orientation was said to be the application of the marketing concept, and its importance was enhanced with research that linked the level of a firm's performance with the degree of market orientation. Running parallel to market orientation was relationship marketing. Relationship marketing is the building and maintaining of long-term relationships with an organisation's various markets (customers, suppliers, stakeholders, etc.) to the mutual benefit of all parties. This strand of marketing emerged with the realisation that keeping current customers was as important as gaining new customers.

Do Marketing Practices and Principles Apply to All Organisations?

Marketing grew out of the consumer and manufacturing sectors of the economy in the 1950s and spread to the industrial sector in the 1960s. In the 1970s the question was legitimately asked: Can marketing principles and practices be applied to all organisations? Thus followed a debate in the 1970s in the United States that focused on the transferability of marketing techniques and concepts. Several leading writers re-examined the scope of marketing and reaffirmed its application to all organisations (Robin, 1977; Ames, 1970; Arndt, 1981; Hunt, 1976;, Hunt, 1991; Kotler and Levy, 1969a, 1969b; Kotler, 1972).

For example, Kotler and Levy (1969b p. 10) argued: "marketing is a pervasive societal activity that goes considerably beyond the selling of toothpaste, soap and steel". In essence, it was argued, marketing applied to organisations other than business firms; for example, churches, universities, schools, government departments, hospitals, charities, etc. While most of these organisations have a longer history than the dominant business firms, Kotler and Levy reasoned that all these social organisations perform the classical business functions. Marketing of industrial or consumer goods and services from profit or non-profit organisations were equally true. The philosophy and techniques that worked to the advantage of private, profit-oriented organisations were said to be equally relevant and meaningful to all forms of organisations. As a result of the debate, two interrelated yet parallel strands of marketing study emerged: marketing in non-profit organisations and marketing in service organisations. Schools fit into both categories, and to understand the application of marketing to schools it is essential to examine the application of marketing in both strands.

Marketing in Non-profit Organisations

Writers such as Kotler and Levy (Kotler and Levy, 1969b), Kotler (1972), Hunt (1976), Robin (1977), Arndt (1981), and Bagozzi (1975) successfully argued the case that marketing should be applied to all organisations. Kotler and Zaltman (1971) and Shapiro (1973) specifically argued the case for non-profit organisations. However, whilst the case for marketing in non-profit organisations seems well founded, the characteristics of non-profit organisations are sufficiently different from for-profit organisations that a separate strand of marketing is needed.

There is little agreement on the definition of a 'non-profit organisation' (Blois, 1994, p. 678). Although non-profit organisations have been in existence for longer than for-profit organisations, they have evaded definition until recently (Kinnell and MacDougall, 1997, p. 2). Today non-profit organisations are regarded as an important and growing sector of the economy in both developed and developing countries (Pryor, 1994). If a broad definition of the non-profit sector is accepted, it encompasses a range of public and private institutions, government and semi-government agencies, public utilities, and a range of voluntary and charitable organisations. These organisations include schools, colleges, universities, symphony orchestras, museums, churches, hospitals, clinics, community organisations, advocacy groups, day care centres, relief organisations, nursing homes, homeless shelters, family counselling agencies, charities such as YMCA, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Girl Guides, environmental groups and others that make up this important sector (Salamon and Anheier, 1997).

The literature highlights the distinctive features of non-profit organisations that warrant a separate strand of marketing. These characteristics include: a range of differing expectations about non-profit organisations; limitations and controls over the management; the complexity of customer-organisation relations; and other organisational features.

A major difference between for-profit and non-profit organisations is that non-profit organisations seem to share a set of expectations about the nature, style and behaviour of such organisations in our society. Blois (1994), for example, notes that low salaries, not being too 'commercial', and not owning or using 'up-market' accommodation are among community expectations, yet they are also expected to be competitive, compete with business, and conduct their business on sound commercial grounds. These imply a different set of sensitivities and constraints that limit marketers. Also, non-profit organisations often have constraints outside the internal management structure. As an illustration, in the public sector politicians rather than management often set the priorities. Other constraints include limitations to advertising, mandating services to uneconomic segments, regulation and pricing policies, and even determining product or service features. Similarly, charities and volunteer organisations may be open to undue influence by boards and donors. This raises the issue of 'who are the customers' in non-profit organisations? The relationship with customers is said not to be as straightforward for non-profit organisations. As an example, Kinnell and MacDougall (1997) identify education as more complex, with a range of customers such as students, pupils, parents, future employers, and society in general. The question of who are the customers and how does the organisation relate to them becomes an important issue (Wensley, 1990; Mohammed, 1990). Other characteristics attributed to non-profit organisations include: ambiguous mission and goals; lack of agreement on means-ends relationships; environmental turbulence; difficult to measure outcomes; and an inability to accurately assess the success or failure of management interventions (Hasenfeld and English, 1974; Hofstede, 1981).

Despite growth of the non-profit sector, and a clear need for non-profit organisations to adopt marketing and a greater acceptance of marketing practices, there are still significant barriers. These include negative views of marketing (Kotler and Andreasen, 1996), lack of pressure to perform (McCort, 1994), and lack of respect for customers (Bruce, 1995). Kotler (1994) notes that many non-profit organisations have adopted a 'selling' orientation rather than a 'market' orientation, while others have noted that marketing is still thought of as promotion and advertising (Shipley, 1994; Berry and Parasuraman, 1993; Lovelock, 1996; Kotler and Fox, 1995).

Kotler and Andreasen (1996, pp. 18-24) outline the classification of non-profit organisations according to what managers can do strategically. The most important dimension in their classification is the relationship between the non-profit organisation and its environment. They highlight five key questions that define the environment and, therefore, the classification of the organisation.

1. To what extent does the organisation rely on donations?

2. What degree of public scrutiny exists?

3. To what extent is marketing seen as undesirable?

4. To what extent does the organisation rely on volunteers?

5. To what extent is the organisation's performance evaluated by non-marketing measures?

Rothschild (1979), Kotler and Andreasen (1996) and Bloom and Novelli (1981) outline a number of unique features of non-profit marketing.

1. Lack of good secondary research data compared with for-profit organisations.

2. Lack of reliable primary research data due to reluctance by consumers to provide accurate information, compared with for-profit organisations.

3. Indifference about the issues for which consumers are asked to make sacrifices.

4. Difficulties associated with consumers being asked to make 180-degree shifts in attitudes, i.e. to convert to a product or service they are against.

5. Difficulty in modifying the offering to meet consumer needs.

6. The need to provide large amounts of information because of the complexity of the services.

7. Uncertainty in identifying the benefits of many services offered.

8. Consumers are sometimes asked to make sacrifices for benefits that accrue to others.

9. The intangible and psychological nature of the benefits of some services makes it difficult to communicate the benefit.

There are also a number of ethical issues that can be raised and which have the potential to impact on marketing in non-profit organisations. Kotler and Andreasen (1996, p. 28) mention the following issues.

1. How legitimate are the social issues and can any social problem use marketing strategies?

2. Should marketing strategies successful in one cultural setting be used in another setting?

3. Do the ends of non-profit marketing justify the means, for instance, using gambling money to supplement educational services?

4. Does the involvement by members or beneficiaries in fundraising compromise those people?

While ethical issues can impact equally on for-profit organisations, there is often the added responsibility that non-profit organisations have to be sensitive to public sentiment and moral concerns, and this can make marketing more tenuous. Educational marketers need to be aware of how the distinctive features of non-profit organisations can impact on their role, and be aware of the limitations and the challenges in marketing their organisations.

Marketing in Service Organisations

Since the widening of the definition of marketing to include all organisations, services marketing has emerged as a significant and distinctive strand of marketing. However, what constitutes a service and whether it should be treated as a distinctive area of study is still debated. The difference between a service and a product is sometimes confusing. Often they are used interchangeably; at other times they are treated differently. Normally, 'service' is a general classification that covers both pure services (those that stand by themselves) and services which support goods.

Kotler (1994), defines service as follows:

A service is any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.

Providers of services include law, education, health, military, communications, transportation, finance, recreation, government and information services. They can be both for-profit and non-profit. Most writers agree that the basic principles of marketing apply to services. Cowell (1994, p. 671) suggests that it is "erroneous to suggest that marketing services is fundamentally different from marketing product" and advises that the same principles and concepts apply to both. He claims that what makes services marketing different are the special attributes in the make-up of services. Many texts on services marketing argue that the difference is in degree and emphasis. Payne (1993), for example, suggests that services marketing is both similar and different to goods marketing in that at the higher level, the theory of marketing applies to all organisations, while at an operational level services marketing may need more emphasis on some marketing element or apply other marketing elements in another way.

There is, however, general agreement that there are distinctive characteristics of services that require a modification of the traditional marketing approach. These include intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, perishability and customisation.

The most acknowledged difference between services and goods is the degree of intangibility. Education is essentially intangible; it cannot be touched, easily defined, formulated, or grasped mentally. The challenge for marketers with high levels of intangibility, such as in education, is to provide and manage tangible clues to help people understand and feel confident in the service.

A second characteristic is inseparability. This refers to the fact that many services are simultaneously produced and consumed at the same time, with consumer participation in the process. For example, a teacher produces an educational service while the student consumes it. Because the service provider is often present when the consumption takes place it is important to recognise that the 'how' of service distribution becomes important. Education must be distributed not only in 'the right place' and at 'the right time' but, more importantly, in 'the right way'.

A third feature is heterogeneity. Compared with goods, services are highly variable and are less standardised and uniform. A service such as education is 'people-based' rather than 'equipment-based'. This means that the outcomes of people-based service operations tend to result in a higher degree of variability in outcome. For instance, teachers differ among themselves in their relations with students, teaching skills, subject knowledge, personalities and attitude towards their work. What is often more significant is that variation can occur within the one teacher. The same teaching lesson can vary according to a range of circumstances.

An important element of heterogeneity is customisation. Customising is the extent to which a service can be tailored to meet individual needs. This compares with the delivering of a standard or uniform service such as McDonalds. In education there is great potential for tailoring services to meet the precise desires of individual customers. A challenge for education is to determine the circumstances under which customisation should apply, and the circumstances under which standardisation should apply.

A fourth feature is perishability. Services cannot be stored. In education an important determinant of student outcomes is time on task. If students miss classes for whatever reason, they seldom make up the time. This has prompted educators to supplement traditional teaching approaches with alternative methods such as on-line materials and multi-media approaches.

Another set of features identified with service organisations that impacts on marketing are what have been termed 'search qualities', 'experience qualities' and 'credence qualities'. Search qualities are defined as the ease of evaluating a product or service prior to purchase. Along with most services, education is often difficult to sample or inspect before buying. Experience qualities are associated with the ability to evaluate what the customer is getting at the time of service delivery or purchase. Often the exact value gained by a purchase is not always evident and is difficult to measure. Credence qualities are to do with assessing what exactly they are getting after purchasing. The ability to evaluate the benefit of a service is complex because returns may be uncertain and unknown for years.

High customer contact is a significant characteristic of services. Nearly all services involve interaction with customers (Grönroos, 1998). As a result, the organisations involved face a number of difficulties in delivering services that include different levels of expectations by customers, incorrect interpretation of expectations, and inability to match expectations. In order to deal with the differing nature of services compared with goods, service marketing has contributed a number of strategies. Service quality has been identified as being an important strategy. Kotler (1994) suggests that consumers of services feel more risk in their purchases and, as a consequence, rely more on word of mouth, price, and personnel and physical cues to judge service quality. He says consumers are more likely to remain loyal when satisfied with the service provider.

The issues of differentiation and quality service are key strategies for service providers and customers. For many service organisations it is difficult to differentiate their outcomes. Often the quality of the outcome is taken for granted, and in other situations it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the outcome.

However, in all situations customers take part in the production process and sometimes more, sometimes less actively interact with the employees, physical resources and production system of the service organization. (Grönroos, 1998)

Grönroos (1998) suggests that service providers should consider all the service components (total offer) to differentiate and provide quality. This includes the need for interactive marketing skills &endash; 'high touch' as well as 'high tech' (Kotler and Bloom, 1984).

Services marketing is acknowledged as having contributed the idea and value of internal marketing. Grönroos (1981, 1984) outlined the need for both internal and external marketing. External marketing describes the normal work done by the company to prepare, price, distribute, and promote the service to customers. Internal marketing describes the work done by the company to train and motivate its employees to serve customers well.

Another strategy is to extend the traditional marketing mix. Marketing strategy, in manufacturing and industry, has revolved around the manipulation of the 4 Ps - product, price, place (distribution) and promotion - in order promote exchange (McCarthy, 1960). Because of the fundamental difference in the end product and the simultaneous production and consumption processes, three extra factors have been added to services marketing: physical evidence, people and process (Booms and Bitner, 1981; Cowell, 1984).

Understanding services processes is becoming an imperative for all types of businesses, not just for what used to be called service business (Grönroos, 1998, p. 336). For marketers in education it is now essential to understand the nature and distinctive qualities of services.

Literature on Marketing in Schools

While the literature on service organisations and non-profit organisations has expanded considerably, there is still relatively little research specifically related to marketing in education in general or schools in particular. There have, however, been a number of general textbooks that have emerged over the past two decades. These books have appeared largely in response to two factors: firstly, that marketing principles and practices could be applied widely to all kinds of organisations; and, secondly, that the environment in which schools now operated had changed considerably and schools were now competing in the marketplace.

The textbooks have benefited from the growing body of knowledge from services and non-profiting marketing literature. Most adopt a strategic perspective. They reflect how the general principles and practices of marketing can be applied in educational settings, and also recognise the distinctive features and characteristics of those settings.

The most extensive and comprehensive textbook focused on educational institutions is Strategic Marketing for Educational Institutions by Kotler and Fox (Kotler and Fox, 1985). It reflects the North American context, which is largely mirrored in Australia and the United Kingdom (for example, pressure of competition, lack of resources, pressure to gain enrolments, image in the community). The book is aimed at all educational institutions (schools, colleges, universities and other educational organisations). The authors note that educational institutions have always marketed, but since the 1980s the environment has changed drastically and these institutions have increasingly had to accept marketing as a management strategy more quickly.

In the early 1990s there were several marketing books that attempted to focus on schools. Many of the books derive form the United Kingdom where competition for students became extensive due to the Education Reform Act 1988, which defined the right of parents to choose a school for their children and based funding on the number of students enrolled.

The following British books provide a comprehensive outline of marketing in schools. They each define marketing and show how schools can benefit from implementing marketing principles and practices in the school setting.

Marketing the School (Marland and Rogers, 1991)

Marketing for Schools (Pardey, 1991)

Marketing Your School (Stott and Parr, 1991)

Marketing the Secondary School (Davies and Ellison, 1991)

Marketing Education (Gray, 1991)

Could do better: Creating a Marketing Strategy for Your School (Gaunt, 1991)

Practical Marketing for Schools (Barnes, 1993)

Marketing for Schools (Evans, 1995)

Strategic Marketing for Schools (Davies and Ellison, 1997)

Besides providing a broad view of the application of marketing in schools, the common element in all these books is that they adopt a strategic management perspective.

In the United States, apart from Kotler and Fox (1985, 1995) and Holcomb (1993), there have been few books written specifically on marketing in schools. There are, however, numerous books devoted to public relations in schools. This reflects a difference in emphasis between the Britain and the United States. In Britain, competition for student enrolments has been the driving force, while in the United States the image, reputation and support for public education and schools has been the major concern. This is evidenced with books such as Improving School Public Relations (Hilldrup, 1982), The School and Community Relations (Kindred, Bagin and Gallagher, 1984), Educational Public Relations (West, 1985), Complete Book of School Public Relations (Walling, 1992), Promoting Your School (Lober, 1993), and Your Public Schools (Hansen and Mackey, 1993). This emphasis on public relations continues with recent publications such as Public Relations in Schools (Kowalski, 2000) and Public Relations for School Leaders (Hughes and Hooper, 2000). The emphasis in each of these books is on relationships. The books provide contextual analysis of the current situation of schooling in the United States and the need to manage the various relationships by providing conceptual frameworks, skills, techniques and approaches for dealing with the school's various publics. The themes in these books include gaining public support for schools, attempting to restore the reputation and image of schools and how to prevent and handle problems and contentious issues. Many of the writers point out that public relations should not be misconstrued with marketing, selling and advertising.

In Australia there have been few books that deal with marketing in schools. Linda Vining's books, however, have made a valuable contribution to the literature on marketing in schools by providing practical guidelines and strategies for school communities. Her books include: School Image by Design (Vining, 1993), Choice, Customers and Competition in Schools (Vining, 1996) and Marketing Matters in Schools (Vining, 2000). She has also written numerous articles in academic journals and professional magazines.

The book Super Marketing Your School (Myers, 1996) published by the Catholic Education Office in Sydney provides a useful guide for Australian Catholic Schools on how to market their schools. The book draws from the experiences of numerous Catholic schools around Australia. The book notes that it was written in response to the changes in the social environment, government reforms in education and increased competition between independent schools.

There have also been some criticisms of marketing in the Australian context. These criticisms are associated with the marketisation of education, rather than marketing as outlined in this monograph. Kenway (1995) outlines a number of concerns with the trend towards the market. The book contains a number of readings that focus on the dangers of adopting the morals and manners of the market place. In this work, Kenway calls for more educationally and socially responsible approaches to marketing. Marginson (Marginson, 1996, 1997) also focuses on macro issues involving the political, economic and social impact of education and its markets.

Research and Marketing in Schools

As noted above, a theoretical perspective dominates the vast majority of the literature. Overall, there has been little research in schools in respect to marketing. For example, Foskett (1998, p. 197) states that "as a field of educational research markets and marketing are relatively underdeveloped". The research that does exist is generally in the form of dissertations from North America and the United Kingdom. In the Australian context there is little research that has been identified.

Marketing in North America

In North America, the vast majority of research into marketing in education relates to universities and colleges. This has been in response to changing environments in education such as increased mandates and regulations, an increased number of interest groups who have imposed their demands on public education, increased challenges to educational programs, and changing demographics. Research has focused largely on marketing for enrolments, where there have been a number of studies conducted, dating from the early 1980s. Other research has focused on identifying marketing strategies, understanding the role and structure of marketing in the college or university, and evaluating marketing effectiveness.

In school education most of the research has centred on the role and relevance of marketing in schools. This is particularly the case with earlier research, which focused on the application of marketing to schools. For example, Biros (1983) studied the application of marketing theory to school district management, Rydland (1987) assessed strategic marketing characteristics exhibited by K-12 public schools in Washington State, Penner (1987) reviewed how current ideas on marketing higher education might apply to private secondary education, and Gardner (1988) investigated the function of marketing in public schools as perceived by school public relations directors and superintendents of schools.

Research into the role, function and need for marketing has persisted. For example, Ivie (1999) demonstrated the inadequacies of traditional strategies for introducing educational reform and called for the reformers to adopt a marketing perspective. More recently Halverson (1999) examined the degree to which small school districts utilise marketing strategies to promote enrolment and district programs. His thesis highlights how public school leaders need to understand the competitive environment, as well as develop expertise in marketing strategies and maintain a client oriented focus. Horn (1997) conducted doctoral research into private schools in Arizona. His findings showed that while half of the private schools considered marketing to be integral to planning and leadership, few had a formal marketing plan nor covered the four traditional Ps of the marketing mix (price, product, place, promotion) in their planning. He argued that school administrators would benefit from marketing education, especially in non-profit marketing and services marketing.

The other main area of research in schools in North America relates to marketing strategies for enrolment purposes. Laine (1999) conducted a study of select private school educators' views regarding the effectiveness of different marketing strategies in attracting international students to Canada. Her study demonstrated the inadequacy of traditional marketing strategies in this regard and called for a more creative approach. Hunt (1996) investigated the factors that impact on marketing and enrolment in Seventh-day Adventist boarding schools. He concluded that factors that influenced parental choice were a spiritual environment (most important), cost and location.

Research in the United Kingdom

Cowan (1993) outlines the limited amount of market research conducted by schools in the United Kingdom. He challenges the narrow view of marketing and notes that it was directed mainly at promotion and public relations. His thesis noted the potential benefit of the marketing process for whole-school development. Harvey (1996), in a case study of an independent girls school in the mid-Westlands, showed how there is no easy formula to improve student numbers through marketing. Hall (1995) notes the application of marketing to schools by exploring the use of marketing in a number of different types of organisations from commercial firms to a range of non-profit organisations, including schools. His thesis notes that all organisations market. Thorne (1988), shows how, under the threat of closure, schools' marketing responses were key tools and weapons for survival.

In a significant study, Foskett (1995) examined a developing marketing culture in secondary schools in England and Wales using a case study approach. The study looked at three key issues: the understanding that teachers and education managers have of the concept of marketing; the organisational and operational responses of schools to the demands of marketing; and the ways in which the culture of schools is changing in response to the pressures of marketisation. His thesis concluded that:

• there was a range of understandings of marketing; and
  
• schools demonstrate a reactive, non-rational approach to planning for marketing, with no overt development of marketing strategies limited use of marketing research or evaluation techniques, and little integration of marketing into existing school development planning.

Despite a generally positive view of marketing by teachers and education managers, most of the study schools had only weak development of a marketing culture. The study suggests there was a linkage between external pressures on schools, from both policy and the market, internal school attitudes to a market model, and the cultural changes in schools.

More recently (Foskett, 1998) argues that the marketisation of education, together with legislative change have reoriented the professional culture of education to be in line with marketing-driven ideologies. Foskett (1998) outlines the extent that secondary schools have adopted a market-focused culture since 1988. A key determinant of acceptance of the market is the attitude and understanding of marketing and marketing terminology by decision makers within the school. Foskett (1998) identifies three cultures: product oriented, sales oriented and marketing oriented. The criteria for determining a market-oriented culture is based on an attitude of mind, organisation systems, promotional tools and analytical tools. The study shows that the extent of activity and commitment to marketing is based on internal and external factors impacting on the school. The author identifies four groups of schools that can be distinguished as a result of differing internal and external factors: fully motivated, externally motivated, self- motivated and unmotivated. Where internal and external factors were strongest, the schools showed the strongest profile of marketing cultural development.

Dimensions of Marketing

What is clear from the literature on marketing is that marketing is multi-dimensional. As well as being viewed as a philosophy and a function, there are other aspects and evolving dimensions that have implications for the marketer. One view sees marketing as being composed of four dimensions: marketing as a philosophy and orientation; marketing as a function; marketing as strategy; and marketing as relationships (Drysdale, 2000). Each dimension reflects the evolution of the discipline of marketing over the past fifty years. While there are many overlapping elements, each frame within the matrix identifies a key marketing focus.

Marketing as a philosophy emerged in the 1950s and remains the cornerstone of marketing to the present. This dimension characterises marketing as a 'mind set', organisational culture or set of behaviours that effectively puts the customer at the centre of the organisation. Simply, it represents marketing as a way of doing business that involves everyone in the organisation taking responsibility for meeting customer needs.

Marketing management was developed in the 1960s and identified marketing as a central function in the organisation. It recognises that marketing is a management process that attempts stimulate the exchange between the school and its customers by identifying, planning, organising, coordinating and controlling its various marketing activities.

Included in the marketing function is the formation of marketing strategy: segmenting, targeting, positioning and applying the marketing mix. Strategy became important in the 1980s with the emergence of strategic planning and corporate strategy as a means of responding to factors in the environment. This dimension refers to the application of strategic management principles based on its assessment of the changes in the environment.

More recently, the organisation's relationship with the market has emerged as the latest approach; this has dominated the literature in the late 1990s. Relationship marketing is the building and maintaining of long-term relationships with an organisation's various markets (customers, suppliers, stakeholders etc) to the mutual benefit of all parties. It recognises that there needs to be a balance between attracting new customers and keeping current customers. To get the most out of marketing, educators would be wise to understand and use each dimension.

Summary

All schools market, whether it is to increase enrolments to survive or grow, enhance the reputation of the school, or gain much needed resources. The question raised in this monograph is: Are schools getting the most out of marketing? One limitation identified is that most people narrowly define marketing as sales and promotion. Also, marketing is often badly regarded, and many schools feel uncomfortable about embracing the concept. There is sometimes confusion between the marketing of schools and marketing in schools. However, to get the most out of marketing, school leaders should understand how marketing has evolved as a discipline and accept that it is a multi-dimensional concept. Firstly, marketing can be defined as a philosophy - a way of doing business. Secondly, it can be regarded as a central function in the organisation that requires planning, organisation and coordination of the organisation's marketing activities. Thirdly, it can be seen as a strategy - a means of aligning the organisation with the changing environment. Finally, marketing is about managing relationships &endash; building and maintaining relationships for the long-term.

There are sound textbooks that provide excellent guidance on marketing for schools. Research indicates that marketing can be applied to school situations, and that it can be effective in such areas as planning and enrolment management. Educators need to be sensitive to the issues surrounding marketing in schools, however, a more sophisticated and concerted approach to marketing, along with an embracing of the principles and practices of marketing can be highly beneficial for all concerned.

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