A new higher education marketing mix: the 7Ps for MBA marketing

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present a new marketing mix based on MBA students' attitudes and opinions towards the marketing initiatives of business schools in South Africa. The post-graduate business education market is, and increasingly, getting more aggressive in their efforts to attract students on to their flagship degree, the MBA. The traditional marketing tools historically grouped into 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion), 5Ps (adding people) and 7Ps (adding physical facilities and processes) may be wanting in this market. Design/methodology/approach -The approach taken was a quantitative survey of students registered at state subsidized universities in South Africa. Findings -The factor analysed data showed seven quite distinct underlying factors in the marketing activities of these business schools, some covering the same elements of the traditional marketing mix: people, promotion, and price. There were, however, four different elements: programme, prominence, prospectus, and premiums. Research limitations/implications -While the survey included only MBA students from a sample drawn in South Africa, the study does highlight the fact that the traditional services marketing mix may not be as useful to the higher education sector as it might have been originally thought. Practical implications -The development of marketing strategy may be better served by this 7P model rather than the services mix. Originality/value -This paper presents the underlying factors that form the basis of a new marketing mix specifically for MBA recruitment.

Constructing Marketing Indicators and Measuring the Satisfaction of Asian International Students in the Higher Education Sector

“…7) Physical evidence: This is the tangible component of the service offering. A variety of tangible aspects are evaluated by a university's target market, ranging from teaching materials to the appearance of the buildings and lecture facilities (Ivy, 2008). In this research, physical evidence included advanced and modern facilities such as libraries and dormitories.…”

“…5) People: People are the most important element of any organization, contributing to service delivery and influencing customer perceptions. The "people" element of the marketing mix strategy includes all university staff that interacts with both prospective students before and after enrollment (Ivy, 2008). In this research, "people" included teachers, administrators, and students that all play important roles in the recruiting process (Cubillo, Sanchez, & Cervino, 2006).…”

“…This strategy encompasses an array of marketing tools that universities can utilize to promote their offerings such as advertising, publicity, public relations, and sales promotional efforts (Ivy, 2008). Different promotional activities are used for different target markets.…”

“…A classical marketing strategy is grouped as the following: 4Ps (product, price, place, and promotion), 5Ps (the addition of people), or 7Ps (the addition of physical facilities and processes) (Ivy, 2008). In 1960, McCarthy (1975 proposed the 4Ps classification system, which has since become widely used by marketers.…”

The relationship between fundraising practice and job satisfaction at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

“…Marketing scholars ' resistance to embrace public relations as a home for fundraising often rests in the fi eld ' s pigeon-holed placement of primarily serving as a source of promotion and publicity through media relations efforts (for example, Kotler and Mindak, 1978 ;Kitchen, 1996 ;Ivy, 2008 ;Kotabe and Helsen, 2009 ). However, when public relations practitioners are allowed to break free of the media relations stereotype in non-integrated marketing environments, their involvement with a variety of organizational stakeholders, such as investors, government regulators, communities, creates fertile ground for organizational relationships to grow.…”