Marketing Advice By Business Type
Marketing a Scholarships and Financial Aid Business
It's becoming more and more difficult for scholarships and financial aid businesses to rise above the clamor of the marketplace. Innovative marketing strategies may be your best bet for out-promoting -- and outperforming -- the competition.
We see marketing as the great equalizer, a business discipline capable of dramatically increasing a small company's footprint in the marketplace.
What to know the characteristics that distinguish leading scholarships and financial aid businesses from average companies? Surprisingly, the ability to create clear brand messages often outweighs product quality and other considerations.
Discounts
Discounts drive purchasing decisions, and scholarships and financial aid business customers are no exception. The power of a great discount is its ability to convince buyers that are receiving special treatment, a deal that isn't ordinarily available. Due to the market intelligence of buyers in the scholarships and financial aid business sector, you won't get far with discounts unless you communicate clear value. Offsetting discounts with inflated pricing is a tired ploy that often does more harm than good. Instead, think about how you can use discounts to lure customers in during a slow period, to generate traction for new product offerings, and to break into new markets.
Mailings
It makes sense for scholarships and financial aid businesses to participate in direct mail campaigns. Direct mail has the advantage of delivering targeted messaging to qualified contacts within your company's market segment. Third-party providers have a reputation for generating accurate mailing lists that can be sorted to accommodate niches and subsections of the market. Despite the added upfront expense, premium mailing lists are a smart investment if for no other reason than their ability to generate higher conversion rates.
Hiring A Marketing Firm
Sooner or later, most scholarships and financial aid business operations turn to marketing firms for guidance. Unless you have a marketing background, you won't be able to touch the ROI you'll receive from a professional firm. Does a marketing firm cost money? Sure, but not as much as you may think. When it's time to look for a marketing firm to represent your scholarships and financial aid business, experience should trump other considerations. Avoid young marketing firms staffed exclusively with inexperienced hot shots. Novice marketers bring a lot of passion to the table, but they also tend to embrace high-risk marketing strategies that lack the payoff you'll get from an established firm.
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