Further education 2015: to close or develop?

Talking with the leaders of organizations working in the field of further education, I constantly find myself thinking: "Something needs to be changed." Why? Is the situation so critical? Perhaps yes. This is how it looks now.

A lot of training centers were formed in the 90s in the conditions of limited public awareness and low competition. It was enough to advertise in a free newspaper - and that’s all, an influx of students is provided. The ease of attracting customers allowed us to boldly experiment with advertising channels, educational programs, and additional services. We must pay tribute to the initiative of the centers: now their leaders are proud to talk about promoting their services - "We tried everything."

But is this not one of the reasons for the current decline in the development of the additional education sector? Does this "We tried everything" explain this accumulated fatigue among managers? After all, what is happening? With excellent teachers and certainly useful training programs, with a high level of technical equipment of the learning process (since in the early 2000s, two people were sitting at the class each at one computer - and that was quite acceptable!) - now with all the positive aspects there is a clear lack of students. And what to do next, if "we tried everything"?

On the other hand, ever new firms are constantly appearing, armed with marketing technologies and new educational methods. Despite the absence of a well-known name (which could be considered an advantage), they boldly rush into the battle for the consumer. And for some time they really win this fight. But here, not everything is smooth. Two or three relatively successful years - and there is a swamp of established methods and established work algorithms in which good undertakings are drowning. Especially strong decline is felt when playing at a lower price. It is tempting to stand out with low prices, but there is a great risk of slipping beyond the cost. And again the question - what to do next, how to attract a client? Which way to change?

Almost all educational organizations now have these problems: ineffective advertising and, as a result of this, insufficient student flow. Study groups are not recruited, teachers leave without constant loading, classes are idle, rents are not reduced, the head is fatally tired of everyday affairs - and so on and so forth. Can these problems be resolved? Yes.

In my opinion, the value of education is now in the first place. Not the price, but the value, the usefulness of the investment of forces and means. I do not take universities and academies, the study of which is of undeniable value in the form of a diploma of higher education. But what can this criterion be expressed in additional education? Only in the practical applicability of the acquired knowledge and skills. Having paid for training in professional courses, a graduate must be sure that his knowledge will be appreciated by the employer and the investment in his studies will pay off for the first month of work.

The same thing at seminars and trainings. Obtained knowledge must be given to the organization that has delegated the training of its employees, the effect in money is an increase in sales, for example, or significant savings. Even for language courses it is important to draw the real, tangible benefits of knowing a foreign language. If the educational institution does not show the potential client the convincing value of its services, which can be calculated in monetary terms, the client will not come.

There is still a question of trust. Universal computerization and Internetization brought down a catastrophic unregulated flow of information on humanity. No one can structure it. Huge deposits of outdated, incorrect, incorrect information, which are easily changed and added, increase the distrust of virtual advertising. You can write anything on the site - not the fact that they will believe it. Moreover, they all write the same way - "we are industry leaders, high quality training, the best teachers, reasonable prices, theoretical and practical training, best practices, we are engaged in employment

.

". Similar phrases are present on the vast majority of sites of professional courses. (By the way, the credibility of the printed word is still high - the conversion rate of customers for print advertising is higher than for online advertising).

But the matter is not even the presentation of material. There are no warranties. The word itself has already appeared, but it is often perceived as an advertising move. How to understand the phrase "the result is guaranteed"? What is the result of this? Who will appreciate this result? It is good if a refund is guaranteed in the case when the student is not satisfied with the quality. But this is already an inalienable right enshrined in the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights. Often there is no guarantee even for the start date of classes. Nowadays, when efficiency decides a lot, the phrases “the beginning of classes - as the group is formed” still occur. And who will wait for the unknown day, when similar courses are a dime a dozen?

Well, the time has come for guarantees to achieve a certain result within a certain time frame - whether in the form of a device to work, in the form of achieving certain indicators, but always a very specific result. It doesn’t matter how a person learns - whether in person or remotely. The choice of the form of training depends more on the ability or inability to study independently. Distance learning in this regard is more at risk - a student who is not able to organize himself will not blame himself for failure (this is how we people are arranged). And from a dissatisfied customer it is difficult to make a regular customer.

Consistency of the client - far from all educational institutions are oriented towards him. Therefore, the cost of advertising is high (it is no secret that attracting a new buyer is several times more expensive than working with regular ones) - but there’s a separate discussion about the effectiveness of advertising investments. But there must be the very possibility of becoming lucky - a satisfied and privileged regular customer. Oh, not all educational institutions have an assortment matrix and a sales ladder that allow anyone to join the lifelong learning system that is talked about so much.

It would be foolish to say that managers are not aware of modern marketing techniques. Of course they know. But it is one thing to know, another to introduce. And this is a serious effort - to prove to its employees the usefulness and profitability of implementations, to build a systematic work of the organization, to redistribute authority. Therefore, even using periodically some new techniques and methods of promotion, most leaders of small organizations (and not only educational ones) come to terms with established business processes. Moreover, often the leader is both a Shvets, a reaper, and a dude. In addition to mandatory administrative functions, it also includes bookkeeping, negotiations with clients, often advertising and participation in PR events, working with teachers, and resolving conflict situations. And when to engage in a direct task - the development of business?

All this is compounded by the fact that private educational organizations boil in their own juice. If directors of public schools regularly gather for meetings, share experiences, receive common information, then the heads of non-governmental institutions are each on their own, at best having the opportunity to discuss current issues with a partner. This is a confined space from which hidden problems are not visible, only their external manifestation. Without seeing the root of the problems, it is difficult to make the right decision.

So it turns out that there are few options for the further development of institutions of additional education:

1) leave everything as is and after a while safely close;

2) make an effort for a good leap forward.

At all times, the state of society, called the crisis, allowed the most decisive to reach a new, perhaps revolutionary, level.

And what is needed for a quality breakthrough? To revise your offer for the market from the position of the client - how much and in what form he needs it. Introduce guarantees secured by the supply chain of services. To ensure their financial stability with a well-thought-out system of work with regular customers - from growing them to reactivation. Treat the presentation of information about their educational services precisely as advertising, without ignoring its methods, without enumerating many training programs. To take care of the active form of sales - now just waiting for customer requests becomes unprofitable. Take a closer look at the actions of the most successful competitors - and add together their successful tricks and your accumulated advantages.