Education business needs a different marketing mix<\/p>\n
Satyasuryawan, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Every parent shares a common wish for their children: to
\nprovide them with the best education possible. Their willingness
\nto pay for their children's education at the best institutions,
\nhowever, are varied.<\/p>\n
\"The willingness to pay for education in Indonesia is still
\nlow,\" said Antarina S.F. Amir, managing director of High\/Scope
\nIndonesia, a U.S.-based institution that provides education and
\nconducts a research in this area.<\/p>\n
Sometimes payment is not the real problem, as each family has
\ndifferent priorities and budget allocations, especially in
\nregards to preschool education. Many parents believe that school
\nfees should not be costly. Parents, especially new ones, prefer
\nto spend most of their earnings on other items such as home
\nrenovations, new cars, or trips abroad.<\/p>\n
In general, parents do not realize the significance of
\npreschool education for children in their early years. Therefore,
\nsince the inception of High\/Scope, Antarina has been busy
\nconvincing parents that good education must be conducted
\ncorrectly from the earliest possible stage of childhood. Of
\ncourse, a lot of money will be needed, especially because much of
\nthe funds will go to the training of qualified teachers, the
\nprovision of excellent educational facilities, and the
\npreparation of a curriculum that has been tried and tested
\nthoroughly.<\/p>\n
Eventually, of course it is the parents who must shoulder
\nthese educational costs. Now, are parents really willing \"to
\nspend\" their money on this? Those managing educational
\ninstitutions continuously face this problem. To be more precise,
\nthe question is: what would be the most proper way to market
\neducational services without sacrificing idealism?<\/p>\n
Many parents send their children to study abroad, for example
\nto the U.S., Australia, or Great Britain. They believe that
\neducational quality in these countries is far better than at
\nhome. It is also this perception that played a major influential
\nrole when preschool educational institutions introduced
\nthemselves under foreign names such as Tutor Time, Kiddies
\nPlanet, Kinderland, Tumbletots, Cambridge or High\/Scope.<\/p>\n
Each institution claims their program is the best. We may
\ndismiss any doubts we have, given that they are here under the
\nfranchise model from the U.S., so the quality should be better
\nthan average with an established managerial system.<\/p>\n
Of course, each of these schools has its own characteristics
\nas well.<\/p>\n
The educational concept of \"active learning\" applied at
\nHigh\/Scope, for example, does not just adopt the curriculum from
\nthe U.S., as the institution also draws up its own program based
\non the local culture. Classes -- from preschool up to the sixth
\ngrade -- are arranged for group learning to provide a pleasant
\natmosphere, far from the boredom of conventional schooling. The
\nschool provides complete auxiliary facilities for writing, games,
\nmotor exercises, and computers. Also, the school is provided with
\nfacilities for games, mini basketball and soccer fields and a
\nswimming pool. With a low teacher-student ratio, teachers are
\ntrained and provided with a concept on the significance of their
\nStudents' development without treating them merely as objects.<\/p>\n
\"Every child deserves a quality, happy preschool education,\"
\nsaid Meera Joseph, Head of Kinderland. Kinderland's programs, she
\nadded, enhances the social, physical, emotional, intellectual,
\nand moral developments of a child.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kiddie Planet's principal, Soraya Fernandes, said
\nthat the school's program is a melting of the international
\ntraditional approach -- teacher-directed -- and the Montessori
\nmethod, which is child-directed to fully prepare the children for
\nlife.<\/p>\n
Likewise, Tutor Time, which only has programs for children up
\nto the age of six, applies the concept of \"learning by playing.\"
\nThis school seems to have transferred the children's playground
\nfrom their homes to the school. \"The children regard Tutor Time
\nas their own playground and they have lots of fun all the time,\"
\nsaid its marketing manager, Vivian Sabas. The school also has an
\narena where children can get acquainted with adult life. For
\nexample, the school provides facilities so that the children can
\nplay roles as shop owners, firemen, or cleaning-service people.<\/p>\n
Owing to these kinds of rich facilities, school fees at
\nfranchised schools are generally higher than in local schools.
\nFor a pupil at High\/Scope, the parent must spend Rp 1.25 million
\na month. At Tutor Time, the fee is almost twice as much, with an
\nadditional entrance fee which must be paid upon enrollment. Most
\nof this money will be used to pay qualified teachers and cover
\nthe franchise fee in the country of origin.<\/p>\n
As the school fees are high, the market segment becomes
\nlimited to only the middle and upper classes. That's why
\nHigh\/Scope was first established in Pondok Indah, an elite
\nresidential area. Only a small portion of its pupils, which
\nnumber about 600, are foreign citizens. Pupils of foreign
\ncitizenship mostly come from Asian countries like Japan, Korea,
\nor Taiwan. Otherwise, their parents are Indonesians married to
\nWesterners.<\/p>\n
At Tutor Time, the segmentation is even sharper. The school
\nwas first set up in Kemang, where residents are usually
\nexpatriate. The fee is charged in U.S. dollars and at some of its
\nbranches, is higher than the rupiah rates.<\/p>\n
For people of this social class, expensive school fees -- with
\nguaranteed educational quality and super-comprehensive facilities
\n-- are no problem at all. However, not all rich parents are
\ninterested in sending their children to these schools, because
\nthey think the costs for education are just exorbitant.<\/p>\n
Understandably, given this condition, promotion by advertising
\n-- both above or below the line -- will not be too effective.
\nAdvertisement only works during the initial stages of a school,
\nor when a completely new school is opened. Sometimes, to
\nintroduce and promote the school, the management joins an
\nexhibition or give a performance of its pupils at public places
\nsuch as malls.<\/p>\n
Consumers in these middle to upper classes are inflexible when
\nit comes to prices, and as such, they will not be lured only by
\npromises given in advertisements. Concrete evidence or references
\nfrom close circles, such as families or friends, will be more
\nconvincing to them. They would like to know whether the teachers
\nand the school management will treat their children hospitably,
\nencourage the children when they are low in spirit or treat them
\nwell when they have a minor accident at school. The experiences
\nof friends or families whose children go to these schools will be
\na more effective promotional activity than advertising in the
\nmass media.<\/p>\n
The attraction of franchised schools is also great because of
\ntheir popularity in the countries of origin. Expatriates look at
\nno other option as they already have preliminary information
\nabout the relevant schools in their own countries.<\/p>\n
About 60 to 70 percent of parents who send their children to
\nHigh\/Scope based their decisions on references from their close
\nfriends or relatives. From this \"word-of-mouth\" type of
\npromotion, High\/Scope, which started out with only 5 pupils, has
\nbeen able to recruit at least 100 pupils in less than a year. In
\norder to fulfill the demands of an expanding student body, it
\nopens at least one branch every year. A present, it has four sub-
\nfranchisees in Jakarta and it will establish more in Bali,
\nSurabaya, and Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
As for Tutor Time, it is now established in 7 locations, with
\n3 sub-franchisees. Its pupils number about 500.<\/p>\n
With all these varied activities, whether they realize it or
\nnot, school managements have implemented a marketing mix in
\nproviding education. Of course, they will strongly object to
\nbeing called business agents.<\/p>\n
In fact, they have designed a unique educational product with
\ncharacteristics that are quite different from their rivals'. They
\nset their school fee levels in such a way so that the schools can
\ngenerate funds to continue their existence. They also determine
\nthe market segmentation and choose the right location for this
\nsegmentation. Then they promote the schools effectively, namely
\nby word of mouth.<\/p>",
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