Digital Marketing Segmentation for the Education Industry

When it comes to education and higher education in particular, it is tempting to view the student community as a homogeneous mass. The traditional approach has been that all students are the same and that the same motivation – acquiring a good education – motivates them. However, increasingly, this is not the case.

What is more important is to understand why students are interested in education. What do they expect to get out of it? What purpose drives their efforts? When marketers explore mindsets to define the right approach, it makes for more relevant targeting and positioning. This is diametrically opposite to the old technique of listing out all the features and benefits that an institution offers prospective students. This may or may not be relevant to all kinds of students.

Coming to the kinds of students, as mentioned earlier, they are no longer a homogeneous mass. This is where a dated, yet still relevant report by the Parthenon Group (currently a part of Ernst & Young LLC) throws some light on segmentation in the higher education sector.

Titled “The Differentiated University”, this report separates students into six distinct and defined segments based on their motivations and mindsets rather than just demographics. These segments include:

• Aspiring academics
• Coming of age
• Career starters
• Career accelerators
• Industry switchers and
• Academic wanderers

The details of the various segments, as defined in the report are as follows:

Aspiring Academics - 24%

The Aspiring Academics are the segment most similar to the picture of the “traditional student” that most colleges are so aggressively seeking to serve. They are 18-to-24-year-olds with impressive academic profiles, and often come from wealthier families. They are academically driven with plans to go to graduate school, so the availability of a specific major and the presence of top-notch research faculty are valued by this group. While this segment is the largest of the segments found in the survey, it remains only a quarter of the market.

Coming of Age - 11%

A second, smaller group of traditional-aged students, the Coming of Age segment, is not yet sure what they want to focus on when they “grow up,” but have the luxury of taking the time to figure it out. These students are less academically driven than Young Academics and place little value on research opportunities, research faculty, or graduate school offerings. For them, college is about broad academic offerings, an active social culture, and trying a variety of activities without knowing exactly where it will lead.

Career Starters - 18%

These Career Starters are extremely job oriented and use college to advance their specific career prospects. These students are focused on life after college, and are looking for a college that enables them to reach their ideal career position in the shortest amount of time. Career Starters are one of the more price-sensitive segments and value job placement rate and career placement services in making their college selection.

Career Accelerator - 21%

Typically older, Career Accelerators are going to college with the aim of advancing their career at their company or within their current industry. These are primarily working adults with some prior college experience and are likely to be most interested in institutions that award credit for their previous academic experience, as well as their job experience. These students value non-traditional delivery methods, particularly online courses. Career counseling and career placement services are strongly desired by this group.

Industry Switchers - 18%

While in many ways similar to Career Accelerators, Industry Switchers have a different motivation for going back to school to earn their bachelor’s degree. Often in more precarious financial positions or unemployed, this segment is looking to start a career in a completely different field. Industry Switchers place a high value on an institution’s link to labor markets and its ability to put them in touch with relevant employers and prepare them for their career transition.

Academic Wanderers - 8%

Students attending college later in life, Academic Wanderers don’t know exactly what they want out of college, but believe that obtaining a college credential will open doors for them. They are more likely to be unemployed and potentially have lower incomes. Academic Wanderers are the most “at risk” of the student segments. They are the least satisfied with their college experience, do not place high importance on their academic performance, and are the least likely to believe they will complete their degree.

These segments have been created with a specific focus on undergraduate students. However, the way they are defined leaves a lot of scope for usage across all kinds of student communities. This approach allows college and university leaders to develop more sophisticated strategies for reaching the next generation of students with offerings and operating models to most effectively and efficiently serve them.

Fundamentally, all students are interested in the same thing – an education. But digging a bit deeper can help marketers understand the specific reasons why. The real motivations are what help one determine what students expect to get out of the educational institution can go a long way in helping marketers build brand relevance.

The Differentiated University complete report can be accessed here.