Every day brings new challenges to those of us working in higher education. With the pressures of the pandemic, enrollment shifts, changes in student demographics, and more, we’ve had to become more strategic in our decision-making. Our institutions are focusing more on internal operations, cost reduction, and, overall, approaching higher education as a business rather than a purely social good. 

That’s made marketing an increasingly important tool for higher education to meet today’s challenges. Chief marketing officers are more likely today than in the last three years to sit on a university president’s cabinet, according to SimpsonScarborough’s 2021 Higher Ed CMO Study. The study indicated that marketing and communications teams are responsible for at least 11 key areas of work, including content, brand, and digital strategy.

Data and research underpin and support these key marketing tasks—or, as marketing writer Dan Zarrella says, “Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed.” If an institution is trying to establish a brand in the marketplace, identify sustainable tuition levels, or retain students, it needs information for effective decision-making. Universities and colleges have often relied on outside companies to perform the marketing research necessary for planning. This is typically expensive, yet necessary. These organizations have the skill, experience, and resources to perform the work. 

However, it is becoming increasingly easier (and some would argue more prudent) to take some marketing research in-house. The decision to outsource your research or do it yourself is important, and marketing and communications professionals should understand and evaluate the factors that guide that decision. Here’s a partial checklist of those factors.

Knowing Is Better Than Not Knowing

Marketing research, as defined by data company Qualtrics, explores products, prices, place, and promotion—covering the conception, development, placement, and evolution of a product or service. (Market research focuses just on place: the target market.) 

Universities employ a variety of types of marketing research, including these:

• Perception or image studies
• Competitive positioning studies
• Performance/satisfaction evaluations
• Issue studies (investigating how constituents view issues like free speech on campus)
• Market demand/supply studies
• Pricing studies
• Benchmarking studies
• Retention studies
• Communication effectiveness studies (digital content and its impact)    

These studies vary in complexity. A satisfaction survey after an alumni event, for instance, is much easier to perform than a complex pricing study. 

When to Outsource Marketing Research

When you have no expertise in research. This may seem obvious, but sometimes employees attempt research without the proper experience. Staff members might say, “How hard can it be to ask a few questions, anyway?” But most people do not realize that one of the hardest parts of the research design is asking questions that could not possibly be misinterpreted by the person answering them. Research is hard, and most research designs take a lot of time and reworking to get them right.

When you think qualitative research (like focus groups) will give you the answers you seek. This entire article could be filled with the issues created by using qualitative research to inform marketing strategy. Sample selection, reaching out to student leaders with the promise of pizza or gift cards, statistically unsound sample size: These are all rife with problems. Additionally, moderating a focus group takes a great amount of skill and experience. A good moderator makes it look easy, but it is not. Suffice it to say that you should never, ever create strategy just from focus groups.

When you have a small marketing and communications department. Given the amount of time that marketing and communications, or “marcomm,” teams need to focus on core issues of content management, social media, digital content, and brand strategy, plenty of higher-ed marcomm departments are spread thin. A dedicated marketing researcher may be a luxury you do not have.

When an external voice would be better received when sharing the results. Sometimes information is threatening to audiences. It is essential that staff members see the party conducting the research as objective. If the marcomm department reports directly to the president or another senior leader, marcomm staff may be seen as an extension of the leader’s perspective and results may seem biased. The idea that “no one is an expert in their own backyard” is especially relevant when decisions are controversial and the results may have a negative impact. Faculty may find a million reasons to discount the data.

When you need to engage a large base outside of your own constituents. Having a proper sample is paramount to doing good research. You can ask a million people their opinions on something, but if it is the wrong million, you will still have bad results. Professional marketing research companies have access to lists of potential participants that you do not, or that would be expensive for you to purchase. This in itself may make doing your own research cost-prohibitive.

When you are uncertain you can eliminate bias from questions or interpretation of answers or results. Objectivity is extremely important in conducting research. If team members personally have a lot riding on the results, it is human nature to view the data through tainted lenses.

When to Conduct Marketing Research In-House

When does it make sense to bring research in-house, and what do you need to be able to do it? The answers can vary, but here are some starting points.

When there is marketing research expertise in the marcomm department, in the college/university, or through alumni. Due to the return on investment and potential cost savings, many marcomm offices that routinely conduct research find it makes sense to have someone on staff with the appropriate expertise. If not, there may be a faculty member in the social sciences or business departments who conducts marketing research as a consultant. (It’s surprising how many schools don’t tap into these experts.) Additionally, institutions may have alumni who own marketing research firms or have marketing research departments inside their firms they may be willing to offer as an in-kind gift to the school or at a discount.

When you have access to targeted constituents. There are some groups for which you should already have quality email lists: alumni; current students, faculty, and staff; prospective students; and parents. If your enrollment department has already purchased lists of prospects, you might want to consider using these lists for something other than straight recruitment. The business school of our institution, Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., for instance, has access to much of the business community in this area and uses Salesforce as a tool to segment the markets to allow for a wide range of research opportunities. If you do not have such lists, it may be wise to develop them. If you have an institutional research department, perhaps they can help.

When you have access to research programs such as Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey (which work for simple research). The research tools that used to be available only within the realm of professional firms are now easily accessible to all of us. Organizational accounts are inexpensive and provide a wide array of opportunities for research. While it should go without saying, having an account and knowing how to get the most out of it are two different things. Once again, there is a high probability you already have faculty using and teaching how to use these platforms.

When you have a willingness to face potentially harsh realities. The expression “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” is definitely wrong. Sometimes we feel more secure in assuming we know the answer than in actually verifying that it is right. It takes courage to ask tough questions. Living a life of blissful ignorance may reduce stress in the short term, but it won’t help you compete in a rapidly changing world. When you ask, “How are we doing?” or any variation of that, you have to be ready to handle the answer.

When you have the credibility to deliver results that are trusted by leadership. Having internal credibility is essential to delivering research results that will be implemented. This is something earned and should never be taken for granted. Protect your credibility, especially when delivering news that may be difficult to handle. It always helps to be ready to provide solutions or strategy tied to your research.

When you have an understanding of the complete marketplace. Let’s face it: Higher education is complex, and our universities are just as complicated. To conduct research, you must enter with a full understanding of the entire marketplace. Asking questions about tuition without an understanding of financial aid or discount rates may prove ineffective. Likewise, asking competitor questions without knowing much about the competition may not be valuable. Conduct your own research only if you understand the marketplace in which you seek to ask questions. 

Balancing Costs, Benefits, and Other Insights

So what can you do yourself and what should you outsource? This is a matter of degrees. For example, a pricing study that takes a great deal of expertise and understanding of high-level statistics may be worth outsourcing. A satisfaction study covering an alumni event is much simpler. Where you are on the spectrum is something only you know.

Don’t forget about third-party expertise that is not necessarily focused on your institution. Broad marketing research is already being conducted by companies like Gartner, EAB, Pew, and others, and it’s readily available right now. Your institution may in fact already have a relationship with one of these organizations that can be tapped for these resources. Data can also be found through free government resources (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System in the United States, for instance). CASE offers a variety of resources and research on educational advancement metrics and benchmarking, and publications like the Chronicle of Philanthropy offer insights and articles on higher education research as well. What research were they able to conduct on their own? Was it useful? Is this something that could be replicated? While the college marketplace is competitive, it can also be collaborative if you reach out to the right partner. 

Ultimately, there are many established consulting firms that provide market research services unique to education institutions. These firms are staffed with professionals who are committed to solving customers’ challenges. Further, they have the experience across many different types of education institutions that helps them develop good insight over time. However, as marketing has become a more important tool to meet new challenges, the experience and skills of some internal marketing staff can rival those of external partners. Have we gotten to the point that all research can be done internally? Certainly not. However, the benefits (and cost savings) of having research capabilities on staff to handle a lot of it are clear.