Intro
In such a competitive environment, it can be challenging to know how to stand out and attract international students to your institution. We hear time and time again from international education providers that despite high marketing investment, it’s still a struggle to reach and successfully secure prospective students. What we know is there is no shortage of students seeking the experience of studying abroad and that in the current climate, LATAM in particular provides a strong opportunity.
At SuperSkill.ed we believe in bringing good quality education providers closer to the prospective students as a way to increase enrollment numbers and we have applied the following 3 steps in order to help dozens of international education providers to enter or grow their market share in LATAM.
3 STEPS
Step 1 - Learn about your prospects
According to UNESCO, more than 340,000 students from Latin America study abroad on an annual basis. How aware are you of the best markets for student recruitment in Latin America? Have you defined which courses are most marketable in each target market? Do you know how to effectively reach prospective students?
To successfully communicate with prospects from LATAM it's important to understand the main motivators to leaving their home country, how they will fund the plan, and who may influence their decision-making.
The vast majority of Latin American prospects will have a low to intermediate level of English and their key motivation is to improve their English speaking skills so they can have better employment opportunities. At the same time, they also want to experience different cultures and ways of living, especially those from developing nations.
Being able to find employment while they undergo their studies also weighs heavily on their minds and for most prospects over 18 years of age, it can be a deciding factor. If your destination allows students to work while they study it may be very useful to include that information on your communication materials.
Lastly, it's important to understand that in general, Latin Americans rely on their parents for financial support a lot longer than Europeans or North Americans, so parents can be a very important influencer in the decision-making process. In general, Latin American parents nowadays are very encouraging of overseas studies and will focus a lot on the safety aspects of the experience. To increase your chances of getting parents on your side, mention things like campus location, transportation options, accommodation options, and general safety metrics.
Over the past decades, student loans have become more popular in LATAM and as interest rates lowered, they became more affordable. As a result, the number of students accessing loans to finance their study plan has increased considerably. Those students will focus heavily on employment opportunities and cost of living when deciding their destination, and will pay special attention to payment plan options made available directly via the education providers or education agencies.
Now that you have a better understanding of the prospect's motivations and funding options, it is very important to be aware that social media usage in Latin America is amongst the highest in the world and social media adoption is widespread. Having said that, take some time to reevaluate your traditional online presence and make sure that you are communicating all your strong selling points there and that prospective students will be able to easily find important information and reviews on your website.
Step 2 - Learn about your competitors
To enter or grow your share of the LATAM market it is important to not only get to know what the prospective students want but also what options are already available to them in the current market. The USA has long been the dominant force attracting students from the LATAM region, however, Canada and Australia have done really well to carve out a portion of the market and more recently, newer destinations with lower entry barriers such as Malta and Dubai have started to appear on the market.
Find out what other destinations your prospective students are considering and what makes you stand out from the crowd. It could be the student visa requirements, work rights, and opportunities, cost of living, and currency exchange rates to name a few. If you are not familiar with what these might be, it’s a good idea to chat with some education agents with a strong presence in the region.
Finally, try and find out what other providers are being considered and why prospective students are choosing their offer over yours. If you get to this point and realize that prospective students are probably not even hearing about your offer, pay extra attention to the next step.
Step 3 - Make yourself findable
No matter how great your programs are, if students are not able to find out about them it's unlikely that you will have many enrollments. So now the question is, how do you make your institution more findable?
The answer to this question is not so simple, so for argument's sake let's assume that your branding material is up to the standards and you have done research on your competitors and established competitively priced products (LATAM is an extremely price-sensitive market). Read on for the five most impactful areas to focus your resources to achieve new heights in your student recruitment from LATAM.
1. Education agent networks
One of the most popular ones is using an agent network. LATAM students are used to education agents intermediating their enrollments with international education providers. However, not all agents are equal, so deciding which ones to work with is crucial for your long-term success.
Look for agents with a long history of providing services to your destination, that employ well-trained staff, and who have a strong focus on online marketing for their lead generation activities.
Also keep in mind that capital cities have the highest number of students going overseas but competition is fierce so considering tier-two cities in countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico is a smart move.
2. Aggregators
The popularity of aggregators has accelerated during the pandemic and provides another option to promote your programs effectively in the LATAM region. This style of platform has a massive reach and can be an effective way to reach many agents quickly and at a lower cost. However, it is difficult to know how well -informed the agents will be when promoting your programs, and considering how easy it is for them to search and compare prices, this may be most beneficial to providers that are offering lower tuition fees.
3. Strategic partnerships
Another option, and one of our favorites for higher education providers, is strategic partnerships with local institutions. Here you will be looking for bilingual high schools, public and private universities or local government.
These partnerships will give you access to a pool of potential students that you can nurture over a period of time and ensure you are getting the best candidates for your programs. This is a medium to long-term strategy and it's best when combined with other recruitment options.
4. Education Events
There are many Latin America Education Events to choose from. These range from student recruitment events to academic conferences, agent networking events to high-level Ministerial meetings.
Choosing which events to participate in will depend on your recruitment strategy and budget as most will require a considerable investment of time and money.
When considering the options it is important to identify whether the events will focus on a specific destination or program options as this will influence the quality of the leads generated.
Also, keep in mind that many of the attendees will require further follow-ups before they can be converted into an enrollment so have a clear conversion plan in order to maximize return on investment.
5. Direct enrollments
Direct enrollments are a viable option for institutions that are able to generate their own student inquiries via word of mouth, online presence, or other lead-generation strategies. It is an attractive proposition as providers are able to save on commission payments which can equal to thousands of dollars in extra revenue per student in some cases. However, it’s important to consider the investment in a dedicated staff member or team to handle inquiries and provide pre-boarding information and post-arrival support to students that would otherwise be provided by a third party.
When faced with so many options to attract, engage and convert potential students, how do you choose the right options to create the greatest impact for your institution?
The answer will depend on your capabilities and resources. A better way to look at it is to consider which options to prioritize first. Mature companies operating in different markets will apply one or more of those options according to their strategic plans and more often than not those channels will complement and support one another.
Now that you have our 3 step action plan it's time to take a step back and look at your recruitment strategy and ask a few questions:
- Would you like to have more enrollments from LATAM?
- How well do you know the profile of your ideal candidate?
- How well do you know your competitors and their offerings?
- How competitive is your current offering and how to make it even more attractive?
- How easily can potential students find out about the options?
- Do I have the local knowledge and human resources needed to implement the plan?
The answers to those questions will guide you on where to focus first and if you decide that you would like some help, reach out to us and book a FREE STRATEGY SESSION.
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