Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59297
The Power of Virtual Marketing E ven though it may not have a postal code, a Web site may be a busi- ness school's most important piece of real estate when it comes to sheer marketing power. Much more than an online brochure, a Web site is the virtual mirror of a physical academic campus, complete with its mission, personality, and voice. And as a primary point of To convert their Web site users from casual visitors to active stakeholders, business schools must take advantage of all that today's online technology has to offer. by Paul Magnani contact for hundreds of thousands of potential students, alumni, and execu- tives around the world, a b-school's Web site is quickly becoming the main conveyor of its marketing message. But while Web sites are among the most powerful marketing tools for higher education institutions, some schools may not use their sites to the fullest to convey their branding messages. This may be, in part, because of their belief that a majority of users are still limited by the slow pace of dial-up connections. While dial-up connections are still common, schools currently planning Web site redesigns should consider how quickly slower connections are being replaced with more efficient broadband lines. Broadband is now mainstream, with more than 50 percent of the U.S. market using broadband. That trend holds true globally as well, according to "World Broadband Statistics," a quarterly report from U.K.-based research firm Point Topic. The report found that the number of broadband subscrip- tions worldwide has increased 25 percent, to 190.3 million in September 2005 from 152.4 million in December 2004, with the Middle East and Africa show- ing the sharpest rise in broadband services. With global broadband use on such a precipitous rise—and Internet users growing more savvy by the day—it's more important than ever for a Web site to capture each visitor's imagination. Features such as virtual campus tours, stu- dent video diaries, podcasts, and other brands of multimedia can provide users with a rich, interactive campus experience, even if they are thousands of miles away. Schools are continually experimenting with different mixes of these online elements to ensure their Web sites suit their marketing message perfectly. Web Site Essentials There has been a substantial shift in Web development over the last two years. Not too long ago, schools would launch a new Web site design and consider it finished. They might not consider a redesign until one or two years later. Now, however, schools are establishing long-term plans to create banners, develop rich e-mails, refine search functions, and experiment with new features. Most business schools now view their sites as works in progress and continue to seek out new ways to get the most marketing power, the broadest reach, and the greatest impact from their virtual homes. Now that technology and Internet usage has caught up to the online aspira- tions of many organizations, Web designers are able to go all out in building virtual marketing powerhouses. Web sites can incorporate everything from streaming video to audio files to Macromedia Flash presentations and other high-quality graphics. Such features hold the attention of visitors, most of whom now have the capacity to download them easily. The key is to discover 30 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2006