jumpstarting your recruitment in china: a beginner's guide
TRANSCRIPT
Jumpstar)ng Your Recruitment in China: A Beginner’s Guide
NAFSA 2011 Annual Conference June 2, 2011
Today’s bias • USA > Other countries • Undergraduate > Graduate • Unknown brand > Famous brand
• Beijing / Shanghai > Smaller markets
• Changing very fast • No one can be 100% expert • Teach, compare notes AND learn ourselves
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Two Ps for China • Prepare
– Context – Target audience – Decision criteria
• Promote – One-‐pager – Student videos – China specialist – Chinese media – Educa)on fairs – Agents – High schools – Others: pathways programs, 1+3, 2+2, 3+1
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Rela)ve market growth
Origin of students in the USA Thousands – 2009/2010 school year
127
104
72
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China
India
South Korea
Canada
Change in number of students Percent – 2009 vs 2010
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Source: Institute for International Education (IIE) Open Doors Report
Students from China are the largest group of foreign students in the US, and are also growing the fastest.
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China market growth Thousands of Chinese students in the US
• Mostly government sponsored
• Almost en)rely grad school
• Hard to get visas a`er 9/11
• Huge growth in self-‐funded
• Strong growth in undergrad 5
Two views of “too” Too many Too few
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Sub-‐segment Key differences From Taiwan and
Hong Kong
• Use “Tradi)onal” Chinese characters
• Much more knowledgeable about the U.S.
From Mainland China
• Use “Simplified” Chinese characters
• Need much more educa)on about the U.S.
• Need different marke)ng materials
• For Mainland China applicants, carefully explain key concepts, such as:
− “Liberal” educa)on − “Fraterni)es and Sorori)es”
− “Pep rallies”
Two Dis)nct Sub-‐segments
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High school senior year USA
China (for Chinese university)
August Take SAT December Apply April Get offers May Make decision June Take “Gao Kao” August Get one “match” September Start freshman year Start freshman year
• Chinese process is incredibly fast and compressed • Similar to how U.S. medical residency “matching” works
Very Different Timeline
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• Need to educate Chinese applicants to apply “one year in advance” (versus 2 months in advance for Chinese universi)es)
• Programs with “late admissions” have a great opportunity
– Star)ng in March/April of senior year, many Chinese students are just star)ng to look at overseas schools
– Late (or rolling) admissions programs in the U.S. are rela)vely scarce and hard to find
Very Different Timeline – So What?
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Apply to USA Apply to China
When Typically 1 year in advance
1-‐2 months in advance
What • SAT • TOEFL • Transcript • Recommenda)ons • Essays • Applica)on
“Gao Kao” test
How • Test prep courses • Leave China to take the SAT
• Work with agent, or parent-‐driven applica)on process
Fill out a form
• U.S. process is very complex
• Taking the SAT is a huge challenge
• Need to explain the process in detail – don’t assume familiarity
• Programs that don’t require the SAT have a major advantage
Different applica)on process
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USA China Who leads the process?
Student Parent
Who supports the process?
Parent Grandparents
Who follows the process?
Student
In China:
• “6 pockets” dote on the one child
• Parents lead the en)re process with no apologies
• Typically make American “helicopter parents” look )mid
Different Decision Makers
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• Need to focus your marke)ng on parents and use their child as a “marke)ng channel”
• Parents have different evalua)on criteria (more on this in a moment)
• Parents typically don’t speak English or surf the web, so printed materials in Chinese are important
• Parents like working with agents, since parents think agents add value
Different Decision Makers–So What?
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• Most American students and parents weigh many factors, and make complex trade-‐offs, when choosing schools
• Most Chinese families focus on a simpler set of criteria based on their experiences in China 1. Brand awareness 2. Ranking 3. Safety 4. Outcomes 5. Student demographics
• Many other factors considered important in the U.S. are not important in China
Dis)nct Evalua)on Criteria
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• Foreign brands are s)ll rela)vely new in China
• Famous American programs are well known
• Less-‐famous programs have successfully built major brand awareness in a rela)vely short )me, typically via agents and joint programs – University of Maryland MBA program – UC Riverside
• Most Chinese consumers don’t have any real basis to evaluate adver)sing claims
Criteria #1: Brand Awareness
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• The Chinese government ranks Chinese schools authorita)vely
• Chinese parents are therefore condi)oned to pay apen)on to rankings and are not used to considering other factors
• Within the rankings, the “Na)onal Universi)es” list really
mapers, as do graduate program rankings
• Conclusions – If you are ranked within the top 100, play that up – If not, focus on other ranking-‐like sta)s)cs, even if they are unique
to your program – Chinese parents like and expect rankings and sta)s)cs
Criteria #2: Ranking
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• China is a safe society: Violent crime is rare
• Chinese news reports tend to showcase American violence, while American films and TV shows glorify it
• Conclusions – Highlight student safety features – Turn your current Chinese students into ambassadors
Criteria #3: Safety
• College is a means to an end – Pres)gious grad school – Good job – Pres)ge
• Outcomes really maper – Grad school placement – Internships – Job prospects – Alumni network – Pres)ge
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Criteria #4: Outcomes
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• Although they won’t admit it, many Chinese parents are nervous about large numbers of non-‐Caucasian students
• Generally, Chinese parents prefer fewer Chinese students (“I want a real overseas experience for my child”)
• Conclusions
– If you have it, explain the benefits of diversity
– Don’t assume that low numbers of interna)onal students is a problem
Criteria #5: Student Demographics
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• Most American students and parents weigh many factors, and make complex trade-‐offs, when choosing schools
• Most Chinese families focus on a simpler set of criteria based on their experiences in China
1. Brand awareness 2. Ranking 3. Safety 4. Outcomes 5. Student demographics
Summary: What Does Maper?
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Many other factors considered important in the US are not important to Chinese families
1. Educa)onal philosophy
2. School size
3. Students clubs and sports teams
4. School “culture”
5. Religion
6. Financial aid
What Doesn't Maper?
Two Ps for China • Prepare
– Context – Target audience – Decision criteria
• Promote – One-‐pager – Student videos – China specialist – Chinese media – Educa)on fairs – Agents – High schools – Others: pathways programs, 1+3, 2+2, 3+1
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Typical small college “About Us”
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Not for Chinese applicants
Rankings? Safety? China story? Internships? Scholarships? 25
Homework for you • Brand • Ranking • Safety • Outcomes
• Demographics
• China story • Other
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Student videos
• Chinese, not English
• Students, not professionals or professors
• Real, not fake
• Less is more
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China specialist – key issues • When: worth having for 10+ Chinese students annually
• Key tasks: recrui)ng, reading applica)ons, yield management
• Background: Mainland Chinese vs. Overseas Chinese vs. Chinese-‐speaking “foreigner”
• Level: Professional vs. Amateur vs. Student • Commitment: Full-‐)me vs. part-‐)me • LocaIon: on-‐campus vs. in-‐China
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Chinese media – online “news”
hpp://)eba.baidu.com
hpp://edu.qq.com/abroad/
hpp://goabroad.sohu.com/
hpp://edu.sina.com.cn/liuxue/
Best pracIces
• All “ar)cles” are paid – “journalism” is different in China
• On a limited budget, focus online, not on print
• Use current your Chinese students when you can
• Remember to focus on key decision making criteria
Tips for arIcles
• Success stories about Chinese alumni
• Famous graduates, especially if they are well known
• Interes)ng internships
• Interes)ng professors in business, engineering or science
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Chinese media -‐ Zinch
Free • Detailed school lis)ng • School videos posted inside China • Announcement of China events
Paid • Targeted message delivery • Phone valida)on • Brand catalyst & Brand monitoring 30
Educa)on Fairs
hpp://www.cieet.com/ hpp://www.chinaeduca)onexpo.com/
• October • Larger audience (50,000) • Standard admission cycle
• March • Smaller audience (30,000) • Late admission cycle
• Mostly agents, but that’s good if you’re not an agent • About $3,000 per city. Need to be in the “US sec)on” • Smaller ci)es have smaller audiences, but fewer schools • Do PR interviews and events in parallel • Call Zinch for bi-‐lingual interns
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Agents • 80% of Chinese families use an agent
– Like hiring H&R Block to do your taxes – High-‐stakes decisions with lots of unknowns – Useful way to hand-‐wave about fraud – Most parents don’t understand business arrangements
• Typical business arrangements – Charge parents $5,000 -‐ $7,000. Fee varies on school’s ranking – Charge school 10 – 15% of tui)on – Demand kickbacks on financial aid packages
• Best prac)ces to engage with agents – Hiring: word of mouth / reputa)on – Training: tell them about your school, but beware of photos – Monitor your brand
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High schools • China’s high school landscape is rapidly changing
– Top public high schools remain off limits – Private “school within a school” programs are booming – Private high schools are flourishing
• Focus on private schools first, then school within a school • Visi)ng high schools has a low ROI
– Small number of students – Lots of travel )me involved – Parents are usually not there – Only some schools have guidance counselors – Most high schools are affiliated with agents
• However, great to “get a feel” for China 33
Others • Pathway programs • Joint degree / transfer programs
– “1 + 3” – “2 + 2” – “3 + 1”
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Two Ps for China • Prepare
– Context – Target audience – Decision criteria
• Promote – One-‐pager – Student videos – China specialist – Chinese media – Educa)on fairs – Agents – High schools – Others: pathways programs, 1+3, 2+2, 3+1
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Ques)ons? [email protected]