Not just education but the opportunity for universities to innovate
Working with a tertiary level institution made me aware of an important fact; information and problem solving is critical to customer satisfaction and can make or break your brand. Education is an important investment; in the context of this article customers expect to be given attention and care from service providers parallel with what they spend. If Universities want to make a difference other than to just sell degrees, there will be a need for innovation, particularly in the way they interact with their most powerful consumers – STUDENTS.
It is good to update students and staff on important information and processes via school website, newsletter, and notice boards. However, there is still a high demand on the attention paid by students; assignments to do, friends to meet, study groups to participate in, food to eat, smart phones and social media. Is it better to compete for students’ attention or to have them seek you out as an eager audience or even better participation in an ongoing conversation? How can students have access to valuable relevant information and solutions to problems?
Students want the school they attend to meet them where they are; they want answers to questions and solutions to problems. The student as a consumer prefers to know that the information they get from their school is consistent and accurate. If schools are to keep up with student needs they will begin to use readily available, affordable tools to engage better. The wider student body can benefit from a solution to one person’s problem especially if more than one student is expected to encounter such problem at least once. Openness, sharing of information, interaction makes for a better student/institution relationship. Leveraging an online presence to maintain offline relationships is a viable option for Universities. Knowing the students they work for and building relationships of value will determine their short and long term success as nation building organizations.
Do students have problems with registration processes, finding courses and advising? This is an opportunity to innovate; problems can give insight to create solutions. Willingness to address customer problems and create solutions will quickly aid customer satisfaction.
Are there many different problems encountered by all students, or are a few recurring problems being encountered by few different students? As Universities assist students to benefit from the solved problems of other students they will compete better and retain customers. Is this a challenge faced by universities only or can CEO’s, leaders and other professionals relate to this?
Caribbean organizations are already seeking new ways to satisfy customers, what about you? Whether through social media, blogging, public information campaigns online or offline; it is meaningful. Engaging and creating solutions for customers is worth the extra effort; as Universities begin to catch up it will become clearer. True innovation is achieved when we collaborate with our community to adapt to the needs of our organizations and stakeholders.
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