| Summary: | Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master
of Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2012. === Due to the competitive environment, the changes in the higher education landscape and
limited financial resources, higher education institutions are forced to evaluate and review
their marketing strategies in order to recruit suitably qualified students. This study will
examine the impact of the current promotional tools at public higher education
institutions in the Tshwane metropolitan region.
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the promotional tools used by public
higher education institutions in the Tshwane Metropolitan Region from a student
perspective. Furthermore, the study strived to establish whether the demographics of the
students played a role regarding the value they attach to choice factors when selecting a
higher education institution. Prospective students will benefit from the study because
promotional tools were identified to make informed decisions about their institution of
choice. The study also identified the effect of the existing promotional tools used as sources
of information by students and identified the most appropriate promotional tools to enable
proper allocation of the promotional budget.
An empirical study was conducted using a questionnaire adapted from Wiese (2008) study.
Likert scale was used to structure questions. Non-probability sampling was used to select
first year students from two public institutions in the Tshwane Metropolitan Region. Data
was captured into a software package and analysed using SPSS Version 18. Descriptive
statistics summarised the results of the research questions, namely; socio demographical
profile of respondents, factors influencing students’ decision making process, the
information sources used by students and the effectiveness of promotional tools.
The results of this study showed that students preferred higher education institutions to
use personal communication tools for student recruitment. Interestingly, students rated
social media as one of the most important communication methods.
Furthermore,
emphasis on the core product and specific aspects of the tangible product and augmented
product was found. It was also noted that students from diverse backgrounds and
provinces used different sources of information during their search for enrolment at a
higher education institution.
The study limitations were that the survey was only restricted at two higher education
institutions in the Tshwane metropolitan region. It was noted that marketing practitioners
at higher education institutions may renew their existing promotional tools (open days and
career exhibitions) to gain competitive advantage.
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