Why focus on attracting Chinese students?

China’s economy is set to grow to an impressive degree this year, with its regions targeting a 6% minimum growth rate. From an already powerful, affluent base of motivated consumers with an increasingly international outlook, China is only set to become more powerful and enticing to Western brands.

Chinese students already love to study at Western institutions. In fact, they already represent the largest group of international students in both the UK and USA and these figures have been growing. These students – and their parents – are keen to take advantage of the opportunity to develop their English language skills, to understand Western culture, to develop their business knowledge and to grow their network in order to better position themselves for post-graduate jobs; both in China and abroad.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that overseas travel and study has been largely curtailed for the past year, especially as the West continues its battle to overcome the virus. As a result, higher education programmes have largely moved online; particularly online MBAs, which can easily be delivered from leading Western institutions to Chinese students using digital infrastructure.

Benefits to Western institutions of offering eMBAs

There are many benefits to Western institutions that offer an online MBA in China. From the university’s perspective, these include:

1. Cost savings: the eMBA cost may be the same as the on-campus version, but with far lower delivery costs – greatly increasing margins.
2. Safety: distance learning avoids all of the current issues with Covid-19 safety (issues which may yet persist beyond 2021.) Of course, you may wish to offer the option for a residency or similar when it is safe to do so.
3.Flexibility: the ability to offer flexible or rolling cohorts to maximise student uptake.
4. Scaleability: your institution isn’t limited to physical campus constraints with an eMBA and your course material, digital lectures and seminars can scale to meet demand; increasing your potential numbers.
5. Tech adoption: the Chinese are amongst the most tech-savvy netizens in the world. This maximises the potential success of your digital programme delivery, removing barriers to technology adoption and providing a sophisticated, ready audience that can easily get to grips with online learning technologies.

Why Western institutions have a superb marketing opportunity in 2021

The benefits that accrue to Western institutions that offer an online MBA is clear. Additionally, as online learning is already extremely popular in China, Western universities can readily create winning marketing campaigns that focus on attributes such as:

– The cachet of your institution and the value of your eMBA offer for a student’s CV (Recognised Western universities offer real prestige and the chance to impress employers and personal networks alike!)
– The cost-effectiveness of the MBA option (no travel, no accommodation etc) – combined with the same quality of tuition that would be offered on campus.
– The networking opportunities that can be facilitated digitally (with cohorts often grouped by interest and aptitude to optimise future career-building.)
– Ability to control the pace of study
– The chance to gain a hugely valuable business qualification from a respected Western university without the need to relocate; convenience, speed and access are optimised.
– … and, crucially, the ability to offer a safe option for learning, which requires no travel to parts of the West which may still be compromised by Covid-19.

Why is now the right time to target Chinese students?

After a disrupted year when the world’s attentions have been largely focused on tackling the Covid-19 epidemic, today’s generation of students is now keener than ever to get their careers on track. The MBA has long been the ultimate business qualification for tomorrow’s industry leaders, and eMBAs from Western universities are hotly in demand.

China’s economy is growing fast and its business students want to work internationally – gaining the cultural insights, language skills and business expertise that they need to forge global careers. For marketing leads at Western Institutions, the opportunity is phenomenal; eMBAs can be offered to far larger numbers of international students than on-campus programmes, and without the same current concerns around health and safety, travel restrictions and so forth.

With pent-up demand for the MBA qualification now looking ready to overspill, the challenge now is for Western institutions to make sure their university is visible to both prospective students and parents in the Chinese market. Demand will be extremely high this year, so you must make sure you are poised to take a slice of the pie!

Why market to Chinese parents?

A really good tip for Western universities that are preparing to market to prospective Chinese students is to create a linked marketing and communications campaign for Chinese parents. The decision-making process in China tends to be far more collaborative amongst families than it is in the West and parents will often need to be convinced as much as the students themselves (especially if they are supporting the funding element!) Ensure your messaging considers the expectations and needs of Chinese parents with high ambitions for their student children, with language, imagery and content which persuades them that your institution’s online MBA will help their children reach their full potential in the business world!

Why market with digital methods to China?

Digital marketing has long been the method of choice amongst this vast, tech-savvy audience, which loves to work, rest, play, shop and learn online. The Chinese are one of the world’s heaviest users of smartphones and other digital devices, and they adore cutting-edge, rich, engaging digital experiences which enhance their lives in some way.

In our recent article, we looked at how you can use digital marketing methods to engage with your prospective Chinese eMBA students. Sometimes it can seem daunting to get to grips with Chinese digital marketing, as our familiar channels – Google, Facebook, Twitter and so forth, simply don’t exist in the country. But Chinese alternatives – from Baidu to WeChat – can be mastered with the right strategy, content development, KOL relationships and optimised advertising, SEO and PR campaigns.

Remember that this process must be ongoing so that you build your brand’s presence, reputation and value in the Chinese market over time using a blend of proactive and reactive marketing activities across the full spectrum of digital channels. A Chinese marketing agency can help you with your eMBA marketing; providing the expertise, native language skills and experience that allows you to create an effective campaign with clear ROI.

Find out more

The team at Market Me China is here to help you create an impactful marketing campaign for your online MBA. With rich experience in the Chinese education marketing field, we work flexibly according to your needs – evidencing our results at every turn. Please contact us in the first instance for a no-obligation chat about your objectives.

The post Why you now need to target Chinese students for your online MBA? appeared first on Market Me China®.

Check your brand

Before launching your digital marketing campaign, check that your HE and MBA brand is designed to appeal to your Chinese audience. This may mean adjusting your brand assets slightly – considering the logo, colour usage and any graphical elements that encapsulate your offer. Remember that what works in the West will not automatically work in China!

Define your offer

Yes, you deliver an online MBA – but so do many institutions. How does yours stand out? Do you have better employment progressions? Do you offer the chance for digital students to come together to network at physical events periodically? Do you offer enhanced services or career-focused content that takes the course further? Do you incorporate the opportunity for work placements and facilitate these? Research what Chinese MBA students really want and seek to deliver it.

Define your USPs

Quality is a key attribute here – Chinese students (and their parents) want to know that they are obtaining an MBA from a well-known institution with an excellent reputation in the field. To support your USPs focus on quality marks, results, alumni, onward employment destinations and other quality indicators which prove your standing in the field.

Specifically for an online MBA, talk about the quality of your technology and digital infrastructure, the experience that students receive, the ways that you create a sense of student community online, and the value of this type of online learning in order to achieve an MBA in a flexible way. A defined set of USPs will also enhance your content and communications plan.

Win over parents!

In the West, many students may choose their preferred course or university independently, but in China, a student’s parents are likely to be involved in the decision-making process. With this in mind, focus on dual messaging which appeals to parental interests as well as student needs. An example of this would include content which demonstrates the ROI of an online MBA (particularly to parents who may be funding the qualification), and which describes the key benefits of studying online (perhaps the ability to study whilst working and likely employment outcomes.) It is also important to show that customer service professionals, student support services, work placement facilitators and other university staff are on hand digitally to help provide that all-important experience – and post-study employment progressions.

Don’t skimp on information

The choice of online MBA isn’t one that Chinese students will take lightly, so provide plenty of information about the course, noting that Chinese consumers appreciate in-depth information and carry out significant research before undertaking a purchase decision. Anticipate questions that your Chinese target audience are likely to have, and provide answers in written and video format – always ensuring that content is optimised for mobile. Provide contact routes too and consider adding features such as chatbots or online agent pop-ups throughout your website to further guide prospects along the funnel.

Work your content!

Use your key messages to create cross-platform and multi-media content – from press releases and static website content, through to videos, online adverts, sharable influencer content and so forth. Repurpose your content where possible for economies of scale and to extend the reach and impact of what you produce.

Focus on your digital hub

Whether your existing website has been localised for China or made bespoke for your audience, now is the time to check that everything works as it should. From local hosting to smartphone optimisation, your website must operate quickly, be SEO optimised, and have the right user journeys for Chinese readers – with clear CTAs and full integration with your social channels. A Chinese digital marketing agency can help you with this, starting with an assessment of your digital assets and helping you to create an impactful, effective digital hub that meets your goals.

Invest in your social media

Most Western HE institutions will want to have WeChat, Weibo and DouYin accounts, but other emerging platforms may also be appropriate, and your research will help to reveal where your target audience are – and how you should reach them. Bespoke customer research can identify factors that go beyond basic age and status demographics and which include city tiers, income and other key criteria that help to define your target audience. With this insight in place, you can engage with the right Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) who can present your MBA offer to their own followers, via sponsorship, placement or direct promotion. Again, the key to success on social media is to create inspiring, meaningful and engaging content which will position the prestige, value and convenience of your online MBA to your target audience and create that all-important feeling of desire and action to find out more.

Leverage your online advertising

Baidu PPC is the key route to rapidly gaining qualified traffic in a short amount of time. Remember that Chinese consumers find online advertising useful and a sign of quality and reputation. To keep a handle on your budget, especially when competing against other Western online MBA providers, work carefully to really pin down targeted keywords and to ensure your offer is highly visible for relevant searches. Equally, ensure that your adverts are converting relevant traffic by measuring their performance throughout the campaign, and check that they are pointing to the correct landing page. As Baidu is a Chinese website, it’s easy to make an error if you don’t have native language skills!

Use ePR

Your online MBA gives Chinese students the chance to enjoy the same quality course, student experience and tutor access as they would studying in-person – but without the time, cost and travel commitments of a physical course. An eMBA is likely to appeal even more in the post-Covid world where travel restrictions may well continue and interrupt physical learning. Online MBAs also represent a modern, digitally-enabled way of learning for a new generation. The right ePR strategy can help you to promote your course in a highly engaging, pre-qualified way through reputable media channels, portals and websites that Chinese audience value. You can build brand recognition, trust and word-of-mouth marketing with this channel.

Provide a taster

Think creatively to provide appealing incentives to your prospective audience. For example, you could offer free trial access to an MBA course module, deliver an interactive lecture with a tutor to a group of prospective sign-ups, follow an alumni member from graduation to that all-important career outcome and so forth.

Get the help that you need

Market Me China has rich experience in the education field and can help Western institutions to effectively market their online MBAs in the Post-Covid, ‘new normal’ world. Our professionals deliver effective, integrated digital marketing strategies that deliver clear results for our clients. Please contact us in the first instance for a no-obligation chat about your needs.

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While we have covered ways of marketing to Chinese students, we think it is important to explore just why you need to have your marketing materials translated into Chinese. It would be easy to think that as Chinese students are wanting to come to the UK, that they would be happy to read your website, social media, and brochures in English. After all, they’ll need to be able to speak the language when they come over, won’t they?

Do you want to risk losing your key messages?

When marketing to domestic students, you wouldn’t take a ‘that’ll do’ approach. You’d make sure that every aspect of your marketing was working perfectly, and that your key messages were being heard loud and clear. If you are serious about Chinese student recruitment, then you need to be following the same processes. Your marketing will be much more effective for Chinese students in their native language, so why risk having your key messages ignored?

Show that you can cater to their needs

Going to university is daunting, regardless of whether it’s in the same country, or one thousands of miles away. All students want to know that they will be looked after and supported whilst they are away from home. It’s no different for Chinese students. Demonstrating that you can talk to them in their own language will show that you have the resources and commitment to looking after them and helping them as they study.

Is the process of choosing your university as easy as it can possibly be?

One of the biggest mistakes businesses all across the world make it assuming their customer will do what they want them to. They think that it doesn’t matter if their customer has to work to get in touch, sign up to their email newsletter, or buy one of their products. The truth is that it is your responsibility to make it as easy as possible for customers to do business with you. If you aren’t doing everything you can to simplify the process, then your customers won’t bother. Why should Chinese students be the ones who have to make the effort, if you haven’t bothered to translate your marketing to make it simple and easy for them to read?

Are you making yourself as attractive as possible to Chinese students?

At Market Me China, we create marketing that makes it as simple as possible for your target market to say yes. You need to be making yourself as attractive as possible to your target market, which is why translation services are a must, not an optional extra. Contact us today to discuss your Chinese student recruitment strategy.

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Students from overseas are a much desired asset for any educational establishment. They diversify the studentship, demonstrate the university’s prowess and reputation, and offer many financial benefits. In fact, as of 2013, around 10% of UK university’s total funding came from overseas students outside of Britain and Europe (source: South China Morning Post). The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister have both expressed a desire to have more Chinese students in the UK. Universities are doing everything they can to attract eager Chinese students.

Here are four things to consider when using digital marketing for Chinese student recruitment.

1. Know your target market – Chinese students

Chinese students have very different concerns to domestic students when it comes to selecting a university. Chinese students are very interested in a university’s ranking, and their parents by having their children attend a university that other people have heard of. Quality of teaching is also important, and the safety of the university is of large concern as well, as students want to feel safe while in the UK (Source: Hanover Research). Understanding what your target market wants will make it much easier to market to them.

2. Remember their parents

Chinese parents will likely have a large say in where their children go to study. This means that, in order to be successful in your Chinese student recruitment, you need to address the concerns and desires of Chinese parents. They are interested in different criteria than their children, so you must ensure that your marketing is targeted at allaying parental concerns as well as impressing potential students.

3. Have a Chinese website

When trying to market to students in China, you need to make yourself as accessible as possible. The easier it is for your target market to engage with you and absorb your key messages, the more likely you are to succeed with your Chinese student recruitment. To this end, a Chinese website is vital. Having a Chinese website is the perfect way to demonstrate to your potential students than you are able, and willing, to adapt to their needs.

4. Use the right networks

In China, Facebook and Twitter won’t get you very far. China has its own social networks, with the Twitter-like Sina Weibo being the second and third most popular, with a combined number of accounts totalling more than 1 billion. Being on these networks will get you access to a huge number of Chinese internet users, with 91% of the Chinese internet population being on social networks (source: Tech in Asia). WeChat and Renren are another two popular social media platforms in China.

Get results from your Chinese student recruitment strategies with Market Me China

As experts in Chinese marketing, language and culture, we are perfectly positioned to help assist you with your Chinese student recruitment strategies. Get in touch with us today to discuss how, together, we can make your plans a reality.

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1. China’s Masculine society

China is a Masculine society. It measures success in tangible ways, such as your salary, and what grades you earned at school. Sending your child to study abroad is an expensive gesture that demonstrates your wealth. In fact, around 90 per cent of the country’s richest want to send their children to study abroad (source: International Business Times).

2. Face (Mianzi)

Getting good grades is vital for preserving not only your face (Mianzi), but your parent’s face as well. Sending their children to study abroad isn’t an empty gesture all about how much money it cost. Chinese people want their children to have the best education, and Chinese students study abroad because they want to get the best grades in order to reflect well upon themselves and their parents.

3. Freedom from pressure

With China’s society being focussed on high achievement, studying abroad gives students a chance to escape that. While still wanting to do as well as possible, being far away gives students a bit more freedom. This isn’t about being able to slack off, but Chinese students are no different from other students; university is a chance for them to get away from home, and their parents, and live their own lives.

4. Does China’s education system make Chinese students study abroad?

Measuring success the way it does, it is not surprising that China’s education system focuses on highly practical topics and skills. With a swiftly growing economy, China needs highly trained people, and this is the end to which its education system is focussed. This means that creative pursuits aren’t given much room. Students who want to follow their passions for art, fashion or design are drawn to study in the UK, where it is more acceptable to study them (source: London and Partners).

5. Chance to improve their English

English is the official language of 53 countries, and has 328million native speakers worldwide (source: Top Ten Tip). This places it at number three in the list of most spoken languages in the world, although this doesn’t take into account the number of people with English as their second or third language. As such a popular and widespread language, it is hardly surprising that Chinese students want to improve their English, and studying abroad in the UK is a great way to do that (source: The Free Library).

6. Experience the culture

One of the things that appeals to Chinese students is the sheer difference in culture. The UK has a completely different society to China, based on different attitudes, beliefs, and values. One of the reasons Chinese students study abroad is because it gives them a chance to experience something completely new to them.

Marketing to Chinese students

Demonstrating that you understand them is key in attracting Chinese students. Market Me China offer a native understanding of Chinese culture, and will make marketing to students simple and rewarding. Get in touch today to hear more.

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The first innovative companies are already establishing their own courses, offering distance learning in China. Competitor research is always important when creating your marketing strategy, and so we’ve put together a short overview of three of the key companies offering, or intending to offer, distance learning in China.

Coursera

Coursera is a provider of massive online open courses (also known as MOOC), and raised $43million last year which it guaranteed to use to make education accessible and affordable across the world via the internet. In China, they have partnered up with Chinese internet company NetEase to make its courses available in the country. Volunteer translators are working to create Chinese versions of their English language courses, and Coursera has already partnered with several universities in China (source: VentureBeat).

The Open University of China (OUC)

The OUC is run by the Ministry of Education and is committed to providing distance learning in China. Its main aims are to provide degree and non-degree further education, as well as making education accessible to people in rural and remote areas, and ethnic minority regions. They currently have more than 3 and a half million students enrolled, including farmers and military personnel, as well as more than 6,000 disabled students (source: The Open University of China).

Hujiang

Having been founded in 2001, Hujiang has continued to prosper. It has 20 million registered users, and succeeded in raising $20million worth of funding in June last year, on top of investment already raised in previous months. Vice President of Hujiang, Xu Hua, believes that the strength of distance learning in China lies in its accessibility. People in rural areas can not only access, but also afford, the kind of education that was previously only available in the more built up areas of China (source: TechNode).

Tap into the potential of distance learning in China

If you read our last post, you know that students in China are desperate to expand their horizons and learn about topics not included in the China education system. A lot of students are especially interested in courses in English, and from English companies and establishments. These first few companies offering distance learning in China give you the perfect chance to study the market. By following their development, you can learn from their mistakes and see what works.

Marketing is always going to be a key factor in your success in China, so it is important to ensure you are doing it right. Contact Market Me China today to get your business on track for success in China.

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With more students coming, to study a wider range of degrees than ever before, now is the perfect time to revisit your Chinese student recruitment strategies.

Highest percentage of immigrants to UK are from China

Figures for 2012, published at the end of last year, have shown that China is sending more immigrants to the UK than any other country. Overtaking the previous leader, India, a total of 40,000 people came to the UK in 2012 (source: The Telegraph). One of the reasons for the increase is a higher number of Chinese students coming to the UK to study. In 2011/12, more than a quarter of the non-EU students studying the UK came from China (source: Universities UK), and there are more than 10,000 Chinese students studying in London alone (source: Study London).

Osbourne assures UK wants Chinese students to study abroad

With immigration being one of the primary focusses of the government at present, many countries were becoming concerned about how this might affect them. However, last year, during a trade mission to China, Chancellor George Osbourne made it clear that the UK will not impose a limit on the number of Chinese people coming to study or work in the UK. On top of that, he told an audience of Chinese students that he wanted more of them to come and study in Britain. This move is likely to have allayed any concerns Chinese students may have had about studying in Britain (source: Huffington Post).

Chinese students study abroad in creative subjects

Traditional subjects for Chinese students to study have always been those with practical real-world applications, such as engineering and mathematics. Now, however, a huge number of Chinese students are coming to the UK in order to study more creative degrees, such as design, film, and fashion. Art and Design is now the second most popular subject for Chinese students, with around 1,600 students. It is suggested that the presence of 7 Chinese fashion designers, who studied in London, during London Fashion Week is encouraging more Chinese people to move to the UK to study creative degrees (source: London Evening Standard).

Marketing is a key component in Chinese student recruitment strategies

In order to attract Chinese students, you need to engage with them in a way that they respond to. This involves talking to them in their own language, observing their culture, and appealing to their values. Market Me China are experts in Chinese marketing, language and culture. There may be a culture gap when dealing with China, but we are the perfect bridge. Get in touch today.

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Why education is so important in China

Of course, education is important in every country. In China, education has a cultural meaning, as well as being vital for getting a good start in life. China is a Masculine society, meaning that it measures success is terms of achievements, rather than who is enjoying their life and work the most. Because of this, getting good grades is vital to demonstrating that you are not a failure. Education can also affect something we’ve been talking about a lot recently – Mianzi, or Face. A child getting low grades will cause their parents to lose face. In China, doing poorly in your education has negative consequences for others as well as yourself.

Online education in China

Compared to the US, online education has had a slow development in China. In the last few years, ten Chinese online education providers have been granted angel investment and have listed their stocks in the US marketplace. While this is a good start, the total invested in them pales in comparison to their US counterparts, who collectively received more than $1billion in investments (source: Wall Street Journal).

Shanghai leading the way in online education development

Shanghai is one of the cities that is openly embracing the possibilities of online education to supplement traditional methods of learning. In April this year, over 1,500 textbooks will be made available to pupils studying at primary schools, middle schools, and high schools in ebook format. This is partly a response to the way in which tablet computers are superseding laptops in the classroom, and is an attempt to reduce the amount of heavy learning materials that students need to bring to school with them. Also currently in development is a cloud computing system, which will provide teachers and students with downloads of required textbooks.

The project, known as the e-schoolbag programme, is being trialled in several cities, but should be available in all public schools by 2015 (source: China Education Center).

The attractiveness of online education in the China market

Entering online education in China now gives you a chance to gain a foothold in this developing market. Chinese people are hungry for educational courses without an agenda, and the chance to study things not taught in China. The success of a translated series of lectures on death by Yale professor Shelly Kagan is just one great example (source: News China Magazine).

Contact Market Me China today to discuss how to reap the rewards of the growing online education market.

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