These days, just about everybody wants to grow enrollment and bring their institution’s online programs nationwide.
But if the desire is growth, what if the fastest path was actually right here at home?
Holding The Home Court
Early in my time at SNHU, then-CEO Steve Hodownes shared a simple sports analogy that perfectly encapsulated the institution’s growth strategy:
“First, hold the home court. Then win on the road.”
The idea was simple: Our brand was more valuable in our own backyard, so it would be more cost effective to recruit students locally.
And it was.
So while we still pursued nationwide growth, it never came at the expense of the hard work done at home, ensuring we were enrolling students locally, where brand awareness and affinity were strong.
The Data Backs It Up
And it wasn’t just a hunch on Steve’s part, the data backs it up.
For years, The Learning House (now Wiley) put out research reports that regularly showed the majority of online students actually study close to where they live.
In fact, 75% of online students choose to study within 50 miles of home.
The Allure of The Road
This isn’t to say “winning on the road” isn’t possible, it certainly is.
But rather, it’s about keeping in mind that the further you go from campus the higher your acquisition costs will rise.
And yet, despite this, for many in our industry, conversations about growth almost always start with “how can we expand nationwide,” rather than asking “what more can we do to increase performance here at home?”
The Simple Two-Step Growth Strategy
So if you’re looking to grow your enrollment, please know I’m not trying to sober up your national ambitions.
But it is important to remember, if you’re looking to grow nationally because you’re struggling to enroll locally, the grass isn’t going to be greener the further out from campus that you get.
National expansion should be a natural byproduct of realizing diminishing returns in your core home market. It’s about increasing our TAM (Total Addressable Market) only after we’ve bumped up against the ceiling of what is possible in our own backyard.
So before you make that big bet on that big national expansion campaign, just remember what Steve says and ensure you’re following that Simple Two-Step Growth Strategy:
First, Hold The Home Court. Then Win On The Road.
About the Author
Seth is the founder and CEO of Kanahoma, a San Diego-based education marketing agency. We offer full-service marketing support for higher education, K-12, education technology, and more.
You can learn more about who we are and what we do at www.Kanahoma.com.