Impact of Promotion on Students’ Enrollment: A Case of Private Schools in Pakistan

Purpose – This study is designed to explore the variables that have a strong impact on students’ enrollment inprivate schools and by the optimal use of these promotional variables private schools attract students forenrollment.Design/methodology/approach – The study is qualitative and exploratory in nature, since the aim was toexplore the principals/administrators’ views and experiences about promotional variables within the educationsector in Pakistan. Data was collected by carrying out in-depth qualitative interviews with schoolprincipals/administrators in 16 schools of two neighboring cities namely Islamabad and Rawalpindi (Pakistan).The qualitative data was analyzed and presented in a tabulated and descriptive form.Findings – The analysis revealed four variables of promotion namely: school appearance, public relations,publicity, and advertisement (print and electronic media). These four variables were found to be the main formsof promotion used by private schools for recruiting students. There was also a strong impact of schoolappearance being used as the standard tool for promotion.Research limitations/implications – The study focused on one sector, the education sector in Pakistan. In orderto enhance one’s understanding and knowledge regarding the promotional variables. This needs to be taken intoconsideration in generalizing the findings to other sectors and geographic markets. The study is also limited toonly two cities in Pakistan. Although these cities are highly representative of other cities in Pakistan but there arecertain regional idiosyncrasies that can have varying impacts.Practical implications – This exploratory study establishes the forms of promotion that are used by mostschools in Pakistan. School administrations can look at this study and further explore the link betweenrecruitment and types of promotion. This study can also help promotional companies to develop servicepackages for the education sector in Pakistan.Originality/value – How private schools attract and influence students for enrollment and what are the sourcesfor that influences and attraction, is not an actively researched topic in Pakistan. The study would thereforecontribute towards better understanding of promotional variables and designing of effective promotionalstrategies.