Segment profiling: reducing strategic risk in higher education management

Over the last decade higher education institutions in Australia have moved towards a model of ‘managerialism’ due predominantly to changes in government funding policies. As a consequence of the need to compete with other universities for students, university managers have increasingly focused upon marketing techniques used in for-profit organisations to attract and retain students. This paper focuses on the question of whether, and in what ways, the marketing technique of segment profiling can be effectively employed to measure the potential of new market segments and the viability of strategic planning goals in the higher education sector. Geo-demographic data from the student database of a regional Australian university were cross-matched with segment profiling data from a nearby regional centre to ascertain the viability of the region for the establishment of an undergraduate ‘satellite’ campus. The results of the study show that the technique is useful in reducing the risk of specific strategic planning goals by identifying the potential of new market segments and streamlining target marketing practices. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to the future success of strategic planning goals achieved by managers in higher education.