From an enrollment strategy perspective, would you rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big ocean?  Believe it or not, the two are not mutually exclusive.

If your answer is to be a big fish in a small pond, you have already capped your institution’s growth potential.  It won’t be too long in the future when your institution's dominance in that small pond will begin to starve with the lack of resources to draw upon.  If you have not planned appropriately, your big fish strategy will mean you have a large infrastructure to support and an ever dwindling pool of potential candidates for new enrollments.

If on the other hand, your answer is to be a small fish in the big ocean, you may quickly find yourself boxed in by competitors that are far more aggressive than you.  These competitors are seeking to support their growing infrastructures with a powerful budget, marketing efforts and an appetite that continues 24/7/365.  Most smaller and midsize institutions swimming in these waters already feel threatened by the ever increasing aggressiveness of the competition.

When colleges and universities primarily drew upon their local surroundings for traditional students they were swimming in a small pond.  But recent demographical shifts are now upon us and these ponds have only a limited ability for long term sustainability.

Many if not most of these small to midsize universities and colleges made the shift a few years ago to begin working in the online marketspace.  Online education is not limited to geographical boundaries but is foreign territory to most. 

Having a significant online presence combined with a keen sensitivity to the demographic shift of adult learners as 51% of the population in higher education is central to sustainability.  Yes, small and midsize colleges must be active in the big ocean in order to grow. 

Understanding market segmentation and where your institution fits within it is the first step to success and the creation of a balanced enrollment portfolio.  Micro-targeting within that large ocean on online adult learners is the next step.  Both are essential.  It is not business as usual anymore as I’m sure you understand.

In my next blog entry I’ll share with you some of our insights on micro-targeting within market segmentation.  The answer to the question in the first paragraph should be “Yes I am a big ocean, but I’m treating my segmented spot of it like I am a big fish.”

Nathan