1. GETTING YOUR ORGANIZATION ON THE SAME PAGE
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
Case Study
At Texas Tech University, we support our internal customers, or those professionals who conceive,
design and develop programs. However, because these coordinators, managers and directors can
become very focused on the product, we use integrated marketing to redirect our orientation back to
the market.
We meet in regularly scheduled forums to keep the focus on our customers. The Monday Morning
Marketing Meeting is a time to discuss current marketing plans. The Marketing Re-Cap Meeting is
a time to review marketing efforts that have already been completed. In addition to these marketing
meetings, we hold regular staff meetings that involve everyone in the building, including student
services and other support centers.
In each of these meetings, I like to get us into a "zero-based" mode of inquiry. Here are some
questions that I ask in the beginning to achieve this:
o In what year did we begin to offer this program?
o How often is the program offered during a fiscal year?
o Is there a seasonal aspect to this program?
o Where is the program in its evolutionary stage? (i.e., start-up, glowth, maturation, decline)
. Why was the program designed and then implemented? What was the perceived need that
we were trying to fulfill?
o Who is the target audience?
o What are the critical factor(s) for the program's success?
o Where is the program now in terms of enrollments? How does this number compare to the
ideal enrollment figures?
In addition to asking these questions, I like to bring the latest information that we have gathered
from environmental scanning and market research to the meeting. This includes demographics,
characteristics of new and distinct markets, economic trends, lifestyle and workforce trends,
technological trends, recent moves by the competition and new ideas in promotional vehicles. Data
on the demographics and trends of our own current student base is also presented. We perform
these queries through tracking mechanisms and survey forms that are often dependent upon factors
such as zip codes, age groups, communities, ethnic groups and professional or lifestyle circles.
We discuss these things in order to transform data into information that can be used to understand
our markets as well as our internal customers. We shift our thinking from managing products to
managing markets. And as program professionals become more responsible for the markets, they
become as fluid and responsive as the marketplace itself.
Programs are continuously developed and adjusted for new markets. In order to be successful, we
need not only a clear sense and consensus of how we define success within the organization, but
also how the marketplace defines success. This often includes enhanced marketability in the job

2. 7
market, a degree and/or diploma, better performance on the job, more confidence, a marketable
portfolio of skills, professional advancement, empowerment or enrichment.
Above all, our role is to match interests. We match the interests of the market with our own
interests. This is an empowering role because Texas Tech University has an ongoing opportunity
to co-create solutions to the perceived needs of the marketplace.