Managing Consumer-Based Marketing and Brand Equity in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in West Sumbawa Regency (KSB) Indonesia

Abstract

The external marketing study in this research is to illustrate how private HEIs are perceived by potential customers based on the messages conveyed by private HEIs in building their image, as well as its influence on the intention to choose. This study aims to obtain a description of knowledge about the marketing mix stimulus received by prospective students in areas that have just come out of the category of disadvantaged areas, how the stimulus builds a private HEIs image, and how stimulus and image ultimately affect students' intention to choose private HEIs. The target of this research is the study of HE-based external marketing strategies for customers.

Prospective students who were sampled in this study were high school students. The unit of analysis in this study is the 3^rd grade high school students as prospective customers. The reason for this choice is because they are the ones who will continue their studies to university and they are the main target of HEIs. The method of measuring variables in this study is done through assessing consumers' perceptions of marketing strategies by private HEIs that are accepted by potential consumers, private HEIs brands, and Students' Intention to Choose private HEIs. Data was collected through answers to questionnaires containing the opinions of 100 prospective customers regarding these variables. The findings of this study are BE private HEIs has a significant effect on students' intention to choose private HEIs, but 7P has no significant effect on students' intention to choose private HEIs. However, this study also proves that marketing stimuli (7P) have a significant effect in building BE a private HEIs. So that to increase the interest of prospective students, private universities must strengthen their BE, which can be done through the application of marketing stimuli (7 P), and private HEIs can focus investment and communication efforts on resources that can be maximally utilized.