Marketing branding strategies in the education market: aspects of competitiveness

Abstract

The article deals with the conceptual positions of forming a marketing strategy of branding in the market of educational services in terms of mechanisms for ensuring the competitiveness of institutions of higher education in today's highly competitive market and internationalization of the educational process. The study proved that HEI, like any business, should use branding mechanisms as a means of communicating its key competitive advantages to stakeholders. Unlike industrial enterprises, the marketing strategy of branding should be based not only on the modern advantages of educational services, but also to take into account its own history, traditions, graduates' performance, ability to form a highly effective teaching staff. The position is emphasized that the formation of an effective marketing strategy for the development of HEI requires a comprehensive systematic approach, that is, the HEI brand management system cannot be considered separately from the integrated management system of the institution, since its presence alone is not the evidence ofstability and dynamism of the development of the HEI, strengthening the competitive position of the institution. It is scientifically substantiated that the process of forming a marketing strategy for the development of a HEI brand is complex and multilevel, covering all elements of the brand management system, it has specific defined time and space characteristics, and also allows to form a mechanism for evaluating the parameters of the effectiveness of a marketing branding strategy. At the same time, HEI branding covers all management levels existing in the institution, penetrates into all management procedures, and has the ability to penetrate into the elements of the educational process as part of the corporate culture of the institution, its traditions, rules, mechanisms of functioning. The directions of forming HEI branding marketing strategy by objects are offered, in particular mechanisms of HEI image formation through tools of creation of authority, prestige and status of HEI, assessment and promotion of acquired competences of graduates of HEI, their compliance with professional standards, modern technologies and requirements, the ability to create and master innovations, mechanisms for providing convenience and comfort in learning, ranging from the domestic sphere to the creating the content of educational programs.