Introduction
In a rapidly changing environment for higher education, Hull University Business School (HUBS) has the difficult mission of bringing marketing students onto the team and keeping them there amidst growing market competition. This is the innovative, coherent solution the management report puts forward–an innovative, immersive marketing boot camp to change the whole process of undergraduate recruitment. In this proposal, as HUBS is designed to stir up entrepreneurial spirit and shake up future business leaders, this complements HUBS ‘attitude, and this provides theory to put into practice. In this report, Si highlights the complexities of customer journey mapping, pain points, and how to develop strategies to improve performance. Built around not simply meeting the expectations of the modern student but exceeding them, the intent is to restore the university to its rightful position in the competitive world of university recruitment (Couchman, 2018). Such a complex situation lends itself to an investigation of the fluid university recruitment scene. We will take Hull University Business School’s (HUBS) problem of extracting and retaining marketing students as an example.
Proposed Offer/Activities: Interactive Marketing Bootcamps
Hull University Business School (HUBS) is introducing an immersive recruitment initiative like no other, the Interactive Marketing Bootcamps. The weekend-long experiences are aimed at fascination and involvement, exposing prospective undergraduate marketing students to an odd mix of education content and practical application. These planned activities fit perfectly with HUBS’s concept of Authentic Business Learning and its focus on concrete, hands-on learning experiences.
Duration:
Weekend-long Immersive Experience. Each boot camp takes place over an entire weekend, providing an intensive yet rewarding experience. Such a length of time allows a thorough acquaintance with marketing concepts and offers sufficient room for participants to conduct practice exercises in order to bring forth new insights.
Facilities:
State-of-the-Art Classrooms, Collaboration Spaces, and Access to Marketing Technology Participants will utilize the latest technology in modern classrooms and shared working spaces. Teams are to work as they do in real-world marketing environments in collaboration spaces. With access to marketing technology platforms, students will be able to put the concepts they are learning into practice in a simulated business setting.
Activities:
Hands-on Marketing Projects, Industry Guest Lectures, Networking Sessions, & a Final Showcase The boot camps will include both hands-on marketing projects that tackle actual problems and industry guest lectures, as well as help the winning teams network with potential employers and set up their businesses. Rohm et al., 2021. Guest lectures given by leading authorities in the industry will provide perspectives on current trends and difficulties. Networking sessions will aid in making a human connection between students and industry (Anders, 2018). The final showcase will be the culmination of the boot camp, with the event offering participants an opportunity to present their marketing solutions to prospective clients and thus provide a concrete demonstration of their abilities.
Location:
On the university campus, The activities will take place in order to make maximum use of existing infrastructure and maximize the impact of the boot camps. In this on-campus setting, participants are placed directly in the midst of the academic environment and feel a sense of belonging to the HUBS family. The Interactive Marketing Bootcamps are a sales pitch not only to prospective marketing students but also to bolster HUBS’s image as a vibrant institution where learning is phenomenal.
Customer Journey, Experience, and Mapping:
The customer journey deals with the whole process a prospective student goes through, from initial contact with the marketing event through the post-event stage. It’s a process of dynamic anticipation, of experiencing in actuality, and of participation afterward.
Pre-Experience:
The pre-experience period is an important phase for shaping impressions and raising interest. HUBS can exploit the interactive nature of social media to create a multi-channel approach through the combined use of Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter (Krishen et al., 2020). Advance materials such as behind-the-scenes glimpses, participant testimonials, and teaser videos will be released to stir the anticipation (Allen, 2002). Each time, personalized invitations designed to correspond to individual interests will be sent, thus lending a sense of exclusivity (Ballew et al., 2015). Also, pre-event webinars will give you a sense of what to expect, paving the way for a full immersion experience.
Consumption:
Phase four is the consumption phase, in which participants are placed into a real-world marketing environment (De Lillo et al., 2021). Participants work on hands-on projects guided by the expertise of the mentors. The focus here lies in practical experience so that they can apply taught theories to practical scenarios. Networking will be an integral part of the conference, providing contact with industry professionals, their peers, and the HUBS faculty. The mood, in total, will be dynamic and will encourage a cooperative and stimulating atmosphere of learning.
Post-Experience:
Post-event engagement: Learning after the action sustains this relationship with participants (Moore et al., 2017). School Alumni will hire HUBS graduates who are doing well and take them out to dinner, thus helping you see your future after graduation. Webinars and further optional follow-up webinars will be held on specific aspects covered during the event. Continuous learning ensues. Sessions for gathering feedback will be held as part of the process in order to make iterative improvements in future events. This period emphasizes common ground, long-term relationships, and delighted promotion.
Customer Mapping:
Touchpoint mapping describes visually the different touchpoints in the customer journey (Mucz and Gareau-Brennan, 2019). In this way, participants ‘experiences are better understood as a whole, and HUBS can identify and strengthen really important moments. Mapping out customers’ interactions in this way brings possible pain points, advantages, and areas for improvement to light so that the overall customer experience can be continually optimized, a process that is necessary for long-term success.
Customer Segmentation and Attendance:
At HUBS, the marketing boot camp will utilize customer segmentation in a calibrated fashion to customize the experience to various groups of customers. Goodrich et al., 2020. Segmentation criteria can include such factors as academic interests, career aspirations, or prior marketing exposure. It is, therefore, essential that participants get a personalized, relevant, and engaging experience. The size of the participants can be different, but maintaining an exclusive yet non-exclusive atmosphere is the important thing. An attendance size, therefore carefully tailored, allows for genuine interaction, effective networking, and personalized mentoring, which lends itself to intimate experiential learning and relationship-building. The optimum size could vary from some 50 to 100 participants per event.
Blueprint/Process Map: Enhancing the Customer Journey at HUBS
If we are to embark on the journey of transforming customer experience, then an understanding of the basic concepts of customer map, customer journey or path identification, and a critical analysis of where pain points might exist is essential (Kalbach, 2020). In literature, customer refer to the complete mapping of customer’s contacts and interactions with a brand at the various touchpoints. This can only be understood from the perspective of the entire customer experience (Micheaux and Bosio, 2019). For us, this means tracing the student’s journey from first contact with HUBS to follow-up after the event itself.
Customer Journey Identification:
Strategic pre-event activities, including the use of targeted social media campaigns promoting the event, personalized emails or phone calls inviting attendees, running informative webinars, and other Internet events (Ngo, 2019). Later, prospective students are introduced to the upcoming marketing boot camp, building buzz and excitement.
Potential Pain Points and Weaknesses:
In order to deliver the best possible experience, identifying pain points is a must. Common pain points on customer voyages raised in the literature are miscommunication, logistical challenges, and lack of personalization (Singh et al., 2021). Potential flaws at HUBS may be inefficient registration procedures, vague event information, or the lack of communication channels.
Diagnostic Analysis for Enhancement:
Doing a diagnostic analysis means going through every contact, seeing if it is effective, and identifying opportunities for improvement. Feedback mechanisms, surveys, and analytics tools will be used to judge satisfaction and pinpoint pain points ( Arief et al., 2023). Its diagnostic method is in the industry mainstream, helping to encourage continued improvement and adaptation. In other words, the blueprint/process map for HUBS demands a thorough investigation of the customer’s journey, identifying possible problem points, and using a diagnostic process of analysis to improve even more. This way expresses a resolve to bring a hyper-authentic and world-class experience of studying and learning. It is typical of the HUBS concept or spirit, as well as introducing the HUBS concept or ethos to prospects.
Performance Improvement Recommendations: Enhancing the Interactive Marketing Bootcamps at HUBS
The optimization of HUBS ‘Interactive Marketing Bootcamps requires a strategy based on industry best practices, technical integration, and iterative refinements to the channels of interaction.
- Leverage Industry Best Practices: Looking to the successful event management tactics employed in major business schools can help raise Interactive Marketing Bootcamps to a new level (Bladen et al., 2021). Galvanized by institutions with stellar track records of holding recruitment events, HUBS can take confident steps to make sure the entire experience is smooth and effective. This requires careful preparation, clear instructions, and prudent implementation; it must live up to the high standards of first-league rivals.
- Utilize Technology for Seamless Registration and Engagement: Adding sophisticated technology to the registration procedure makes it more effective and keeps participants involved (Bakhtiari et al., 2023). An easy-to-use online registration system not only simplifies logistics but also creates room for individual dialogue. What’s more, event-specific apps or platforms help maintain interaction among participants, who can look up information, contact other participants, and receive instant updates (Longmeier et al., 2022). This high-tech approach meets the expectations of modern students and professionals, making for just a better event experience.
- Monitor and Improve Touch Points: Total optimization of touchpoints in the pre-, during, and post-event phases requires an iterative approach. Collecting participant feedback and gauging how interactions with the event on social media develop, coupled with post-event surveys, provide a multifaceted perspective of attendee experiences (MacKay et al., 2017). This data-driven approach allows HUBS to position each touchpoint to build up a better customer journey, identifying pain points and areas of improvement. Through continual refinement based on real-time feedback, the time-honored commitment to a unique and effective Interactive Marketing Bootcamp remains unchanged.
Lastly, HUBS’s strong recruitment depends upon the application of industry best practices, technology, and the attention paid to touchpoint development. If HUBS follows these suggestions, its Interactive Marketing Bootcamps can be seen as innovative, fascinating, and reacting quickly to the changing needs of prospective freshmen, giving HUBS a lead over the competition for undergraduates in today’s competitive environment.
Geographic/Remote Considerations
For recruiting in the HUBS’ marketing, there’s a need for a balance between on-campus and online activities. These early on-campus activities offer a personal atmosphere–let the HUBS community touch you face to face. Moreover, this approach allows participants to experience the school’s atmosphere and resources directly, which rely on the school’s infrastructure. At the same time, understanding the changing learning landscape and seeing that our target audience is spread out over the whole country, HUBS hopes to expand itself to the virtual world in the near future. The strategic move makes it easier to access the marketing recruitment operation, thus allowing people from different locations to participate in it at a distance. They also make the event inclusive, taking into consideration those unable to physically participate on campus (Clauson and McKnight, 2018). Technology can be used to help HUBS organize interactive seminars, presentations, and social gatherings, transcending geographical barriers. At the same time, this double strategy most effectively strikes the right balance between the closeness of on-campus activities and the scope and inclusiveness enabled by online platforms. It will complement HUBS’ aim to offer applicants a stimulating and open recruiting system as marketing students.
Positive WOM and Relationship Management:
In terms of the proposed marketing-based activity at HUBS, there are two important pieces: positive WOM (Word of Mouth) and effective Relationship Management. So long as HUBS can create a positive event experience through personalized dialogue, the attendees will feel like they matter and be more involved in the event, leaving a good impression that will remain with HUBS forever (Li & Leonidou, 2023). In these marketing boot camps, the staff will communicate actively with participants, providing one-on-one attention and customized instructions to make sure everyone is able to enjoy the process. As such, an extension of positive WOM, encouraging attendees to publicize their experiences on social media, is a good strategy through compelling stories and user-generated content; these form ambassadors and help HUBS expand its brand reach to bring in prospective students. In this way, those attending HUBS help to transform them into advocates, which organically grows HUBS’s presence and reputation online. In addition, address book building post-event reinforces relationship management. Alumni, as successful examples, can offer helpful advice, mentorship, and doors to wider networks to today’s students and tomorrow’s. The constant communion not only strengthens the sense of community but also reveals the power of HUBS ‘investment in student development, igniting a group of brand champions who place their support behind the school to ensure future success.
Key Considerations and Recommendations:
Types of Events:
The proposed activities at HUBS should combine educational content with practical exercises. To ensure that attendees obtain concrete skills in addition to theoretical knowledge, interactive marketing challenges, and real-world projects will be incorporated into the program. This style of learning by doing gives future marketing students a unique edge that fits with HUBS’s philosophy of authentically learning business.
Schedule:
These events should be scheduled every other year in order to preserve exclusiveness and sensibly increase the pull. This strategic spacing means that each event retains an important status as something of a special occasion that prospective students eagerly anticipate. Its deliberate timing means the organizers can plan for each one thoroughly so they are of high quality and make a big impression when they do come.
Attractiveness:
To ensure the novelty, interest, and distinctiveness of HUBS events, their quality must meet or exceed competitors. Analyzing the offerings of peer institutions will help integrate advanced elements, making sure that HUBS rises above the competitive jungle. As long as the value proposition is unique to the target audience’s aspirations and interests, then that is where it should start.
Target Segments: Two principal constituencies should be attractive targets for the events.
Individuals Passionate about Marketing: Tailored content to harness the curiosity and vitality of potential marketing students. A rich multimedia platform revealing the thrilling, changeable nature of marketing careers that reflects their ambitions.
Prospective Organizations
Seeking Talent: Let position events become not only a place for people to get a job but also a platform for organizations to show off their marketing talents. Accommodating networking sessions and engagement opportunities for businesses in order to meet and recruit potential employees and to work towards HUBS’s objective of creating a sustainable impact in both commerce and society.
In light of these considerations, if HUBS can properly align the events with the events, then the depths and aesthetics of the experience can be impressive and attractive. Engagement and retention of both self-selected and investor participants become critical to the success of HUBS’s undergraduate recruitment activities
Mitigation of Risks:
Comprehensive Event Planning for Logistical Challenges:
The logistical problems associated with event planning include everything from coordination to scheduling to resource allocation. To guard against these risks, HUBS will plan the event from head to toe, making arrangements from venue logistics to participant transportation. A specialist logistics team will gently guide execution with detailed timetables for events, schedules of resource needs, and safeguards in the event of mishaps. Through such careful preparation, participants will be less likely to experience disruptions in the marketing boot camps, which will lead to a richer overall experience.
Contingency Plans for Unforeseen Circumstances:
Of course, accidental factors such as changes in the weather or malfunctioning electronics are unpredictable and could have happened to any event. HUBS will formulate detailed plans to cope with a number of possible problems. This means having alternative venues for outdoor activities, faculty from information technology to assist when technology fails, and even how to communicate with parents when unexpected situations arise. Analyzing and accepting unforeseen factors would help maintain the stability of the marketing boot camps and make sure that any changes can be implemented quickly when needed.
Gathering Participant Feedback for Continuous Improvement:
Feedback helps to uncover systemic faults and alleviate participants ‘concerns. The marketing boot camps developed by HUBS will feature a full feedback review system. For example, feedback collection during sessions, after-event surveys, and follow-up interviews (Perryman et al., 2021). Through the active solicitation of participants ‘input, HUBS can, in turn, detect issues at their earliest stage, adjust them in time, and improve them. By following this iterative feedback loop, each session of the marketing boot camps becomes increasingly more refined, giving every participant what they want and expect, contributing to continued success and favorable word-of-mouth. In general, risks are reduced by prior planning, detailed contingency measures, and a dynamic attitude of continuing improvement based on feedback from participants. These techniques will strengthen the success of HUBS marketing boot camps and generate a flourishing, adaptably rich environment for an excellent experience.
Immersive Experience:
A carefully constructed experience integrating HUBS into participants’ lives. Whether they are touched or intimidated, people are pulled along this journey. In this context, an immersive experience is immersive both physically and spiritually, emotionally and mentally, and also intellectually. It involves a three-dimensional interactive encounter in which participants are involved in a variety of activities. Theory and practice are combined in order to make the people feel a sense of belonging and connection to the content. This harmonious experience is necessary to prevent participants from feeling swamped (Elor et al., 2020). The reason for this equilibrium lies in skillfully mixing components of education, case studies, and socializing. The aim is to create an engaging occasion, leading students to inquire and wonder without being intense or ultimately wearisome. This equilibrium means that as well as being rewarded with these insights, the participants enjoy the whole learning experience.
In making the immersive experience at HUBS, what we learn from successful organizations, especially renowned business schools, is of paramount importance. By integrating those successful approaches that institutions with experience in effective engagement have implemented, HUBS can raise the effectiveness of its strategy. Such learning requires looking at the way successful business schools have used teaching methods, examining how they create immersive experiences, and incorporating these experiences into teaching methods that fit HUBS’s particular identity and objectives. For example, for inspiration, they can take a look at business schools with famous event missions, add some interactive aspects, some dialogue with industry experts, or some fraternal exchanges in an immersive experience. All these factors combine to make for an intense and multifaceted exchange. They also conform to HUBS’s concept of Authentic Business Learning.
Basically, the immersive experience at HUBS combines the most effective of interactive learning and inspiration. It does so in measured portions so as to avoid swamping the participants. HUBS wants to learn from organizations that have succeeded, in particular from top-ranked business schools, and employ the lessons it learns so as to apply time-tested strategies that properly fit HUBS’s situation, allowing it to create a helpful and enjoyable experience for future marketing students.
Customer Experience Factors:
Factors affecting the customer experience play an important part in shaping the way perceptions are formed and decisions are made. On the plus side, networking opportunities include making meaningful connections between the participants, giving them a mechanism to exchange ideas, and providing the possibility of mutual help. This allows people to develop not just an active collaborative community across events but also a professional network that extends beyond the event. This reflects the HUBS’s desire to form a nurturing community. The second positive is hands-on learning. That’s an active, practical learning approach. Participants tackle real marketing problems and understand how to turn theory into reality (Freyn et al., 2021). This is consistent with HUBS’s Authentic Business Learning creed, with a focus on teaching kids how to work hard and be practical. On the plus side, industry insights give participants a foothold in the professional landscape. Experts in industry sharing their experiences creates a more abundant learning environment, preparing students for the challenges of marketing the world. Another important negative factor is facing up to potential difficulties in time. HUBS has to make sure the event is not disrupted and that logistics and technical aspects are both in a smooth flow. Prompt troubleshooting and problem-solving will maintain the overall quality of the customer experience, which is inseparable from HUBS’s determination to deliver high-quality education and event services.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the proposed service-based activity represents a strategic move that is completely in line with Hull University Business School’s (HUBS) basic values and educational philosophy. Integrating innovative elements into the activity learning, industry insights, and proactive problem-solving-the activity not only caters to the needs of prospective marketing students but also reflects the tireless pursuit of transcendence and authenticity in HUBS’s business education. The all-encompassing plan presented in this report, based on our best practice and grounded in detailed customer journey mapping, rents a fresh mode of undergraduate recruitment. A prerequisite for action is an understanding of the changing rules of the competitive educational environment. The plan sees to it that HUBS can prosper. It is based on the global awareness and sustainability aspects of the institution. That is, in essence, this initiative not only adds richness to the academic experience but also shows HUBS to be committing itself to being a place for the nurture of talent, a place for spreading positive word of mouth, and a place for maintaining prestigious in the sphere of business education.
References
Allen, J., 2002. The business of event planning: behind-the-scenes secrets of successful special events. John Wiley & Sons.
Anders, A.D., 2018. Networked learning with professionals boosts students’ self-efficacy for social networking and professional development. Computers & Education, 127, pp.13-29.
Arief, I., Farhandika, M., Indrapriyatna, A.S., Yulianto, A.A. and Meuthia, Y., 2023. Enhancing User Interface and Experience of the Bukalapak Application: A Sentiment Analysis Approach for Improved Usability and User Satisfaction in Indonesia’s E-Commerce Sector. Jurnal RESTI (Rekayasa Sistem dan Teknologi Informasi), 7(5), pp.1192-1204.
Bakhtiari, V., Piadeh, F., Chen, A.S. and Behzadian, K., 2023. Stakeholder analysis in the application of cutting-edge digital visualization technologies for urban flood risk management: A critical review. Expert Systems with Applications, p.121426.
Ballew, M.T., Omoto, A.M. and Winter, P.L., 2015. Using Web 2.0 and social media technologies to foster proenvironmental action. Sustainability, 7(8), pp.10620-10648.
Bladen, C., Kennell, J., Abson, E. and Wilde, N., 2022. Events management: An introduction. Taylor & Francis.
Clauson, C. and McKnight, J., 2018. Welcome to campus: Planning for diversity, inclusion, and equity. Planning for Higher Education, 47(1), p.39.
Couchman, C., 2018. Shifting Directions: Conceiving, Implementing, and Navigating the Inherent Complexities of Student Recruitment Customer/Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) Systems within Higher Education.
De Lillo, M., Foley, R., Fysh, M.C., Stimson, A., Bradford, E.E., Woodrow-Hill, C. and Ferguson, H.J., 2021. Tracking developmental differences in real-world social attention across adolescence, young adulthood and older adulthood. Nature human behaviour, 5(10), pp.1381-1390.
Elor, A., Powell, M., Mahmoodi, E., Hawthorne, N., Teodorescu, M. and Kurniawan, S., 2020. On shooting stars: Comparing cave and hmd immersive virtual reality exergaming for adults with mixed ability. ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare, 1(4), pp.1-22.
Freyn, S.L., Sedaghatjou, M. and Rodney, S., 2021. Collaborative engagement experience-based learning: a teaching framework for business education. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 11(5), pp.1252-1266.
Goodrich, K., Swani, K. and Munch, J., 2020. How to connect with your best student prospects: saying the right things to the right students in the right media. Journal of Marketing Communications, 26(4), pp.434-453.
Kalbach, J., 2020. Mapping experiences. O’Reilly Media.
Krishen, A.S., Berezan, O., Agarwal, S. and Robison, B., 2020. Harnessing the waiting experience: anticipation, expectations and WOM. Journal of Services Marketing, 34(7), pp.1013-1024.
Li, F., Larimo, J. and Leonidou, L.C., 2023. Social media in marketing research: Theoretical bases, methodological aspects, and thematic focus. Psychology & Marketing, 40(1), pp.124-145.
Longmeier, M.M., Dotson, D.S. and Armstrong, J.N., 2022. Fostering a Tech Culture through Campus Collaborations: A Case Study of a Hackathon and Library Partnership. Science & Technology Libraries, 41(2), pp.152-173.
MacKay, K., Barbe, D., Van Winkle, C.M. and Halpenny, E., 2017. Social media activity in a festival context: Temporal and content analysis. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(2), pp.669-689.
Micheaux, A. and Bosio, B., 2019. Customer journey mapping is a new way to teach data-driven marketing as a service. Journal of Marketing Education, 41(2), pp.127-140.
Moore, E., Fulton, S. and Likarish, D., 2017. Evaluating a multi-agency cyber security training program using pre-post event assessment and longitudinal analysis. In Information Security Education for a Global Digital Society: 10th IFIP WG 11.8 World Conference, WISE 10, Rome, Italy, May 29-31, 2017, Proceedings 10 (pp. 147-156). Springer International Publishing.
Mucz, D. and Gareau-Brennan, C., 2019. Evaluating customer experience through customer journey mapping and service blueprinting at Edmonton Public Library: An exploratory study. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 14(1).
Ngo, N., 2019. Attendee Engagement for academic conference.
Perryman, T., Sandefur, C. and Morris, C.T., 2021. Developing interpersonal and counseling skills through mixed-reality simulation in communication sciences and disorders. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(2), pp.416-428.
Rohm, A.J., Stefl, M. and Ward, N., 2021. Future proof and real-world ready: the role of live project-based learning in students’ skill development. Journal of Marketing Education, 43(2), pp.204-215.
Singh, J., Nambisan, S., Bridge, R.G. and Brock, J.K.U., 2021. One-voice strategy for customer engagement. Journal of Service Research, 24(1), pp.42-65.
write