Cambridge (Hybrid)
Corporate Sales & Business Development Manager, Open Programmes – Executive Education
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Marketing AI-driven learning: the impact on resources in business schools
AI, Business Schools
Marketing teams are a fundamental part of business school success, responsible for ensuring the right people are enticed onto courses, with the right information. They are the conduit between the school and future students, making them a vital cog in the machine.
Marketing roles, however, have undergone significant changes recently, largely due to advancements in digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and large language models (LLMs). Each of these elements has kick-started an evolution of business school marketing that has, in turn, created new skill demands.
So, how is the digital movement impacting business school marketing teams and leaders, and what attributes are a sign of a great professional in this landscape?
Marketing in business schools: the AI shift
The demands being placed on marketing experts within business schools are being felt on two separate fronts. AI, LLM and many other tools are now being integrated into the daily roles of marketers, who are being leaned on to guide their school on how to best utilise the potential of this emerging technology. But marketing teams are also finding that the product they are promoting is also becoming more AI-enabled, which in turn is altering the messaging they are tasked with pushing to audiences.
As we’ve covered in recent blogs, artificial intelligence is clearly becoming a core part of business education, both in terms of the content of courses and the way they are delivered. This has also led to greater personalisation of the learner experience. The evolution is exciting for business schools, but it is putting increasing pressure on marketing teams to be more AI and tech-savvy, revamp traditional messaging to deliver a competitive share of voice in the international business school market, and deliver tailored marketing content.
For schools themselves, that also means that the traditional marketing professionals and leaders they would hire aren’t necessarily the right people for the job in the future. What ‘good’ looks like will vary from school to school, but here are some of the core skills that are needed in business education marketing today.
Data fluency
Marketing teams must now be fluent in reading and acting on data. AI platforms, for example, thrive on data, and professionals must now know how to interpret dashboards and predictive analytics, use A/B testing and segmentation tools powered by AI, and understand customer journey mapping through behavioural data.
For business schools, it will be increasingly important to hire marketers with experience and skills in data visualisation, statistic-led decision making and some familiarity with AI-powered tools and analytics.
Adaptability and learnability
While technology and digital transformation are driving much of the changes in marketing skills demands, that doesn’t make technical experience the most valuable attribute of a great professional. If we consider the pace of evolution that we’ve noted in the last few years, having a team of marketers with a passion to learn, an interest in challenging the norm, and the resilience to adapt will be crucial for business schools.
It’s difficult to say what tech revolution we will see in the years ahead, but having marketing professionals on board who are adept at navigating and capitalising on change will be valuable.
Hyper-personalisation
We’ve covered the topic of hyper-personalisation of business education previously, and in line with this changing demand with learning itself, marketers of today have to be able to tap into the right tools to deliver personalised marketing communications. This means that business schools will need to source individuals with a range of skills, including literacy in API and tool integration, an understanding of customer data platforms and marketing automation configuration.
Flexible story-telling
As mentioned above, the messaging behind business education marketing is changing. As AI-enabled learning becomes the norm, marketers must be able to ensure this is communicated well and via the right methods. Story-telling will need to adapt and the best professionals will be able to amend messaging to not only reflect the new nature of learning, but also the nuances of each marketing channel.
Cross-channel marketing experience will be increasingly valuable, as will the ability to demonstrate successful storytelling across multiple platforms and in a range of formats.
Marketing: a business school’s secret weapon
We know just how crucial it is for business schools to have a strong marketing function – that’s why we’ve helped so many hire the best-in-class marketers and leaders. If you’re looking to bolster your marketing leadership expertise, we can help – contact the team today.
