Reinventing the higher education value proposition After Covid-19

Covid-19 has put much stress on the higher education sector. As universities recover, new ways to improve their marketing should be examined. It is suggested that an expanded social power theory in conjunction with the extended marketing mix can be used to create a hierarchy of four value propositions that apply to prospective and current students and internal and external academics. These value propositions can be considered an aggregate that expresses a university’s position in the marketplace. It is suggested that transactional marketing approaches are appropriate for prospective and current students, while relational marketing approaches are more suitable for internal and external academics. It emerges that the social power theory is more paradoxical in its application. Temporal differences also can be seen to add complexity to this model. Understanding these factors makes it possible for the four key value propositions to be improved (via alignment and intentionality) so that value delivery happens. It is argued that this model can be used with university rankings to enhance a university’s market position.