Place Strategy in School Marketing: Location, Timing, and Physical Evidence

Elementary schools in Taiwan are facing tremendous competition in the market place due to the dramatic decrease of the country’s birth rate. As a result, schools are forced to adopt many strategies to survive the competitive market. Place strategy is one of the most important parts of marketing 4Ps, and this research is endeavored to explore what elements of place strategy are most effective in school marketing perceived by parents. Analytic Hierarchy Process was adopted as the major research calculation method, and a self-developed questionnaire was administered to 300 parents in 6 elementary schools. The results indicated that parents mostly considered safe and pleasant neighborhood, followed by well-designed and maintained school construction, up-to-date and decent learning facilities, and quality aesthetic and health facilities. As a result, schools should further stress these elements when promoting their schools.