Putting students first: EHL’s human-centric strategy

Background

EHL (École hôtelière de Lausanne), established over 130 years ago, is recognised as the world's leading Hospitality Management School. With a student body of approximately 5,000 across its campuses in Lausanne, Singapore, and Chur-Passugg, EHL offers a diverse range of programmes, including B2B and executive education courses. 

EHL embraces a human-centric approach in both its teaching and marketing. One of the goals for EHL’s recruitment is to guide prospective students in choosing the perfect programme while ensuring that EHL is the ideal fit for their aspirations. Traditionally, this engaging advisory content has been delivered through captivating blog articles and insightful webinars.

Challenge

EHL's strategic goal is to establish itself as a top-ranked business school and attract students from outside the hospitality sector. In order to achieve this, EHL needed to understand the interests, motivations and preferences of non-hospitality students, so they could tailor their communications to this demographic. Beyond merely guiding prospects towards making the right choice for their future, EHL is dedicated to teaching and maintaining exceptional customer service with a ‘human touch’; therefore, the school needed a tool that would align with these values – while still successfully providing the in-depth information they required.

Human-Centric Marketing Strategy

By implementing House of Education’s product, the Study Choice Advisor (SCA), on their website, EHL was able to maintain a customer-centric marketing strategy. The SCA is fundamentally rooted in human-centricity, guiding prospects along individualised journeys that adapt according to their responses. As Julien, Global Marketing & Communication Manager at EHL, points out:

The content in the Study Choice Advisor does not consist of sales messages. It focuses on what we can offer, and how we can bring value to what the prospect said they’re looking for. It lets prospects know that we can help them reach their goal.

Moreover, the strength of the SCA also lies in its fun and interactive gamification approach that engages prospects from the get-go, while still showcasing individual programmes and providing content that is relevant for different stages of a candidate’s decision-making journey. Julien emphasises the value of this approach once again by stating: "The Study Choice Advisor provides an experience, and people are looking for experiences now. This is universal; it doesn't really matter your origin—we all want to have experiences." 

Thus, by delivering personalised advice tailored to prospective students, the SCA ensures that the content resonates with their needs and preferences, enhancing the overall customer experience and aligning with EHL’s branding and strategic objectives. Julien concludes this thought by saying: “This is a great tool that fits the expectations of our customers, while still giving us information about our customers’ behaviour.”

Quality Lead Generation

Julien also praises House of Education's ability to generate high-quality leads. He appreciates the reliability and precision offered in HoE’s lead generation, which allows them to dictate specific volumes from targeted markets. This control over lead volumes and market-specific targeting is something EHL considers to be unique to House of Education.

Julien notes, "What I particularly appreciate is that when we collaborate with you, we agree on a specific number of leads. So far, you're almost the only one offering this approach." This assurance in lead generation has been crucial for EHL, providing a steady stream of prospective students who meet their criteria, and contributing significantly to their recruitment efforts. 

Indeed, the lead generation campaigns and SCAs have proved so valuable to EHL’s marketing efforts that they are more than doubling their investment in HoE’s tools;

Last year we ran two campaigns with you, and this year we are running double that. Last year we also commissioned one Study Choice Advisor, and this year we have 4 or 5 in the works. So this is a sign that we’re happy with your  results.

Trusted Relationship and Knowledge Sharing

A cornerstone of the partnership between EHL and HoE is our trusted relationship and open communication. House of Education not only understands EHL's needs and brand values, but also actively works to meet them. This close relationship is underscored by our transparency and a willingness to share our expertise. "We had the pleasure of meeting your campaign manager. He provided an introduction on how we can use your tools to run our own marketing campaigns, which was very helpful," Julien remarks. 

From HoE’s perspective, we are committed to EHL’s success, and feel that knowledge-sharing builds trust and confidence in any partnership – and is more important than merely trying to make a sale. Julien echoes our sentiments by saying “House of Education’s approach is very professional and customer-centric. You are flexible and you offer great advice. You’re not just trying to sell us a product.” 

Conclusion

The strategic partnership between EHL and House of Education highlights the effectiveness of valuing a human-centric marketing strategy, the importance of quality lead generation, and the merits of a transparent collaboration built on trust. 

By using the Study Choice Advisor, EHL has been able to enhance its marketing efforts, attract a broader range of students, and reinforce its position as a leading business school. The ongoing partnership and mutual understanding between EHL and House of Education continue to drive significant advancements in achieving EHL's educational and business objectives.