YHA

Education market research to shape future strategy and support of delivery of that strategy

Background

In 2007 the YHA commissioned Schoolzone to deliver the opening phase of research to assist the YHA in making strategic decisions concerning their offering to the UK primary and secondary education community.

Objectives

Issues to be addressed included:

• market positioning
• pricing and packaging of services and content
• branding awareness and impact
• marketing messages and methodologies
• online delivery of content and services

Using their expertise in these sectors, Schoolzone worked with the YHA to agree a programme of research. This commenced with desktop research to clarify and establish competitor offerings, followed by an online survey to gather quantitative data from the target market. The survey explored the client’s key research objectives and was teamed with online focus groups to provide detailed, qualitative responses to marketing materials and online offerings.

Schoolzone provided full analysis and reporting on all data strands and the resultant final report in autumn 2007 enabled the YHA to clarify several key issues, including:

• Their market position, perception and brand value
• Market requirements for education services and content
• Key foci for future development

Following on from phase 1, the YHA then commissioned Schoolzone to review and explore, in depth, end user responses to the YHA’s current content packages and school trip offerings.

Outcomes

By the close of this phase of the research the YHA had:

• Clarified their market position and perceived strengths and weaknesses
• Adapted marketing materials accordingly
• Amended brand direction and usage
• Introduced new search criteria into their online service provision
• Determined future directions for content and package delivery in the education sector

We are delighted with the relationship that YHA England and Wales has developed with Schoolzone. In just over 12 months, we have used the research provided to revitalise our strategy for both development and marketing of our school trip products and we are already beginning to see the return on our investment.

In addition to the research, Schoolzone have provided excellent advice about how best to reach educators and we continue to benefit from Schoolzone’s online advertising opportunities. Their newsletters and banners provide an excellent way of getting straight to our target market. We look forward to continuing our work with Schoolzone.

Sarah Fussey
YHA England and Wales Ltd.