Benefits of In-country Representation

So you have been working with education agents. You have received a number of students over the years. The numbers are now dwindling and you can’t seem to get an immediate response when communicating. Your travel is not scheduled until the next event season. How do you find out what’s going on? How do you maintain your agent relationships and build new ones? How do you step up your recruitment efforts?

It has been a common practice for HEIs to engage with education agents to recruit International students. It has been an effective method in increasing enrollment numbers and gain a little insight on the target market. Alongside the benefits of working with education agents, there are downsides to this type of relationship when not regularly nurtured.

When an agent-HEI relationship is not as strong and well-built, it may be possible to experience receiving fraudulent documents, inaccurate information, and unethical representation which put the HEI at risk – not just in terms of enrollment, but brand and reputation. How can we prevent these risks? Hiring an in-country representative is your next step. Institutional representatives allow schools to be “on the ground” at all times.

Some of the benefits of having an in-country representative are:

• Better cultural knowledge

• Improved agent support and management

• Increased marketing reach through immediate event participation in other parts of the country

• Expanded network through local contacts in the Education department and industry

• Ability to speak the local language

Not only will these benefits increase enrollment numbers and build good school reputation, but will also improve agent relationships and boost customer service and confidence with prospective students. It is also cost-effective and practical to take the services of an in-country representative.

Upward Education and Consultancy Services provides Education Institutions quality service on marketing, recruitment, and customer service through in-country representation. Other services include social media management, branding, lead conversion, event participation, admin (ad-hoc) tasks and market intelligence.