Exploitation of CRM for Strategic Marketing in Higher Education

Swedish universities have always received geater attention from international students, thanks to their well-quality and tuition-free programs. However, by introduction of tuition fee for non-EU/EEA students from fall 2011, a reduction in the number of international applicants is predictable. This is while many universities around the world attempt to leverage their resources to maintain their competitive niche in the worldwide market by establishing student-centric strategies to achieve a high level of students' satisfaction. To help Swedish universities to pass through this situation safely, this study has conducted a qualitative research with the analysis of the information collected through interviews with representatives of five Swedish universities along with the intense support from previous literatures as well as the theoretical body selected for this research. The result has led to the creation of a knowledge-based Customer Relationship Management(CRM) model formed by the combination of the CRM approach and Knowledge Management strategy as the pivot for the effective operation of the proposed CRM framework within a constant learning environment.