Marketing skills to grow internationally

The first session held on 13th May 2025 was co-hosted by Jonathan Ledger, DBT International Education Team Skills and Professional Bodies Specialist and Chris Boobier, DBT International Education Team China Lead.

Some of the top tips and insights shared included:

• Tailoring Marketing Campaigns: Organisations should tailor their marketing campaigns to each country or market they enter.
• Understanding Client Needs: Sounds obvious, but developing a deep understanding of what clients want from a product or service, highlighting the need for research, conversations, and focus groups to gain insights into international clients is essential.
• Effective Marketing Materials: Create effective marketing materials by focusing on the product or service’s impact and relevance to the target country, rather than the organisation’s history.
• China’s Education Sector: Insights on China’s skills market were shared, highlighting its size, diversity, and the importance of tailoring messages to specific regions and stakeholders. Additionally the growing importance of vocational education in China and the government’s focus on skills training and digital education to address regional disparities. Finally, the importance of building strong relationships and understanding the cultural and historical context when working with Chinese stakeholders is a priority.

• Business Model Canvas: Participants were introduced to the Business Model Canvas as a tool for understanding markets and shaping marketing plans and delivery models, demonstrating the importance of understanding customer segments and value propositions. This included identifying key activities, resources, and partners needed to deliver value propositions to customer segments, and how this impacts revenue and costs.
• Unique Selling Points: Has your organisation identified its unique selling points and differentiators to stand out in the market, using examples such as UK branding and demonstrating a focus on sustainable development goal achievement.
• Impact Measurement: Does your organisation systematically measure the true impact of training and skills programmes before, during and after implementation? It is essential to convert impact into language that businesses can translate as investment propositions.