What you name your program or product matters.
And sometimes it's better to be effective than it is to be right.
Case in Point: MS Accountancy vs. MS Accounting
While "MS Accountancy" is grammatically correct, "MS Accounting" is the program the majority of the market is actually looking for.
Here’s a quick look at Google Trends to highlight this reality:
So you can be right and market an "MS Accountancy" program that 90% of the market won't find, or you can be effective and market an "MS Accounting" program that aligns with what the market is actually looking for.
Whichever you choose, it’s important to remember that the difference is significant, because “MS Accounting” receives 10X the search volume.
Avoiding the Avoidable
So if you want to avoid simple - but significant - missteps like the one noted above, look around the table where decisions are being made and ask yourself…
Does Marketing Have a Seat?
Because while marketers are rarely experts in pedagogy, and far from the people you’d traditionally turn to for matters of teaching and learning, the reality is they can often provide a lot of value when it comes to helping to launch, grow, and manage your academic programs.
So before you launch that new program, consider connecting with your marketing department to ask (among other things…) “What should this program be called?”
Because that question may just be…
The Difference Between Being Right vs. Being Effective
About the Author
Seth is the founder and CEO of Kanahoma, a San Diego-based education marketing agency. We offer full-service marketing support for higher education, K-12, education technology, and more.
You can learn more about who we are and what we do at www.Kanahoma.com.