FEED-BAC: AN INVESTIGATION INTO INFLUENCES ON THE CONSUMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES OF INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE ALUMNI

This paper examines the consumer decision-making process of alumni of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. The paper examines the constructs of relationship marketing, consumer decision-making and customer relationship management and attempts to shed light on exactly how these theoretical areas contribute to marketing of the IB and other educational establishments and products. The rich data gathered from semi-structured, online interviews with IB alumni provided an insight into how these respondents formed their decisions, and what influences were prevalent. Findings indicate that the IB and their stakeholders would benefit from a more structured marketing communications strategy encompassing a relationship marketing focus. Additionally, the findings support existing consumer decision-making literature in terms of demonstrating the existence of cognitive processes, consideration of alternatives and quality cues, as well as post-purchase evaluation. The paper provides indications of the way in which consumers of educational products would like to receive marketing communications from educational providers.