Word-of-mouth vs traditional marketing : case study in Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) / Nur Aifa Samberi

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are places where students of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and on a par choose to continue their study. These institutions offer a chance for students to gain extra knowledge based on the program that they have chosen. Marketing strategies implemented by these institutions can influence students on their choice of HEI. The strategies here are word of mouth and traditional marketing. This study was run in order to determine which marketing strategies between word of mouth and traditional marketing that most influence the choice of students to higher education institutions. Both strategies are very usual among marketers to attract their customers/students. This research was done in Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KIJIS). Questionnaires were distributed to students of KIJIS. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS. By using mean, standard deviation, correlation analysis and regression analysis, the result showed that both word-of-mouth (WOM) and traditional marketing variables were significant and positively related to the dependent variable. However, WOM created better result than traditional marketing and it was suggested strategy to use in HEI.