1 APPLYING MARKETING RESEARCH IN MARKETING STRATEGY FORMATION: THE CASE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN CROATIA Mario Vučić mag.oec.univ.spec.oec Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education, Zagreb,Croatia, doc. dr. sc. Zoran Mihanović University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Split, Croatia, Ana Bubalo, univ.spec.oec. University Sesvete – adult education institution, Zagreb, Croatia,

2 The 21st century is characterised by significant and rapid changes in all spheres of social life, as well as in education as one of the most important bearer of these changes. Today, knowledge on a global scale doubles in a year, and monitoring these changes implies the existence of adequate systems which are ready to accept and use these changes and to keep pace with them for the purpose of growth and progress. In the priority plans and activities of Ministry of science, education and sports and relevant national and European documents in the field of constructing knowledge society, school system in general has to assert itself as a place of education and training, but also as an organisation that continuously learns and adapts to demands and needs of its customers.

3 The role of marketing approach, which has been neglected so far, needs to be asserted in the mentioned framework, even though certain secondary school institutions successfully implement it on an intuitive level by applying ad-hoc measures and marketing management activities. Public sector, and education as its part, cannot remain outside of modern trends in management and performance methods if their goal is to achieve better results, and the adjustment to concrete customer needs certainly has a special significance in mentioned processes. Namely, education needs to be oriented towards the development of sustainable human capital, as is expected by European priorities of organisational development for educational sector in Croatia.

4 Therefore, it is of special importance to assert marketing research activities in order that forming performance strategy of educational institutions, defining stakeholders, processes and implementation elements is based on clear priorities and concrete needs of Croatian citizens, economy and other relevant participants. The unreadiness of participants in secondary education process, who are supposed to apply new methods of management and marketing performance, can have harmful effects on the success of previously described processes, monitoring new knowledge and approaches and efficacy in the market of “public“ institutions.

5 On the basis of stated starting points of research, this paper addresses the following goals: (1) the analysis of existing practice of marketing research and its systematic implementation in the formation of marketing strategies of secondary schools in Croatia has been theoretically and empirically established; (2) model formation of systematic application of marketing research in the integral process of secondary school marketing; (3) empirical assessment of the previously mentioned model.

6 Methodology Afore-mentioned goals were empirically assessed on the sample of secondary school headmasters in Croatia. Primary data gathering was performed by a method of deep interview with experts and a survey method, which used a specially designed survey questionnaire as an instrument for implementing the empirical part of the research. Secondary school headmasters in the Republic of Croatia were chosen as the examinees. An appropriate sample was used for the research, it included 34 examinees The instrument of the research included closed and (to a lesser extent) open questions, formed and structured in a manner adapted to be analysed by a statistical package SPSS.

7 The research started from the following hypotheses: (1) existing practice and marketing research tools in Croatian secondary schools are partial and based on intuitive and ad-hoc approaches; (2) there is a need for clear and systematic implementation of marketing research which has a significant potential for improving the success of strategic and operative performance of secondary schools and its remote units as the determinants of overall potential for achieving marketing efficacy

8 Research results The conducted research has shown the existence of the unreadiness of participants in the process of secondary school education to apply new methods of management and marketing performance which can have harmful effects on the efficacy of all described processes, monitoring new knowledge and approaches and efficacy in the “market“ of public institutions. Significant contribution of this work lies in empirical assessment of marketing research model which confirms the stated hypotheses. Marketing research model suitable to conditions in the environment has been formed and optimised for individual implementation in secondary schools in Croatia. This model was empirically evaluated on the sample of all secondary school headmasters in Croatia, therefore confirming the hypotheses on the basis of the research.

9 Research results The results suggest that the existing practice and marketing research tools in Croatian secondary schools are partial and based on intuitive and ad-hoc approaches. The research also provided results which imply that in the field of marketing research in secondary school education there is great space for improvement which should eventually contribute to significant enhancement of capacity and more quality activity of schools. Research results empirically substantiate a great potential for applying marketing research in marketing strategy formation.

10 Conclusion This paper states the need to adapt and assert marketing in secondary schools by using modern trends where school should be recognised as a place of education and training, but also as an organisation which continuously learns and adapts to the demands and needs of its customers. Marketing is not only advertising and sale as we often perceive it, but it is associated with understanding and satisfying customer needs

11 Conclusion In the future, secondary schools will have to use marketing tools increasingly. Every improvement in marketing knowledge and skills of all school employees, including management, teachers and technical staff, represents a prerequisite for it. Therefore, there is great responsibility on decision makers like the Ministry, state agencies and other stakeholders on one hand, and school management and guilds on the other hand. Possible areas for the improvement of marketing activity are relations to internal and external public, which include different information activities, improving communication with students, teachers, employees, decision makers and especially local community.

12 Conclusion Second possible area of marketing activity is a display of results of external evaluation and school self-evaluation which can represent an excellent basis for creating information and communication activities with the environment. Third important area is the promotion of new and modernised curricula compatible to the needs and demands of labour market. Promoting new curricula can have a long-term effect on school image which thus can be recognised as a bearer of change and new values required for the development of an individual and society. All this has a purpose of attracting the best students from elementary schools, school positioning and consequently improving the quality of the institution itself, but also contributing to the development of society and local community where the school operates.

13 Thank you for your attention