Page 4 - Phase 1 - Understanding your organisations' entrepreneurial opportunities

The Rise of the Service Industry

The Rise of the Service Industry

Services, also known as ‘intangible goods’, include access, advice, attention, and experience, etc.
The main focus of the world’s economic activities has gradually shifted from the extraction of
raw materials, through manufacturing, to the service industry. Nowadays, the service industry
accounts for 93% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 95% of active labour. Other major
economic centres, such as London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, etc. share similar tendencies.

The service industry in a range of countries and regions has been investing an increasing amount

in digital marketing. It reflects that the service sector has increased demand to reach their target
customer and promote their service. This applies to the education industry too.
Remarkably, many schools are now actively engaged in marketing practices to increase their
standing (Lukosius and Festervand, 2013; Wilson and Carlsen, 2016). Marketing has become
a regular practice for the operation of most schools.

Digital Advertising Spend by Country: 2017 (black) vs. 2018 (white)
(Source: https://medium.com)

Is education is a product?

Oplatka and Hemsley-Brown (2004) applied the ‘production’ and ‘selling’ perspectives
into synthesising the scholarship of how schools respond to an increasingly competitive
environment. In a highly competitive education system where the survival of government-funded
schools is largely a result of the schools’ ability to maintain their share of students, the schools
need to continuously attend to the needs and preferences of parents and students

(Foskett, 2002). Also, they must actively communicate their features and achievements to their
parents and students (Lauder and Hughes, 1999; Oplatka, 2002). Various marketing strategies,

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