MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES IN HEIS

Abstract

This article investigates the adaptation of Ukrainian higher education institutions (HEIs) to the global market through multicultural marketing strategies for promoting educational services. The study analyzes the theoretical foundations of multicultural marketing, emphasizing the integration of the "Push-Pull" model, which identifies push factors (economic instability and limited opportunities in home countries) and pull factors (quality education and career prospects in the destination country), with Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory for audience segmentation. Key parameters include power distance (PDI), individualism (IDV), masculinity (MAS), uncertainty avoidance (UAI), long-term orientation (LTO), and indulgence (IVR), enabling tailored communications for markets like India (PDI=77, IDV=48, MAS=56, LTO=51 – focus on authority and group success), Nigeria (PDI=80, IDV=30, MAS=60, IVR=84, LTO=13 – emphasis on leadership and achievements), and Turkey (PDI=66, IDV=37, UAI=85 – detailed instructions and security guarantees). A critical review of literature highlights domestic Ukrainian works on digital marketing and branding (Lisun), social networks' role in image formation (Anisimova et al.), and digital transformation challenges (Pasichnyi, Gaievska et al.), contrasted with international practices from Poland (Kisiołek et al.), Korea (Lee & Kim), and Germany (DAAD), where multilingual campaigns achieve 25% student growth and 20% ROI. The proposed MMS-UA model (Multicultural Marketing Strategies – Ukrainian Adaptation) consists of five stages: analysis (motivational and cultural), differentiation (unique value proposition), adaptation (verbal, visual, channel), personalization (individual communication via CRM), and tracking (KPI monitoring). Economic justification includes a campaign budget of 4000–6000 USD, reducing customer acquisition cost (CAC) by 10–12% through chatbots and AI analytics, while increasing conversion rates by 15–20% and ROI to 18–20%, as evidenced by Korean and Polish benchmarks. Practical recommendations encompass pilot testing the model in Ukrainian universities with cultural segmentation, implementing multilingual landing pages (English, Chinese, Arabic), and participating in fairs like Study in Europe or QS World Grad School Tour for Indian and Nigerian markets, projecting a 20% student increase within two years. The model avoids specific technical HEI case studies to maintain independence from related research and ensures sustainability in post-war recovery conditions. Future research should integrate MMS-UA with CRM platforms for real-time strategy adjustments and empirical testing to evaluate economic resilience impacts.