Department Features

BHSU Student Organization Buzz Marketing Completes Enrollment Growth Projects

  • BHSU Communications
  • 18 March 2025
Buzz Marketing, a marketing student organization at Black Hills State University, successfully completed two projects for Black Hills State University - Rapid City (BHSU-RC) and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at BHSU during the Fall 2024 semester. The two projects provided the opportunity for Buzz Marketing to create impactful marketing strategies, expand their expertise, and enhance the professional skills of its members.

Buzz Marketing worked on an Enrollment Growth Plan for BHSU-RC. This project was completed for Dr. John Allred, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Life, to provide suggestions for increasing enrollment numbers at the Rapid City campus. The plan aimed to provide the Rapid City campus with more effective ways to market itself to prospective students, including working adults, military personnel, and non-traditional students. Led by Club President Cassie Wessels, the team organized surveys to gather data and incorporated a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis conducted by Dr. Allred to provide recommendations that could position and promote the school more effectively.

Throughout the duration of their project, the team faced many challenges, including difficulty in obtaining a dense number of interviewees and survey responses. In their project summary, the team wrote, "Despite the obstacles that the club faced, the team was able to obtain enough surveys and present a well-informed plan for the school. While collecting data for the Black Hills Rapid City Campus, we were able to distinguish between what makes people a good fit for the campus. This helps the campus out tremendously because it is much easier to focus marketing towards one or two small groups rather than the entire population of Rapid City."

"The ability to get real-world experience outside of the classroom by connecting with the community through these surveys was impactful, and, as an upperclassmen, the skills I used in this project will also help me in the job market," said Wessels.

Buzz Marketing was congratulated on their analysis with a letter of recognition from Dr. Allred, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Life and the Chair of Rapid City Campus Committee.

In addition to the BHSU-RC Enrollment Growth Plan, Buzz Marketing also collaborated with Dr. Adam Bailey, the Chair of the College of Business, and the BHSU College of Business to grow and improve the MBA program at BHSU. The goal of the project was to provide Dr. Bailey with information from interviewees about the thoughts of current, potential, and non-potential students regarding the MBA program.

Working on this project provided many valuable insights and learning experiences for Buzz Marketing. "Through the Black Hills State University MBA Project, one of the most important lessons learned was the ability to conduct in-depth market research connected to specific regional needs. By analyzing the target customers in the Rapid City area, we learned how to effectively identify potential MBA applicants and address their unique concerns and preferences. This experience improved critical and problem-solving skills, particularly in adapting strategies to niche markets. Additionally, teamwork and communication played a critical role in the project's success," the team wrote in their project summary.

This information was useful to the College of Business regarding strategic decisions about the development of the MBA program. Upon completion of this project, Buzz Marketing received a letter of recognition from Dr. Bailey for their efforts.

"It was really meaningful to see that our hard work and time paid off with these projects," added Wessels.