The success of an institute of higher learning is not solely dependent on the physical evidence. The balance is maintained between the physical evidence and people, notably faculties and staff with the right process in place.

Marketing mix has always been the fundamental of strategy formulation for all the marketers. Analyzing and interpreting all the four P's namely, Product, Price, Promotion, and Place is fundamental for all the strategies, be it related to promotional offers, setting up of distribution channels, territory allotment to salesforce, etc. Product marketers considered these variables as the foundation brick for every marketing and related activities.

However, services marketer found certain discrepancies while formulating strategies with these few mixes. Thus, a need was felt for additional P's in the form of Physical Evidence, Process and People. The challenges posed by unique characteristics of services like intangibility, perishablilty, inseparability and heterogeneity compelled services marketers to leverage the extended element of services marketing mix.

Higher educational institutes like engineering colleges, medical schools and business management institutes are educational service providers. Most of these educational institutes offering professional programs are running their show unprofessionally as they lack professional managers to deal with the show, the way it should be done. Till a point of time, even sectors like healthcare, hospitality or even aviation were also managed in the same fashion. However, things changed once these sectors were deregulated and competitors sprang from all corners.

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