About Guus Goorts
I help universities and education providers improve how they attract, inform, and convert prospective students. In my 18+ years in education marketing, I have come to believe that successfully attracting your ideal students is almost never about resources and budget.
These help, but only if your message is clear and compelling and prospective students don’t encounter major hurdles in their student journey. I work with you to get a better return from your marketing money and efforts.
How I work
People often describe me as “no-nonsense”, but not as blunt or abrasive.
- If I don’t know something, I’ll say so and, where possible, suggest who or what might help instead.
- If I do know the answer, I won’t make it mysterious. I’ll share it openly and explain the trade-offs.
- I like structure and clarity, but I’m pragmatic. It’s about having enough data to make well-informed decisions.
I’m based near Breda in the Netherlands. Prior to that, I lived and worked in Singapore for 10 years and I’m still a Singapore Permanent Resident. A lot of my work and contacts are split between Europe and Asia, which keeps my perspective fairly global.
What I believe about education marketing
A few principles shape how I look at student recruitment:
- Fundamentals first
If the website is confusing, the positioning is vague, or you’re not clear who your ideal students are, no campaign can fix that for long. So we start there. - In-house at the wheel
Agencies, external experts and software are often indispensable. But as an in-house marketer or team lead, you need to understand the levers, own the data, and be confident enough to push back. I see it as my job to help strengthen in-house capability. - Evidence over buzzwords
I like experiments and love new and better ways to do things. But I dislike fads. If something is worth doing, we should be able to explain why, what it costs, and how we’ll know whether it worked.
