INTERNET BASED INTERACTIVE MARKETING PRACTICES IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES (Case Study at the Best Private Universities in the Bandung City Area)

There are 117 private universities in Bandung City, Indonesia. The competition between private universities in the Bandung City is certainly very tight and who is most capable of persuading and influencing consumers (prospective students) so he will win the competition and certainly get a large number of new students. One marketing activity that has a broad and fast impact to influence and or persuade consumers to buy is interactive marketing. Interactive marketing is, of course, a mandatory activity for every business organization, including private universities especially internet-based marketing. This research aims to identify and analyze internet-based interactive marketing activities of the best private Universities in Bandung City and its surroundings, which are located directly (Kabupaten Bandung, Kabupaten Bandung Barat, and Kota Cimahi). Private universities that are directly adjacent to the Bandung City are also analyzed because they are direct competitors from private universities in Bandung City. This research is a descriptive exploratory study or a type of qualitative research with the research method used is descriptive statistics. The unit analysis of this study is private universities located in the city of Bandung and around. The observation unit are various internet-based interactive marketing activities from these private universities. Using purposive judgment sampling with the criteria of the best private universities, the sample of this study is 6 private universities. Primary data and secondary data are both used in this study and the data is obtained by direct observation through internet browsing related to the object of research. The results of the study show that internet-based interactive marketing is quite intensively carried out by private universities in Bandung City and around. The website, search ads, display ads, e-mail, and social media have been implemented quite thoroughly and intensively by them. Interactive internet-based marketing seems to play a role in their webometricsranking and promotion activities