As President Obama delivered the State of the Union from the nation’s capital last week, more than 100 business school deans and directors gathered on the other side of the country to discuss the “state of the union” in graduate management education.

The 32^nd annual GMAC Leadership Conferencekicked-off in Long Beach, California with a keynote address from Dean Erika James of Emory University Goizueta School of Business who talked about “smoldering” crises in higher education.

“When our industry is feeling challenged from new disruptive technologies and competition, the value proposition is questioned,” said Dean James. “Students need to know the ROI.”

During the interactive session, Kevin Frey, Managing Director of the Full-Time MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, shared an example of one of many non-traditional competitors in the business education space, theMcKinsey’s Mini-MBA.

Clearly the tides are changing. So, how can business schools ride the wave of disruptive innovation?

One answer comes from Dean Kenneth Freeman, Dean of Boston University School of Management who presented the findings of the Business Education Jam and remarked:

“If we aren’t digital, millennials aren’t listening.”

While Dean Freeman was referring to integrating digital technology with the business curriculum, it also holds water for marketing to millennials.

After all, inbound marketing has taught us the importance of creating conversations and engaging with prospects where they are. For millennials, of course, that means online.

Consider these statistics from the Hubspot article, “What Does the Millennial Consumer Look Like?”

• 30% use four or more devices a day
• 56% use social networking apps at least once a month (up 10% from last year)
• 90% can be found on Facebook and 42% log on the site daily
• 52% would rather converse via text
• 38% said brands are more accessible and trustworthy when they use social rather than traditional advertising

But it’s more than just reaching them where they are, it’s about crafting a message that conveys the value proposition as illustrated in this message shared by Dean Freeman:

Jammers defined three key actions that require greater attention in order for business education to remain valuable and cutting-edge.

1. Value – make the business school experience worth the time and the price tag.
2. Real-world Relevance – knock down the ivory tower and extend b-school’s reach.
3. Differentiation – stand out in order to stand strong amidst disruption.

This sentiment was echoed in another keynote from Dean Paul Danos of Tuck School of Business who talked about “The Past, Present, and Future of Graduate Management Education.”

“If you can’t communicate the benefits of your programs and don’t have write-ups on them, they don’t exist in people’s minds,” he said. “You’ve got to make the communication of your programs a big deal if you want to be understood.”

In order to differentiate, you need to create themes for your school, he argued, and have a center of emphasis.

Also, it’s important to look beyond the walls of the institution for innovative ideas. Dean Danos stated:

“A big deficiency in b-schools management today is the lack of understanding of the best practice of other schools. Every school I visit has at least one practice that would improve my school. When I consult with other schools I often say that the way to start evaluating the communications function is to take a hard look at communication strategies and practices at other schools.”

And that’s exactly what made the conference so valuable. Participants from around the world (stretching as far as the Indian School of Business and the University of Cape Town) openly shared ideas on how to best attract and develop business leaders of today and tomorrow.

It would take as long as the four-day conference itself to recap the entire conference, but here are a few additional highlights that are helpful to keep in mind when marketing your programs.

“What is the Future of the Full-Time MBA?”

Dan Poston, Assistant Dean, MBA Programs, Foster School of Business, University of Washington

• Students want a life changing experience
• If we just make it about the 2 year job search, students will say I can do it on my own

Using Experience Mapping to Improve Your Admissions Outcomes

Shari Hubert, Associate Dean, MBA Admissions, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

• Treat applicants as customers or key stakeholders who need to have different emotional and functional needs met through the Admissions process

Admissions Analytics: No More Surprises!

Marci Armstrong, Associate Dean, Graduate Programs, Cox School of Business, SMU

Gary Mangiofico, Associate Dean, Executive Programs, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University

Brad Vierig, Associate Dean of Executive Programs, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah

• Make sure your efforts are focused on the entire process from marketing and lead generation, prospect nurturance, to recruitment and admission
• #1 motivation of applicants and non-applicants can be very different (quality education vs. career advancement)

Meanwhile, I was honored to present a session on “Business School Storytelling for the 21^st century” with Dee Steinle, Administrative Director of MBA Programs, at The University of Kansas. You can catch the upcoming webinar version on February, 11 at 2pm EST.

So, what is the state of business education?  According to Sangeet Chowfla, President and CEO of GMAC:

5 Key Trends to Watch in 2015:

1. Demand for MBA programs is picking up
2. The GME job market is strong
3. Yet many of you are still under pressure
4. Prospective students are also stressed
5. Digital disruption will only increase

The takeaway is that prospective students have more choices than ever before so we need to find new and helpful ways to differentiate our programs and demonstrate meaningful benefits.

The more we can do that, the stronger our state of the union will be.