THE IMPLICATIONS OF INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION IN MAINTAINING STUDENT RELATIONSHIP OF A MALAYSIAN PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Integrated marketing communication (imc) is a business process that improves the higher education institutions’ marketing strategy by sending clear and consistent messages throughout the institutions in every contact point. therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the strategic processes of imc in the malaysian public institution of higher education (ihe) and its correlation with leadership in maintaining student relationship. quantitative analysis was performed to observe the level of imc implementation and leadership styles exhibited in the selected malaysian ihe. the imc four-stage framework and seven dimensions of full range leadership theory, which comprises of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership theory served as the basis of the study. the study found that the lecturers and administrative staffs of the malaysian public university in penang were adequately experienced in their job. they have also played their roles well by communicating with the students, and were thus respected, appreciated, and trusted by their students. hence, they have created a strong emotional bond with the customer, and at the same time, maintained internal stakeholder relationships.