How 300 NAGAP Schools Respond to Inquiries & What It Means … · 2018-04-05 · • Visited web...
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How 300 NAGAP Schools Respond to Inquiries & What It Means for Your Communication Strategy Presented by: David Cotter, Assistant Provost for Graduate Enrollment Management, Boston University Robert Ruiz, Vice President for Strategic Enrollment, Liaison Suzanne Sharp, Executive Director for Enrollment Management Consulting, Liaison
Transcript of How 300 NAGAP Schools Respond to Inquiries & What It Means … · 2018-04-05 · • Visited web...
How 300 NAGAP Schools Respond to Inquiries & What It Means for Your Communication Strategy
Presented by:David Cotter, Assistant Provost for Graduate Enrollment Management, Boston University
Robert Ruiz, Vice President for Strategic Enrollment, Liaison Suzanne Sharp, Executive Director for Enrollment Management Consulting, Liaison
Agenda
! The graduate school market! The 2018 inquiry response project! Communicating with students today and findings from inquiry
responses! Be available! Be fast! Be relevant! Use multiple channels
! The application experience
The 2018 Secret Shopping Project
Our Process:• Visited web pages for sample of graduate schools on the
NAGAP membership list (359 schools)• Searched for inquiry forms/ways to indicate interest• Submitted inquiry forms and logged date and time• Tracked responses from each school:
Emails – date, time, level of personalization, number sentPrint pieces – dates received, level of personalization, typePhone calls – date and type
• All results were compiled four weeks from respective date of inquiry
The 2018 Secret Shopping Project
Four Keys to Successful Communication:1. Be available2. Be fast3. Be relevant4. Use multiple channels
BE AVAILABLERequesting information & Accessing applications
Can Students Find What They Need?DO: Have easy access for students to request information and/
or apply
Can Students Find What They Need?DO: Have easy access for students to request information and/
or apply
Requesting Information
DO: Keep forms simple
Requesting Information
DON’T: Forget to update your forms
Response Pages
DON’T: Be generic and give students a dead end.
Response Pages
DO: Offer an immediate way for students to continue engaging.
Inquiry Form Tips
• Make it available on the home page• Keep it short• Keep it current• Be sure to use all the information you collect• Pay attention to your response page
BE FASTResponding to requests and applications
Response Times
! Inquiries generated from digital marketing campaigns are high-intent prospects that are usually looking at two to three other schools. According to the 2017 Aslanian Market Research of Online College Students:
61% of students enroll at institution that contacts them first.
http://blog.educationdynamics.com/turning-leads-enrollments-importance-speed-inquiry/
BE RELEVANTIt’s all about the student and their interest.
Relevancy Matters
! Responses can increase by 135% when a person’s name is added to a full-color direct mail piece.
! Responses can increase by 500% in a full-color piece with name and other relevant information.
https://compu-mail.com/blog/2017/07/14/30-direct-mail-statistics-for-2017/#Canon
Relevancy Matters
RELEVANT CONTENT CAN LIFT
YOUR RESPONSE RATES BY 10 TIMES!
20%lift
5xliftRightMessage
10xliftRightTime
20xliftLearning
2xliftRightIndividual
Static Personalized HighlyRelevant
Respon
seRate
Caslon & Company
Relevancy Matters
! How relevant are responses to inquiries?
Relevancy MattersDon’t: Be generic and give prospects more busy work.
Relevancy Matters
Do: Leverage all the information you have and make it personal.
Relevancy Matters
Relevancy Matters
Do: Leverage all the information you have and make it personal.
Relevancy MattersDo: Be quick to take advantage of inclement weather.
USE MULTIPLE CHANNELSMulti-channel communication is key to reach your market.
Use Multiple Channels
Recent studies on using multiple channels:• Multiple channels can produce up to a 300% increase in ROI and 24%
increase in conversion • Adding just one additional channel to a single channel campaign can
increase ROI by 19% • A five-channel campaign outperforms a single channel campaign by 35%• Messages are more likely to reach a person’s long-term memory if they
see it across multiple channels• Consumers usually experience a message on six channels before buying
https://www.olsenmetrix.com/multi-channel-marketing-delivers-better-roi https://www.salesgenie.com/multi-channel-marketing-campaigns/
Use Multiple Channels
"Today’s consumer moves seamlessly—sometimes even quickly—across digital and offline channels. She jumps from email, to social media, to your website, and then back to social media, without losing momentum. And she does this from whatever device is most convenient at the moment."
--The Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing, 2nd Edition, Marketo, 2015
Use Multiple ChannelsAre schools using more channels at the inquiry stage?
Phone
Microsites
0 17.5 35 52.5 70
2016 2017 2018
Use Multiple ChannelsDon’t: Send one email and expect a high conversion.
72
74
125
41
9
53
7
5
25
No form
Used Emai l and Print
Used only email to communicate
Inquiry Form, no response
Used Emai l, Pr int, and Phone
Single email was only communication
Used Emai l and Phone
Used only Print
Used only email, but offered microsite
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Combined Channels Used
Thank You!David Cotter - [email protected]
Robert Ruiz - [email protected] Suzanne Sharp - [email protected]
QUESTIONS?
