Signal vs. Noise: Moving from Conversation to Conversion

Signal vs. Noise
UCPEA Regional Conference
Moving from Conversation to Conversion
Dan Obregon, Vice President of Marketing, Intelliworks, Inc.
email: dan.obregon@intelliworks.com
twitter: @dobregon
WWW.INTELLIWORKS.COM

Discover
Educate
Enroll
Yield
Signal
Analyze
Noise
Engage

EVOLUTION
Demographic Trends
Consumer Trends
Technology Trends
Economic Trends

EVOLVING CONSUMERS
7 percent of babies have an email address
92 percent of toddlers have an online presences
Source: AVG Internet Security Study, October 2010
“As a consumer's online tenure increases, so does the likelihood that he or she will research and apply online. And as online tenure increases, consumers are more apt to research exclusively online.”
– Forrester Research

EVOLVING COMMUNICATIONS
“If we are driving them there, should we then question where they currently are and how we can push content to them?
It seems that in our strategies, we are building a pull-environment for a push-customer...”
Mark Hoetning, CIO, Arkansas State University
(via EDUCAUSE Listserv)
Multiple touch points
Preferences vary based on lifecycle
No “one size fits all” solution
Next best thing is always around the corner

?
The Facebook Experience
Login
Browse the “News Feed”
Randomly browse the site
Log off
University
Presence

The Facebook Experience
Login
Browse the “News Feed”
Randomly browse the site
Log off
University
Presence

Putting a Face to Cyberspace
Evolving to meet student expectations
Setting strategic goals and objectives
Creating benchmarks for success

THE DECK IS
STACKED, RIGHT?

DEMAND HAS NEVER BEEN HIGHER
Less than 16% of those enrolled in higher education are “traditional” age college students (18-22)
Over 25 population is the fastest growing segment in higher education
Availability of online and hybrid programs makes these programs more accessible than ever before
Even in a recession, people are better off with an education than without
Increasing cost and scrutiny of for-profit educators have made not-for-profit adult education providers even more appealing

BUT CHALLENGES REMAIN…

MORE GOING, BUT PROGRESS IS SLOWING
Americans are growing more educated, but progress appears to be slowing among younger adults.
While the share of U.S. adults holding a four-year college degree rose from 24 percent to 28 percent from 2000 to 2008, a lower share of 25 to 34 year-olds than 35 to 44 year-olds held a four-year college degree in 2008, a reversal from the pattern in 2000. Nearly a quarter of those younger adults have completed some college, but not a degree.
Source: Brookings Institutions, Report on Education Attainment, July 2010

EXPECTATIONS ARE CHANGING…
WEB: 92 percent said that they would be disappointed with a school or remove it entirely from their lists if they didn’t find the information they needed on the school’s Web site.
SOCIAL MEDIA: 76 percent of students supported schools creating their own private social networks for prospective students.
ECONOMY: 46 percent claimed that the current economic crisis had caused them to reconsider the schools they would apply to or attend—an increase from 34 percent just last year.
MOBILE: 23 percent of respondents reported searching college sites from their smart phones.
Source: Noel-Levitz, “Focusing Your E-Recruitment Efforts to Meet the Expectations of College-Bound Students,” August 2010

NARROWING THE GENERATIONAL GAP
Source: Community College Student Engagement Survey, June 2010

You will fail
without a
strategy.

STRATEGY STARTS WITH YOUR CUSTOMER
What are they interested in learning?
How do they want to learn?
What are their motivations?
How would they calculate a return on investment?
Where do I find them? Or (more important), where do they find me?

DEGREE OF INTEREST
Source: Stamats, AdultS tudents Talk Survey 2010

COURSE FORMAT
Source:Intelliworks Poll, October 2010 n=214

COURSE FORMAT BY GENDER

COURSE FORMAT BY AGE

FIGURE OUT
WHATMOTIVATES THEM…

STUDENT MOTIVATIONS: WHAT THEY WANT
Student Motivations
Source: Intelliworks LinkedIn Poll, October 2009 (n = 355)

HOW IS YOUR INSTITUTION PROVING ITS WORTH?
How Institutions Prove ROI
Source: Intelliworks LinkedIn Poll, October 2009 (n = 100)

WHY DO MOTIVATIONS MATTER?

DEVELOPING PERSONAS

What are they like?
1
Why are they here?
2
What keeps them up at night?
3
How can you solve their problem?
4
What do you want them to do?
5
How can you best reach them?
6
How might they resist?
7
© duarte.com 2008

THINKING INHUMAN TERMS
The Doubting Thomas
He went straight to work after high school
and now he’s looking to get ahead in his
career. He’d like to go back and earn his
degree, but just got promoted and doesn’t
want to leave his job.

Ms. “Too Cool for Your School”
She’s weighing her options. You offer
everything she’s looking for in an art
history program, but she’s never heard
of your school. And neither have her
friends.

Mr. “Show Me The Money”
His division II football career may be over,
but he never lost his passion for sports.
He’s having a hard time breaking into
the industry though, and thinks an MBA
in Sports Marketing might get him back
in action.

WHY?
Understand their decision-making process.
Understand their communication style.
Discover pain points/barriers to enrollment.
Validate or deny your assumptions and avoid stereotypes.

The Idea Man
He’s spent the last 25 years running his
own company, and is ready to retire, but
that doesn’t mean he’s ready to stop.
Many assume he’s against online education
due to his age, but in fact he’d rather
affluent professionals like him may prefer
to learn at their own pace while enjoying
their golden years.

THEN FIGURE OUT
HOWTO FIND THEM.

PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS
Q: Would you want to receive information about a college or university via __________________?
Source: Intelliworks LinkedIn Poll, January 2010 (n=100)

“If you want to grab someone's attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait…Once a customer volunteers his or her time, you're on your way to establishing a long-term relationship and making a sale.”
– Seth Godin, Author, Permission Marketing

EMAIL PREFERRED FOR ADMISSIONS NOTIFICATIONS
Q: Would you want a college or university to contact you via __________________regarding your admissions status?
Source: Intelliworks LinkedIn Poll, January 2010 (n=100)

THE TAKEAWAY?
Make it easy for them to find you. DO NOT SPAM!
Once they’ve found you, engage them where they want to engage.
Optimize online presence to convert interested prospects.
97% of students begin their search online. (Source: Stamats)

Source: XKCD.com

WEBSITE FEATURES THAT MATTER
Source: Noel-Levitz, August 2010

WHAT YOU SEE HAPPENING

WHAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING

DO THESE LOOK FAMILIAR?
Goals
Increase Enrollment
Improve Staff Efficiency
Control Data Sharing
Enhance Effectiveness of Student Contact

SURVEY SAYS!
Source: Intelliworks Email Poll of UCEA/Eduventures Members, April 2010

GROWTH
Increase inquiries, applications, enrollments, etc.
Raise awareness of your program in the market
Expand the diversity of your offerings

EFFICIENCY
Reduce the number of clicks it takes to complete an application
Improve your inquiry response time
Automate workflow and communications

QUALITY
Attract more qualified students or attract the right students for your program
Differentiate your program from the competition
Improve customer experience

INTELLIGENCE
Year-over-year comparisons of your key metrics
Responses to your marketing messages (opens/click throughs, etc.)
Engagement of your community

HELP THEM FIND YOU
Goal
Supplement database with quality leads
Purchased Lists: Lower cost, raise results
Calculate and track marketing ROI
Tactics
Drive search traffic to online inquiry forms
Capture lead source data
Send TARGETED email campaigns to opt-ins
Results
NO LISTS PURCHASED
Over 30,000 Inquiries in 6 months
Visibility to Recruiter Activities
Marketing Dollar Spend Analysis
Built In Analytics = Real Time Access To Data

FOLLOW THE THREE C’s
Coordinated
Consistent
Compelling

FIU BUSINESS: UNCOMMON THINKERS
Info Session Attendance up more than 200% over 3 years
Applicants up more than 50% over 3 years
Admits up more than 60% over 3 years
Enrolled up nearly 75% over 3 years

THE KEYS TO SUCCESS
Know your students
Hire good communicators
Build “hoop-less” admissions and financial aid processes
Take a proactive approach to student advising
Automate routine communications
Hire faculty suited to online teaching
Set and maintain high standards for student/faculty communication
Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate
Check your program’s vital signs regularly
Use cross-functional teams to develop enhancements and improvements
Source: American Public University System and Intelliworks

MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS
&IMPROVEMENT

Awareness
Inquiry
Follow Up
Engagement
Qualification
Application
Admissions
Enrollment
Retention
Completion

TREAT DIFFERENT STUDENTS DIFFERENTLY
Strategic Objectives
Custom design of communications plan; points of contact based on individual student characteristics and individual program marketing plan.
Automated yet personalized communications.

BREAK DOWN SILOS
Consolidate Information
Provide a central location to share and collaborate on prospect data.
Share goals and reports across the organization.
Transfer knowledge from one person to another.
Eliminate error from manual calculations and various data management issues.

MEASURE THE BASICS
Establish benchmarks
Student Inquiries
Web site Traffic
Event Attendees
Applicants

EVOLUTION

RESOURCES
Higher Education and Social Media
http://www.intelliworks.com/blog
http://www.ustream.tv/user/intelliworks/videos
http://www.slideshare.net/intelliworks
Creating Marketing Personas
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1799477031032190172&hl=en#
http://technomarketer.typepad.com/technomarketer/2008/04/developing-pers.html
Marketing Charts
http://www.marketingcharts.com
Cartoons
http://www.tomfishburne.com/
http://www.xkcd.com

THE END.
Dan Obregon, Vice President of Marketing, Intelliworks, Inc.
email: dan.obregon@intelliworks.com
twitter: @dobregon
WWW.INTELLIWORKS.COM

Signal vs. Noise: Moving from Conversation to Conversion

by Intelliworks on Oct 18, 2010

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