Let’s Get Personal! Ways to Harness Your Data to Improve Personalization

Let’s Get Personal!
Ways to Harness Your Data to
Improve Personalization

3
About Us: Jane Raley
! Jane Raley, Director of Enrollment
Management Operations
- Over 30 years in Admissions and
Enrollment Management
- Experience recruiting undergraduate,
graduate, adult degree completion
and online students
- Skilled in managing and
implementing admissions and CRM
systems
Favorite Leisure Time
Media Source:

4
About Us: Emily Meehan
! Emily Meehan, CRM Strategy
Consultant
- Over 12 years of experience in
vendor and client-side technology
and marketing analytics
- Expertise in CRM implementation,
database marketing, relationship
marketing best practices
- 3 years with Hobsons
Favorite Leisure Time
Media Source:

! The “What” and “Why” of Personalization
! Driving Relevance in Recruitment
Communications: Buyer Personas
! Focus on Lesley University
! Integrating Personalization Into Your
Recruitment Efforts
Agenda

What is Personalization?
From searchcrm.techtarget:
“Personalization is a means of meeting the
customer's needs more effectively and
efficiently, making interactions faster and
easier and, consequently, increasing
customer satisfaction and the likelihood of
repeat visits.”

Why Are We Talking About Personalization?
Across 2013 and 2014,
output of content per brand
increased 78%, while
content engagement
decreased 60%
Track Maven Content Paradox – 2015
43% of professionally
marketed blog posts
receive fewer than 10
interactions
Track Maven Content Paradox -
2015

Why Are We Talking About Personalization?
75% of consumers
say they prefer
personalized offers
Aberdeen Group 2015
Personalized emails
generate up to six times
higher revenue per email
than non-personalized
emails.
Experian Marketing Services' 2013 Study
“96% of consumers acknowledge
having received mistargeted
promotional information. 94%
have taken steps to break off their
relationship with the brand or
service, including automatically
deleting emails (68%) and
unsubscribing from lists (54%).”
Source: Print in the Mix and MarketingProfs

! Open ended question posted on College Confidential May 2015:
! 80 Open-Ended Responses
! Respondents Included:
-  Parents of prospective students,
-  Prospective Students
-  Current Students
What Students Say About Your Communications
“From time to time we like to check in with our
members to see how the college preparation process
is going ... Tell us about the communications you're
receiving from colleges. What do you like? What
should they be doing more of? What should they stop
doing?”

! Personal Touch, Standing Out, Visual
Communications
What They Like…
5%
5%
5%
7%
10%
15%
17%
17%
20%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Accurate financial tools
Likeley letters
Active Social Presence
Good website navigation
Personal Outreach
Free application
Promotions/Giveaways/Freebies
Personalized acceptance letters
Print mailers with strong imagery
Most Positive Feedback About College Communication
Likely

“I like it when schools send shirts
or puzzles or toys. Just adds a
human touch to the college
admissions process that seems to
be cutthroat and nerve-racking as
can be. Even making an illusion of
humanness in the process does a
lot to ameliorate stress.”

! Communications are overly generic, irrelevant,
untargeted, too frequent, and inaccurate
What They Don’t Like…
5%
7%
7%
9%
14%
58%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Information Delays/Responses
Auto Phone calls
Fees
Lack of Guidance Counselor Support
Poor Website Nav and Info
Spamming of print and email
Top Complaints About College Communications

“I understand that [SCHOOL NAME]
is a large school and they aren't
able to personalize anything, but it
was really annoying. They also sent
me materials telling me to look at
things online that didn't exist. They
sent me emails telling me to do
things, and then the website
wouldn't work.”

! Personalized outreach received the most requests
! Opportunities to get on campus; truthfulness; important
deadline information
What They Want More Of….
3%
3%
3%
3%
6%
9%
9%
12%
18%
33%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Younger Alums Contact
More Contact Preferences
Fully Digitized Process
Outreach to Transfers
Post-Applicaton Communication
Important Deadline Info
Financial Information Earlier in Process
Honesty/Truthfulness in School Culture/Claims
Opps College Tours/Info Sessions/Visits
Personalized Mailing Based on Interests, Current
Data
Top Requests for College Communication

! Marketers striving to interact with
customers and deliver meaningful
and highly engaging customer
experiences.
! Consider other major consumer
brands engaging your target
audience.
! What sort of investment are they
asking for in a Coke? Burrito?
Coffee?
! YOU need an investment of $92,000
– $184,000.
Marketers are Responding
…And So Should You
85% of marketers report
that understanding
buyers is their #1 priority
over next 2 years
ITSMA
! Think there’s an
engagement
experience gap??

Driving Relevance in Recruitment
Communications:
The Buyer Persona

! “An archetype or composite picture of
the real people who buy, or might buy,
products like the one you sell.”
•  The Buyer Persona Manifesto
! Answers the question: Who is My
Ideal Customer?
! For our purposes: Who is My Ideal
Student?
What is a “Buyer Persona?”

Ideal
Channels
Multiple touch
points
Internet; e-mail;
print; radio.
Sample
Messaging
Must show
value to
investment.
Must sell them
on future career
opportunities
Ideal Student Persona
18

! Reach and engage your ideal students.
! Ensures your program and value messaging is
relevant and on the mark.
! Saves money-- allocate your marketing dollars
so your message reaches your ideal student
segments
Why Create A Student Persona?

How Do I Create A Student Persona?
1.  Harness enrollment data to
create segments
2.  Identify groups of
individuals with broad
characteristics
3.  Tailor content to make it
relevant for select groups

! Age
! Responsibilities
! Major Concerns or Priorities
! Stressors/Pain Points
! Purchase Drivers
! Role in Purchase Process
! Where they go for Information
! How they find Information (channels/devices)
! Days to Purchase Decision
What Kind of Data Is Helpful in Creating A Student Persona?
Capturing the Right Data for Your Student Persona

! Private University with enrollment of 7,000
! Goal of increasing enrollment by 30% across
traditional undergrad programs
! Challenged with shrinking marketing &
recruitment budgets and limited personnel
resources
Lesley University

Expanded capacity and quality of recruiting events
- Visitor Services Team
- Personalized Plan for Campus Visit
- Alumni Outreach
- Student Ambassadors
Recruitment Initiatives

Coordinated/focused recruitment efforts
throughout all touch points of decision cycle
! Radius communication plans integrating phone, print,
email
-  Highly actionable views for timely and easy counselor follow-up
! Strategic planning of fairs and high school visits
-  Alumni outreach

! Private social community
for new admits to
encourage peer
interaction

! Modified branding

Analyzing Enrollment Data by
Zip Code
! Geotargeting analysis to
identify highest performing zip
codes
! Reduced spend in
underperforming CPL
programs
! Prioritized name purchase
spends by zip code
Geotargeting

! Develop a student persona profile of Lesley
University’s ideal students to determine:
- Behaviors, attitudes, demographic characteristics,
and psychographic profiles of Lesley University
undergraduate students.
- How to engage the best prospective students?
- Channel preferences that prospective students use
to conduct research about education pursuits and the
best ways to reach them.
- What actionable items can be executed in a strategic
marketing plan based on the above findings?
Student Persona Project

30 | © 2013 Hobsons. All rights reserved worldwide.
! Who are your students?
! Where should you target them?
•  Geographically
•  In media
! What is important to them?
•  Messages that resonate
•  Product offerings they seek
Overview

Data Sourced from Neustar’s ElementOne
© Neustar, Inc. / Proprietary and Confidential.
Marketing
Strategy &
Segmentation
Customer
Acquisition
Identification &
Verification Scoring
Customer
Retention
& Upsell
Network
Attributes
Identifiers

! All matriculated students minus any withdrawals and
stop-outs from the last three years.
! Ran segmentation against defined base of 8 states
-  MA; NY; NJ; RI; NH; ME; CT; VT
! Identifies top segments exhibiting behavior of the data
set
! Grouped into clusters representing a base large enough
to support a campaign
Data Selection

! Central focus of messaging and channel
choices.
•  Fiscally Responsible. ROI and value add are key.
•  Quality is Worth Paying For. Brand visibility,
reputation, and program rank are important parts of
the enrollment decision.
•  Social. In-person and digital connectedness make
these people fulfilled.
•  On the go. Mobile accessibility and ease of
obtaining information in transit are important
“Ideal Audience” Attributes

! Central focus of messaging and channel
choices.
•  Deal Seekers. Will put in the effort to find the best
deal for the product they want. Need ready access
to financial information.
•  Trending. Brand visibility and reputation are
important parts of the enrollment decision – if they
can be had at the right price.
•  Trust the Customer. Active consumers and
contributors of social sites. Seeking advice from
sources who can share their experience with the
product.
•  Design Responsive. Information must be easily
accessed on any device, in a visually appealing
way.
“Ideal Audience” Attributes

! Adapt content messaging and
imagery to speak to target ideal
student groups.
! Allocate marketing spend in the
channels and media outlets target
audiences are searching for
information.
! Ensure forms and pages are design
responsive
! Offer tuition discounts to deal
seekers
! Ensure third-parties carry trusted
brand messages
Tactics to Respond to Groups
Enroll
Consideration
Recruit/Engage

! Achieved a 5.1% lead to inquiry conversion rate
outpacing the 2% industry standard
! Increased inquiry to application conversion by 2%
for College of Art and Design
! Increased freshman applications by 30% and
transfer applications by 20%
! Anticipate increasing overall new
freshman and transfer enrollment by 30%
Results of Current Initiatives

Integrating Personas into Your Recruitment
Efforts

! Ask Current Vendor Partners:
- CRM Vendor
- Marketing Agency
! DIY with focus groups and surveys
! DIY with existing tools:
- Makemypersona.com
- Upcloseandpersona.com
- Usersbox.com
- Siteseeker.com/target/personas
Options for Building Personas

! Tell me about your day to day at school (clubs, sports,
major, events, free time, etc.)
! Where did you find the most useful information? Not just
the channels but the type or format.
! Tell me about how you decided on [School Name]
! Who else was involved in the decision? Who did you
speak with?
! What sites / where schools and parents went to visit?
! What was the turning point that finally helped you make
the decision to enroll?
Sample Survey Questions

Align Messaging with Decision Stage
Enroll
Consideration
Recruit/Engage
Anticipate needs,
obstacles,
concerns in out
reach

! How is content presented in a way that’s linked?
! What do you want them to do next?
! How are peers sharing info with one another?
Consider Engagement Scenarios

! Get buy-in with recruitment staff
! Ensure outbound communication and recruiter
communication are aligned
! Conduct research on where ideal students get
information
! Secret shop among competitors to compare
! Select personas based on potential return and
what you can support. 1-2 max to start.
Integrating Into Recruitment Process

! Collect the right data
! Hone in on your “ideal” target segments
! Survey, conduct research or work with partner to
develop student personas
! Allocate marketing efforts and messaging
accordingly
! Work with exec stakeholders, marketing,
recruitment staff, faculty to integrate and
maintain consistency
! Measure, observe, refine.
Summary

Let’s Get Personal! Ways to Harness Your Data to Improve Personalization

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Let’s Get Personal! Ways to Harness Your Data to Improve Personalization