How to Increase Registrations and

Revenues by Turning Data into Action ACHE 2011 Annual Conference and Meeting

Integrating Traditional and Emerging Data into an Executable Communication Plan

Todd Gibby, CEO, Intelliworks

email: todd.gibby@intelliworks.com

twitter: @tgibby

WWW.INTELLIWORKS.COM

Steve Blumberg, Director of Strategic Services, DS Graphics

email: sblumberg@dsgraphics.com

WWW.DSGRAPHICS.COM

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

SO WHY IS IT SO HARD?

Why can’t We Find Balance Between Being Efficient & Effective?

Expectations Are Changing

•Multiple touch points •Preferences vary based on lifecycle •No “one size fits all” solution •Next best thing is always around the corner •No single simple solution

Colleges that wish to remain successful in

the face of rapidly changing dynamics

need to employ a new paradigm, one that

uses more sophisticated search strategies

and new metrics to track and enroll the

desired number of students who are a

good fit for the institution Noel-Levitz

•Tough Economy

•More competition

•Reduced response rates

•Changing Demographics

•Differentiate Messaging

•Reaching Target Audience

• Little or no support staff

•Social Media

•Reduced budget

•Proliferation of Online programs

•Increase competition from For-profits

•Tracking, measuring and evaluating

Survey Says: Doing More With Less

Survey Says!

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Very Important

Important

N/A

Less Important

Not Important

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

Do we have any sales people in the room?

• Convenience • Flexible • Designed around your busy schedule • Accelerated • Affordable • Finish your degree in 16 months • Online, On campus, blended

Can You Name This Institution?

Right Strategy Right Person Right Way

a) Assessing your situation (SWOT)

b) Connecting problems to solve (Pain Chain)

c) Programming for results (Reference Story)

d) Extra Credit: Differentiate (Elevator Pitch)

Session 1: The Right Strategy

S.W.O.T.

SWOT: SUNY Oswego

Strengths

• Steady growth

• New online MBA program;

• Affordable, convenient,

• Addresses regional demand

Weaknesses

• Limited resources for marketing

• No tracking system

• No visibility into lead source

Threats

• Some regional competition

• Decentralized organization

• Lack of policy and process

• Highly politicized culture

Opportunities

• New agency partner to help drive marketing

• Global presence with online programs

• Metro branch campus

Pain Chain

Pain Chain: SUNY Oswego

Pain: Eroding operating

margins; budget cuts

Reasons: Operational

Inefficiency; Declining

enrollment

Dean

Pain: Inability to know /

define student market ;

slow process / response

time to student inquiries

Reasons: Understaffed /

unfocused; No visibility

into the campaign

performance or student

enrollment funnel

Director of

Admissions

Prospective

Student

Pain: Indecision

Reasons: Limited

outreach from

institution and lack

of relevant

messaging /

information.

Reference Story Issue Comments

Situation What’s the general background and circumstances?

Critical Issue What is the critical problem you’re looking to solve?

Reasons What are the driving forces creating the challenge?

Who, What, When, Where, Why, How

Describe the actions being taken to address the challenge.

Solution Specific actions, initiatives, tactics to improve the situation.

Results How and what will we measure to track our progress against goals?

Reference Story Issue Comments

Situation SUNY Oswego provides an excellent case of an institution that identified how a CRM strategy could help them reach their marketing objectives.

Critical Issue The institution struggled with engaging students and building long-term relationships that ultimately led to enrollments.

Reasons Their objectives were to support key student decision points and connect with prospects during the decision cycle by uncovering demand, qualifying interest, cultivating commitment and reinforcing decisions

Who, What, When, Where, Why, How

With a full-time staff of four, which includes the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, the need for a system that will automate communication, data collection, tracking and analysis is imperative to the successful growth of enrollment. Without such a major component, it will be virtually impossible to manage data, track inquiries and build a source for outbound, targeted marketing efforts to engage and communicate with prospective students.

Solution Created a multi-channel marketing plan that was supported by a flexible CRM solution that allowed them to track day-to-day interactions with constituents, manage inbound and outbound communications and report on the success of their efforts.

Results Identified KPIs for success measurement

FIGURE OUT WHO THEY ARE, AND WHERE TO FIND THEM…

Help Me With The Math, Please.

2010 Census Worcester County by Education Level Obtained

• Total Population 798,552

• Population 25-40 years and over 92,556 • Some college, no degree 87,756

• Associate’s degree 45,384

53,020 prospective students divided by 9 colleges and an additional 8 online programs.

Of the 53,020 prospective students, how many are interested in going back to school?

Of those 53,020 prospective students who are interested in going back to school, how many are interested in you?

1% increase in enrollment requires

7% increase in inquiries

For adults in transition, specific life events set the time on the learning clock.

There are millions of potential adult learners who need or want to learn. . . But specific life events are needed to convert most of the latent learners into active learners.

Carol Aslanian

The value of knowing what kinds of transitions cause adult learning lies in being able to predict what they will learn.

The value of knowing what kinds of events trigger adult learning lies in being able to predict when they will learn.

Carol Aslanian

Student Motivations: What They Want

Student Motivations

Source: Intelliworks LinkedIn Poll, October 2009 (n = 355)

WHY?

• Understand their decision-making process.

• Understand their communication style.

• Discover pain points/barriers to enrollment.

• Validate or deny your assumptions and avoid stereotypes.

THINKING IN HUMAN 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.

THINKING IN HUMAN TERMS 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.

THINKING IN HUMAN TERMS 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.

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

What are they like? 1

© duarte.com 2008

Segment Your Market?!

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Session 2: The Right Person

a) Understanding field of play (Market Analysis)

b) Knowing your customer (Rating Attributes)

c) Speaking their language (Creating Personas)

d) Extra Credit: Preferences (Channel Choice)

Attribute Rankings

Most Valuable

Geography

Program of Interest

Education Level

Industry

Grades

Income

Population

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Most

Accessible Geography

Program of Interest

Education Level

Industry

Grades

Income

Population

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Creating Personas PROSPECT A PROSPECT B PROSPECT C

What are they like?

Why are they here?

What keeps them up at night?

How can you solve their problem?

What do you want them to do?

How can you best reach them?

How might they resist?

Name:

THEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM

“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

Individuals who have raised their hands and indicated that they are interested in advancing their careers, changing their

careers, or enriching their lives.

http://www.framingham.edu/graduate-and-continuing-education/graduate-programs/master-of-business-administration/

Marketing Is a Process, Not an Event.

Do These Look Familiar?

• Goals

– Increase Enrollment

– Improve Staff Efficiency

– Control Data Sharing

– Enhance Effectiveness of Student Contact

a) Setting Frame of Reference (Decision Stages)

b) Isolating To-Do’s (Mapping Objectives)

c) Setting the Mark (KPI’s)

Session 3: The Right Way

Discovery

Listening

Engaging

Reinforcing

Identifying Decision Stages

Objectives by Decision

Phase

Discover:

Uncover Demand

Listen:

Capture / Qualify

Engage:

Convey Value

Support:

Reinforce Decisions

Current State Fragmented Marketing

Limited Inquiry Capture

Generic Messaging

Silence

Ideal State Strategic Outreach

Ubiquitous Data

Capture

Segmented High Touch

Established Networks

Functional Vision

SEO / SEM

Facebook

Events

Inquiry Forms

Email & FB

Response Sys

Segmented Views

Comm Plans

Comm Outreach

Events /History

Mapping Objectives

Setting Metrics

Growth

Quality

Intelligence

Efficiency

•Increase Y-o-Y

inquiries by 15%

• Grow enrollments in

X program by 25%

• Generate 500 more

attendees to info

sessions

• Reduce by 25% the time it takes to complete a campaign

• Maintain inquiry response time under 4 hours

• Automate assignment of leads to counselors

• Reduce abandonment rates by 20%

• Reduce by 45% number of clicks to complete application

• Improve satisfaction rates to >85% at 4-5.

Inquire Apply Accept Enroll Retain Graduate

14%

35+%

72%

80+%

68%

85+%

Scorecard: Embry-riddle Worldwide

Define Metrics and Goals: – Define global metrics and drive agreement around units of measurement for

tracking plan effectiveness.

– Set goals & objectives that will be measured against in Plan v. Actual format.

Report Framework & Frequency: – Develop conversion and enrollment reporting framework designed to be updated

at defined intervals.

Observe What’s Happening: – Include a model and placeholders for summary of observations/findings and

recommendations.

Refine to Optimize Your Programs & Processes: – Create a strategy and action plan for deploying additional business units to

observe and optimize plan based on reports key findings

Preparing For Measurement

BIG

FINISH

Right Strategy Right Person Right Way

• What Message to…

• What Person at…

• What Time in…

• What Forum / Format for…

• What Purpose measured by…

• What Metric