Develop, Find, and Execute: A Blueprint for Effective Email Acquisition Campaigns #ProspectCloud #EduWeb16
Agenda About us Understanding the Recruit itment Funnel Developing Student Personas Fin indin ing Your Audience Executing an Effective Email Outreach Campaign ROI I Analysis Questions
About us
Who we are Jonas Seider Mark Forsyth Dov Hirsch Director of Marketing – Director of Graduate Enrollment Chief Strategy Officer & Masters of Accounting Program & Former Olympic Beach & All-around Good Guy, World Class Origami Artist Volleyball Bronze Medal Winner most of the time
Understanding the Recruitment Funnel
How you you think of the recruitment funnel Prospect Inquiry Application Admit Deposit Enroll
How the recruitment funnel actually looks Inbound Prospect Inquiry Attrition The largest area of attrition happens at the top of the funnel, as inbound prospects elect Inquiry whether to take further actions. Inquiry to Application Application 29% Median Conversion Rate* Admit Rate Admit 81% Median Admit Rate* Deposit Melt The inability to “close” causes melt after Enroll time and resources have already been invested. *Ruffalo Noel Levitz – 2015 Adult Learner Marketing and Recruitment Practices Benchmark Report for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
How we should think of the recruitment funnel Outbound Targeting Outbound Prospects Prospects Pinpointing and marketing to an audience of ideal prospective students helps reduce monumental waste at the top of the funnel. Make it Rain! Inbound Prospect Inquiry Application Funnel Management is Key A consistent process of engagement and Admit follow up are key to bringing a prospect from the top of the funnel all the way through enrollment and matriculation. Deposit Enroll
Developing Student Personas
What does this mean? Typical Higher Ed For-profit Institutions Institutions % and % Percentage of tuition revenue spent on marketing.
Developing Student Personas Why th they do what th they do? Understanding what motivates prospective MOTIVATION students is crucial to student persona development Id Ideal l Background What work experience and education background have historically made good candidates for your program? EXPERIENCE PREFERENCES How do th they lik like to to communicate? Knowing how your ideal audience like to send and receive information is key in reaching them where they are most comfortable
Measuring Motivation Pro rofessional l Goa oals ls What defines succ ccess? What drives you professionally? How do you define success? What does your growth track look like? Whose approvals do you most often Are you equipped to handle a bigger role? seek? Lif ife Goa oals ls Peer Gro roup What is your ideal work/life balance? What is the common track for peer Does your current situation fit in to colleagues? your long term plans? What do your friends do? What are you passionate about? How do you measure up? Pai ain Poi oints Fam amily Dynamic What keeps you up at night? What is your family situation? What challenges you in your role? Do you want/have kids? What are you missing to grow How does your family life effect your professionally? professional life? Answers to these questions will start to present specific criteria for understanding what motivates your best students, and what messages may resonate best.
Evalu luating Experience PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE What skills are required? What is your current role and title? What skillsets do you utilize most? How many years have you been working? What industry do you work in? Who do you report to? What is your company size? Who reports to you? EDUCATION PERSONAL What degrees do you currently have? Age? Where did you go to school? Married? Children? Honors or Awards? Location? Leadership Roles? Salary range? GPA?
Pinpointing Preferences How your target audience sends and receives new information. 22% 60.6% 88% 75.1% 433M Twitter Business Email Mobile Internet Facebook LinkedIn Percentage of World who Percentage of working Percentage of North Mobile Phone Internet User Number of LinkedIn Users Actively Use twitter as of professionals who have penetration in the US as of Americans who use as of Q1 2016 Q2 2015 direct email addresses in Facebook as of May 2014 2014 the United States (GlobalWebIndex) (eMarketer; American (Hubspot) (Statista) (LinkedIn) Marketing Association)
Pinpointing Preferences Where do your ideal prospects spend their time? How frequently do you Do you use internet search access your email? Business? engines to find information? Personal? Do you do research on your What blogs or publications cell phone? do you frequent most? What associations or How much time do you spend networking groups do on social media sites? you belong to?
How to find these answers What/who are the best resources to get accurate answers to develop personas? Talk to People • Current and past students • Accepted students – and those who chose not to enroll • Admissions officers • Prospective students who express interest Onlin ine Sources Dig igital Metrics • Read related blogs and forums to gauge trends and interests • Review digital footprint and performance (Web, blog, Social Media, etc.) • Navigate social media to review profiles of ideal prospects • What content is being accessed the most? • Learn how prospects are talking about issues and • What are the most engaging blog posts? making decisions • Who “likes” your social media pages and presence?
What a developed student persona looks like “I know I need an MBA, but I’d like “What sort of financial aid is to stay close to home to avoid available?” significant expense.” Financial Fred Age: Work Experience: 25-32 3-9 years Background: Finance background, working in Investment Banking, Private Equity, etc. Location: Within 2 hour drive of the program Bio: - Graduated with business degree - Unmarried or newly married; no kids - Wants to grow in role, but needs MBA Undergrad: Reputable 4 year institution; 3.0+ GPA Preferences: - Significantly tied to work email - Visits WSJ.com and Financial Times - Uses Social Media on a personal level
What the UNC online MAC persona looks like “I’m ready for a promotion, but “What degree is best for me? my resume isn’t. Something’s And is really worth it?” missing. What can I do?” Analyst Alex Age: Work Experience: 27-34 5-12 years Background: Reflecting on Contemplating ANY undergraduate education, but now sitting in a sub-CPA level finance or accounting role one’s career the next step Location: The Southeast or Mid-Atlantic (DC to Atlanta) Bio: - Put off grad school to jump into workplace - Young kids and a new mortgage - Wants to advance, but lacks knowledge/credential to compete for “I need to do something “What else is out there? I’m promotion Traits/Preferences: different. This job isn’t still young so I have some - Detail-oriented, organized problem solver - Visits FiveThirtyEight and Fast Company cutting it.” time to figure it out.” - Slave to Excel, secretly loves it Motivation: Wants to help, but not in a position to do so
Student Persona Assessment Guide http://prospect-cloud.com/edu/resources/student-persona.html
Finding Your Audience
Turn student personas into actual students Financial Fred Steve Owens Age: Work Experience: Age: Work Experience: 26 4 years 25-32 3-9 years Background: Background: Investment analyst for Bank of America Finance background, working in Investment Banking, Private Equity, etc. Location: Location: 1.5 hour drive away from main campus Within 2 hour drive of the program Bio: Bio: - BS in Business - Graduated with business degree - Single with no children - Unmarried or newly married; no kids - Most of his senior colleagues have MBAs - Wants to grow in role, but needs MBA Undergrad: Undergrad: Reputable 4 year institution; 3.0+ GPA University of Southern California; 3.3 GPA Preferences: Preferences: - Significantly tied to work email - Attached to work email day and night - Visits WSJ.com and Financial Times - Frequents financial websites for news - Uses Social Media on a personal level - Has semi-active LinkedIn profile
Finding your Audience TV Direct Mail Social Media Email Events and Search Fairs Radio Display Advertising
Personal Interaction Most Effective Efficacy of Tactic Most Effective Face to face interactions yield the greatest application results Personalized email outreach allows you to connect with prospects and direct them to the information they find most useful Display and Social Media Personal Marketing is easy to Less Personal ignore More Personal Connection SEO can be personal so long as the landing page is directed to the interest of the searcher Direct mail campaigns are costly, and yield low returns TV and Radio are impersonal and good only to spread brand awareness Least Effective
Resources to find your prospects Email Web Social Media Organic Database Compilation
Executing an Effective Email Outreach Campaign *Mark et al, 2016 – Email Duration, Batching and Self-interruption: Patterns of Email Use on Productivity and Stress
What business are you in in? Sales Communications
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