PS&L Blog

This month marks my 30^th anniversary in higher education marketing and admissions.   On January 21,1982 I started as a High School Admissions Representative, my first real job out of college and since then I have never considered another field.

As a consultant with Paskill Stapleton & Lord I talk to many admissions, enrollment and marketing people from many schools. This gives me a nice 100,000 foot view of the land, and from this vantage point I can see that many of the pain points that confront us today existed 30 years ago.

1982 vs. 2012:  Same challenges, different year

• The enrollment funnel is laden with details and getting students to follow through requires a strong relationship

Is there any other transaction in life that has as many details as enrolling in college?  Converting students from inquired to applied to accepted to deposited to matriculated transpires over months or years and entails too many calls, contacts, papers, signatures and thresholds to count.   Quantity of details and quality of execution is required for success.  No matter how connected and electronically efficient we are in 2012, we still have to work hard to motivate students to follow through on a myriad of details before they commit to coming to school.  And despite our electronic world, people still expect and deserve personal service: I would say in fact even more so.

No amount of digital automation replaces the personal relationship that you need to forge with prospects. This personal touch is often reflected in yield and retention rates. Recruiting always will be a personal transaction and the better the relationship, the better the result.

•  Fear of cost and the affordability dilemma

Now and then, admissions recruiters are afraid to discuss cost and families do not want to see the real bottom line.  Today, tuition and costs are higher in relation to other expenses than they were 30 years ago, but the emotions are just as high. The motivators of what drives people to want a college degree are the same as they were in 1982 and most people were not and are not prepared for the bill. Recruiters, like other sales professionals, must know how to deal with sticker shock and sell value and outcomes.

Selling an intangible that can cost six figures is a challenging job for mature and seasoned professionals and it requires strategy and skill.  New and veteran recruiters need training and encouragement. Every team needs to be built and maintained.

•  The viewbook is a school’s calling card

Today, websites now take the credit for making first impressions, yet the printed viewbook still plays a major role in a college marketing strategy. It also represents a significant portion of the marketing budget.  How to handle the viewbook, what it should look like, how many pages it has and what it should say was and is a common debate on campus.

The viewbook is a staple of higher education marketing and I think it is amazing that the bucolic campus setting is still a popular scene found on the pages.  Photography coupled with powerful messaging in a tangible published format has not lost its popularity nor its “shelf-life” value.   Thanks to digital inventions like variable data printing and QR code technology, viewbooks are much smarter than they were 30 years ago.  Making your ivy covered buildings and smiling students look more appealing than the images in your competitor’s viewbook continues to be the goal.

• The economy and impact on enrollment

In 1982, the unemployment rate in Western Pennsylvania (my territory) was over 12%.  Nationally the unemployment rate was over 10%.  The U.S. economy is known for these unfortunate cycles and the higher education economy is impacted in a unique way.  What defines a bad economy and a good economy in higher education is different depending who you are talking to and when.  For certain it forces change of the marketing strategy.  We have to adapt the 5 Ps (placement, product, pricing, prestige, promotion) and I find this to be one of most compelling challenges of our profession.

If these are the pain points that haven’t changed in 30 years, then what has changed?

1982 vs. 2012:  What’s new?

Thirty years ago I was typing on a typewriter, listening to music on cassettes and using a pay phone when I was on the road as a High School Admissions Representative. The world of communication has undergone several revolutions since then, and that has had a profound effect on the world of higher education marketing and enrollment.

• Birth year matters

In 1982 I was a Baby Boomer talking to Baby Boomers.  Today, as a Baby Boomer I need to know the communication style nuances of my generation as well as Millenials, GenXs, Gen Ys and Gen Zs. The sociologists that study and define these groups say the groups will demarcate even more often as the years go on.

Also new is the fact that “non-traditional” aged students now outnumber the traditional aged students and every college admissions department is segmented accordingly – a necessary and good thing.

•  Telephones, etiquette and conversations

Cell phones are fast replacing traditional land-line phones and becoming the sole source of connecting for a conversation.  While many people sleep with their cell phone, it is more difficult to reach someone directly than ever before.  For admissions this is a dilemma and a topic that I explored in an earlier blog.  Today, due to caller ID and voicemail, answering one’s cell phone is clearly a choice of ‘to do or not to do.’ Further, modern telephone etiquette does not include returning phone calls.  In admissions we have to give prospects more reason to want to talk with us and thus respond to our calls.

Another change with regard to telephones is the ubiquity of campus voicemail.  Today it is rare to connect to a live operator when calling a school, even when hitting the zero key.  This plus voicemail menus, voice activated menus and departmental voice mail boxes do not fare well with developing relationships with prospects.  I am also flummoxed when I call a school (obviously to engage in a conversation) and the voicemail greeting begins with “visit our website at www….”

There is no simple way to connect.  The choices are many: Facebook, Twitter, email, snail mail, texting or the old-fashioned phone call.   Instead of one-way-to-connect-fits-all – the communication mode varies and it usually depends on the generation of the prospect.

• Advertising

The University Marketing Director’s job was much simpler 30 years ago. These days advertising to attract students in general is quite complex.  CPC, CPI, CPL, Google AdWords, DMA, and don’t forget Facebook, mobile ads, traditional print, TV and billboards.

Though television advertising for colleges is not new for 2012 it certainly is more widespread and common than it was 30 years ago.  In the late 1980s the for-profit sector started advertising on television and at the time it was considered outside the box and aggressive.  Today most not-for-profit schools advertise on TV just to compete.  The for-profit sector continues to awe in terms of reach and expenditure.

• Doing business on the World Wide Web

How did we reach our enrollment goals in the 80s when there was no internet, email or electronic aps?  Recollection of not having these luxuries is perhaps what makes me feel oldest.   Websites and now mobile websites are challenging us to re-think how we do business and how we can recruit and enroll more cost-efficiently.  The inventions are fascinating and while they are supposed to make admissions “easier”, figuring out how to use new technology to the best advantage certainly gives us more to do.

When I got into this profession 30 years ago I recognized that higher education admissions is a craft, a science and a challenge. What makes it such an exciting profession is the fact that it reflects the changes of our culture. To succeed we need to be able to adapt to the changing technology and habits of our prospective students while never losing sight of the fact that humans still respond best to authentic relationships.

All the best!

On September 21, 2011 Google announced that in the coming weeks they were going to start using a site’s mobile friendliness as part of their quality score ratings for AdWords campaigns.  This is on top of the decision last year to limit ad serving on high-end mobile devices if they pointed to landing pages with heavy Flash content.

Why is Google doing this?

Google wants to help their mobile users have a good experience.  Google knows that more and more people are using their smart phones to access the web and those people deserve a good experience.  So with all their muscle they are forcing web site owners to move quickly to make their sites mobile friendly.

Why are Google’s decisions important to us in Higher Education?

Whether you use AdWord campaigns or not making your web site mobile friendly is soon going to be imperative.  Do you remember the statistic from the Omni Update/Noel Levitz research that said 16% of web browsers who were unhappy with your site would drop you from their search list?  Users of technology are very unforgiving it seems.

Here are some sobering facts about mobile friendliness:

If your site takes longer than 5 seconds most people won’t wait.

If your site employs Flash most smart phones won’t deploy it.

If you run Pay-Per-Click campaigns and have said yes to the mobile option and do not have a mobile web site you are wasting your money.

If you run banner ads and do not have a mobile site you are wasting your money.

If you use QR codes and do not have a mobile site you are wasting your money.  Let’s face it,  you read the code on your mobile device and the code takes you directly to a link – if that response mechanism is not mobile friendly could anything be more wasteful?

Worst of all, if your site is not mobile friendly mobile users just turn you off and never come back.

If that isn’t enough to really get you to think you need a mobile site, how about this?  By 2015 – four years from now – Comscore says that more US internet users will access the web through mobile devices than desk top computers.  And this means all your email too.

So if you run email marketing campaigns all of the facts above apply to you too.  People who receive your email on a mobile device expect it to be mobile friendly and they expect any interaction with that email to also be mobile friendly.

It is important for all of us marketers in higher ed to test our sites on mobile devices.  One of the best ways to do that is by using a tool that Google and Mobify developed.  GoMo tests your site and gives you a score and some recommendations about how to make it better.

Making College Tuition Worth Every Euro

What does Italian food, college admissions and development have in common? When the marketing is matched by the end result, cost in not an obstacle.

I have just returned from traveling in Italy with my wife, where we celebrated our 25th anniversary. Before we left we were determined to find that ultimate Italian meal, where the food, ambience and service all come together for a memorable experience. It was a process much like those who look for that perfect college, where the education, campus and culture all come together for a magical four years.

During my research I discovered La Torre del Saracino on one of those ads on the right side of the page, and something about it made me click. Immediately I was sucked into the site by the sumptuous photos and elegant copy that said nothing. I looked at the menu shocked by the prices – but I continued. I dug through the site. It worked its magic on me. I came back to it another day. The thought, “To hell with the price; It’s for our anniversary” ran through my head. I was hooked.

To hell with the price, it’s for the future of our daughter is a similar thought that goes through the heads of many a parent who look at the price tag for an exemplary college. And when you go on the website and meet the admissions staff, you are constantly reminded that it’s going to be worth every penny. But still, is it really worth it, you ask.

The day we went to the restaurant was an arduous one. Our first stop was to Herculeneum, the other city that was buried by Vesuvius in 79AD. We had to leave Florence for Naples Friday on the early morning high speed train, the Frecciarossa. At Naples we connected with the Circumvesuviana, the local train that runs around the Bay of Naples. Eleven stops later we departed that train at Ercolano and walked the short distance downhill to Herculeneum. To stay on schedule for our dinner we needed to speed-tour the ruins. Luckily Herculeneum is small and it was rainy so we didn’t feel like we missed too much.

The short walk down was a long walk back. We had to board the Circumvesuviana again for another 13 stops. Along the way my wife said to me, “This dinner better be worth it.”

Now think about the college tour journeys that so many parents take with their children these days. By the time they hit their 5th college in 3 days, you can hear them say “This had better be worth it.” They are filled with anxious hope tinged with despair that those hopes won’t be fulfilled.

But back to Italy.

When we arrived at La Torre del Saracino, the chef introduced himself and showed us his kitchen. The pasta station to the right, the fish-table and the meat-table on the left. Fresh bread and pastry up front. It was a crazy Italian version of kosher. The sommelier even showed us the wine cellar; 3,000 bottles strong. We were off to a good start. Mangiamo.

Our prix fixe menu was 9 plates, plus desert. On the third plate we joked that we would need to stop at the pizza shop on the walk back to our hotel. But believe me when I say we could not have eaten another thing when we were done. Although if Chef Gennaro had put another plate in front of me I would have eaten it, everything was so excellent. The sommelier pared our dishes with wines that made both the wine and food sparkle. The bread waitress unobtrusively gave us another fresh something to nibble on. Our waiter was so proud of the food as he set it on the table while he meticulously described what we were about to eat. The entire staff was charming, and their participating in our enjoyment it only made it better.

In the world of higher education, I equate nine course meal this to the yield period, when prospects have been accepted and are making a decision. They want to know which college to pick – and often times they don’t know what to look for. This is where you must show pride of ownership, where everyone they meet has to be enthusiastic about their coming to your school, where you offer them your nine course special. You need to show them what it will truly be like when they come. If you do a good job and they accept, they will know what they are getting into and you will be able to meet or exceed their expectations for the next four years.

And when it’s over, and they have their student loans to pay, you hope that they will be like my wife and I were when we got out our American Express bill just a few days ago. It was more expensive than what we had calculated, but my wife and I looked at each other and said, “It was worth every euro.” Regardless of what your tuition is, you want all of your graduates to say unequivocally, “It was worth every penny.”

Last night I got beat up by several friends and unfortunately that is somewhat normal. I have been practicing the Japanese martial art of Aikido for almost twenty years so maybe I should be used to it, but I’m not. I wonder why sometimes some partners don’t listen to my feedback so they can throw me better without killing my arms or neck. And what does this have to do with recruiting students?

Aikido is about learning how to connect or harmonize with you partner so you can control them without hurting them. As the person doing the technique you should be able to feel the connection and change the way you move so that your partner wants to hold on. When an aikido technique is done correctly it is like magic. There appears to be no force. The person being thrown feels in control until – oops they aren’t and they are pinned to the ground. To me that is how good communication should work except for the oops and the ground part.

The question is, are your admissions counselors connecting and talking with prospects or are they talking at them? Are your publications communicating effectively or do they confuse or annoy the reader? The same goes for your web site. In the aikido world feedback comes pretty quick. When something hurts you tap out. Then you can explain to your partner what is going on so they can throw and pin you safely.

In the higher education communication world we need to rely on research and training to make sure our efforts are both on target and non-aggressive or off-putting. This sort of research is easier in the web world where we have analytics packages that can track every move. From those analytics we can make suppositions and then changes. We can question users about their experience and make changes and test again. For our counselors it is important that they are given training in how to ask hard questions in a soft way and how to tell stories that connect the prospect and the school.

In aikido you can tap out and then go back to your workout but in our highly competitive college and university marketing environment people don’t tap out. They just leave.

What this means is that you have to be sensitive to your prospects’ reactions to your messaging, the state of your campus, and the way your admissions team listens and responds to them. This entails studying the analytics and research on the one hand. With your other you need to make sure your admissions team is trained in one-on-one recruiting techniques. This way they can master the art of aikido admissions, keeping the recruiting process completely under control until its time for them to close the deal and throw and pin – I mean successfully enroll the student.

We’ve just conducted a survey of colleges and universities to find out whether they have a mobile website that is optimized for smart phones. Our results were pretty much what we expected.

The majority do not yet have a website set up for handheld devices

• For those who do not have a mobile site yet, most plan to in the next year
• Of those that do have a mobile site, half were launched in 2011 and the other half in 2010

Like most agendas in higher education, this initiative requires resources of time and money both to build and maintain. In fact lack of resources and money were the primary reasons most colleges indicated they were not developing the mobile site sooner. Interestingly enough, most colleges cited that a mobile website was a part of a strategic institutional strategy in either marketing and/ or IT.

Why do a mobile website?  The primary users of the mobile website are and will be prospective and current students:  the two groups that fuel most initiatives because they produce revenue.  Sure, alumni and friends are important, too, but the bottom line generally rests with current and prospective students, and that was true in our survey as well.

If you  are interested in more information from this survey download a copy of summary of our findings. http://www.psandl.com/mobile_survey.php