face the (country) music

Face the (Country) Music: Utilizing Connect to Measure ROI and Stop Wasting your Resources

Marcus HanscomAssociate Director of Graduate Recruitment and Outreach

University of New HavenJuly 17, 2012

Agenda

• Introduction• Assessing where we are• Building the funnel• Engaging prospective students• Measuring ROI• Q&A / Online Evaluation

University of New Haven

• Private, nonprofit university in West Haven, CT

• 4,600 undergraduate/1,800 graduate students

• Centralized graduate admissions

• Grad using Connect, AY, VIP• Client since December 2007

Learning Outcome for Today

• We will recruit more efficiently and deliver higher ROI if we:– Evaluate our current student base– Use student information to make educated

decisions on marketing channels and relevant messaging

– AND track student data throughout the funnel including activity on our website, social media

The “Informed” ROI ProcessAssess

Incoming/Current

Students

Lead Generation

Funnel Management/Marketing/Recruitment

Tracking

THE FOUNDATIONS“All my exes live in Texas…”

Consider leadership…

“Know thyself… and others.”

Your existing funnel• Assess the demographics of prospective

students– Geographic Origin?– Male/Female ratio?– Previous major?– Referral Source?

• In an ideal world, assess by program– Easier for decentralized admissions

Assignment #1• Create a “demographic dashboard”– Utilize a broad filter for all reports• Ie. All graduate students for fall 2012

– Potential reports• International /Domestic Breakdown• Gender Breakdown• Applicants by State (Geo-targeting)• Applicants by Source (ROI)• Applicants by program

– Use dashboard attribute filtering

Dashboard Filtering

• Customize data reporting in real-time• Helpful attributes:– Gender– State (Geographic Origin)– International/Domestic– Referral Source– Status– Funnel Status

Inaccurate Funnel Tracking

Accurate Funnel Tracking

How we fix the funnel• Bulk edit based on current status– Populate all related options in a separate

attribute: Funnel Status

Helpful Bulk Edits

• Funnel Status• Program name– Collect concentrations under one title if necessary

• College name– Filter with related college programs

• Use for dashboard filtering

Food for Thought

• Is there a correlation between those that apply? Enroll?

• Are particular sources more productive?• Are certain groups benefitting from custom

communication plans? Support?

Assignment #2• Conduct a program demographic assessment– Age/Gender, state, domestic origin– Referral Source– Previous Major

• Filter dashboard by program for data ease• Present to program faculty– Engage faculty in process if not already– Are faculty using Connect on your campus?– Faculty buy-in is crucial

Sample: M.S.E.D. Applicants

Sample Engineering Applicants

BUILDING THE FUNNEL“I’m proud of the house we built…”

Generating Awareness

• That’s so 2001…– Printed Directories– Bulk Snail Mailings– Cold Calling– Newspaper tombstone

ads

Generating Awareness• …but this is so 2012– Directory Sites (Gradschools.com, Petersons.com,

GraduateGuide.com…)– University Website– Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn,

FourSquare…)– Google/search engines– Blogs– Virtual Information Sessions/Chats– Open Houses

The key question is…

Is it trackable?

Lead Sources

• Purchased Lists• Directory Sites• Social Media• University Website• Search Engines

(Paid and Organic)• Graduate Fairs/Visits

• Open Houses• Webinars/Chats• Word of Mouth• Click-thru campaigns• Mailings/BRC• …and more

Purchased Lists

• Importing into Connect?• Critical to prevent purchased leads from

getting into communication plans for true inquiries– Unsolicited vs. solicited interest

• What triggers the inquiry?– VIP pages are a great option

Key Questions

• What is the total budget allocated to generating leads?

• Are lead generation techniques/processes customized by program?

• What role do faculty members play? Administrators?

• How do you manage your prospect leads versus your inquiries?

Assignment #3

• Do a lead generation audit– List all current lead sources and costs– Identify financial goals: spend more or less?– Are you doing some things because “that is what we

always do?”– Just the basics: How many students are applying or

enrolling from each source? (Dashboard)

Where are you sending prospective students?

• Generic page on your site?• An inquiry form?• A specific landing page for just the leads from

a particular source?• A specific inquiry form?

https://newhavengrad.askadmissions.net/emtinterestpage.aspx?ip=interest&src=152&program=EMGMT

Assignment #4

• Set up Unique Source Pages – Set up landing pages or inquiry forms unique to each

lead source– Create vanity urls (ie. www.newhaven.edu/nytimes)

for print advertising– Create pages for your generic lead generation and for

event advertising management– Pursue potential custom options with Hobsons

A Referral Source Policy

• Define your data captures– Created source, how did you hear?, Referral

Source, Lead source (custom pages)• Create attributes to centrally collect data• Identify means of collecting:– Specific sources– Broad source categories

Bulk Edits

• Move each data set from source attributes into one attribute (ie. Referral Source)

• Use new attribute to help further “funnel” sources into broad attribute (Referral Source Category)

• Use broad attribute to get a pulse on what channels work or need improvement

Referral Source Collection

Referral Source

Created Source

How did you hear of us?

Lead Source (Hobsons Custom)

Referral Source

Category

Referral Source Category Collection

Purchased Lists

GMAT Search Names

GRE Search Names

International Search Names

International Hobsons

Leads

Assignment #5• Create a referral source policy– How do you accurately report where students

came from?– Identify how the created source versus a “How did

you hear about us?” question will vary in your data

• Create one data set/attribute to collect this data– Greatly reduces reporting headaches

Would your VP like this…

…or this?

ENGAGING PROSPECTS“I’m here for the party…”

Keys to Success

• Automated Communication Plan• Relevant Messaging• Cross-channel messaging with common brand

message• Regular social media participation• Personalization whenever and wherever

possible

Communication Plan• Automation = efficiency– Particularly for small offices– Does not necessarily mean impersonal

• Integrated marketing opportunities– Letters, emails, VIP pages– Phone call management

• Ensure communication consistency to all audiences

Relevant Messaging• Students want personalization• Avoid the fluff communications• Provide program information as soon as

possible– Preferably through multiple channels – mail,

email, phone• Clear, succinct, “What’s in it for me?”

communicationsInitial Email Communication Interaction Rates

General 4% Program-Specific 20%

Tips for Email

• Toss out the “HTML graphic email” is king mentality– Keep in mind personalization, smart phones– Perception of your message

• Send one-time emails to targeted audiences with program-related news

Counselor Email Interaction Rates

HTML 0.25% Plain text 6%

Social Media• Engaging students on SM means exactly that– Regular interactions– Go beyond the “press release” posts

• Remember the audiences for each platform• Create opportunities to request information,

learn more, “see” your experience• Hobsons can create interest form for iframes

(Facebook)

MEASURING AND UTILIZING RESULTS

“You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em…”

Measuring Results• Results in Connect– Email Results (Open rate, interactions)

– VIP page results• Source Coding (Referrals)• Unique Landing Pages w/tracking• Google Analytics (or other software)

Email Interaction Rates

General 4% Program-Specific 20%

VIP results

• 8% of all visitors clicked an “Apply Now” link• 59% of those completed and submitted an application

• Average visits per user: 5.7• Average login time: 27 minutes• 6,245 active visitors in last 12 months• 1,267 engaged visitors (20%)

Google Analytics

• Hobsons can put university code on interest pages

• Request to have redirect to your site• Use goal gauges to determine percentage of

traffic completing form

Assignment #6

• Become a user on Google Analytics– Learn how to find your specific site content– Evaluate metrics as a whole– No single metric on its own is helpful

• Use metrics to make educated decisions about page content– Do you need to adjust content on your admissions

pages? Program pages?– Would new landing pages help?

Tips on Tracking

• Minimize options on how students get to your website– Tracking does little good if you have too much to track

• Use vanity URL’s for ease of use or hidden tracking URL’s

• Use short inquiry forms if directing students there first

• K.I.S.S.• All tracking involves a grain of salt

Utilizing Results

• Allocation of financial and human resources• Development of new channels/expansion of

current ones• Strategic advertising timing• Strategic planning for links/awareness• Restructure/rewrite existing content

A Starting ROI Argument

• Avg. Rev/Student x # enrolled from source = Estimated Total Revenue/Source– Can simplify numbers by funnel status– Determine the “value” of a given inquiry

or applicant• Compare revenue to annual spend per source– Is your return worth the investment?

ROI Example

Directory Listing• Avg. Total Revenue/student = $25,000• Students enrolled = 10• Total revenue from source= $250,000• Annual Directory spend: $32,000• ROI: 681%

**Remember this is using a gross revenue figure.

College Fairs• Avg. Total Revenue/student =

$25,000• Students enrolled = 2• Total revenue from source=

$50,000• Annual Travel Spend: $30,000• ROI: 67%

Assignment #7

• Assign revenue to lead sources and determine estimated ROI– Gross revenue is a start– Determine average revenue/student• Can be most helpful at program level

– Can compare to other sources by percentage return on the dollar

Assignment Review

1. Create a “Demographic Dashboard”2. Conduct a program demographic assessment3. Do a lead generation audit4. Set up unique source pages5. Create a referral source policy6. Become a user on Google Analytics (and use

it)7. Assign revenue to lead sources for ROI

Final Thoughts

• None of this happens overnight• Need commitment of human (and in some

cases, financial) resources• Involve faculty if not already doing so• Be adaptable

THANK YOU.Questions?

Marcus HanscomMHanscom@newhaven.edu203.932.7277Twitter: @MarcusHanscom