January 10, 2013

3 Must-Have’s For Successful Vendor Partnerships

Jan. 10, 2013 at 09:25 AM | By Emily Goebel | Comment Count

Executing a successful digital marketing lead generation campaign takes time, money, communication, and expertise – luxuries that many admissions offices don’t always have. As a result, schools often look to outside partners or agencies to support digital marketing and communications initiatives.

But, as many institutions have found out, not all partners are created equal. Before moving forward with a new vendor, colleges and universities should conduct extensive research and ensure potential partners can:

Connect and engage with prospects.
Effectively communicate leads to admissions staff.

When done correctly, admissions and enrollment teams will experience improved processes, quality relationships with prospects, happier stakeholders, and a greater yield on time, money, and resources invested.

When looking for a digital marketing partner, consider these 3 must-have’s!

Expertise in the higher education industry

All industries will have pressing issues to address and remedy – higher education is no exception. Strategies designed to achieve digital marketing and communications goals should be developed and executed by an industry expert. Schools should ask:

Does this vendor monitor industry trends?
Does this vendor recognize and use new developments and technologies?
Is this vendor up-to-speed on industry standards and best practices? If so, do they implement these standards and best practices within their own organization?

Selecting a partner who focuses on higher education provides institutions with information on trends and best practices, recommendations on when and how admissions teams can adjust digital strategies, and offers competitive advantage.

Values performance-driven strategies

A good digital marketing partner should strive to execute a performance-driven program that not only creates brand awareness, but also leads more prospective students to your doorstep, improving lead-to-enroll numbers. The true value of a successful vendor relationship is illustrated (and ROI will rise!) if marketing partners can:

adjust strategies when schools aren’t getting the results wanted,
communicate with admissions staff regarding lead follow-up, and
build engaging relationships between institutions and prospective students.

Transparency and clear communication

Find a partner who is willing to be transparent and educate you along the way. Ask for access to regular reports on campaign performance. A good partner will share best practices, explain why a shift in strategy is necessary, and demonstrate what others are doing well and poorly so you can get the best results from your campaigns.

Want more information? Contact us if you'd like to learn more about working with a digital marketing partner or register for our upcoming webinar on performance-driven digital marketing.