April 29, 2013

CRM Is Powerful, But It’s Not A Silver Bullet

Apr. 29, 2013 at 09:19 AM | By Marlysa Connolly | Comment Count

Whether at Hobsons University or Naviance Summer Institute, time and time again our clients have praised the passion, responsiveness, and dedication of Hobsons staff.

Eddie Driver, Hobsons Higher Ed marketing manager for software solutions, has been on both sides of the implementation process. He has helped colleges and universities build powerful CRM systems that improve communications to students before, during, and after enrollment and has consulted implementation teams on best practices and enterprise adoption.

We had the chance a few days ago to team up with Eddie to discuss the key to seamless CRM integration and tactics schools can incorporate into their recruitment and retention strategies. Education CRM

Hobsons: How did you come to be a marketing manager at Hobsons?

Eddie: I came on board to Hobsons as an implementation specialist in June of 2010. In this role, I was responsible for helping colleges and universities build education CRM systems, specifically with Connect and Retain, and provided advice on best practices for things like integration with other systems and staff adoption.

My background is in marketing so, after a couple years in implementation, I soon realized that I wanted to return to marketing and spread the word about Hobsons. I joined the Higher Ed marketing team as the marketing manager for software solutions in November of last year.

Hobsons: So, you have experience on both sides of the implementation process. Any advice for schools looking to use CRM to improve their marketing and communications campaigns?

Eddie: The key to seamless integration from CRM to marketing or any other system is PLANNING. CRM is a powerful tool that yields excellent potential for connecting with prospects. Not only can CRM help colleges and universities recruit and attract students earlier in the admissions process, but schools can also tap into CRM for intelligence that can help retain students, increase achievement, and facilitate relationships with alumni. Conversely, institutions should not hold CRM as a silver bullet. Successful use of CRM takes strategy and thorough planning including timelines, resource list, budget estimates, and ways to track and measure results.

Hobsons: What should admissions and enrollment teams do to leverage CRM effectively when marketing to college students?

Eddie: I cannot tell you how many times I have seen schools send “blanket” messages to students and then are perplexed to why those campaigns were not successful. Admissions and enrollment teams should go above and beyond by tailoring messaging to their recipients, regardless of whether they are prospects or current students.

By collecting student data points via CRM, (think interests, traditional vs. non-traditional, undergrad or graduate program, etc.), this task is made simple. Schools can then use those same data points to personalize their messaging – I don’t mean addressing their name in the copy only.

A terrific example of this is a community college I worked with when I was in implementations. This particular school was having issues with freshman attrition and wanted to know why. They created a survey distributed to all first semester freshmen during their second week in attendance. Using their CRM to collect results, the college was able to examine factors contributing to attrition by asking students questions like, “Are you happy with your classes” or “Have you joined any groups on campus.”

From this simple survey, they were able to ascertain that many students didn’t know of campus services or feel like the school adequately supported them. So, they created new messaging to students informing them of support services offered on campus. Taking this a step further, advisors then met with individual students to address their specific concerns with transitioning academically and on campus.

Hobsons: Wow! What an incredible example of using CRM to provide a personalized experience for students. Are there any other ways colleges and universities can tailor messaging to set themselves apart from other institutions?

Eddie: Whether you are a small liberal arts institution or a giant public university, schools should focus on identifying unique selling points that will establish their brand locally, nationally, and globally. By really assessing what that one thing is about your school that makes you unique from the other 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. – perhaps your school has an awesome music program or maybe you have phenomenal career services with high job placement rates – whatever your value proposition is, you have to convey that in tailored messaging to students (How-to using digital marketing).

What if your brand differentiator doesn’t resonate with some students?

Then research, discover, and use another differentiator that does. For instance, if your value proposition is that you are located in the heart of San Fran but you have a segment of students that are still not connecting, then use your CRM to research what other differentiators you might have that will appeal to them. Maybe they’d be interested in your accelerated Master’s program, veterans services, Greek life, study abroad offerings, intramural athletics, etc. St. Bonaventure and Park University are each creative examples of schools that have accomplished this by conveying their brand through personalized videos and microsites.

You get the point. Brand differentiators are critical instruments that can engage those students who are on the fence about where to attend.