September 3, 2013

Got Declining Enrollment? Demonstrate Value to Your Prospective Students

Sep. 3, 2013 at 09:00 AM | By Emily Meehan | Comment Count

The recent New York Times article “College Enrollment Falls as Economy Recovers” explored the impacts of the flat and declining enrollment trends across most degree-granting institutional sectors, and the last ditch outreach and monetary measures some colleges have taken to meet their enrollment goals. The Chronicle of Higher Ed’s “Enrollment Woes Push Colleges to be More Strategic” expanded further on the theme and showcased several schools trying to close the gap by rolling out new programs designed to create value and better demonstrate claims of being “distinctive” educational institutions.

Why are we seeing this trend?

Aside from the growing concerns about the high prices of a traditional college education and soaring student debt levels, schools are also seeing a lower volume of graduating high school seniors and an increasingly competitive land grab among institutions for a smaller share of the available student population.

Hobsons Consulting discusses the impacts of this macroeconomic environment and the relationship management processes in this presentation.

In my day-to-day, I work with institutions to help them connect and retain relationships throughout the decision lifecycle. While institutions are making budget cuts and late pushes for more enrollment via financial aid and last minute phone calls to prospective students, offers of more aid are not an option for institutions reliant on tuition revenue to stay afloat. Similarly, launching a wholly new program requires long-term planning and resources that don’t come together in time to ensure schools meet their short term yield numbers.

There are other far more cost-effective and short-term strategies institutions can implement to win the hearts and minds of prospects as they make their investment decisions amidst the selection of schools vying for their signatures – and pocketbooks.

Tell by showing. Are you demonstrating the value of your institution in your conversations and communications with prospective students or are you simply telling them to take your word for it? Or worse, going radio silent after the student applies?

Whether your gap is in converting accepted applicants to enrolled students or converting qualified prospects into applicants, think about the actions you’re taking, or not taking, to connect with your audience. Determine the message you want to convey about the mission and outcomes of your institution and use supporting data whenever possible to back up those claims. For example, claim to be a high quality education institution and be prepared to support that claim with quantifiable data or recognition from a trusted third party. Then, frame the narrative and conversation with your audience in a way that will encourage them to apply.

How can you achieve this?

Consumer brands are moving away from corporate communication style in their websites and outbound e-mail communications. Instead, they seek out and craft compelling stories to engage (and even delight) their audiences to make time spent opening/reading emails rewarding and enjoyable.

Speak the language of your audience. High schoolers and college-aged students spend significant amounts of their online time interacting with visual applications such as Instagram and Vine. In turn, major consumer brands are responding to this trend by incorporating compelling, often consumer produced, 15 second videos that speak directly to their audiences and personalize the experience with the brand itself. Companies like Coca-Cola and Burberry weave customer storytelling into their marketing efforts to create engaging and stimulating conversations that can be shared and distributed by their loyal customers.

What industry sector other than the educational marketplace could benefit most from this trend? Educational Institutions can leverage veritable armies of potential brand ambassadors in their alumni networks. What’s more, institutions have the advantage of tapping the skillsets of media savvy students to help produce this content. At the same time, students get real transferrable skills to increase their chances of landing a job after graduation.

Download Hobsons Consulting's latest whitepaper to explore ways your institution can cultivate brand stories via digital marketing.

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