Top 8 Recommendations for Enrollment Marketers During COVID-19

Just as enrollment leaders were starting to see deposits roll in and their fall 2020 class beginning to take form, the coronavirus hit the United States. Soon, students were sent home, faculty and staff were working remotely and “business as usual” was nowhere to be found. Many colleges and universities …

Five Dysfunctions of an Admissions Office

How many times have you found yourself wondering what went wrong with your recruitment campaign when it’s already too late to do anything about it? In my 20 years’ experience as a higher ed enrollment marketing professional, I’ve learned a lot about the blind spots and best practices of our …

Turning Numbers Into Narratives With Data-Driven Marketing

Data-driven decision making is all the rage, but despite our best intentions, many of us still struggle to turn numbers into meaningful, actionable insights. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Reaves, director of research and strategic projects at Southeastern University. Ken has more than 15 years of …

Messiah College: A CRM Success Story

For higher ed marketers, prospective students are really prospective customers. It comes as no surprise then, that in recent years colleges and universities have rushed to adopt the customer relationship management (CRM) tools that have long been used by other industries to centralize and streamline their communications. We recently had …

Digging Deeper With Attitudinal Research

Demographic research can provide some very useful information about your target audience, but it definitely doesn’t tell the whole story. Recently, we spoke with researcher Susan Baier to find out what higher ed marketers can gain from looking at a different type of data. Susan is the owner and founder …

Building a Better Acceptance Package

Though higher education marketers and admissions counselors work year-round to attract and retain students, one of the most impactful moments for an admissions campaign is the acceptance offer. A well-crafted acceptance package is a door opener that sets your admissions team up for success throughout the campaign cycle. Students are …

Harnessing the Power of Word of Mouth

Word of mouth holds a lot of sway in the college decision-making process, yet few schools have a deliberate plan for building buzz among their prospect base. Daniel Lemin, co-author of a new book titled Talk Triggers, recently stopped by the Higher Ed Marketing Lab to share some practical strategies …

A Non-Invasive Approach to Website Governance

Website governance is a challenging topic in any large organization, and colleges and universities are no exception. That challenge is only amplified when those who most need to exercise control over a website lack the resources or political support necessary to enforce effective governance policies and procedures. But that doesn’t …

The Prospective Student Journey is Overrated, and Other Things We Learned From Chris Aarons

I recently had the pleasure of talking about digital transformation and higher education with Chris Aarons, co-author of the WSJ best-selling book, The Digital Helix. Chris is an accomplished marketer with no shortage of bold opinions on how professionals in higher ed can get the most out of technologies like AI, big …