If you’ve been reading our coverage for the past couple of years, you’ll know why a strategically set-up customer relationship management system (CRM) is such a powerful student recruitment tool. Among other benefits, this marketing automation helps teams to respond quickly to prospects whose information has been gathered on a lead capture form on the institutional website. The CRM is helpful for the entirety of the student journey. It allows staff across relevant departments to see who is working on different elements of the enrolment funnel and to track the progress of leads.
However, a CRM system is not a substitute for human-to-human interaction. There is still a huge role for staff to play in terms of designing content and communications for prospective students. Today we’ll look at good practice in email correspondence between marketing/admissions staff and prospects, and we’ll proceed with an assumption that a student has submitted a form on the sales/marketing team’s CRM.
Delegate, respond quickly, and provide options
School or university staff reading a well-devised form can quickly discern basic details such as the student’s name, city, country, and level (e.g., undergraduate, postgraduate, foundation). In addition, the form can indicate:
- Programmes of interest, as well as other priorities (scholarships, accommodation, internships, visa processing, etc.);
- Language preferences;
- And more.
The more information you can collect, the better – but keep in mind that many leads will drop off if they see a long form asking them to submit too much information. One solution is to make certain fields optional.
Once a form is submitted, it should be clear in CRM who is responsible for following up. Higher Education Marketing (HEM) makes a good point:
“A key element of building your workflows is ensuring that your follow-up is handled by the right staff. Even if you are working in a very small school with just one or two team members, having each of you take ownership of specific workflows can ensure your work is distributed evenly and your time managed efficiently.
It also allows you to maximize the strengths of each individual team member. For instance, you may have staff who are much more experienced at processing applications and dealing with prospects further on in the enrollment journey, whereas others might be more adept at making an impression on new leads. Likewise, some of your team members might have specific knowledge of certain courses, or even speak the native language of those in one of your key target markets. By assigning your workflows to the right people, you could dramatically increase your chances of success.”
Segmenting and writing emails for automation
The information you collect through the website form allows you to construct student segments for automated emails. Asking for relatively detailed information on the form allows for smaller segments because students have distinguished themselves based on the specific information they have provided. Smaller segments allow for more personalisation in the email templates staff create based on what their CRM is indicating. For example:
- Template A goes out to students with a specific interest in agricultural programmes.
- Template B goes out to students who say they are open to any programme for which they are eligible.
- Template C goes out to students who want to communicate in Spanish and want information about visas.
In other words, the different templates correspond to different student segments.
The following is an example of an automated email – created by staff – that would go to a student who had indicated their name, location, and preferred programme in a fictional university we called ANP. Note the friendly tone, one-to-one style (as opposed to a corporate tone), and openness to a range of communication platforms.
Hi Sakura,
Thank you for reaching out to us at ANP University. We’re excited to provide you with information about our campus and engineering programmes.
My name is Kate, and I’m here to help you with any questions you have about studying at ANP and living in Picton. I’d be happy to connect with you in whichever way works best for you: email, phone, or a messaging platform of your choice (e.g., WhatsApp or Messenger).
If you’d like to connect by phone, you can schedule a call with me at the following link: [link to calendar platform].
In the meantime, I encourage you to look at our available resources on our website. Here are some quick links to get you started:
• Undergraduate engineering programmes
• Internships
• Working while studying
• Tuition fees and scholarships
• Budgeting calculator
• Accommodation
• Student testimonials
• Virtual campus tour
• Living in Picton
I look forward to chatting with you soon!
All the best,
Kate
The importance of speed and tone
Not least because we are now trained by artificial intelligence to expect immediate responses via live chat bots, students want quick responses from institutional staff to their email/social media queries.
According to Forrester Research, more than three-quarters (77%) of consumers say that the best customer service a company can provide is valuing their time. What’s more, customers say that the following emotions are the most impactful in terms of how they share their opinion of a company, purchase behaviours, and brand loyalty:
- Valued
- Appreciated
- Respected
For marketing and sales teams at schools and universities, inspiring those positive emotions means responding quickly, precisely, politely, warmly, and personally.
As for the negative emotions the Forrester research found to be most detrimental to a customer’s trust and willingness to purchase, they are:
- Frustrated
- Annoyed
- Disappointed
There are some clear actions to take to avoid triggering negative emotions, even when institutions are short on budget or staff:
Avoid frustration: Hubspot research has found that 90% of customers say an “immediate” response to customer service questions is “important” or “very important,” and that 60% of those customers consider “immediate” to be 10 minutes or less.
This is where a good chatbot can be useful. However, if you have a chatbot, ensure that it provides an option for students to speak with a human being if the AI chat is not delivering what they need.
Avoid annoyance: If staff can’t respond immediately to a student’s request to speak with a human via email, automate a friendly email response in the CRM that acknowledges the query and tells students what to expect in terms of timing (e.g., a reply within 24 hours, 48 hours, etc.) UX designers call this the “first reply” and consider it the most important response to all queries. It provides prompt reassurance.
The first reply is also strategically important because it allows staff to take required time to respond meaningfully and helpfully to students. There are no gains to be had by rushing that crucial email that answers specific questions; conveys a friendly, legitimate, and confident brand; and increases the odds students will stay in the enrolment funnel.
Avoid disappointment: If you say you will respond in a certain amount of time, keep your word. Research shows that waiting times are the number one complaint from consumers.
Lean into the follow-up
How many of us have placed a desired item in a website shopping cart, then left it there without purchasing it? Research shows that 70% of shoppers abandon their shopping cart, meaning that only 3 in 10 consumers complete their purchase. Reasons for leaving a website before making a purchase include:
- The items were put in the cart on impulse and the impulse passed;
- The items were in a category the shopper was exploring from multiple brands (this is especially true of students who are considering more destinations and institutions than ever);
- The shopper knows from experience that many companies respond to an abandoned shopping cart by emailing the shopper with a discount or other incentive.
All the above points pertain to students as much as general consumers. Education is both consumed and invested in by students and their families. It is a big-ticket item. As a result, it can take multiple attempts to encourage a student along the enrolment funnel, and it can take a value-add or incentive. This is why it is key to master the art of the follow-up.
Research by business-to-business marketing firm Woodpecker has found that sending just one follow-up email to a customer who has ignored the first email increases the replay rate by 22%, and that the reply rate to that first follow-up is 40% higher than to the first email. And a blog post on the automation firm Ignition notes that following up “also shows you are engaged in the client’s journey and helps to set and reinforce expectations.”
Clearly, there is a synergy created by combining – and aligning – good chatbot, email, and branding strategies.
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