Effective measurement of
Student Recruitment
Marketing
“what does a person
gain from all his
labour and toils under
the sun?”
- King Solomon
Factors impacting on success
■ Quality and scope of your PQM
■ Quality and scope of institutional
services
■ Student life and services
■ Institutional leadership
■ Brand equity – awareness, loyalty,
perceptions and experiences of quality
■ Unique selling points
Are you convinced to switch brands?
■ A university for tomorrow.
■ A university where leaders learn.
■ Your knowledge partner.
■ A university that gives you the edge.
■ A university where you can rethink
education and reinvent yourself.
■ A place of Quality – A place to Grow.
■ A university for innovation through diversity.
■ A university at the heart of technology
education and innovation in Africa.
Factors impacting on success (cont.)
■ Marketing / student recruitment budget
■ Human resources - staff component
■ Strategic positioning of marketing &
corporate communications within the institution
– credibility
■ Marketers’ level of institutional knowledge
and insight
■ Marketers’ understanding of HE Marketing
■ Level of professionalism and credibility
■ Marketing planning / effective strategies /
action plans
Factors impacting on success (cont.)
Any other factors?
■
■
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www.noellevitz.com
•Top ten most effective marketing & student recruitment practices
•E-expectations of students and parents
•Student satisfaction and priorities trend report
•Parents satisfaction and priorities report
•What matters most to international students?
•Retooling the enrolment funnel
•Institutional brand and parental influence on college choice
•Factors influencing college choice, etc. etc. etc.
Noel-Levitz – on marketing plans
Survey items
4-year
public
institutions
(65 resp.)
My institution has a written long-term strategic
enrollment plan
52.3%
My institution as a written annual marketing plan
29.2%
My institution has a written annual recruitment plan
56.9%
My institution has a written annual integrated
recruitment/marketing plan
26.2%
My institution regularly evaluates the effectiveness
of marketing & recruitment strategies and tactics
and makes changes accordingly
My institution has a standing, campus-wide
committee that addresses coordinated marketing
and recruitment planning and implementation
across all units
46%
21.5%
Noel-Levitz – Top 10 recruitment practices: private inst.
Practice
% effective
% using meth
1
Open house/days
77%
98%
2
Campus visit days
76%
93%
3
On-line application
65%
98%
4
Use current students
in recruit.
57%
95%
5
Weekend visits to
campus
55%
85%
6
Routine contacts by
recr. staff re: fin aid
54%
84%
7
Weekend campus
visits
53%
69%
8
Routine contacts by
fin aid office re: aid
44%
29%
9
Full-time telecounselling
43%
70%
High school visits
42%
98%
10
Noel-Levitz – Top 10 recruitment practices: public inst.
Practice
% effective
% using meth
1
Campus visits
74%
94%
2
Open Days
68%
98%
3
Use students in recrui
68%
86%
4
Weekend visits to
campuses
57%
95%
5
Encourage on-line
applications
63%
99%
6
Community college
articulation agreemnt
53%
62%
7
Website use to
schedule cmp visits
52%
97%
8
Stat appr to
determine fin awards
48%
44%
9
Campus visit days
47%
79%
Admis decisions on
spot during cmp visits
47%
49%
10
Five least-effective practices @ public universities
Practice
% min effective
% using method
Tel directory ads
88%
25%
Podcast
advertising
81%
25%
Listings in
commercially
published
directories
77%
48%
Ads in school
yearbooks/newspapers
77%
46%
Ads in college
magazines
69%
55%
The role of the sales representative
Measuring marketing success
In the corporate world
■ more sales …
■ more profits …
■ greater brand recognition …
what if the goal was
■ to build trust?
■ marketing decisions with the best interest
of the customer in mind instead of what is often
viewed as the best interest of your business?
HE and Relationship Marketing
Student recruitment marketing in South
Africa – An exploratory study into the
adoption of a relationship orientation
Justin Beneke & Gert Human in African Journal of
Business Management, Vol 4(4), April 2010 .
Student recruitment and relationship
marketing – convergence or contortion?
Justin Beneke in South African Journal of Higher
Education, Vol 25(3), 2011
The marketing landscape in HE …
According to authors and references,
situation pre-2005:
“It would appear that at present, marketing is at
best executed on an ad-hoc basis … when
higher education institutions use the term
marketing, they actually mean promotion –
brochures, direct mail, advertising, PR efforts,
etc...The sustained myth that surrounds
institutions is that branding is not needed when
the institution has a solid reputation and long
tradition…”
Three mindsets/attitudes towards SRM
■ Marketing not necessary – such institutions
claims to exist “in the name of science”.
■ Marketing will be necessary in the
foreseeable future – currently receiving an
abundance of applications and seek competitive
advantage in finding primarily quality students.
■ Marketing is fundamental and integral to
recruitment strategy…enjoy a favourable
reputation, yet are still building their brand
…perceive all staff members as marketers
SRM measurement – a numbers game?
Tracking of core marketing functions:
■ More marketing events = offering services and
building relationships / community engagement
■ More school visits, personal appointments = value
of a personal approach
■ Expansion of geographical catchment area =
establish a national footprint
■ Attendance of more national expo’s = national
brand awareness
■ More visitors to your Open Days = popularity,
demand, relevance
SRM measurement – a numbers game?
Tracking of core marketing functions (cont.):
■ Market segmentation in line with institutional
enrolment goals = focused and targeted approach
■ Customised strategies = focused and targeted
approach
■ More first call resolutions by contact centre agents
= better customer service
■ Larger print runs of printed material = promotional
value, demand creation
■ Cost and scope of advertising campaigns = brand
awareness
■ More market & marketing research = to inform
strategies and expenditures
SRM measurement – a numbers game?
Tracking of core marketing functions (cont.):
■ Website traffic tracking = popularity and demand
■ Media coverage tracking = popularity and
relevance
■ Popularity and interactivity levels on social media
platforms = relevance of marketing approach
■ Evidence of best practice benchmarking =
competitive edge of marketing approach
■ Number of queries generated = demand
■ Number of application forms sent = demand
SRM measurement – a numbers game?
Tracking of core marketing functions (cont.):
■ Number of completed application form received =
behavioral change / achieved buy-in
■ Number of applicants with an APS above 46 =
successful attracting top achievers
■ Difference between applications and registration
figures = quality of applicants attracted
■ Number of applicants for SET, Business Studies,
Education = targeted approach
■ Meet enrolment targets regarding diploma and
degree intake = targeted approach
■ Number of black and female M & D applicants =
meet National Plan of HE goal
Measure the value of Relationship Marketing?
1. The goal of Relationship Marketing is to keep
consistent engagement going.
2. Decide upon your RM taxonomy: vehicles/tools
for one-to-one, one-to-few, and one-to-many
interaction and engagement
3. Track your spend – weekly, monthly
4. Track engagement – the actual interactions with
customer groups
5. Give marketers frequent updates on their efforts
(motivator/indicator for success)
6. Track attitudes and perceptions
7. Track behavioural changes
8. Track word-of-mouth recommendations
Back to the numbers game …
“what gets measured
gets managed… “
PS. Setting goals and measuring progress towards
them is the smartest way to get there without
wasting a ton of time and energy along the way…
Student Recruitment & Enrolment Planning
Student Recruitment & Enrolment Planning
Parameters guiding an institution’s student enrolment
projections:
■ Academic “size and shape” of the institution
■ Student intake profile, access routes and admissions
■ Total headcount enrolments
■ Full-time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment calculations
■ First-time entering students
■ PG enrolments
■ Enrolment distribution per major fields of study
■ Sustainable infrastructure development
Setting student recruitment targets
The University of Western Ontario – International
2010-2011 base line = 147
Sept -11
Sept-12
Sept-13
Sept-14
228
262
314
408
Incremental 81
annual
increase
34
52
94
% increase
15%
20%
30%
Recruitment
target
55%
Enrolment target: By 2014 approximately 6% of our UG
enrolment will be comprised of international students.
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First Name
Last Name
Email Address
THANK YOU.
Christelle Feyt
Senior Manager
Student Recruitment Marketing
christelle.feyt@nmmu.ac.za