A: The current trend is SEO: search engine optimization. It is critical to have your site organically optimized in order for the prospect to find your school. 81% of website visits are initiated from a search engine (Forrester Research). Look for your September 2009 e-Zine “Optimize Your Website, Increase Your Enrollments”.
A: Academia institutions are using social networking such as LinkedIn® as a collaboration tool. Students' personal experiences and/or testimonials are posted. With LinkedIn's more than 38 million members representing 170 industries and 200 countries word of mouth can be very powerful.
A: Postal rates are averaging between 0.25% and 0.5%; email campaigns: unique click thru 2%-8%. While it’s important to gauge response rates this only part of the analysis. Continue to look beyond response rate and evaluate your ROI. A low responding rate may produce a high matriculation number.
A: Tracking is very important element in direct mail. It is critical to be able to calculate your cost per acquisition and effectiveness of the channel you use. The most simplistic method would be "match back".
A: First, understand the markets you target. What is the profile of the students in your database? What are your objectives and enrollment goals? Will direct mail increase awareness, have the prospect fill out an application, request information or attend an open house? Thorough research is then done to find the best qualified list based on segmentation, source, and usage.
A: your creative piece is the first thing the prospect sees. They make a decision within 3-5 seconds of receiving it in the mail box if it’s worth their time to read further. Your creative should be relevant, offer benefits and state a call to action.
