In This Issue
- You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure, by Matt Arnold
- Highly Considered Purchases & User Base Expectations, by Matt Arnold
- Stamats' Free Philadelphia Idea Exchange
You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure
By Matt Arnold, Director of Interactive Media Strategy
You can’t manage what you can’t measure; or what gets measured gets done. Two adages that succinctly remind us of the importance of measurement and reporting. Measurement is necessary, but not sufficient when it comes to improving your interactive presence and supporting institutional goals. Improving your site should be focused on two areas—what will support our institutional goals and what will improve the experience of our customers. From there, measure how progress is being made on those fronts and what action (or reaction) will support further improvements.
When it comes to continuous improvement regarding the user experience, focus on that which is measurable, important, and actionable. Basically, everything on the web is measurable, so that part is pretty easy, especially if you have an analytics tool. The key with measuring, in this case, is not the ability to gather data, but rather which data should be collected. To get there, determine what is important for the institution to know and if having that information will help drive action. While the information may be interesting, it needs to be actionable. The important and actionable information will be things that can show the health of the institution, can support continuous improvement, are tied to key performance indicators, and can be reported or shared with others in the organization to drive action.
Measuring is the first step in understanding the current state of operations. Without that understanding, it is impossible to know what it will take to get to a desired future state. Once you start measuring (and reporting) it’s amazing to see what gets done.
Highly Considered Purchases & User Base Expectations
By Matt Arnold, Director of Interactive Media Strategy
In Search Patterns: Design for Discovery (2010), Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender ask us to "look beyond our own borders" to discover ways to improve the products and services we deliver. The authors encourage us to look to the periphery and then return focus to the tasks at hand. To that end, I believe that higher education sites could benefit from looking at the experiences and tools provided on the sites for other highly considered purchases, namely cars and real estate.
Your website does not exist in a vacuum, nor do your constituents' online experiences. Their experiences on other sites, whether they are banking, news, entertainment, or social networking sites, continue to raise the bar for what visitors expect from your site. Those tools and features from other sites collectively increase the expectations of your visitors.
Selecting, applying, and paying for the right college is part of a highly considered purchase process for students and parents. Therefore it is important to provide visitors with the tools to help them make an informed decision. Ideally, those tools should be intuitive and easy to use. Pragmatically, people are most interested in costs, both in terms of time and money. How easy or hard is it for a visitor to understand the costs of attending your institution? Look at the decision-making tools available on real estate sites (including mortgage providers) and auto manufactures. Costs are not buried on these sites and parametric-style search features help find the right car or home for you, the costs, and the financing options.
While the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 will remedy some of the financial issues by November 2011, it will most likely create a commodity-style decision tool. By taking a complex, daunting, and somewhat overwhelming decision-making process, and providing tools to clarify and cut through the noise, institutions can help build trust with the potential students and provide fewer reasons for them to abandon their visit or lose interest in your institution entirely.
Not only are your Web visitors judging your institution relative to competitor institutions, but they are judging their online experience relative to other interactions and experiences they have online. What things are you doing on your site to positively influence the user experience?
Stamats' Philadelphia Idea Exchange
Stamats would like to offer you an idea-inspiring connection. We gathering a dozen or more creative thinkers for a stimulating discussion around marketing to undergraduates and graduates.
And it’s free.
On Tuesday, May 4, from 8 a.m. to noon, Stamats will host an undergraduate-specific Idea Exchange at the Renaissance Philadelphia Airport Hotel, in Philadelphia, PA. The next day, May 5, also from 8 a.m. to noon, we will host a graduate-specific Idea Exchange. Each Idea Exchange is an entirely different conversation. You are invited to attend either or both. A light continental breakfast will be provided.
Bob Sevier, Senior Vice President, Strategy, will host the undergraduate Idea Exchange alongside his co-host, Jim Scannell, President, Scannell and Kurz. Expect to discuss factors that contribute to institutional vulnerability, such as:
- Leadership
- Finance
- Academic programming
- Fundraising
- Recruiting
You’ll also review options for reducing that vulnerability as well as financial aid strategies for changing times and ideas for enhancing competitiveness.
During the graduate Idea Exchange, hosted by Julie Staggs, Senior Client Consultant at Stamats, we will discuss critical and strategic issues facing graduate schools today. We will share, learn, and develop creative ideas around these critical topics:
- Current environmental factors
- Funding challenges
- Student availability
- Shifting demographics
- Job market shifts
- Strategic positioning opportunities
- Market segments
- Program offerings
- Delivery formats
- Targeted positioning
- Marketing channels
- Creating and providing value/ROI to graduate students
Our goal is to create an environment that supports dialogue and conversation among bright people, expands the collective wisdom of the participants, and explores some leading-edge tactics that will help you be as successful as possible.
Again, there is no cost to you except for travel and lodging (if desired). Attendance is limited to 15 people per discussion with no more than two people from a single institution. Since we are focusing on strategic issues, we ask that your institution please send at least one VP.
Interested? Please contact Sabra Fiala at Sabra.fiala@stamats.com by April 13.
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