Stamats' QuickTakes
Insights into Research, Strategic Planning, and Integrated Marketing for Colleges and Universities by Dr. Robert A. Sevier, Senior Vice President at Stamats (quicktakes@stamats.com)
Vol. 6, no. 9: Maximize Your Web Site
In this issue.
UPCOMING SEMINARS
Creating Mindshare: Developing Your Integrated and Brand Marketing Strategy
Strategy and Finance: Helping Colleges Thrive in Tough Times
3rd Annual President's Institute on Integrated Marketing and Brand Marketing
More information about these seminars is available later in this issue of QuickTakes.
ON STRATEGY: DASHBOARD INDICATORS FOR FINANCIAL AID
In previous issues of QuickTakes we looked at measures of institutional performance dashboard indicators. In a column in the April 2003 issue of University Business Jim Scannell and Kathy Kurz (of Scannell & Kurz) outlined a handful of 12 indicators that will help you determine the status—and even health—of your financial aid and related programs and activities. The 12 are:
1. Aid expenditures - by type of aid
2. Profile of students
3. Number of undergraduates with unmet need, and overall amount of unmet need
4. Number of students employed on campus
5. Debt levels of graduating seniors and default rates
6. Admits, enrollees, and yield rates
7. Number of freshmen, transfers, and total undergraduate enrollees, and average net tuition revenue they generate
8. Freshman, transfer, and total undergraduate discount rates
9. Freshman cohort profiles of students who stay, vs. those who leave
10. Competitor data on sticker price and quality profile
11. Projecting aid resources
12. Tracking the number and type of appeals
The authors conclude, "At first glance, putting these metrics in place may seem overwhelming. But most are one-time development efforts that can then be placed into a regular or annual production schedule." For more information on these indicators, I encourage you to read the complete article. Or better yet, contact Scannell & Kurz at (585) 381-1120 or www.scannellkurz.com.
WHY DIDN'T THOSE STUDENTS ENROLL?
They apply. They were accepted. And they didn't enroll. Smart colleges want to know why.
Each year, Stamats completes a number of nonmatriculant studies for colleges and universities that are interested in knowing more about why students opted not to attend. In most cases, these studies must be done during the summer—after the student has said "no" to you, and before the student has matriculated.
The valuable insights gained from these studies can be used to refine your brand marketing and direct marketing/recruiting strategies.
If you are interested in talking to someone at Stamats about doing a nonmatriculant study, please contact Steve Kappler (steve.kappler@stamats.com). He will put you touch with a consultant who is able to quickly respond to your interest. Thank you. Bob Sevier.
ANNUAL TUITION DISCOUNTING REPORT
The March 2003 issue of NACUBO Business Officer contains the 13th annual round-up on tuition discounting. Written by Lucie Lapovsky, president of Mercy College and Loren Loomis Hubbell, Mercy's vice president for finance and administration and treasurer, the article draws on institutional data from 350 independent colleges and universities as well as longitudinal data from previous studies.
All in all, the article reports that tuition discounting is increasing for the three types of schools in the study (small colleges, lower tuition [SCLT]; small colleges, higher tuition [SCHT]; large colleges and universities [LCU]; and a combined group, (all colleges and universities).
The current discounts are presented below followed by their increase over last year:
Type of
School |
Current
Discount |
Increase
Over Last Year |
| SCLT | 42.4 | 1.4% |
| SCHT | 38.8 | .5% |
| LCU | 31.0 | 1.8% |
| Combined | 39.4 | 1.2% |
The article closes by saying that tuition discounting—pervasive, growing, and evolving—has become a critical element in the enrollment management plan, absorbing more (institutional) resources each year.
An executive summary of the study is available from NACUBO (www. nacubo.org).
MAXIMIZE
YOUR WEB SITE
By Scott Linzey, Principal Consultant
Today's high school students are heavily reliant on the Internet as a prime source of information. It is often there that they begin the process of narrowing the pool of possible college choices and researching individual institutional characteristics. In some instances, they turn to their computers early in the funnel, rather than guidance counselors or even parents, in order to develop that all important initial perception of your school.
A recent study indicated that 85% of college-bound students have Internet access at home and 76% use the Internet to research colleges. The same study showed that the information they most often seek is admissions criteria, specific descriptions of academic programs, cost, and facts about athletics.
Since most colleges and universities don't benefit from wide-spread top-of-mind awareness, they are at the mercy of search engines, national ranking organizations, and online guides to bring Internet surfers to them. Given this phenomenon, it should be the intent of every college and university to maintain a Web site that is marketing savvy and information rich, and to promote the existence of their site in every way possible. Here are some tips for driving traffic to your Web site and increasing repeat visits.
Submit your page to the important
search engines
Although there are literally thousands of search engines out there, a mere handful
drives the vast majority of traffic, so being registered with those select few
is essential. Search engines won't find your site unless you submit your
site information to them. The most used search engines are the following: Google,
Excite, Lycos, Hotbot, Dogpile, AltaVista, Infoseek, AOL find, LookSmart, Overture,
and Yahoo. Avoid FFA (Free For All Pages) engines as they perform poorly and
increase spam.
List your page with specialized
industry directories
There are some directories that specifically focus on the higher education industry—sites
like Petersons.com, GoCollege.com,
collegeview.com, collegescolleges.com,
allaboutcollege.com, and of course
usnews.com, among others. These are sites
that surfers will rely on for narrowing their choices according to desired characteristics
and for introductory information and data.
Promote your URL through
traditional channels
Every piece of literature that is created—stationery, note cards, publications,
etc.—should carry the institution's Web address. Other outlets should
promote the URL as well. Your site address can be woven into radio copy, displayed
prominently on billboards, and displayed and mentioned in television commercials.
An additional offer of some sort can also be very enticing. For example, click
here and you'll be entered into our weekly drawing for an ABC College
sweatshirt.
Install a signature block
in your e-mail
Most e-mail programs allow users to create a signature block to appear at the
end of all sent e-mails. Items such as school name, address, phone number, Web
site address, the sender's e-mail address, and an institutional brand
promise or tagline can be included. A Georgia Tech-based study showed that up
to 35% of site hits result from e-mail signatures.
Publish an e-mail newsletter
Take advantage of the fact that prospective students spend substantial amounts
of time online by communicating with them through "their" medium.
Many institutions write, print, and mail an admissions newsletter. The same
delivery of information can occur quicker, far less expensively, and have the
added advantage of directing readers to your Web site. Provide an opt-in subscription
box on your most viewed pages.
Increase return visits and
referrals by providing user-friendly options
Include clicks that will allow visitors to mark your page as "favorites"
or "bookmark" thereby encouraging visitors to return and make doing
so easier and problem free. Also, add a "Recommend this site to a friend"
option that when clicked, automatically launches an e-mail window containing
your site's URL and a message like "Check out this site."
Provide time-sensitive information
and updates
One sure fire way to attract repeat visitors is to post and frequently update
current news and events—guest speakers, sports scores, performing arts
schedules, etc. This can be accomplished by creating a scrolling "What's
new" section on the home page or making it a stand alone page accessed
through the main navigation.
Sponsor monthly chats and/or
bulletin boards
Frequent or occasional opportunities for prospective students to electronically
interface with members of your institutional community—student ambassadors,
selected faculty members, the President, etc. can improve yield and position
as a first choice while driving traffic to your Web site.
Break the mold and be courageous
One of the best tactics is to do something fresh, original, and unexpected.
Here's a great example: Two years ago Furman University added The Furman
Journals to their Web site. Weekly postings detail the lives of six current
Furman students in their own words and through pictures they take and up-load.
Its' reality TV Furman-style on their Web site; an ingenious idea that
brings scores of new and repeat visitors. See www.engagefurman.com/diary/.
This list is certainly not exhaustive, but it will give you a good place to start and might generate some thoughts about other useful tactics as well. To discuss these or other topics related to Web-based or e-mail marketing and student recruitment initiatives contact Scott at scott.linzey@stamats.com.
Recently, a new initiative to promote volunteerism and civic engagement on and beyond the campus was launched by Campus Cares (www.campusCares.org). Campus Cares is a cooperative effort of higher education associations. Colleges and universities interested in how they can more completely "live out" their brand should take a look. Says one source, the site has become an important and dynamic "watering hole" for those interested in campus community service and civic engagement.
The marketplace is filled with sometimes marginal colleges changing their name to "university" with the hope of appearing more prestigious and possibly more attractive to more affluent students. Unfortunately, some of these same institutions (and some regular colleges as well), have achieved a new type of notoriety—junk status. In other words, their financial ratings have been downgraded by the investment community to "below investment grade." An article in the February 7, 2003 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that the number of colleges with junk status has nearly doubled to 17 in the last two years. In addition, a growing list of schools has been downgraded to the lowest investment grade above junk status.
ADMINISTRATIVE SOFTWARE ROUND-UP
The March 2003 issue of Greentree Gazette contains a nice article that summarizes the latest administrative software offerings. Written by Richard Tombaugh, the CEO of Education Finance Consulting Group, the article takes a look at some 60 different software packages (some firms like SCT and PeopleSoft offer multiple packages).
If you're in the market for new administrative software, you might want to take a look at the article. Greentree Gazette can be reached at 561.630.4300 or www.greentreegazette.com/.
TWO REMINDERS ABOUT BRAND LOYALTY
The December 2002 Research Brief from the Center for Media Research, contains two important and roughly parallel insights on creating and maintaining brand loyalty. First, "customers remain loyal to a product only if the quality of their daily experience with it is positive and growing, said Wunderman CEO, Daniel R. Morel. "…building brand loyalty has less to do with traditional brand imagery and everything to do with frequent, customized, one-to-one communication and interaction with customers about their specific needs."
Furthermore, "brand experience drives brand loyalty. Consumers tend to use, to be more loyal to, and will pay a premium for brands they feel provide better overall experience."
In a time of logo fixation, it is important to remember that it is not (or at least not just) what we say or how we look, it is all about how we act.
350 PEOPLE USE SCORECARD … AND COUNTING
In the last issue of QuickTakes, we introduced a new (and free) Integrated Marketing Scorecard available on our Web site. In less than a week, more than 350 people had used the 17 questions in the Scorecard to evaluate their integrated marketing program.
You can access the Scorecard from the Stamats Web page at www.stamats.com/scorecard.
STAMATS SEMINAR SCHEDULE FOR 2003
Creating Mindshare: Developing Your Integrated and Brand Marketing Strategy will be held on three different dates in three different locations: July 22-23 in San Diego, July 29-30 in Chicago, and August 5-6 in Philadelphia. You should attend if you are a marketing, admissions (traditional, non-traditional, and graduate), public relations, fundraising, planning, and special events staff who are responsible or interested in integrated and brand marketing for your institution. This conference is specifically designed to help colleges and universities develop a comprehensive integrated and brand marketing strategy.
Strategy and Finance: Helping Colleges Thrive in Tough Times will be held on November 18-19 in Atlanta. This conference is designed for campus leaders—presidents, board members, and VPs—who understand the need—in today's tough market—to link strategy and finance.
Stamats' 3rd Annual President's Institute on Integrated & Brand Marketing will be held on November 20-21 in Atlanta. If prospective students and donors are not thinking about you, you are in deep trouble. No brand, no students, no donors. Having a strong, recognized brand in today's highly competitive recruiting and fundraising marketplace has never been more important. Helping college and university presidents and their senior teams develop an institutional brand is the impetus behind the Stamats Third Annual President's Institute on Integrated & Brand Marketing.
Additional conference details can be found at www.stamats.com/seminars. Please check the Web site often for changes in times or locations.
BUILDING
A BRAND THAT MATTERS
Bob Sevier has published a new book, Building a Brand That Matters: Helping Colleges and Universities Capitalize on the Four Essentials of a Block-Buster Brand. The book covers such topics as:
Information on the book, and its companion volume, Thinking Outside the Box, is available at the Strategy Publishing Web site: www.strategypublishing.com.
NEW CLIENTS
Stamats would like to welcome the following new clients:
If you have a short position description (100 words or less) you would like posted, please forward it on to brandy.huseman@stamats.com. There is no charge for this service. Job listings available online at Higher Educations Careers.
COPYRIGHT, DISTRIBUTION, AND PERMISSION
Stamats QuickTakes is published by Stamats and is distributed to our clients and colleagues in higher education at no charge. Contents (c) 2003 by Stamats. Please feel free to forward copies of Stamats QuickTakes in its entirety to colleagues. Visit QuickTakes for past issues. To subscribe, reply to this e-mail, send your request to quicktakes@stamats.com, or visit QuickTakes.
ABOUT STAMATS
Every year, more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide rely upon Stamats marketing and communications programs to help them keep their promises. Stamats services include research, consulting, publications, interactive media, search solutions, and advertising.
Stamats. Promises kept.