7 Habits Of HE Websites

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Higher Education WebsitesJo Bridger, Head of Marketing, EduservChris Vezey, Sales Director, Sitecore

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Introduction to the 7 Habits

Steven Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (Simon & Schuster, 1989)

Apply the same rules to your website

Your website is a mechanism to build and grow an online relationship with your audience



The Value Gap

If you had a resource that could… Increase student retention Deliver more applicants Create more loyal and repeat donations Lower cost of admission Result in more profitable students

Would you make use of it?



Most Higher Education Websites are Untapped Resources

Higher Education institutions’ websites in the UK have over 30 target markets Alumni Business Partners Media Research Community Prospective students (domestic and overseas) Current Students Recruiters / Future Employers



Audience Poll…

How long does it currently take to make updates or changes to your public-facing website? Hours

Days

Weeks



Habit #1 Your Visitors are in Charge

Listen and respond to your visitors’ needs Learn how to learn Optimise visitor tasks Analytics only tell part of the story

The visitor is always right Become adaptive - Learn and evolve CMS to the rescue Prioritise high value content (that user behavior shows you)

Benefits Creating a visitor-centric website to drive return visits This creates:

Better recruiting intelligence Higher conversion rates Targeted student recruitment: Geography and talent







Audience Poll…

Do you set and measure goals on your website? Yes

No

Don’t know



Habit #2 Create Goal-Driven Sites

Not as obvious as you think Most websites still behave like single dimensional marketing literature Lack focused calls for action Leverage the advantages of the web

Ask yourself… What should users achieve on this website? What different types of goals do they have?

Benefits Provide focus and direction into every piece of content and functionality Higher conversion rates on requested and submitted applications Create strong parental involvement Reduce fallout rates





Habit #3 Prioritise Your Visitors’ Experiences

Balance user experiences with website goals User experience must be first priority Create value Provide what visitors need, or what they didn’t even know they needed

Benefits Increased retention Lower cost of communication Recruit higher quality students Increase university/college reputation and perception





Habit #4 Drive Value for Your Visitors

Provide value Drive value; understand what they need and deliver it quickly Demonstrate utility of the information they provide

Benefits Creates stronger collaboration Builds goodwill Stronger relationships for increased retention





Habit #5 Know where your visitor struggles

Examine and evaluate what does not work Find the holes Identify what visitors seek, but can’t find Elicit feedback Offer expertise

Benefits Help your students and prospects learn how to engage with you Lower customer support costs Stronger recruiting intelligence Competitive parity or advantage





Audience Poll…

Do you collect feedback from your website users? Yes, regularly

Yes, occasionally

No

Don’t know



Habit #6 Create the dialogue with your visitor

Create an ongoing conversation Use personalisation to have an ongoing dialogue Episodic marketing can expand relationships Targeted calls-to-action Utilise segmentation messaging

Benefits Creates value Expands the relationship Increased student quality Higher retention rates



The University of Southern Denmark

upgraded its Sitecore CMS in just one week. Having ½ million unique items

and 800 editors working on content on a daily basis was

no problem.



Habit #7 Optimise Your Website with the Power of A/B Split Testing Marketers love metrics

Use test and control mechanisms to analyse marketing effectiveness Learn what is working and what is not Prototype the customer response to new messaging and imagery

Benefits Actionable knowledge of what is working on your website A low-cost channel for measuring marketing effectiveness Understand your segments more effectively





The Seven Habits

Your Visitors Are in Charge

Create Goal-Driven Sites

Prioritise Your Visitors’ Experience

Drive Value for Your Visitors

Know What Your Visitors Want

Create a Dialogue with Your Visitors

Optimise Your Site with the Power of A/B Split Testing



Putting the Habits to Work

Expect more from your website

Drive more value by implementing these seven habits

CMS Technology can support these goals

Documents

7 Habits Of HE Websites