ADMISSIONSADMISSIONSThe National Newspaper of Admissions Marketing

VOL. XVI, NO. IX MARKETING REPORT October 2000

Don’t Underestimate the Value of the Visit

by Todd HoffmanAssociate Director – Campus Visit, Inc.

he most important step in the funnel,”admissions guru, Bob Sevier, declaredat a recent NACAC conference, “is thecampus visit. The #1 job (of Admis-

sions) is to get the student to campus, thenmake sure they have a great visit.”

While many factors influence a student’sfinal choice, none are as emotionally-charged,physically-exhausting or as pivotal as thecampus visit.

Consider that only one in ten students willattend a college that they didn’t visit before-hand. And that the typical student will onlyvisit three schools.

How can you maximize your odds of be-ing one of those all-important three? Beginby taking a close look at your visit strategy.Make sure you’re ready for “ShowTime” andnot giving a performance as dated as TheBrady Bunch.

At Campus Visit®, we work with morethan 30 Philadelphia and Boston area schools,employing a number of strategies to improvestudent yield (both quantity and quality).

As a result, these colleges are not only

T

attracting more campus visitors, but creating a betteroverall impression during those visits. They’vediscovered that the total visit experience is muchmore than the time spent on campus and havereengineered their strategies accordingly.

Travel Distance CountsThe first major step is to create two separate strat-

egies: One for out-of-region visitors (those who’ll betravelling far from home) and another for locals. Thislatter group has the benefit ofwaking up in their own bed,driving a short distance to thecampus, and returning home intime for the family dinner. Asimple day trip.

Now consider what theout-of region candidate or“tourist in disguise” has to en-dure just to reach campus.Their overall visit experienceis typically more intense andinfluential on their finaldecision than the secondgroup … those who live withinlaundry distance of school.

If a New Jersey familyheads up to Boston for the daythey’re looking at 10+ hours inthe minivan compared withonly two to four hours actuallyspent on campus. By the timethey arrive home it is late in theevening and everyone is ex-hausted, cranky or both.

No matter how great thecampus tour, the takeaway im-pression is dampened by anoverall feeling of fatigue.Would their feelings for thatcollege be any different if they had spent the night in anice Boston hotel and seen a Red Sox game or theBoston Symphony Orchestra perform? You bet.

In our experience, the more time spent discoveringa school’s surroundings and all they have to offer,the easier it is for prospects and their parents to visu-alize … and to appreciate … a school’s own features.

But the reality is that every year too many visitingfamilies will turn what should be an overnight into aday trip. And you both pay the price.

ADMISSIONS MARKETING REPORT October, 2000

Remember, these are tourists disguised as campusvisitors. And your ultimate goal is to convince themto become residents at your school for the next sev-eral years. Open houses aside, the majority of yourtop candidates will arrive on their own and appreciateany extra help and advice you’re willing to provide.

We recommend to all of our partner schools thatthey stress the benefits of a one or two night stay when-ever possible. Suggest some itineraries that marry theon-campus visit with an exploration of the area, in-cluding off-campus activities that are fun for the whole

family such as a ball game,concert and/or rollerblading aswell as where to rent them.

In Boston and Philadelphia,we’ve arranged special rateswith a number of hotels that arebookable online. And sincemom’s typically more comfort-able using the phone, we staffa toll-free visitor hotline foreach city. That way, she canshop several hotels with asingle phone call or havedirections to campus faxed toher anytime of day or night.

Courting Out-of-region Students

For prospects living hun-dreds of miles from campus,trip planning is only one ofmany stresses they encounterthat the locals do not. Otherfactors impacting their experi-ence and state-of-mind duringthe visit include: Schedulingconsiderations (missing workand school), financial consid-

erations (the whole trip can easily cost thousands),unfamiliar destination, safety concerns, and separationanxiety as well as heightened expectations for the tripitself (especially if it’s the eldest child and their firstever campus visit.)

Like a wedding, the first campus visit is one of life’smilestones that parents look to with mixed emotions.The realization that little Johnny or Jill is about to leavethe nest is staring them squarely in the face.

Keep this in mind when you’re training the next

Your prospects’ impressions will be based on the wholevisit; not just time spent on campus. Plan accordingly.

tive advantage over several other liberal arts colleges.So to the extent that the Campus Visit initiative makesPhiladelphia better known and appreciated by prospec-tive students … the greater our edge.”

Updated each year, these guides also serve as a“Fodor’s Guide for Future Freshmen”, helping themwith all of their trip planning needs and further em-phasizing the benefits of a longer stay. Anytime youcan get a prospect to spend 24 hours in your area in-stead of two to four, you’ll have a definite advantageover shorter visits to those schools you cross

applications with.These guides also tie into

the other main elements ofboth Campus Visit programs:the companion websites andtoll-free visitor hotlines.

Now, you may be thinking:“Nice thought, but there’s noway I can be a visitors bureauand an admissions office.”Not to worry. Leave that toorganizations like ours.

The Power ofPartnering

Teaming up with nearbycolleges is certainly not a newidea. Consortiums have ex-isted since the 1960’s. How-ever, stepping beyond lobbyingand bulk purchasing is certainlynot as common as it should be.

As is the case for both Bos-ton and Philly, we’ve recruiteddozens of partners who arehappy to share program costs.In addition to other schools inyour area that have similar visit

issues, consider the hotels and restaurants who ben-efit from your “affluent, educated” clientele and localemployers who want a shot at your graduates. Manywill jump at the chance to work with you if theopportunity is well thought-out and presented.

A great first-step and team-building exercise werecommend is hosting a brainstorming session withyour admissions team. Over soda and snacks, you’llbe amazed at the list of great ideas and “no brainers”that will pop up.

ADMISSIONS MARKETING REPORT October, 2000

crop of tour guides. Everyone on the walk may fit asimilar physical profile, but what’s going on in theminds of out-of-towners will vary dramatically fromthose who already share your college’s area code.

During high volume periods, you may even con-sider separating the two groups and choreographingtheir tours accordingly. For locals, the topic of loca-tion can be covered in seconds. But, forout-of-towners, the issue is far more complex andrequires much more time, not to mention a separatescript, to do it justice.

Selling LocationEvery location, be it Bos-

ton or the boondocks, has itspluses and minuses.

It used to be that the ninemost frightening words a par-ent could hear were: “I wantto go to school in the city.”The mere mention would sendthem into a tailspin. Now, ur-ban education is all the rage.Concerns for a child’s safetyhave been replaced with im-ages of internships at Fortune500 companies, exposure toother nationalities, and nightsat the theatre.

Schools in more bucolic,rural settings have their ownshifting set of positives to pro-mote and issues to address.

Prospects and parents alikeare well aware that only halfof the education they’re aboutto pay handsomely for willtake place in the classroom.So don’t overlook this oppor-tunity to tell them about theother half. But simply dedicating a page in the viewbook to a skyline shot and list of tourist attractionsdoesn’t drive the proximity point home. In the casesof Philadelphia and Boston, our partner colleges ben-efit from a focused marketing effort, which includesfour-color regional magazines that we’ve createdto deliver the whole story to their out-of-regioncandidates.

As Swarthmore’s Tom Krattenmaker explains:“Our location near Philadelphia gives us a competi-

We find that most colleges do a poor job of promotingthe great resources that exist beyond the campus gates.

ADMISSIONS MARKETING REPORT October, 2000

Start by profiling who your classic campus visitorsare, how many, and how long they stay in the area. Athousand families spending the night is worth about$250,000 in tourism dollars alone. When most schoolsconsider all of their “tourists in disguise”, they typi-cally uncover an figure several times greater.

When you add your admissions figures to otheron-campus events like homecoming, parents weekends,football Saturdays, and alumni visits you’re building ahuge bargaining chip that you’ll be able to use withlocal hotels and restaurants, if not city hall.

Like you, most businesses pay handsomely to reachtheir best prospects. For the hotel up the road, yourschool could be responsible for as much as a quarterof their sales. Even if they’re already giving you a dis-counted rate, don’t be shy about approaching them asa “sponsor” of your next open house or visit brochure.Line up 3-4 hotel partners and you may be able tooffset half your printing costs with the mere mentionof their location and phone number.

Considering that your school is responsible for mil-lions in tourism revenue, employs thousands and, un-like the major business down the road, won’t be leav-ing town any time soon, collaborating on a visit pro-gram is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

To help you visualize the possibilities, here are snap-shots of two successful visit programs we’ve devel-oped for Philadelphia and Boston.

Campus Visit / PhiladelphiaFormed less than a year ago with 16 founding part-

ner colleges, the primary sponsor of the initiative isactually the Greater Philadelphia Tourism MarketingCorporation (GPTMC) with the University of Penn-sylvania serving at the other major catalyst.

A few years ago, GPTMC initiated a study that iden-tified the multi-million dollar impact that visitors to“Philly’s 50” colleges and universities have on the re-gion. By partnering with Penn and the major schoolsin the area, they hope to increase both the number ofvisitors and the length of their stay. The schools, inturn, share the same objective. There’s your win-win.

Beyond the magazine, toll-free visitor hotline(877-88-PHILA) website (www.onebigcampus.com),we’re working on several lead-generating andvisit-generating components that serve the commonneeds of all of the college partners.

Other efforts are in play to improve student reten-tion and raise Philly’s profile as a multi-dimensionalcollege town under the “one big campus” banner.

“Chestnut Hill has all of the benefits of a smallcollege located in a great city,” says their marketingmanager, Kate McClellan. “Getting that word outthrough Campus Visit has proven to be a tremendousmarketing tool. The front cover says it all – ‘Get Readyto Fall in Love... with Philadelphia.’”

Yet, to fall in love with any city or college you haveto experience it first-hand. Which is what thisprogram is all about.

Campus Visit / BostonYou might think “America’s College Town” doesn’t

need any help. But these days, every school hascompetition. Even Harvard and MIT. With the gulfbetween private and public education costs widening,it’s now even more important to clearly communicatethe unique advantages of a Boston-based education.

What started in 1995 with eight partners coveringthe cost of a 32-page visitor guide now involves 16area schools, a popular website (www.campusvisit.com),a toll-free hot line (888-99-VISIT) and 175,000 annualcopies of a 40-page guide.

Unlike the Philadelphia initiative, this one has beenaround long enough to show results, including an over-all 23% increase in applications when compared withpre-program figures. Nationwide, the increase overthe same time period hovers around 4%.

Go the Extra MileThere’s never been a better time to consider bold

changes to your visit strategy. The climate for col-laboration has never been better. The economy isstrong. Hotels are hungry. And with the supply ofprospects at an all-time high, your best chance todramatically improve student yield … both quality andquantity … is now. Carpe Diem.

Todd Hoffman is associate director of Campus Visit, Inc.,founding the company with his wife, Cherie, in 1995. Hisbackground in hospitality marketing led to his appreciationfor the impact that location and area amenities can have oncollege recruitment. He can be reached at (781) 431-7755or via email at thoffman@campusvisit.com.

❦

© 2000 Admissions Marketing Report and Campus Visit, Inc.