Top Ten Most
Successful
Recruitment
Strategies
Presented by Dr. Jim Black
President & CEO of SEM WORKS
• Decisions are influenced by relationships
• Prospective students want to be treated as
individuals
• Multiple channels of communication are
the most effective
• Every interaction with a prospective
student is a “moment of truth”
• Response time matters
Student Recruitment Principles
All buying decisions are based
on emotion and justified with
logic.
Determine what emotions will
influence the college decision
of a prospective student.
Address individual emotional
decision drivers.
The Enrollment Funnel
Inquiry
Applicant
Offer
Enroll
Retain
Grad
University
Popula on
College
Recruiter
AlumGraduate2-4+ Years1st YearEnrolledAdmitAppInquiryInquiryProspect
Recruitment
Outreach, Broadcast
Media, Website,
College Planning
Videos
Process/Marketing
Communications,
Social Media,
Events,
Program Marketing
Viewbook
Fulfillment
(High School/
UG Adult Students/
Graduate Students)
Process/Successs
Communications,
Social Media,
Events, Video
Tutorials
Success
Communications,
Success Plan,
Early Intervention,
Advising, Video
Tutorials
Application
Completion
Communications
Orientation,
Advising,
Registration
Loyalty and
Advanced
Degree Recruitment
Communications,
Advising, Faculty
Mentoring
Transition Plan,
Loyalty
Communications
Re-enrollment &
Referral Campaign,
Social Media
FormerStudents
CurrentStudents
FutureStudents
Source: Academica Group, 2013
Recruitment ModelIntegrated Student Recruitment
EFFICIENCY EFFECTIVENESSRelationshipManagement
CommunicationsFlow
Outreach
Web Strategy
Admissions Office
Graduate Studies
Continuing Education
Academic Units
Marketing
Marketing
Print Strategy
Information
Sharing
CommunicationCollaboration
Fusion
Integration
• Outreach
• Direct mail solicitations
• Schedule of courses
• Postcard teasers
• Point of sale posters
• Search engine optimization
• Pay per click
• Advertisements
Strategy 1: Lead Generation
Transfer Lead Generation
• Purchase community college Phi Theta
Kappa search lists through Collegefish.org
• Continue to use high school lists purchased
over the past two years
• Leverage the National Student Clearinghouse
to identify admits from the past two years who
elected to enroll initially at a community
college
• Request lists of future graduates from area
community colleges
Graduate Student Lead Generation
• Fairs
• Purchase GRE and GMAT lists
• Recruit your current undergraduates
• International agents
A Balanced Student Recruitment Strategy
The School Visit
Territory Management
Top Prospects Tier One Schools
Tier Two Schools Tier Three Schools
ROI
Prospects most likely
to be influenced
Schools yielding 25%
or more of the
institution’s enrollment
Schools yielding 5% -
24% of the institution’s
enrollment
Schools yielding
fewer than 5% of the
institution’s enrollment
Strategy 2: Inquiry Capture and Response
1
2
3
5
46
Walk-insEmail senders
Website
visitors
Contacts with others
ISAR &
Test Scores
Call-ins
Applicants
“It used to be that the big ate the small.
Now the fast eat the slow.”
Geoff Yang, Institutional Venture
Partners
Fast or Forgotten
Speed is expected. There is no WOW factor.
Without technology, it is impossible to deliver
anything fast enough to satisfy your students.
Speed must be a strategic direction
of your organization...to thrive.
Strategy 3: Multiple Communication Channels
6%
22%
22%9%
3%
5%
3%2%1%
15%
10% 1%
Web Web Portal Email PrintMicrosites Facebook Twitter Text MessagingAuto Calls Phone Web Chat Blogs
Prospective Student Communications
Frequency Matters
• Project manager/analyst
• Content developer
• Graphic/web designer
• Multimedia/social media
coordinator
• Web developer (coding)
Content Experts
Current Student Comm
Website
Portal
ProspectiveStudentComm
Example
text
High School
Students
Graduate
Students
CE Students
Transfer
Students
Minority
Students
PersonaExperts
International
Students
Communication Plans
• Integrated campus-wide
plan
• Project plans
• Resourced properly
• Rethink structure and
staffing
• Leverage CRM capability
• Learner-centered
• Student engagement
• Shaping word-of-mouth
Strategy 4: Student Relationship Management
Learn from every
encounter.
Student Relationship Management
• Preferences
• Goals
• Needs
• Expectations
• Service transactions
Relationship Strategies
• Calls with no purpose
• Generic communications
• Lack of personalization and
customization
• Failure to prepare for the
campus visitor
• Slow response to requests for
information
• Too much time in tertiary
markets
• Focusing on things that don’t
matter
Relationship Strategies
• Personal attention
• A developmental approach
• Addressing motivators and
barriers to enrollment
• Emotional appeal during
campus visits
• Clearly articulated selling
points
• Distinguishing your institution
from competitors
• Keeping the student on track
• Connections
Stay Connected
• Peer to peer
• Student to faculty
• Student to institution
Recruitment
Manager
Current Students
Alumni
Parents
Staff
Faculty
Advisors
Audience SegmentationAudience Segmentation
Student Type Goal Intent
Campus Program
Barriers Motivators
Market
Segment
Influencing
Choice
Market Segment Attribute/Value Benefit
Adult learners
A caring and supportive faculty
Someone will always be here to help you with questions, academic concerns, and practical matters associated with your education
Online learners
Flexible, convenient learning options
You can conveniently get an education from anywhere in the area as well as the world
Workforce development learners
Practical learning for real world opportunities
You can upgrade your skills and knowledge allowing you to improve your performance, increase your value to your company, and enhance your potential for job mobility
Stop outs
A commitment to student success
You already know the college, and you know we will do whatever it takes to help you achieve your educational and career goals
International Student Recruitment
Infrastructure: Regional recruitment coordinators, qualified agents
Influencers: Recruiters, agents, faculty, alumni, peers
Connect ions: Agreements, art iculat ions, audience- specifi c communicat ions, social media
Affordability: Financial aid
packages, private
scholarships, and foundation
support
Marketing: Latino media
outlets, audience segmented
communications, reflecting the
market, agencies
Recruitment: targeted and
early outreach, key influencers
(family, peers, school
networks), Latino recruiters
and mentors, campus
visits/eventsChallenge:
Affordability for Undocumented
Students
Decision Factors: Institutional fit, campus
climate, personal influences, financial knowledge and incentives, opportunities
Hispanic Students
Transfers: Answer Two Critical Questions
A Streamlined Transfer Pipeline
Build equivalency
tables
Timely credit evaluations
Admissions advisor
appointment
Registration facilitation
Rewards and accountability
Letter of admission with credit evaluation
Pre-enrollment advising
Peak periods
Faculty AdvisorsTransfer Counselor RoleRolling Advising/Registration
RO Authority
Adult Learners
Graduate Students
• Focus first and foremost on graduate program
web pages
– Program description
– Program requirements
– Program selling points
– Availability of funding
– Career options
– Research and scholarship/assistantship opportunities
– Faculty profiles
– Student and alumni testimonials
– Bring the program to life through multimedia and
social media
Graduate Students
• Invest in program-based advertising
– New programs
– Programs with untapped demand, capacity, and the
desire to grow
– Undersubscribed programs where a lack of
promotion is at issue
• Adopt a hybrid model of graduate recruiting
– Centrally coordinated and supported
– Program content experts and relational connections
– Program-based recruitment plans
• Engage in by-country international recruitment
strategies
Readmits
• It is the norm, not the exception, that
students stop out during the course of
their enrollment
• Re-recruit stop outs
• Reminder postcards, email campaigns,
phone calls, leveraging degree audit
systems and credential laddering,
proactive advising contacts, seamless
pathways to reentry, incentives to return,
etc.
Strategy 6: The Campus Visit
Consider everything the student has to
experience before he/she gets to the service - then
engineer every detail of the student’s experience.
Deliver a WOW
Campus Visit!!!
Creating a Memory• Design first impressions
• Personalize the visit
• Tell your story
• Engender emotion
• Create a welcoming
atmosphere
• Have visitors live your
institution
• Surprise your visitors
• Ensure tour guides are
stellar
• Follow up after the visit
Managing Moments of Truth
Employees become
institutional trust
agents.
Strategy 7: The Steps to Enrolling
• Call to action
• Sense of urgency
• Timely
• Intuitive
• Accessible 24/7
• Increasing
commitment
Wayfinding
Submit/Request
Information
Apply for
Financial
Aid
Apply for
Admission
Are all
credentials
in?
Admit
Decision
Get
Advised
Take
Placement
Test
Register for
Classes
Pay for
Classes
Strategy 8: Scholarship Leveraging
GPA
Unmet Need3.0 – 3.24 3.25 – 3.49 3.5 – 3.74 3.75 – 4.0
$500 - $999
$1,000 - $1,999
$2,000 - $2,999
$3,000 - $3,999
$4,000 and higher
Merit Scholarship Front-loading
GPA
SAT Score3.0 – 3.24 3.25 – 3.49 3.5 – 3.74 3.75 – 4.0
900 - 990
1000 - 1090
1100 - 1190
1200 - 1290
1300+
Merit Scholarship Front-loading
• SAT search list acquisitions
• Scholarship conditions:
Must maintain high school GPA
Must apply for admission by March 1st
Must be admitted to the University
Must enroll full-time in the upcoming fall term
• Pilot and rollout gradually to manage risk
• Scholarship recipients are eligible to apply for
higher level replacement scholarships
• Scholarship recipients are guaranteed acceptance
into the Honors College
• Consider entrance scholarships
Scholarship Packaging
Scholarship
Award
Initial
Scholarship
Consideration
for Higher Level
Scholarships
Early
Registration
Privileges
Guaranteed
Internship
Leadership
TrainingNo Debt
Guarantee
Honors College
Acceptance
Assigned
Mentor
On-time
Graduation
Incentive
Program
Strategy 9: Website Strategy
• Marketing-oriented external focus
• Visual impact
• Responsive design
• Value proposition
• Selling points
• Audience segmentation and relevance
• Audience engagement
• Calls to action
A Marketing Orientation
Simple, Elegant Design
Photos Telling Powerful Stories
Extend the Visual Experience to Secondary Pages
Visual Pathways
Responsive Design
Keep It Simple
Value Proposition
Value Proposition
Selling Points
Selling Points
Website Audience Segmentation
Audience Channels
• Process-oriented information
• Infuse a marketing orientation into all
channels
– Audience-relevant selling points
– Success stories and “exceptional outcomes”
– Testimonials
– Factoids
– Relevant opportunities
– Visual images (photography and video)
• Drive audience traffic to relevant pages
Student Success Stories
Alumni Success Stories
Online Viewbook
Introducing the New Class
Viral Media
Student Blogs—An Authentic Source
Photo Blog
Faculty Blogs
Social Media
Social Media Strategy
Calls to Action
Visit Call to Action
DeclineGrowthIntroductionConcept Maturation
Strategy 10: Academic Program Innovation
Decline Growth Introduction Concept Maturation
MarketResearch
• Demand
• Opportunity
• Capacity
EnrollmentSupport
• Marke ng
• Recruitment
• Service
EnrollmentSupport
• Reputa on
• Reten on
• Capacity
Management
DataSupport
• ProgramRenewal
• MarketResearch
ResourceAlloca on
• ProblemAnalysis
• DecisionMatrix
Program Innovation Matrix
www.semworks.net