Personalization in Higher Education: Start Small and Think Big

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Personalization in Higher Education:

Start Small. Think Big. Eduweb 2014 – Baltimore

Jeff Cram @jeffcram

ISITE Design, Co-founder

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@jeffcram | @ISITE_Design | #eduweb14

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Source: https://www.threadless.com/product/2396/Math/


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http://www.uncg.edu/mat/sermon/2007/campusmap.jpg


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Source: http://xkcd.com/773/


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“Things people go to the

site looking for”

peo·ple /ˈpēpəl/ noun

Human beings in general or considered collectively.

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site looking for”

These people?

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site looking for”

Or these people?

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site looking for”

Or maybe these people?

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site looking for”

How about this person?

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Source: http://xkcd.com/773/

aThings on a

University

website

Parents

Prospective Students

Current Students

Media

Alumni

Things these

“people” are

looking for


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The case for personalization


a“The more digital we get, the more

human we must be”Gatum Ramdurai, Google Creative Lab


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Personalization is trending

(outside of EDU)

Source: Adobe Digital Roadblock Report


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“Amazon is so confident of its

ability to personalize the site for

each user that the company

hardly ever creates classic

customer-segment personas,

such as ‘soccer moms’ or

‘gearheads.’ Such marketing

standbys are too imprecise for

Team Bezos.”

- Forbes, April 2012

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The personalization myth


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The web is made of people


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Personalization’s Perfect Storm

Content

Strategy

Technology

Management

Analytics &

Testing

Customer

Insight

Connected expertise

(Unicorns: Apply within)


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Start Small

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Thinking about Day 2


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Personalization starts

with a hypothesis

If we can deliver this

[content] to this [segment]

at this [touchpoint], then we

can improve the experience

by measuring this [metric].


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The button test

??????

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The button test

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The winner

282% form conversion increase

57% site-wide lead increase


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Cumulative lift


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The homepage battlegroundWe’re moving the digital goal post

The homepage battleground

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Call-to-action targeting


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Types of Personalization


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What to Personalize?

Theme What is it? Key Dimensions

Geo targeting / locationDisplay specific content (text, images, downloads, apps,

etc.) based on the user’s geographic location.

Geo-location, Referring domain,

User preferences, Company,

Campaign

Campaign .& landing

experiences

Content is customized based on exposure to or

engagement with a campaign, often on a landing page.

Campaign, Inbound channel,

Recency, Lifecycle

Recommended content Similar content is shown to the user based on content

already viewed during that visit or a previous visit.

User preferences, Lifecycle,

Referring domain, Campaign,

Company, Industry

Lifecycle Content and calls to action are served up based on where

a user is in the journey or buying cycle.

Lifecycle, User preferences,

Recency

Account/industry

Display industry-specific content, company-specific

content, or competitor-specific content after identifying the

company and/or industry of the user.

Industry, Company, Referring

domain

Call to action

Messaging, tag lines, and calls to action on the site are

customized and change based on user behavior,

preferences, and response rate.

Geo-location, Industry, Company,

Campaign, Inbound channel,

Engagement score, Referring

domain, Lifecycle, User

preferences, Recency


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International students require different

experiences

http://chronicle.com/blogs/planet/2012/04/08/new-twists-in-online-recruiting-of-international-students/

“International students are often in an online

wilderness as they search for universities to apply

to…they run into confusing websites…and contact

us pages that may not effectively connect them with

admissions counselors.”


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Personalization in the Wild

Source: Non Linear case study presented at Digital Pulse 2013http://www.cmsmyth.com/2013/10/customer-experience-management-is-getting-real


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Segmentation and geo-targeting

SolarWorld Americas increased conversion by 200%

with audience segmentation and geo-targeted landing

pages


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Better Experiences

for Stealth Applicants


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Engagement Scoring


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Personalized portals

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/gbegin/its-not-all-about-facebook-defining-your-own-private-community


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Connected to the

student journey

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/gbegin/its-not-all-about-facebook-defining-your-own-private-community


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Measuring success:

Our window to the world


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“All data in aggregate

is crap.”

- Avinash Kaushik, Google

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Analytics segmentation


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Group exercise

If we can deliver this

[content] to this [segment]

at this [touchpoint], then we

can improve the experience

by measuring this [metric].

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Think big

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If we connect and extend

our pre-launch customer-

insight thinking to post-

launch management, then

we can significantly

improve the performance of

our digital programs and

value to our users.

The hypothesis

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Pre-launch: We love users!

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Post-launch: Argh, the technology!


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Digital Pulse - October 17, 2013

Jeff Cram @jeffcram

Co-founder ISITE Design

Publisher, CMS Myth

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Technology pain

Customer gain

Website launch

Bending the launch curves


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Mapping the Student Journey

Source: http://wagner.nyu.edu/students/journey/guide.php

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Starting with people

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Documenting the journey

All of the steps the customer takes

All of the touchpoints the customer interacts with

receivesstatementin mail

throwsstatement on desk &ignores

sees chargethat lookswrong

logs into website

tries to getdetails about charge

callscustomerservice

talksto CSR

tweetsinfrustration

paperstatement

envelope

mobilephone

IVRTwitter


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Prioritizing experiences

Business

Benefit

Customer

BenefitUser Impact Overall

Scale 1=low, 2=medium, 3=high


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Assessing feasibility

Idea Effort Status Clarity Risk


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Aligning with Student Lifecycle

Management initiatives

“Supporting learners during every

stage of the student lifecycle is a “must

have” competence, required of any

successful higher education institution

in today’s demanding environment.

Providing a valuable experience at

every stage of the student lifecycle

allows institutions to advance their

mission and achieve strategic goals in

the areas of growth, intelligence,

quality, and efficiency.”

http://www.hobsons.com/blog/blog-detail/the-importance-of-student-lifecycle-management


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Student Lifecycle Management

“Known as “Student Lifecycle Management” (SLM),

this initiative now involves 10 different committees of

faculty and professional staff working to instill a new

approach focused on building relationships with

students that start years before they come to Drexel

and continue through and after graduation.”

http://www.drexel.edu/now/features/archive/2014/January/Student-Lifecycle-Management/


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“A tool used for experience design is

now an important input to strategy.”

~ Christine Chastain, R/GA


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Thank you

Jeff Cram

ISITE Design

617-401-2295

[email protected]

ISITE Design

www.isitedesign.com

CMS Myth

www.cmsmyth.com

Delight 2014 Conference

www.delight.us/conference


http://www.isitedesign.com

http://www.cmsmyth.com

http://www.delight.us/conference