marketing update june 2014

8/12/2019 Marketing Update June 2014

1/4

In the rst year of our three-year enrollment growth plan,our primary focus is on setting a strong foundation to impactconversions through the inquiry to registration cycle, therebyinspiring more students to enroll.

We will focus on three primary objectives:

1) Redeveloping the foundation that will impactconversions

2) Delivering relevant, timely and personalizedcommunications

3) Enhancing our application

Our metrics have shown that only 40% of applicants nishour online application on their rst try. In addition, only40% of successful applicants registered and started classes.Increasing this metric to 60% puts us in a better position toload the inquiry pipeline with more direct responses in oursecond year this is our goal.

As a team, we work towards dening a critical path forstudents and then aligning relevant, timely and personalizedcommunications to positively impact student successthroughout that path. We are examining communications inthree general categories: 1) Prime Intake, 2) Semester-based

and 3) Current Student Announcements. In this assessment,we will enhance our application and strengthen theimplemented inquiry to application pre-admissions processto convert more inquiries into committed applicants.

An enhanced application is part of the critical path. We arefocusing not only on what students see and experiencethroughout the application, but also working to preventroadblocks that keep them from nishing what they start.

Focusing on the foundation in the rst year will allow us toensure students are acquiring the service and support theyneed to make it through the inquiry to enrollment processso they can apply, register and make it to class in the best

shape for learning.

Pre-Admissions

Communications

EnhancedApplication

Area of Interest

Digital

Bachelors degrees offeredBiologyBusinessAdministrationDental Hygiene Education (7teachingd egrees) Educational Studies(non-teachingd egree) Health Services Administration

InternationalBusiness Managementand Organizational Leadership Nursing(RN to BSN)

Orthoticsand ProstheticsParalegalStudiesPublicPolicy and Administration Public Safety Administration SustainabilityManagement Technology Management VeterinaryTechnology

Bachelors certificates Paralegal Studies ProjectManagement Teacher Certification optionsVeterinary Hospital Management

spcollege.edu | 727-341-4772

Flexible to fityourbusyschedule

St.PetersburgCollegeis an Equal Access/Equal Opportunityinstitution. 14-0259-05F

Learnmore

Preparingyouforhighdemandjobs.Withtuition costs halfofstate universitiesandflexible schedulestomeetyourneeds,S PCis asmart place toearnyourbachelorsdegree.

60%

40%

Redeveloping the foundation that will impactconversions

Achieving relevant, timely and personalizedcommunications

Enhancing our application

MARKETINGUPDATE

June 1, 2014


2/4

CommunicationsIn preparation for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and aspart of the Title III grant, we have implemented a Business Plan Review (BPR)Subcommittee. The BPR objective is to create processes that streamline and unifycommunications throughout the college. The BPR Committee and consultanthave been established and a kick-off meeting has taken place. Five CollaborativeLabs have been scheduled to:

Our goal is to establish one voice for one college through ourcommunications by ensuring:

Consistent tone

Standardized look and feel

Centralized theme

Streamlined approach

Personalization

Relevancy to the student

Timely delivery

Unied messaging

2

Pre-AdmissionsOn March 31, St. Petersburg College recruiterstransitioned to pre-admissions advisors under thestructure of Marketing and Public Information. Sincethat time, processes, communications, training and thereorganization of roles and responsibilities have takenplace, all focused on a data-driven approach to movemore of those prospects that are sitting on the fence tocompleting their applications.

Since this transition, we have seen a steady growth ininquiries and more outbound calls have been made.

Research shows that immediate respontime is key, since prospects are typicallyshopping for multiple colleges at onceand usually apply within the rst fourdays of initiating a school search onlineThe 90-day process is geared to suppothat research, with calls heavy in weekone and then drip marketing in weektwo through day 90. We also haveextended the hours in which we takeincoming and make outbound calls fro8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday throughFriday.

Pre-admissions advisors have beentrained to help a student who is stuckin the application. Live Chat is almostready to launch within the application,to give applicants immediate assistancby a trained chat advisor the momentthey face a challenge in completing theapplication.

The use of student assistants andambassadors also has changed. Theyare able to assist in routing callsand sending information emails toappropriate departments. Especiallyduring peak recruitment seasons, thegeneral 4772 extension gets manycallers, which usually results in heavyhold times. Student assistants andambassadors will be a great help intaking the initial call, obtaining theprospects contact information and the

warm-call transferring the inquiry to dedicated pre-admissions advisor whocan personally help the rest of the way,towards application completion.

At this time, the process is beingdeployed and tracked manually.However, with the PeopleSoftRecruitment Module launch, and thenlater with CRM (Customer RelationshipManagement), we will be able to convethe same process seamlessly into anautomated delivery model.

Weekly Activity SummariesWeek of SPC Mail-ins & Inbound Inbound Incomplete dates Website Vendors Phone Email Apps

5.03 5.09 189 25 507 106 189

4.26 5.02 181 22 518 42 121

4.19 4.25 152 31 468 76 N/A

4.12 4.18 175 139 288 80 N/A

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

We know that time spent assistingphone inquiries has proven successful,with approximately 700 applicationsgenerated in one week. This newprocess has solidied our alignmentwith a college value providingsuperior student support. Now there isa complete 90-day process that includes

internal training, new welcome packets,phone call scripts, emails, direct mailand microsites. Data is being trackedas a prospect moves from inquiry, toappointment, to interview, to application,so we have a better idea of where weneed more focus in the funnel.

1) Dene the overall process and outline the process and communications

2) Explain the steps from inquiry to application

3) Explain the steps from application to registration

4) Incorporate the College Experience: Student Success

5) Note the importance of the Foundation, Career Services,Employees and Alumni


3/4

Welcome Packet

3

Enhanced ApplicationWith a full and solid process at hand, we are now analyzingwhat items in the current application can exist throughout thatprocess, rather than just within the application or registrationareas.

An enhanced application will:

Focus on what the student sees and experiences Utilize data for optimization

Create application categories with a slightly different focusbased on the students needs

Reduce roadblocks that prevent a student who starts theapplication from completing it and paying the fee

Focus on where action items should occur in the fullinquiry to registration process so they are relevantand timely to the student and helpful as the studentprogresses through the information required

Area of InterestFocusing on an area of interest approachwill allow us to:

Include both credit and non-creditoffers under one umbrella

Provide prospects with a widerwindow of options that align withtheir interests

Position SPC as an authoritativesource on education and trainingwith a depth of offerings inspecialized degree pathways

Generate more word-of-mouthrecognition, when collateral ispassed around with more programofferings included

Help educate students on theiroptions and prepare them for theirFocus 2 Survey and meeting withtheir career advisor

Key word and competitor research hasbeen conducted to identify high trafckey words for areas of interest. This is aSearch Engine Optimization techniquethat helps us rank higher for theprograms we offer.

With area of study blogs, faculty,deans and staff can participate as

content contributors and post newsand information about their programsdirectly to the website and within amonthly E-Newsletter that will go outto prospects and any current studentswho subscribe. Faculty are really theindustry inuencers and experts on thetrends inside programs and allowingthem specic access will better serveour students. It also will help our SearchEngine Optimization, as we get more andmore content, with industry buzzwordsthat links back to our main site.


4/4

Timeframes Overview60-day window Inquiry Form Posting to PeopleSoft

Live Chat within the Application

Community Relations and Outreach Planning

Critical Path and Prime In-Take Communications

90-day window BPR (Business Process Review) Report Delivered

Semester Based Communications

Current Student Communications

Application Revision

Area of Study Blogs

Program Slicks

Re-Targeting and YouTube Pre-Roll Digital

Stream Radio

Update and mail College Experience Report. Fall Facultydistribution and E-Flipbook format for e-mail campaign

Direct Link Re-Launch and promotion campaign

Online program marketing

180-day window Program Area of Study booklets

View Book

How-to Videos

Student bloggers, social media interns and next strategyfor Ask Maria

Plan to promote scholarships to prospects before theyapply.

Corporate Training marketing and communications plan

By July 1, 2015 High School Enrollment Plan with Honors College

Promotion

Niche Marketing Plan

Transfer Plan Promotion

Video tours of each area of study, including workforceprograms

Hallway tour signage at campuses

Website Redesign

Current Student Hub Site

Intranet Site for Faculty and Staff

Storefront Tool Kits: Flyers, brochures, business cards,post cards, tablecloths, letterhead, pull up banners

Next Fiscal Year, 2016 Transfer of Credit Calculator

Prospect Pathway Interactive Career Tool

CRM Implementation and built in Text Messaging

Mobile Site/App Redesign

Pay Per Click (PPC) and Niche Marketing

Inquiry driving approach with aggressive direct responsemarketing

Questions?Contact us.

727-341-3274

marketing@spcolleg

spcollege.edu/MPI

4

14-0301-06

DigitalJust from our signs and prominentlocations, we already obtainorganic recognition on the street,but how can we raise our relevancyonline? This is part of our approachin the rst year of our enrollmentgrowth plan, with a move to digitalmarketing. Through re-targetingand use of YouTube pre-rollvideos, where we only are chargedif someone watches the full video,we can start to tell our story andbrand SPC online. This approachalso will position us nicely foryear two, when we start biddingon keywords to drive more directresponse trafc to new, highconverting landing pages. Qualityscore, relevancy, link building andother search engine optimizationpractices can help us bid lessfor high trafc keywords that arehighly competitive and well paidfor.

A Request for Proposal (RFP)has gone out to 12 differentwebsite vendors, most of whichhave had extensive experiencein developing websites forinstitutions of higher education.Internally, an RFP Review Team anda Website Development Taskforceand Steering Committee havebeen formed to work through therequirements for a new website forthe college. The new website willfocus on prospective students getting them the information theyneed to apply. A current studenthub site will better serve currentstudents by providing a one stop,single sign on location, wherestudents can obtain messaging,view class schedules, pay, registerand attend class, etc. Additionally,an Intranet would better serve ourinternal faculty and staff in ndingresources needed to best perform

their jobs, as well as benetinformation and current newsitems.

marketing update june 2014

Documents