Higher
education, like so many other business sectors, seems to be getting myopic
about lead generation. The contrarian in me wants to stand on a stump and
yell out, "It's not about lead generation.... it is about enrollment
conversion and persistence."
The lead generation movement has swept this country like a storm. All one
needs to do is complete a brief search of the Internet to find tremendous
numbers of lead generation vendors marketing services to colleges and
universities. Having set foot on a few campuses in my time, more
inquiries at the front gate is not necessarily the answer.
I will admit that lead generation is a part of the picture, but taken alone it
will not suffice. It has to be part of a broader whole called enrollment
conversion and persistence.
Enrollment conversion ties four key critical components into the matriculation
process. Each component must be analyzed and re-tooled in order to meet
the demands of a much more sophisticated student than we have ever seen.
- Marketing (Lead Generation, Recruitment, Strategy)
- Registration (Registrar, Academic Integrity,
Institutional Policies)
- Financial Aid (Processes, Response Cycle,
Accountability)
- Student Accounts (Communication, Accuracy, Cycle-Time)
A breakdown
in any of these four areas can mean qualified prospects never converting to
matriculated students.
Within higher education we have to move beyond our cylindrical approach to our
work silos and understand the organism within which a prospect must
interact. These prospects, especially today are well-armed shoppers who
appropriately demand immediate attention and Internet speed customer
care. Nothing short of that will suffice.
My second point, "Persistence," will wait for another post, however
suffice to say, quality curriculum design leading to communities of learners
with facilitator-led instruction is the demonstrated answer to retention and
completion. Your institution can have a large front door, but if the back
door is equally large...it doesn't matter the size of your marketing
budget. You will not reach your goals.
I encourage you to evaluate your systems with a high level of business
acumen. You can do that while maintaining and advancing your educational
mission. The two can play well in the sandbox together.
Nathan