How Can Higher Education Providers Gain More Control of the Lead Process?
Chris Mulvaney is the CEO of CMDS. I make things... I’m the creative entrepreneur with passion for (re)making brands and inventing solutions to problems no one knows exist.
Gain Control of the Lead Process with CMDS, Marketing Agency in NJ
The college admissions process in the United States can be an expensive and stressful experience for prospective students. But it can also be a stressful and expensive experience for the college or institution. A big challenge that many small to mid-size educators face today is lead quality. In a recent Salesforce report, 2015 State Of Marketing, over 5,000 marketers from all over the globe shared the top challenges they face while executing marketing strategies, lead quality came in second (higher than customer acquisition and marketing ROI).
How do you know if your lead is considered a “good lead” or a “bad lead”? Without understanding how each lead was generated and where that information came from, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference. This results in a lot of wasted time and money on bad leads and a lack of opportunity to target the good ones. The professionals at CMDS, marketing agency in NJ, have put together some important things to consider:
Quality of Leads over Quantity
In the past, lead generation focused on quantity over quality, but the industry has since shifted for the better to focus on high-quality leads. Unfortunately, all industries, including schools, are still facing major challenges of third-party lead generation businesses (a $1.75 billion dollar industry) who are pushing a lot of low-quality bad leads their direction. These diluted leads are all too often recycled, duplicates and sometimes even fake!
Misleading Information from Lead Gen
Many lead gen sites portray themselves as online counselors, but the reality is: they are representing a number of schools that have paid for the opportunity to actively recruit prospective students. Prospective students are often misled and schools often receive poor prospects. Believe it or not, Federal and state laws are out there that apply to internet-based lead generation, but very few sites adhere to these guidelines.
Make intelligent decisions about your leads by emphasizing quality over quantity. Wondering how to get those quality leads? Develop a trusting relationship right from the start.
Develop a Trustworthy Relationship with Potential Applicants
Conveying how your school is different from the rest and demonstrating why a prospective student should go there is an important piece. According to Google, approximately 80 percent of students haven’t decided which school to attend when they begin their higher education searches, so schools need to showcase their offerings to students as soon as possible to stay ahead of the competition. From the moment a student fills out an online website form on a contact page, a meaningful relationship has been developed.
Bypassing third-party lead generation sources and speaking directly to potential applicants is the best way to build a solid, qualified lead base. Higher education institutions should capitalize on strategic online marketing tactics such using PPC and Social media campaigns. Extensive research and intelligent keyword bidding, targeted ad copy and coordinated landing page strategies, will pre-qualify your leads, allowing your recruiters to spend their efforts on students that are more likely to enroll.
Full Service Marketing Agency
Shifting away from mass (misleading) advertising to an independent (trustworthy) marketing agency working exclusively for your school will dramatically improve lead quality. To learn more about our marketing services and how quality prospects can indeed lead to successful students, contact CMDS today.