Tim Copeland's Blog on College & University Marketing and Enrollment Management

The Worst Marketing Idea of 2008

I've been holding onto this 'marketing gem' since September when I attended the NACAC conference in Seattle.

As an employee of a higher education vendor myself, I fully understand the challenges of engaging attendees at conferences. Some conferences are more vendor-friendly than others ... I wouldn't put NACAC in that category (fine organization but a different post for another day).

Perhaps this is the reason that led Applywise to execute the offending marketing tactic at this year's conference.

Let me tell you a quick story of a fine dinner in Seattle and a demo post card in the Men's room.

Gaffes in the College Admissions Process

Don't be too polished. Pick inspiring essay topics. Don't stalk the dean.

These are but a few applicant recommendations from college gatekeepers across the country. In a Wall Street Journal article, Sue Shellenbarger writes about behind-the-scene experiences of admissions deans at a dozen top-tier colleges and universities when evaluating prospective student applicants.

The bottom line?

Too many students are submitting "professionalized" applications rendered all too slick by misguided attempts at perfection, parental meddling and what one admissions dean describes as the robotlike approach teens are taking in presenting themselves.

How Can We Integrate CRM? You're Asking the Wrong Question

With competition, rapidly changing demographics, and the need to be more productive with scare resources, many higher education institutions are looking to CRM as a competitive advantage.

Commonly known as Customer Relationship Management, Constituent Relationship Management, or simply as Relationship Management, CRM investments at colleges and universities are growing. Datamonitor projects technology spending on CRM in the markets of the US, UK, Germany, France and Australia will grow from $184.9 million in 2007 to $324.5 million in 2012.

CRM is a professional interest of mine since the early 2000’s. I had an opportunity to help lead a corporate global CRM initiative in 2001 and I consult with higher education institutions on the topic today. Given the range of technology investments already made over the last 10-15 years within higher education, I often hear the question, “how can we integrate CRM with all of this?”

In fact, this is the wrong question all together.