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

It’s Time to Put the Relationship in Higher Education Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Is CRM top-of-mind at your college or university?

Many institutions across the country are considering/investing in CRM software to better compete for students and build relationships across the enrollment lifecycle. At least that’s the vision

But higher education CRM projects often devolve into simple email communication automation rather than business initiatives that improve the student experience across recruitment, marketing, and service functions.

Are Your College or University CRM Efforts Really Social?

The inspiration for my post comes from a story pitch I received today from Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble and the former founder of GoldMine, an early sales contact management software. Jon shared his thoughts on the latest buzzword “Social CRM.”

According to Mr. Ferrara, “Salesforce.com, Microsoft CRM, and other traditional CRM systems fail at relationship management, and that’s why people don’t use them to engage the customer. You can’t just append the word “social” in front of legacy CRM platforms and expect it to make a difference.”

In our college secret shopping work at DemandEngine, we see institutions with Facebook profiles that don’t respond to inquiries in a timely fashion – if at all.

That’s not very social.

Improving the Student and Constituent Experience

There is no disputing the role of social media today. But rather than viewing social technologies such as Facebook and Twitter as additional channels to blast your “unique message”, how many colleges and universities are using these mediums as a focal point to clean up recruitment, marketing, and service processes?

In other words, improving the student or constituent experience.

Relationships are About Listening and Being Responsive

A Facebook page or a CRM software purchase will not decrease response times, improve service support, and be responsive to students. Fundamentally, this requires the alignment of planning and processes with the right people, training, and incentives.

Build relationships by listening, focusing on individual needs and wants, and being responsive. The tools only play a supportive role.

Hobsons Acquires Intelliworks

Higher education technology consolidation is in the air.

Today, Hobsons, a leading provider in recruitment, communication, and student success software for colleges and universities, announced its acquisition of Intelliworks, a leading provider of relationship management solutions for higher education.The acquisition adds Intelliworks' expertise in non-traditional higher education environments.  

Craig Heldman, chief executive officer of Hobsons, Inc., highlights, “This transaction will enable us to deliver more value to the clients of Hobsons and Intelliworks by blending the expertise and product knowledge of two proven industry leaders. The combination will benefit the higher education market and expand Hobsons’ ability to bring success to education through innovation, leadership and partnerships. It will also enhance our efforts in graduate, professional and continuing education and executive education, where Intelliworks has established a significant presence.”    

The combined entity, operating as Hobsons, will deliver a suite of integrated solutions for managing the entire student lifecycle.Hobsons and Intelliworks are committed to satisfying all existing client needs, delivering world-class service, and providing clear and easy upgrade paths to future solutions. As part of the transaction, Intelliworks’ Chief Executive Officer Todd Gibby will join Hobsons as managing director for higher education, responsible for leading the company’s higher education business.

“Combining Intelliworks’ and Hobsons’ resources and experience will enable us to deliver innovative, flexible, and scalable enrollment management solutions for every type of institution, including individual programs and departments within an institution,” added Gibby. “On behalf of the Intelliworks team, we are delighted to join Hobsons in serving academic institutions and helping to transform the way they engage with prospects, students, and all members of their communities.”

Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Datatel and Sungard Higher Education Announce Plans to Combine Companies in a $1.775 Billion Deal

It's interesting what you can learn when you "listen" to your web analytics.

I saw the following Google search a few days ago in my blog analytics: "datatel purchase sungard higher education"

Where there is smoke there is fire ...

Today, Datatel and Sungard Higher Education announced today that they have signed definitive agreements to combine businesses and operate as one company focused exclusively on serving education institutions. Billed as a strategic combination, this action brings together two of the dominant ERP technology and services providers in the higher education space.

“Combining the resources and talent of these two quality companies will enable us to be more responsive to the changing environment and challenges facing education,” said Datatel chief executive officer John Speer. “Together we will be able to better serve the global education community.” Speer will serve as the CEO of the combined company and will lead the day-to-day operations.

According to a joint press release, affiliates of private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC will acquire the SunGard Higher Education businesses from SunGard Data Systems Inc. for an aggregate cash purchase price of $1.775 billion and combine the acquired businesses under a new holding company with Datatel, an existing Hellman & Friedman portfolio company. 

The combined company will operate under a new name that will be announced by the parties at the closing of the transactions.

What Does This Acquisition Mean for SunGard Higher Education and Datatel Customers?

Datatel-SunGard Higher Education will continue to develop ERP-independent solutions that work with our administrative systems (SunGard Higher Education Banner and PowerCAMPUS; Datatel’s Colleague) as well as those from other vendors.The company will continue to deliver on the development plans committed to customers.

For more information, see the frequently-asked-questions document released by Datatel.

Social Shilling and the Temptation of the Higher Education Vendor

While conferences traditionally have been the primary means for education professionals to share war stories, ideas, and recommendations, social media outlets such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter provide new avenues for word-of-mouth.

How are higher education professionals using these spaces today, particularly when it comes to buying decisions? Secondly, how are vendors supporting those decisions?

In May, I noticed a query in the popular LinkedIn Higher Education Management Group from Craig Maslowsky. Craig was recently named as the new VP of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Excelsior College.

Recognizing the value of managing the student experience, Craig reached out to the industry group with the following post:

And Let the Hype Begin …

First up, a company called Leads360:

 

Don’t all colleges and universities compete for students? 

THE only enrollment management solution?

‘Solution’ can mean a lot of things however a few other higher education vendors - Datatel, Education Management, EMAS, Jenzabar, Oracle, Intelliworks, SunGard Higher Education – would strongly disagree with this claim.

Here’s an entry from Datatel:

Experience, product, and we meet your needs.

Here’s a perplexing post:

I have no idea what this guy is talking about.

Given that Craig is a VP of Enrollment Management and Marketing, he is interested in buying a system, not going into business.

Let’s call this one ShamWow!

Amazing! Phenominal (sic)! Honestly! Shameless Plug!

Give Michael credit for his hyperbole … and honesty.

To get reaction on Craig's post and the related posts it generated, I called Keith Hampson, the founder of the LinkedIn group, and I wrote to Craig Maslowsky for their thoughts.

Hampson - “Not a Platform for Promotion”

“I don’t see this as a great platform for promotion,” said Hampson. “Content is a big part of what group members are looking for, specifically thoughtful intelligent responses. Our members know the difference.”

In June 2010, Keith sent out a group announcement on guidelines for discussion groups:

Please note that the group discussion forum ("Discussions") cannot be used to distribute unsolicited commercial messages or information unrelated to higher education. Inappropriate messages will be deleted without advance notice. Thank you for your cooperation.

I asked Keith how he manages this. “I have no official policy on vendor participation because of the number of potential exceptions,” said Hampson. “I typically evaluate (vendor)comments to member posts when I see them and make a decision about their appropriateness.”

Maslowsky - “A Starting Point”

“Overall I felt the posts were helpful, “ wrote Maslowsky in a email message back to me.  Vendors weren't the only people to respond. A number of current practitioners shared their opinions - some with the prompting of their vendor.

“The responses varied from general messages from vendors mentioning their product with minimal information to support the fit with my needs, to those providing specific reasons why they may be a match.”

By culling through the posts in combination with his own research, he was able to identify top options for Excelsior. “I identified certain options that I wasn't previously aware of, which was helpful too,” wrote Maslowsky.

The responses from peers who had used some of the products vendors posted about proved particularly useful. “(These posts) resulted in individual interaction that served useful in gaining a testimonial of use and answers to my specific questions related to certain products.”

Craig commented that he found his post a a great way to take a first step in the direction of identifying a product for his college.  He did point out that this social ‘word-of-mouth’ “… was only a first step …additional research and meetings with vendors will further determine which product we decide to implement.”

How should vendors interact in higher education social spaces?

1. Focus on Goals … Theirs, Not Yours

Focus on goals … the people in the community, not yours. In his post, Craig was interested in learning about CRM options, not signing an immediate contract to make the vendor’s quarterly sales goal.

2. Focus on Content

A number of the vendors listed above have produced reports and other thought leadership that could have been helpful. Why not direct “Craigs” to your company resource page?

3. Be Prepared to Back Up Vendor 'Puffery'

It takes a few minutes to determine the size, scope, and mission to profile Excelsior College. Think of the impression it would make to respond with the names of similar institutions to demonstrate your 'experience.'

Your thoughts are welcomed.

Does Your College Need a CRM System?

Confused reader: “Do colleges need CRM systems? Wait a minute. What happened to Tim Copeland? Aren’t you the guy who writes about CRM for higher education?”

Tim Copeland: Yes, that’s me, one in the same.

Confused reader: Then, aren’t you contradicting yourself.

Tim Copeland: No, not at all. Let me explain.

Okay, enough with the out of body experience.

Most of what I blog about is inspired by experiences and conversations with, higher education professionals. Recently, I received a call from a Midwest-based administrator inquiring about CRM. His college was anxious to overcome the limitations of their current student information system.

I asked him why he felt he needed CRM.

Let's start with what he DID NOT say:

• Build a sufficient inquiry pool to meet his institution’s growth or class shaping goals? No
• Improve the student enrollment experience? No
• Provide more relevant information and offers to respond to prospective students? No.
• Implement a business tool to support his admissions team? No.
• Measure the performance of enrollment marketing strategies? No.
• Increase institutional engagement with prospective students? No.
• Increase the performance of the recruitment team? No.
• Analyze recruitment activity by admission counselor? No.
• Decrease response time to student queries? No.
• Improve current enrollment processes and workflows? No.
• Share information across enrollment touchpoints? No.
• Quantify and analyze interactions with prospective students and their influencers? No.
• Improve service? No.

Why did this institution need CRM?

He responded, “To be able to send more letters and emails efficiently.” I replied, “It sounds like you need an email platform and a good print vendor.” He then said he wanted the ability to measure metrics like email opens and clickthroughs. Their current system didn’t have this capability.

My response (see video below):

  

What Higher Education CRM Should Be

Many colleges and universities that are investing in CRM software today are simply looking to automate communication.

Yes, that’s exactly what students are clamoring for … more marketing communication volume and velocity from your college or university.

While there are many powerful higher education CRM technologies on the market, most simply end up acting as email delivery systems. And as I have written before, email delivery is not a core competency of most CRM technologies.

What are the drivers for this limited application of CRM technology?

• No focus on overarching goals (why)
• An inability to identify and convey your educational opportunities to the right students (who)
• A failure to understand the implications on people and processes (how)
• No proof of concept for a re-envisioned enrollment process (what)
• A failure to consider touchpoints across the institution (where)

A CRM is nothing but a tool. Applying a tool over existing methods and processes only increases organizational complexity. I’ve seen more than one college or university buy a CRM technology and take a year plus to actually use it, if at all.

Managing relationships effectively is a philosophy and a strategy first.

Does your college need a CRM system? Maybe. But if your motivation is simply to automate more communication, reconsider the solution.

Does your college need to manage relationships more efficiently and effectively? Absolutely. By starting with this viewpoint and answers to the who, what, where, why, and how questions, CRM technology then becomes an integral supporting business tool.

Five Things Your Higher Education CRM Vendor Doesn't Want You to Know

Competition, rising student expectations, and constrained budgets are just a few of the many reasons colleges and universities are considering Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) technology. And why not? The list of potential benefits from CRM vendors is compelling:

• Increase enrollment? Check
• Retaining students? Check
• Developing stronger relationships? Check
• Providing a 360-degree view of students? Check
• Automating workflows? Check
• Providing the right message at the right time? Check
• Increasing organizational efficiency? Check
• Measuring enrollment marketing return-on-investment? Check

Where do we sign … right?

CRM technology can enable management of the front-end processes of enrollment marketing (recruitment + marketing) as well as the long ignored service management capability for current students of the institution. CRM technology helps systematize marketing, recruitment, and service processes that are often managed in an ad-hoc fashion.

Easy enough … right?

Not so fast. CRM’s track record – some 20 years - in the corporate world includes unmet expectations, project delays, and underwhelming technology investment returns. And for some colleges and universities, history is repeating itself. At one large comprehensive university, a departmental, undergraduate admissions CRM initiative was delayed for over two years due to overpromises by the vendor and organizational challenges. Another institutional department serving adult learners paid for software licensing for one year and a half while employees flatly refused to use the technology.

Many are pursuing CRM technology as a panacea ... a technology that - in and of itself - will solve undisciplined efforts to enrollment marketing and retention. Institutions that take this approach often utilize the technology simply to send automated emails rather than the organizational business tool it is intended to be.

Five Things Your Higher Education CRM Vendor Won’t Tell You

 I completed my first CRM project some 12 years ago in the corporate world. Over the last 5 years I have researched and written about higher education CRM and consulted with institutions across the country. With this in mind, I offer the following five things that your current or potential CRM vendor doesn’t want you to know.

 

1. The Track Record for CRM Technology is Not Good 

While relatively new to higher education, CRM has a track record in corporate America where many companies have taken their financial lumps. Over its history, CRM failure rates have been reported to be as high as 70%, as companies are disappointed by their actual business results and the resulting poor return on investment (ROI) for their CRM initiatives

2. Why? Technology is only 1/4 of the CRM Success Equation

What leads to such abject failure? It starts with a technology-first approach with little consideration for the requisite planning, people, and process considerations that organizations run into. Resistance to change, internal ownership difficulties with customer definition and data ownership, difficulty with application integration, and underestimating the effects on people and underlying work processes are common problems.

CRM as a technology is not a magic potion. CRM is in fact a discipline – a philosophy and strategy that is enabled by people, processes, and technology – to improve the student experience in a way that is effective, efficient, and supports your business goals (mission, student success, or net revenue).

Then why do so many CRM vendors only want to talk about the technology and its possibilities? Delivering the software whether it is installed or cloud-based is a much easier path to start collecting licensing and maintenance fees rather than addressing the organizational change issues that are inherent with CRM.

 

3. CRM Research Provides a Roadmap to Success

With 75% of the CRM success equation lying outside of technology, where do you start? Consider the following comments:

Management buy-in

Many times the difference between a successful CRM implementation and a waste of money is a manager who realizes the value of the product, understands the problems it's going to solve, and dedicates time and energy to making it happen. "Many will give you lip service," says Izzy Franco, CRM leader for North America at Cap Gemini. "They'll sign the procurement orders, spend the money, and attend the meeting once a month, but that's simply not enough. They need to be hands-on and involved directly. It's incredibly important." DestinationCRM

Strategy-first

“Simply adopting a (CRM) solution, … is unlikely to provide institutions with CRM’s full benefit. Managing student relationships more effectively often requires making difficult decisions and re-orienting institutional processes towards the provision of high-quality service. For most institutions, this change will be sufficiently difficult without the addition of installing sophisticated software. Datamonitor, therefore, recommends developing a CRM strategy first and then selecting a vendor that is best able to support that strategy’s execution." Datamonitor

Organization

"Most large companies have implemented some form of CRM, and many have followed their early disappointments with full-scale CRM remediation efforts. The core of the problem now is that too few companies are paying enough attention to the organizational challenges inherent in any CRM initiative." McKinsey Quarterly

Lack of value

"CRM initiatives have degenerated into technology-centric projects aimed at basic process automation. While automation projects may well lead to cost savings, the sheer complexity and size of these initiatives has led to a blurring of the target value. … The potential of CRM lies not in technology itself, but in the process of using technology alongside an in-depth understanding of the customer to drive unique, valuable customer interactions." Forrester Research

4. Most CRM Systems are Dependent Upon Email Communication … Yet Most are Email-Challenged

Forrester Research estimates that corporations spend some $11 billion dollars annually on CRM … and $2.1 billion dollars on email marketing. In many of these corporations that have enterprise-wide CRM technologies, they also use email delivery platforms to manage promotional email. Why? While CRM technologies have the capability to manage transactional emails, many underperform the robust capabilities found within email delivery systems. CRM technologies have not kept pace with the changing world of email marketing. In fact, one well-known, cloud-based, corporate CRM vendor tells customers not to use their built-in email platform.

What are the common missing email capabilities? Throttling large email message sends, sender authentication, robust design capabilities, automating messages based on the recipient's behavior, connecting email behavior to web analytics, and web form management ... to name a few.

What about higher education specific-CRM vendors and their email capabilities? In my experience, same issue and in many cases, their email capabilities are a notch below.

 

5. Your Higher Education CRM Vendor Doesn’t Use Their Own CRM Technology

Here's a dirty little secret. The vendor coming to campus to pitch their CRM/Enrollment Management 'Solution' is most likely not using their own technology.

Seems like a no-brainer, however you would be surprised how many well-known, higher education CRM technology vendors that don’t use their own technology to manage their own marketing, sales, and service. If the vendor’s technology is not flexible and scalable enough for their business, that should tell you something.

 

Technology Can Be a Powerful Enabler ... of Your CRM Strategy

Before you agree to a vendor ‘dog and pony show’ demonstration, consider the following:

1) Do you have a CRM strategy? If not, proceed with caution. History is not on your side.

2) Will the vendor provide a scenario-based demonstration based on YOUR CRM strategy using your goals, objectives, and processes? Demonstrations are intended to show the best features and functions of the software. It’s easy to get lost in the ‘wow’ factor and then fail to consider whether or not the technology will enable what you want to accomplish.

3) Does the vendor use their own technology? Consider whether it is worth your time to listen to their pitch.

CRM – as a philosophy and strategy - can drive significant, real value if the focus moves beyond technology to the underlying planning, processes, and people which create value. Technology is then a powerful enabler of your strategy.

CRM in Higher Education: Making the Grade

Doing more with less. Improving business processes so that students—get the best colleges and universities have to offer. Becoming proactive in retention and more targeted in admission processes. These are just a few of the topics addresses in Making the Grade, an article I was interviewed for, published in the July 2009 edition of CRM magazine.  For preparation, they posed a number of pre-interview questions and I ran across my old notes the other day. Here are their pre-interview questions and my responses:

CRM Magazine: What are the hottest trends that you see right now in the higher education industry?

Tim Copeland: As it relates to managing and leveraging relationships, I see three themes that colleges and universities are grappling with today:

 1.    Managing complexity

With the proliferation of media and social technologies, institutions are struggling to manage the inherent complexity. Colleges and universities are experiencing declining response rates to traditional campaigns as students’ opt-out of a prescribed path to enrollment. So how we rationalize investments and initiatives in a way that drives our goals is top-of-mind for many administrators.

 2.    Competition

Throw enough money, people, and time at anything and you can build a pyramid. From high-flying endowments to almost seemingly endless pricing power, colleges and universities have been flush with resources. That’s over.

In addition to the increasing competition between institutions (traditional and non-profit), there is now greater institutional pressure to be more accountability for how resources are allocated. The fact is that many states have been pushing costs back into the college and university system for years. The dollars that are being allocated have greater strings attached.

3.    CRM

Google the phrase “quality education” and limit the results to .edu websites. While there are roughly 4,000 colleges and universities in the US, this simple web search yields 278,000 page results. As schools ramp up their promotional capabilities, they are increasingly competing on the same value proposition. Many are looking to CRM as a competitive advantage and deal with the realty of delivering more with the same or fewer resources. According to Datamonitor, higher education CRM investments will rise from 185M from 2007 to $325M in 2012. The challenge is that today many view it simply as a technology to be purchased.

 

CRM Magazine: In some conversations I’ve had with analysts, end-users, and other vendors, there seems to be a hot spot in using CRM to help with admissions right now – specifically, that there are different problems facing public and private universities in the midst of today’s economy. Is that something you see as well? Or is a 360-degree view of the student – recruitment, retention, development – still in higher demand?

Tim Copeland: When colleges and universities speak of CRM at the front-end of the institution they are really talking about campaign, and sometimes recruitment (or sales force) automation.  I wouldn’t characterize what is happening today at the front-end as CRM, as I define it: a strategy and philosophy, enabled by people, process, and technology to improve the student or constituent experience. CRM shouldn't be viewed as a way to automate your communication flows. That's a simplistic view.

In today’s economic environment, state-supported institutions and community colleges will see increases in new students, while private schools may be struggling. For public schools the issue is how to shape enrollment. For private schools, the challenge may simply be acquisition.

The issues around new students may differ between types of institution; however most share a common challenge: keeping them.

While recruitment of traditional-aged students is a driver, we also see a very high demand to manage student loyalty, or retention, as well as the other disparate enrollment intake points across the campus, from graduate, professional, and continuing education.

Ultimately, the idea is to take the long view of the value of a student relationship from initial enrollment, persistence to an educational outcome, becoming a good steward of the school, and accessing the school for future lifelong learning needs.

 

CRM-Magazine: How will the demographic shift in 2010 change the way colleges and universities use technology? Will it change anything from your point of view?

Tim Copeland: To date, colleges and universities have maintained separate functions to service undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education enrollment. With the pressure on resources, having a more holistic view of the student pipeline is a strategic imperative. There needs to be a seamless view for the institution and for the prospective student. That’s difficult to do when departments use different technologies.

One opportunity going forward is a burgeoning adult learner market. Yet, many colleges and universities have not applied time-tested enrollment management practices to their efforts. In some cases, institutions are beginning to merge disparate enrollment functions, applying professional processes for managing relationships, measuring progress, and proactively exerting influence over enrollments.

 

CRM-Magazine: We’ve talked what is happening right now – but what do you see as the future insofar as CRM and the higher education market?

Tim Copeland: Higher education is late to the game on CRM. In a way, this is a good thing. We have almost 2 decades of corporate CRM experience to learn from their successes and failures.

The winners will be those institutions that inject a focus on the student and constituent experience into their cultural DNA. This starts with a value-focused approach with clear goals, measurable objectives, defined success measures, and supporting initiatives. The technology then becomes a powerful enabler of CRM strategy.

 

Tim Copeland is managing partner for DemandEngine, a higher education CRM consulting and interactive marketing services firm.

Killing the Brand Experience and Banner Self Service

Under mounting criticism, Drake University has dropped its D+ campaign. Once the story went national through media sites and social networks, this reaction was pretty much a foregone conclusion. The purpose of my post is not to beat this topic any further - good or bad. Rather, it's an instance of brand experience and how technology can enable - or hinder - the best laid plans.

As part of the campaign, Drake University has developed a new admissions website that is well done. The site is persona-based (e.g., parents, counselors, grad students) and provides clear pathways for visitors to accomplish their goals.

It falls apart at one critical point of engagement: requesting information or becoming an inquiry. When you click to join the mailing list, the visitor is taken to a strange, barren land that looks like this:

 

Choosing a Prospect Type, transports the visitor further into another uninviting area that looks like:

 

Some may recognize this desolate technology space as the Banner Self Service Prospect Form - a critical entry point, yet one that provides little ability for enrollment managers to customize 'look and feel' and to control the amount of data that is requested. It's been a pain point of enrollment officers and marketers using Banner for many years. Which begs the question, "Why hasn't SunGard Higher Education fixed this D+ form capability?"

We often spend a great deal of time trying to attract student attention, yet sometimes what happens when they ACTUALLY contact us is an afterthought.

In this case though, Drake University's online brand experience is severly limited by their student information tool set.

 

Tim Copeland is managing partner for DemandEngine, a higher education CRM consulting and interactive marketing services firm.

Are You Outsourcing Your Relationships? Should You?

To compete for students, colleges and universities are looking for outside help to generate, and manage follow-up with, their student inquiry pools. And a growing number of vendors are ready to assist. With inbound/outbound call centers as well as pay-per-lead services, some institutions are essentially outsourcing recruitment. While there are valid reasons to do so, the question is should you?

I’m attending the UCEA national conference this week in San Francisco. And fighting jet lag, it’s 4:30 am on the west coast and I’m blogging. A colleague of mine was chatting up one of the aforementioned vendors last evening at the opening reception. In explaining what his company does, he said that they talk to students FOR YOU and that your students think they ARE YOU.

This got me thinking. Take this idea to the limit. When we outsource our relationships through external call centers what we are really saying is that as a department (or an institution) we are not good at talking with our students.

And if we can’t speak effectively with students on the front end when they are considering us, it doesn’t bode well for retention efforts when they enroll with us.

Ten Enrollment Marketing Predictions for 2010

I recently wrote a white paper for DemandEngine forecasting 10 enrollment marketing predictions for 2010. Here's an excerpt and you can download a full copy of the paper below:

While most colleges and universities avoided deep enrollment marketing cuts in the current fiscal year, downward budget pressure is most likely unavoidable in FY2011.

As one industry veteran recently stated, “colleges and universities are used to routinely pulling out all the stops to attract prospective students,” regardless of the cost or irritation to these students. Despite an abundance of interactive technologies, many enrollment professionals are applying the same basic playbook that’s existed for the last 20 years: load up the funnel with direct mail search programs and travel, and then blast, blast, blast. A ‘pulling out all the stops’ approach is really a code phrase for ‘I don’t know what really works.’

In 2010, we expect that simple economics combined with media proliferation will force enrollment professionals to change their stripes. Effectively combining and applying strategy, measurement, and technology will be necessary for enrollment managers to compete for students as well as institutional resources. Looking into our crystal ball, our ten enrollment marketing predictions for 2010 include:

1. Reduced Budgets Shine the Light on Marketing Inefficiencies

2. Lazy Marketing Communications are Out … Students Expect More

3. Higher Education CRM Will Begin to Take Hold

4. Yet, Many CRM Initiatives Will Fail

5. Institutions Will Move to Manage Enrollment Holistically

6. Professional and Continuing Education Will Discover the Benefits of Price Discrimination

7. Social SPAM Will Emerge …

8. … And The Bloom Will Come off the Social Rose

9. Email and Search Engine Marketing will Finally Become Foundational Channels

10. The Enrollment Funnel Still Matters

Download the a full copy of Ten Enrollment Marketing Predictions for 2010