Why Marketing and Admissions alignment is key

The admissions experience has always been important but with digital communications and data management front of mind in 2021, multiple software options can be a challenge for HE Marketing and Admissions teams.

One of the biggest challenges we come across when speaking to HE providers is a disjointed approach to marketing and admissions; we often see these teams striving for the same goals, serving the same prospects and yet they find themselves working separately and struggling to join up their efforts.

Education is a competitive market and effective customer service with prospective students is more important than ever before. Marketing and admissions teams who want to provide an excellent student experience need their processes, strategies and systems to all work together.

By working closely with Marketing; Admissions teams are able to get greater insight earlier in the customer journey - often pre-enquiry or in the 'awareness' stage. This insight into behaviour higher in the admissions funnel, allows for better predicting of enrolments and more personalised communication to move prospects along their journey.

By working closely with Admissions, Marketers can ensure that students enjoy consistent and relevant communications throughout their journey to enrolment. When admissions teams feedback to marketers about which students went on to enrol, the marketing team can fine tune their efforts across all channels to attract more 'good fit' students and less of those who are not likely to join. This means improved ROI on marketing efforts, less time wasting for admissions teams and a better experience to those students who are most likely to enrol with you.

As Marketers and Admissions Teams look to align their efforts, there is an increasing demand for software that will make this alignment simple and effective. CRM software, such as HubSpot, is leading the way in streamlining communications and tracking the customer journey effectively, and HE marketers are now providing best-in-class service to their prospects much earlier in the journey. Admissions teams need their information systems to continue to support this journey at application stage and beyond - and this is where intuitive cloud based student information systems are essential.

We spoke to Tom Anderson at Ellucian about their admissions solution, Quercus, to learn more about how it can benefit HE providers at the application stage and beyond, and to find out their thoughts on CRM solutions such as HubSpot:

"From my experience during the last 6 years of helping Alternative Providers and smaller HEI’s select and implement Cloud Student Information Systems, the need for a powerful yet lightweight student recruitment CRM solution, that can integrate with the SIS and help articulate return on investment of marketing spend is strikingly evident.

Ellucian Quercus tracks the journey from the point of application and excels at Direct and Admissions Centre (UCAS/CAO/UAC) applications and admissions processing, giving staff and applicants a first-class user experience. Intuitive mobile friendly application forms can hook into your website or marketing campaign, offering a seamless user experience that guides the applicant through the required direct admissions questions. Optional document upload and application fee payment can be enabled in the online form if required."

Considering a smarter way to manage your student recruitment? Book a place at an upcoming education-specific HubSpot demo.

Considering the best platform for your admissions processing? Find out more about Ellucian Quercus here.