CustomViewbook is all about the best way to get the right leads to the right schools. So it makes sense that we are always curious about how schools are getting this done. What are the tools that colleges and universities now favor while getting potential students’ information in person? What are the problems with this time-tested approach?
One of the reasons we get along so well with higher education is that we love knowledge. After we considered these questions, our wise clients joined some other institutions to help us work out some of the answers. Here’s what we learned from this survey of how colleges and universities are gathering data on their prospective students. (download the full report)
Digital methods are leading recruitment gathering – now and in the future.
Although 70% of colleges in our survey still use paper contact cards and other “pen-and-ink” forms of gathering prospects’ information, the same number are focused on capturing the digital profiles that students have already assembled on their phones. Several tools in this category involve recruits registering via their own phone, with institutions using a matching app to access their information.
Half of reporting institutions also gather information through their student-centered customer relationship management software (CRMs) such as Slate and Element451. CustomViewbook has valued CRMs’ role in student recruitment for years, and has many useful integrations with all of the industry leaders to make everything easier, from direct email campaigns to data analysis.
CustomViewbook preserves leads through the common bottlenecks of collecting them.
This approach has its challenges, as many colleges and universities reported difficulty getting prospects to complete information requests – either on paper or their phones. Recent laws and rules across the U.S. and Canada have also restricted high school students’ screen time, in some cases banning phones completely. This has lowered the time that many students spend on devices during the college search.
The immediacy of CustomViewbook gives one of the most favorable and memorable search results for the least time and effort. In some cases, when content is cultivated often with strategy, the yield of CustomViewbook leads has been three times higher than general yield.
CustomViewbook preserves leads through the common bottlenecks of collecting them.
Especially for smaller schools and divisions, alumni are vital avenues for leads. Yet some representatives may not ask all the right questions or report all the answers. Several colleges and universities may rely on older and less formal members of their networks, and these people are not professional recruiters. Schools may get leads, but not as highly qualified as they should be.
The experience of CustomViewbook is “self-qualifying” in many ways. The information payoff, coupled with higher confidence after getting a Viewbook, requires less time and less information – just enough for prospects to see themselves at a school. A link to a school’s CustomViewbook is the perfect way for alumni to get leads where they need to go.
Conclusion: CustomViewbook helps collect accurate qualified leads across many barriers
Admissions and recruitment teams are always going to adapt and be creative, especially as new technologies make some aspects of prospecting easier – and some harder, or obsolete. We found that digital leads and requests for information have become and probably will remain the mainstay of this process.
CustomViewbook enters seamlessly into this process, providing a proven alternative to complicated and ineffective recruitment tools. Anyone from an officer to an alumnus with a simple URL or QR code can connect a prospect to a quick, secure place to register as a lead without intrusive scanning. A Viewbook is also an instant and relevant reward, delivering curated information about a real future. This simple act can be the beginning of a cycle of a trust that continues to a degree and beyond.
