Getting The Results You Want From Search: How To Evaluate Your Program Before You Spend

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Getting The Results You Want From Search How To
Evaluate Your Program Before You Spend

• Richard Whiteside
• Dean, Strategic Enrollment Management
• NJACAC May 21, 2007

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Evaluating Your Search

• Would you like to improve your Search results
  through to enrollment?
• Ever question the usefulness of Search and the
  financial investment youve made in it?
• Would you consider Search a success if every 4
  out of 10 inquiries, or 2 out of 10 enrollments,
  came from Search?

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Search Is About Enrollmentsfrom Beginning to End
Search Respondents
Search Contacted

• 53 of all inquiries
• 35 of all applications
• 43 of all admits
• 39 of all enrolled

• 43 of all inquiries
• 20 of all applications
• 23 of all admits
• 19 of all enrolled

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What Is Search?

• Its a way for you to engage students in a
  conversation about finding the college or
  university thats right for
• them.
• That right school may include your institution
  but Search is more successful when you put the
  students interests first.

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Search Creates Opportunities to . . .

• Reach the students you want
• Extend your counseling opportunities
• Produce change achieve your goals
• Opportunity, Access, and Choice
• Consolidate your base in primary market
• Build new markets
• Create student and parent engagement
• Pre-qualify thousands of students

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One Example of Success
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Success It Can Come Fast
All Students Test Scores
1404
41 Points Higher for Search Inquiries in 1 year
1363
1336
36 of all enrolled students came from search!
1301
Note 2006 entering class results for a highly
selective, nationally ranked university in the
Northeast.
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Ways to Ensure Your Success
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Checklist for Success

• Targeting
• Contact Strategies
• Offer
• Creative
• Assessment

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Checklist for Success

• Targeting
• Contact Strategies
• Offer
• Creative
• Assessment

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Targeting

• Consider desired outcomes related to goals
• Shaping your class
• Geographic diversity
• Under-represented populations
• Greater enrollments in specific programs
• Make the most of your most productive markets
  first
• Reach every available, qualified student
• Use all list sources available to you
• Market to multiple classes every year

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One List, One Class PSAT Juniors Only
Students Searched
C
1,519
382
356
84 Enrollments
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One List, Two Classes PSAT Juniors Sophomores
Students Searched
2,451
627
588
125 Enrollments
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Two Lists, Two Classes PSAT ACTPLAN
Students Searched
6,732
1,507
1,292
267 Enrollments
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Three Lists, Two Classes Test Lists NRCCUA
Survey
Students Searched
10,961
2,293
1,856
374 Enrollments
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Four Lists, Two Classes Test Lists, NRCCUA
CBSS
Students Searched
12,283
2,507
2,030
408 Enrollments
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Checklist for Success

• Targeting
• Contact Strategies
• Offer
• Creative
• Assessment

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Contact Strategies

• Timing
• Be ready to launch as soon as student data is
  available
• Create a competitive advantage
• Frequency
• Persistence throughout campaign (email)
• Continually assess results

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Why Is Early Better?
Search Test (Half Deployed Early Half Deployed
Later)
14.4
9.5
3 Months Later
Note Results are for a selective, nationally
ranked university in the Southeast.
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Persistence in the Email Stream paid off for
Entering Class 2007
Search Deposits by Email Contact Entering Class
2007
Deposits from Search Inquiries (cumulative)
39 of all deposits from students responding
after 5th message
Email Message Number
Note Results are for a selective, nationally
ranked university in the Northeast.
Email Message Sent
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Checklist for Success

• Targeting
• Contact Strategies
• Offer
• Creative
• Assessment

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Offer

• A critical strategic element. Everyone benefits

Student
Institution

• Creates opportunities
• Facilitates transactions
• Conveys personal, helpful message
• Provides value

• Creates opportunities
• Improves response rate
• Positions institution favorably
• Allows for refinements
• Produces higher ROI

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Which of these titles do you think worked better?

• The Three Big College Questions

• 20 Surprising Ways College Students Take
  Advantage of the City

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A Successful Offer Test
152
52 Lift in Response Rate
Copy Centered Around Student
100
Offer Test 3 Big College Questions
Offer Control 20 Surprising Ways
Note Results are for a highly selective,
nationally ranked university in the Northeast.
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Which of these offers do you think worked better?

• Your Personality . . . Your College
• An Interactive Quiz

• 20 Surprising Ways College Students Take
  Advantage of the City
• A Brochure

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Another Successful Offer Test
163
63 Lift in Response Rate
100
Interactive Quiz Your Personality
Brochure 20 Surprising Ways
Note Results are for a highly selective,
nationally ranked university in the Northeast.
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Checklist for Success

• Targeting
• Contact Strategies
• Offer
• Creative
• Assessment

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Creative

• Integrated campaign
• Multiple communication channels
• Multiple response channels
• Drives response
• Copy
• Student vs. institution focused
• Benefit vs. feature focused
• Strategic Supports goals and outcomes
• Art
• Visually supports drive to action
• Highlights benefits

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Channels
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Checklist for Success

• Targeting
• Contact Strategies
• Offer
• Creative
• Assessment

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Assessing Outcomes

• Tracking and assessment are key
• Keep your eyes on the dashboard
• Measure success against your goals
• Evaluate in terms of increased net revenue
• Know which sources are most and least productive
• Look for more of a good thing
• Testing can produce significant gains and limit
  risk
• Learn to improve

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Doing It Right Matters

• Head to head test
• Random split of list names
• Half assigned to one agency, the remainder to
  another.
• Each agency used its own proprietary techniques
  to conduct search.

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The Results
Each agency searched 35,970 names
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Search Inquiries Are Like Pots of Gold
Influence of Search on Inquiries (Entering
Classes 2007, 2008, and 2009)
TOTAL
33,329
36,098
23,191
2007 Search Inquiries
2006 Search Inquiries
2005 Search Inquiries
Note Results are for a selective, nationally
ranked university in the South 3rd year client.
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Understanding the Magnitude of Change Impact on
Revenue
With 10 Response Rate
With 11 Response Rate
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Understanding the Magnitude of Change Impact on
Revenue
With 10 Response Rate
With 16 Response Rate
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9 Take Aways You Can Use NOW

• Using multiple lists provides greater coverage
• Searching multiple classes creates your greatest
  competitive advantage
• Earlier searches have higher response rates
• Persistence matters
• Offer development is essential
• Call to action should be clear and simple
• Multiple communication channels increase
  inquiries and ultimately enrollments
• Testing is critical
• Constant tracking and data analysis are essential
  for success

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Thank you for your interest.
For a copy of this presentation,
contact Richard Whiteside rwhiteside_at_royall.com
www.royall.com