Versions of Conversion

A blog on managing enrollment and yield

Archive for the ‘Campus Visits’ category

Use Your Orientation To Build Relationships and Minimize Summer Melt

June 14th, 2016

Over the next couple of months, thousands of eager newly-admitted students will be stepping onto college campuses across the country to participate in that all-important college orientation. You already know this is an essential step for your incoming class, but for many students college orientation represents even more significance: It is when and where they will ultimately seal the bond with your school that will ensure they are on campus when school starts.

In our recently released co-sponsored study, “The Relationship Dynamic,” over 12,000 college-bound students opened up to us about the factors that contribute to building a bond with a college that leads to their enrollment. (Click here to download a copy of the full report.) Surprisingly, 21% of college-bound students told us that their emotional connection to their college of choice (their feeling of having formed a relationship) did not develop until the summer months of June, July and August. More precisely, many of these students said the bond with their chosen college was triggered by specific experiences and relationships realized during orientation.

Unfortunately, orientation – or any other process we put students through – doesn’t guarantee they’ll show up on the first day of class. The predictor of enrollment is excitement and emotional commitment. Students who don’t feel an emotional attachment to your college are far more likely to melt.

“The Relationship Dynamic” study findings point to specific actions you can take during orientation and beyond to strengthen and maintain the relationships you have worked so hard to build with your admitted students AND create meaningful connections with those students who have yet to bond with your college.

Make this Priority #1

What goals have you established for your orientation program? Do they read like a laundry list of paperwork, must-do’s, must-know’s and must-see’s? Instead, your goals and practices should be developed in the context of, “How does this strengthen (or create) the emotional bond each student has with us?”

By its very nature, college orientation is very process-driven: read this, hear this, watch this … Kudos to those admission teams that have created entertaining programs and activities that engage students, foster enthusiasm, and enable the student to feel what it’s like to be a student and a part of a community.

Have you built in opportunities for admitted students to connect with (not simply meet) other newly-admitted and current like-minded students? Are your programs one-size-fits all or are you constantly searching for and testing new and unique ways to engage with students.

Find out if you have “moved the needle”

Orientation affords yet another opportunity to find out if you are changing or enhancing the student’s perception of your institution. Ideally, you have a chance to ask each student personally, “How was your orientation today? Did you meet some great people? Are you starting to feel like a (insert your mascot, school nickname)?” Based on the answers, your follow up might be “Is there anyone you’d like to meet before school starts?” or, “What would make you feel more comfortable or excited about your decision to enroll here?”

Sometimes that highly personalized interaction is simply not practical due to a high volume of students. However, it is still possible to gauge changes in student enthusiasm. Does your college do a post-orientation survey? We highly-recommend this tool to evaluate your level of service delivery during orientation as well as a channel to identify students who aren’t yet emotionally committed to your college. Be specific. “Did your orientation experience make you feel more connected to our college? Are you more or less excited about attending? What can we do to make your transition to our college better?”

You can maximize your orientation events and minimize summer melt by making this your mantra: Every interaction with a student, in any form, should be measured on the basis of, “Does it make our relationship stronger?”

Get On Board with our Next Co-Sponsored Study!

We know that prospective students don’t always tell us what they really think. Sometimes they don’t want to be completely honest about their REAL first-choice college because they think they’ll hurt our feelings. They often say one thing and do another. Why?

We will answer that critical question in our next co-sponsored study, “Hidden Influences: Revealing the unspoken perceptions that prospective students have about your college and why it matters in your ability to grow and control enrollment.” This unprecedented study will break new ground in exploring the hidden perceptions and opinions that influence students in choosing your college or another. Unlike any other higher education research or non-matric studies, “Hidden Influences” will dive deeply into the emotions and perceptions that factor into the college selection process. This study will provide you with actionable information you can use immediately and effectively.

For more information or to reserve your participation in this study, contact me at (913) 492-1265, ext. 708 or by email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com or Bob Longmire at (913) 492-1265, ext. 709, blongmire@longmire-co.com. Colleges are signing up now so we encourage you to contact us soon if you are thinking about participating. CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION.

We help colleges with their recruiting efforts every day. If we can help you please call or shoot me an email. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company and the tools we have to offer, click here. Be sure to subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you don’t miss any of this highly-valuable information.

Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative and dynamic approach to helping colleges and universities meet their enrollment goals. Rick can be reached at 913/492.1265 x.708 or via email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com.

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Posted in Behavior, Campus Tours, Campus Visits, Closing the Sale, Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Customer service, Organizational development, Research

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success brand management college college admissions college branding college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college recruitment college yield customer service training EMChat enrollment enrollment management higher education marketing higher education value longmire and company Longmire and Company study value proposition yield yield enhancement

Actionable Data to Increase Yield NOW!

April 18th, 2016

No matter what you call it, Yield Season, Crunch Time or The Finish Line, it’s NOW. Take a deep breath and keep on reading. We have new actionable information that will guide you toward greater success in the days and weeks ahead.

Our new research reveals that a student’s college selection is tied closely to the strength of the relationship they build with a college over time. Contributing to the overall relationship are interactions a prospective student has with current students, professors, admission counselors, and even people in points across campus and beyond that are unknown to the admission office.

The more than 12,000 college-bound students nationwide who participated in our most recent co-sponsored study, The Relationship Dynamic, offer insights on what will, and will not, lead them to selecting your college. Study results will be released next month but we are sharing some key findings with you today.

When is the bond with a college sealed?

Over 70% of students told us that the relationship they built with their college of choice had a major influence on their enrollment decision. For the purpose of this study, we defined “relationship” as the student’s emotional connection to, affinity with, or excitement about attending.

In the graph on the right, you will note that more prospective students identify April as the month they bonded with a college. In a previous study, The Excitement Factor, we asked students to tell us the month they made their final college selection decision. That chart looks exactly like the one on the right. Their final decision is in perfect alignment with the realization of a relationship. Clearly, when a student feels their connection with a college, they are quick to claim it as their own.

Another interesting thing about this chart: about 20% of students will develop a bond with their chosen college after May. That suggests how much potential there is to connect with students and win their enrollment during the summer. It also suggests that the lack of a relationship may foreshadow melt.

Now is the time to ask each and every student in your pool this crucial question: “At this point, how strong a bond do you feel with us?”

If you get the answer you want, terrific. But, if not, follow-up with questions that will help you better understand the student and lead to a successful conclusion for both the student and your college:

“Do you feel you’ve developed a relationship with any college?”
“What about that school is exciting to you?”
“What can I show you here that you really want to see?”
“Who can I introduce you to that will tell you what it’s like to attend here?”

Yes, these are very direct questions. Counselors often hold themselves back from asking penetrating questions because they’re concerned that students will perceive them as being intrusive. That’s unfortunate. For both the counselor and the student.

Admissions counselors who employ the direct approach tell us that they are often surprised by the depth of the answers they get when they specifically ask about a student’s level of excitement and the bonds they have with one or more colleges.

Not only do they get a real-time assessment of what the student is feeling, but they frequently uncover the ONE THING that will turn an admitted prospect into an enrolled student. It’s simple, effective and a WIN-WIN for all.

Now is the time to present your college’s value in a way that has meaning to the individual student you are addressing.

If you have been creating a relationship with the prospective student, you already know a great deal about his or her specific interests, goals and personality traits. In truth, at this point in the cycle you may only be half way to understanding what is going to drive the student to select you.

You still need to know how their feelings and emotions are going to influence their college selection. The only way to do that is by having a conversation in which you can ask questions that will reveal what is important to them emotionally.

Try this: The next time you’re talking to a prospective student, ask this simple question, “On a 10-high scale, what’s your excitement level about coming to our school?” Give them permission to be honest by telling them that they won’t hurt your feelings. If you get an answer that’s anything less than a 10, follow up with the sincere and honest question, “What would get you to a 10?” Listen to what they say. Listen for how you can help them.

We help colleges and universities with their recruiting efforts every day, especially now during yield season. If we can help you, please let me know. If you’ve thought about helping your staff with professional development, now is the ideal time to train and motivate your staff. Email or call me if you are interested in how we can help. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company and the tools we have to offer, click here. Be sure to subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you can stay up-to-date.

Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative and dynamic approach to helping colleges and universities meet their enrollment goals. Rick can be reached at 913/492.1265 x.708 or via email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com.

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Posted in Campus Visits, Closing the Sale, Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Research, Your Value Proposition

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success brand management college college admissions college branding college costs college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college recruitment college yield EMChat enrollment enrollment management finding the right college fit higher ed higher ed marketing higher education marketing higher education strategies higher education value longmire longmire and company Longmire and Company study value proposition yield yield enhancement

Uncovering Hidden Objections Will Transform Your Conversations With Prospective Students [Video]

March 22nd, 2016

We recently launched a series of free video training tutorials on our website and YouTube channel aimed at making your counselors even better at their jobs. On our website you’ll find an ever growing list of admission counselor tutorials. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials, powerful data from national co-sponsored studies and interviews with some of your peers.

Would you be surprised to learn that many students in your admit pool are withholding something from you? What if that “secret” is the one thing that could derail their plan to enroll at your college? Maybe it’s a concern. Or something they simply don’t like about your college. It may be a negative perception that’s based on a false assumption. It could be something huge or it may be something small, but it is something you need to know.

We have found that nearly every prospective student has a hidden concern or objection that could disrupt their path to enrolling. Even the most skilled admissions counselors often find it difficult to uncover these “secrets.” Typically, students don’t open up and share their concerns for one of two reasons: A) Your prospective students are genuinely kind and don’t want to hurt your feelings, or B) they are concerned they will reveal something that will hurt their chance of being admitted.
They may not tell you but they have told us. We provide a tool called the Yield Enhancement System (YES) that gathers key information from students at a crucial point in their college selection process – after they have applied. YES gathers candid information from students in a college’s admit pool about their needs, preferences, perceptions and plans, including which colleges are truly under final consideration and what they are most concerned about.

Over the years we’ve asked more than a million college-bound students two simple questions: What are your top-three colleges and what are your positive and negative impressions of each?

Very often, we find that the one thing troubling the prospective student is actually a misconception. We see this time and time again, even among those students who completed extensive research, toured the campus and received exceptional one-on-one counseling. And, almost always, the concerns can be addressed and overcome, if only you, the counselor, can uncover them.

You can uncover hidden objections and help the student make an informed decision about which institution is the best fit for him or her. Skillful probing is the key to uncovering the things that may be holding a student back from making a final commitment. Give him or her permission to open up: “At this point, most students I meet have at least one major concern. It is a normal part of the process. What is yours?” Sometimes it’s the student’s misunderstanding about a fact. Sometimes it’s a false assumption.

Probing with open-ended questions and attentive listening will also help you peel back the layers of the underlying issue and allow you to remove a doubt or a fear. The student who was worried about getting lost on a large campus? A quick walk of the campus with the counselor was all it took to change her mind. And, the student who was concerned about a lack of social activity? That vanished when the counselor introduced him to several students who shared his interests.

For a quick video tutorial on another highly-effective technique for revealing and dealing with hidden concerns, watch here.

A highly-personalized approach is most important at this stage of the recruiting cycle. The goal is to best serve the student by truly understanding what he or she needs and wants. Ultimately, that will make both you and the student more successful. One of the keys is to address potential objections and concerns head-on. It must be part of your conversations with prospective students.

Longmire and Company’s on-campus Interactive Training Workshops dramatically improve the performance of counselors and staff in areas such as effective communication with students and parents, applying creative entrepreneurship to their jobs, validating past and planned actions against outcomes, and discovering and leveraging the motivations of students (and themselves).

The net result? Improved service to prospective students and families, measurable increases in yield, increased counselor and staff job satisfaction, enhanced teamwork, and innovations in work process within the department.

If you’ve thought about helping your staff with professional development, now is the ideal time to train and motivate your staff. Email or call me if you are interested in how we can help. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo. For more information about Longmire and Company and the tools we have to offer, click here. Be sure to subscribe to Versions of Conversion today so you can stay up-to-date.

Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative and dynamic approach to helping colleges and universities meet their enrollment goals. Rick can be reached at 913/492.1265 x.708 or via email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com.

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Posted in Behavior, Campus Visits, Closing the Sale, Conversion and Yield, Counselor Training, Uncategorized, Your Value Proposition

Tags: admission counselor training admissions admissions counselors admissions customer service admissions success brand management college college admissions college branding college costs college enrollment college presidents college recruiting college recruitment college yield EMChat enrollment management finding the right college fit higher ed higher education branding higher education marketing higher education strategies longmire longmire and company value proposition yield yield enhancement

What is Your College’s Lasting Impression?

January 6th, 2016

[Part 4 of our blog series on how exceptional pre- and post-enrollment customer service can increase yield at your college or university.]

The holidays are behind us (I hope yours were full of family, friends and fun) and now we are all gearing up for the year ahead. In the world of enrollment management that means yielding the best possible incoming class of 2016.

In recent weeks, we have been sharing insights with you about how providing exceptional pre-enrollment customer service can impact your ability to achieve your enrollment goals. When you get it right, it will differentiate your school from all others. But, if you have breakdowns in your pre-enrollment service, it can be the single element that derails you.

Consider this: In our national co-sponsored study, How Customer Service Delivery During the Recruiting Cycle Influences Enrollment, we found that 53% of students and parents say that the service they receive from a college during the “shopping process” influences their selection decision.

Prospective students and parents view the pre-enrollment service they receive as predictive of how the student will be served after enrollment.

The research is very clear but it was a chance encounter with an old friend over the holidays that crystallized the message for me.

My friend Dave is assisting his oldest daughter, Emily, in her college search. Dave is a savvy consumer and he is also well aware that Emily has the GPA, college test scores, and extracurricular activities that colleges find attractive in a prospective student. As a matter of fact, he shared with me that she has been on the radar screen for a number of schools for several months. “She gets daily emails, letters and phone calls from all of them,” he said. “I figured we would take a hard look at two or three and it would be an easy decision. Instead, she is more confused now than ever. The whole experience was a huge disappointment.”

Here is Dave’s take on the college shopping experience:

At College A: Emily and her dad were given the standard tour which did not include any of the areas of specific interest to Emily. “She is a likely music major but that wasn’t part of the tour. When she asked about the music program, which we know is considered to be among the finest, the guide provided a spiel right out of the handbook.” And this was after numerous phone conversations with the admissions counselor.
At College B: The tour was far more personalized. “Someone had done their homework because she was shown the music department and told about specific opportunities available to her.” Dave said that Emily got excited about the campus and he had a feeling they had found The One. That is, until they had a one-on-one with the admissions counselor. “What a turn-off,” Dave groaned. “He recited an encyclopedia of stuff about the school but didn’t relate any of it to Emily. I don’t think he asked her even one question about her interests or what she wanted from the college experience.”
On to College C: “The admissions staff was enthusiastic and helpful. The counselor truly seemed to care about my daughter,” Dave said. But it all fell apart when they left their office. “The campus atmosphere wasn’t friendly and the grounds were unkempt. We got turned around and couldn’t find anyone to help. ” When they finally found their way back to the car, Emily told her dad, “No way!”

Unfortunately, Emily’s experience is not unique. It does, however, offer a cautionary tale for all colleges and university enrollment teams.

Here is the Good News: You CAN be the college or university that stands out with exceptional pre-enrollment service. Review this multi-part series for the necessary processes and steps. Taking control of your pre-enrollment service delivery will allow you to better serve prospective students and increase your yield. Make it your New Year’s resolution!

The Business Principle You Can Adopt Today for Increased Yield

Take this First Step Toward Increasing Yield TODAY

Don’t Let These 3 Pitfalls Derail Your Enrollment Success

Worth watching. About a year ago Chris D’Orso interviewed Longmire and Company on Higher Ed Live about customer service in higher ed.

If you have any questions, please give me a call. Longmire and Company offers Service Quality Management (SQM) surveys to help you achieve these goals. And we conduct workshops on campus to help colleges chart their course in providing better service to prospective and current students. Contact me today and I will show you how we can help you measure and manage your pre-enrollment service. Continue the conversation on Twitter @LongmireCo.

Rick Montgomery is as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. With over 20 years in higher education marketing, he brings an innovative and dynamic approach to helping colleges and universities meet their enrollment goals. Rick can be reached at 913/492.1265 x.708 or via email at rmontgomery@longmire-co.com.