NAGAP Annual Conference

1
NAGAP Annual Conference

• Managing the Transition from Print to
  Web

Presented by Gail Straus Lipman Hearne
Inc. Frank DeSanto University of Michigan School
of Information
2
What well talk about today

• Communications
• Opportunities in Web communications
• Direct to the Web
• Case Study University of Michigan School
  of Information

3
Managing the transition from print to
Web

• Are we indeed in a transition?
• Can we eliminate either print or
  Web communications?
• What different roles do print and Web
  communications play in a total enrollment
  marketing plan?

4
Communications principles

• Begin with understanding audience interests
  and decision making
• Look at communications the way the audience sees
  them
• Speak to the audience about what interests them
  when theyre ready to hear it
• Recognize audiences experience / history
• Recognize how audiences process messages

5
Communications principles, continued

• Be strategic
• Control information
• Be consistent
• Encourage action

6
Communications objectives

• Close the gap between current perceptions and
  (realistic) desired perceptions
• Prepare audience for increasingly more complex
  messages
• Stimulate desired behavior

7
Verbal or visual communicators

• Generational differences ?
• Verbal communicators
  emphasis on reading/writing
• Visual communicators ( TV, MTV ) emphasis on
  spoken word, sounds, symbols, signs,
  pictures, and icons

8
Verbal or visual communicators, continued

• Digital communicators
• Recognize media as symbols for
  institutional positioning
• Sound-bite learning
• Importance of relationship building

9
Relationship marketing

• Integrates forms of communication to establish a
  connection between institution and audience
• Relies on consistent message over time
• Moves from passive, one-way communication to
  engagement or two-way communication
• Incorporates segmentation or mass customization
  for most effectiveness

10
Print communications

• Highly controlled message
• Allows for lasting record
• Quality of image and presentation manageable
• Symbolizes expectation of readership

11
Print communications, continued

• Static
• Long production cycle
• Makes generalized assumptions regarding audience
  perceptions, experience and
  behavior

12
Web communications

• Potential broad and unrealized
• Visitor has greater control over how information
  needs are met
• Uneven quality and availability

13
Web communications, continued

• Add-on budget item
• Management systems in transition
• No rules

14
Managing the transition from print to Web

• Assume we are in a transition
• Print and Web will both exist, both demand
  attention for foreseeable future
• Transition enables us to use both media to their
  best advantages
• Transition provides opportunity to make
  connections

15
10 tenets of Web wisdom

• Enhancing Internet capacity and functionality is
  an emergency
• Effective Internet marketing requires horizontal
  rather than vertical thinking
• Institution-wide Internet planning is now as
  critical as all other operational planning
• Research is mandatory
• The medium is only as good as the message

16
10 tenets of Web wisdom, continued

• An effective Web presence will fundamentally
  change business as usual, especially in
  admissions
• Web sites are not brochures on a screen
• Internet users have a low pain threshold
• In the volatile Internet environment, competition
  is right next door
• Finally, inadequate funding is no excuse for
  Internet shortcomings

17
Types of Web sites

• Static (brochureware)
• Transactional
• Mission-critical

18
The Web in college admissions

• The rules are off
• Customization
• Integration
• Bifurcation

19
Students five biggest complaints about college
Web sites

• Unclear access to key information
• No FAQ page for prospective students key
  questions
• Lack of link to home page on all pages
• No overview of colleges location and community
• Design not distinctive

20
Direct to the Web

• The next generation tool in
  college student recruitment

21
The traditional optimal college search campaign
elements

• Four-color brochure
• Personalized letter
• Personalized business reply return card
• Premium item?
• Mail and pray

22
DTTW system Search campaign components

• Indigo process cards (oversized, full color,
  flexible graphics and text for segments)
• Personalized letter package with personalized
  return card and URL
• HTML rich text email

23
DTTW system Search campaign components, continued

• Admark personalized URLs
• Custom microsite(s)
• Detailed tracking of prospects microsite activity

24
What does a DTTW search campaign accomplish?

• Capitalizes on the importance of the Web among
  target audiences
• Integrates Web technology with the latest
  innovations in printing/mailing
• Offers ultra-personalization
• Builds Web relationships
• Improves tracking and follow-up

25
Tracking and response management

• Additional prospect data captured through
  interaction with their personal URL
• Real-time statistics
• Multiple tracking options
• Downloadable prospect data for colleges use

26
The DTTW process

• Strategy development review past direct mail
  results, set measurable goals for DTTW
• Definition of population, prospect/suspect
  market(s) to be targeted
• Brainstorming of image(s) and message(s) for each
  prospect/suspect

27
DTTW production and coordination elements

• Design and writing of Indigo cards
• Web/microsite architecture, link(s) to colleges
  own site
• List buying
• Loading of prospect names for Web-based tracking
• Mail merge, print and drop

28
Key benefits of DTTW

• Differentiates your institution from competition
  cut through the clutter, metaphoric of cutting
  edge
• Mass-customization mimics one-to-one marketing

29
Key benefits of DTTW, continued

• Drives traffic to the Web
• Builds relationships with prospects
• Conducts transactions inquiry, appointment
  booking, event sign-up, etc.

30
This project clearly illustrates the need for a
blending between technology and the human touch
of graduate recruitment. -- from A Report
on the Uses of the Internet in Selecting a
Graduate Program by NAGAP and ETS
31
Web and E-mail systems are means of facilitating
that human touch, making it more efficient and
effective, and speeding up follow-up to
prospective students.
32
Graduate student prospects an excellent audience
for these marketing communications media

• Use e-mail and are Internet savvy
• 95 use a computer daily or several times a week
• 90 use the Internet daily or several times a
  week
• 95 use E-mail
• 81 use E-mail as part of their academic
  interaction
• 54 prefer using E-mail to correspond with
  graduate schools (vs. 35 who prefer telephone)
• Most rely on grad school Web sites for gathering
  information during their grad school search

33
E-mail and Web offer opportunities to pull in
admitted students while they make their final
choice about where to enroll

• Online community building
• Listservs for admitted students
• Include them in distribution of internal E-mail
  newsletters, etc.
• Give them access to areas of school's intranet

34
Downsides

• E-mail marketing is swamping mailboxes
• Excessive contact via E-mail and listservs can
  turn people off

35
Case StudySchool of InformationUniversity of
Michigan
36
Introduction to SI

• Graduate school in information sciences
• Programs in human-computer interaction, archives
  records management, library information
  science, and information economics, management
  policy

37
Our situation

• Used to be School of Information Library
  Studies
• School rechartered, renamed, with broadened
  mission
• Lost some cachet in library world hadnt yet
  ramped up enrollment in new programs
• Result sagging enrollment

38
What weve done to address the problem

• We had right programs at right time but needed to
  better communicate that info to target audiences
• Close the gap between current perceptions and
  (realistic) desired perceptions (from Gails
  communications principles)
• Hired on Lipman Hearne marketing communications
  consulting firm to help us effect this

39
What weve done (continued)

• Stepped through Gails approach
• Begin w/ understanding audience interests and
  decision making
• focus groups with students and prospective
  students to learn more
• Look at communications the way the audience sees
  them
• surveyed students on our current communications
  efforts and potential new communications elements

40
What weve done (continued)

• Gails approach (continued)
• Speak to audience about what interests them
  when theyre ready to hear it
• personalization possibilities opened up by new
  technologies allowed us to do this to a much
  greater degree
• Recognize audiences experience/history
• again, personalization technologies allowed us to
  recognize this and target it directly in our
  messages

41
Direct mail to drive prospects to personalized
Web pages

• One major leg of our recruitment strategy was a
  direct mail campaign using personalized postcards
  and letters to drive prospects to even more
  personalized Web pages (a.k.a, microsites)

42
Hit broad segment of most promising prospects

• SIs programs very interdisciplinary current
  group of students represent more than 70
  undergrad majors
• Bought GRE names from broad group of high-GPA
  test registrants from wide range of majors
• Mailed to a total of 30,000 from Dec through
  March (got a late start)

43
Hit em thrice

• Two positioning postcards to introduce SI (mailed
  10 days to 2 weeks apart)
• Desired action flip over the card to see who
  sent it
• Also included a URL for those who wanted to go
  further

44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46
(No Transcript)
47
(No Transcript)
48
Hit em thrice (continued)

• Then decorated letterhead or

49
(No Transcript)
50
Hit em thrice (continued)

• Personalized postcard
• Graphic and message customized by undergrad major
  area (6 segments in Fall recruitment season)
• URL with prospects name appears twice on card
• Cards printed by vendor using digital Indigo
  printer
• Purpose of card remind prospect of SI (theyve
  gotten two cards from us already), speak to their
  interests, get them to visit their URL

51
(No Transcript)
52
(No Transcript)
53
(No Transcript)
54
(No Transcript)
55
Visit to URL

• Profile of current or recent student with same
  undergrad major
• Brief form listing some of the data we have on
  them and asking for updates
• Opportunity to request an application/information
  packet
• Links to other parts of the SI site

56
(No Transcript)
57
Revisit to Gails communications principles

• Be strategic
• Control information
• Be consistent
• Encourage action

58
Response rates

• Visited URL 8
• Updated their information 4.5
• Eventually followed up with information packet to
  all of these
• Still needed survey to find out why many did
  this without taking the next step
• Requested an application 2.5
• Applied 0.3

59
Bottom line

• 30 of our applicants received one of our
  mailings new student enrollment for Fall up 35
  (after several years of slow decline)

60
Details of process

• Created Web-linked database system
• Access database served to Web via ColdFusion
  software in ColdFusion scripting language we
  created all of the automation and reporting
  features of our system
• Download names and data from GRE Search Service
  upload to our database
• Database of names linked to database of profiles
  microsites generated on request
• Over-the-transom requests staff first checks to
  see whether we have prospect in our system already

61
Additional benefits to Web-based system

• Allows fine-scale measurement of response
• Allows integrated tracking of most communication
• E-mail responses semi-automated and saved to
  database
• Each prospect gets URL for status page they can
  visit to see when application packet was mailed
• SI staff and students who follow up on prospects
  questions can access system from anywhere, anytime

62
Addl benefits to Web-based (cont.)

• Allows for quicker response
• Most inquirers get initial response
  semi-automated but often with a personal note or
  answer included within 24 hours

63
Addl benefits to Web-based (cont.)

• Recently rolled out application tracking
  component of system
• Allows direct import of pre-existing prospect
  data when prospect becomes applicant
• Applicant can track status of application pieces
  online to see what has yet to be received
• Content of all contact with applicants is
  recorded
• Detailed reports are generated on the fly

64
- Detailed reports of application process numbers
and profile of applicants generated dynamically
65
Follow-up for next Falls enrollment

• Similar demographics of target audience but also
  hitting a broader group of minority suspects
• Expanded number of segments to 22
• response rates have been slightly lower than they
  were in previous year
• Application numbers are up 12

66
Other options

• Could use E-mail instead of postcards for much
  cheaper delivery
• GRE Search Service now getting E-mail addresses
  from about 85 of registrants
• Problems
• E-mail overload
• How to catch someones attention in 20 chars?

67
Take away Its about personal communication

• Use the technology to facilitate, streamline, and
  customize your communications with prospective
  students.
• Web and E-mail are tools for increasing the
  amount of time admissions staff spend
  communicating with prospects applicants by
  having them spend less time on the logistics of
  that communication and tracking. By enriching
  the info flow, technology can also improve
  quality of that communication.