managing the funnel: conversions, kpis and 4 letter words · 2019. 10. 31. · managing the funnel:...

Managing the funnel: Conversions, KPIs and 4 letter words

PRESENTERS

Levent Gaşgil, BU Director EMEAStudyportals

Raul RanneHead of Marketing and DevelopmentDreamapply

Mapping the landscape

The funnel

Dream Discover Interest Apply Enrol> > >>

Portal

Agent

Fair

Print media/ads

SEA

High flier

SAT/IB Diploma

GMAT/GRE

Feeder School/School Counselor

Marketing Channel

Certain background/Ambition

United Arab Emirates 6,108

Saudi Arabia 4,152

United States 2,254

Malaysia 2,025

Ukraine 1,752

United Kingdom 1,747

Qatar 1,025

Germany 1,020

Turkey 1,006

Russian Federation 605

Source: Unescohttp://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow

High requirements

Better chance of admission

AffordableExpensive

Factors influencing the study choice

High requirements

Better chance of admission

AffordableExpensive

Managing the funnel

“First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particular

thing, ask what is it in itself? What is its nature?”

• In country activity/agent activities

• Online marketing

• Open days

• Feeder/partner institutions

Discovery phase

• Lead management process

• Conversion tracking

• Agent management

• Visa eligibility

Engagement phase • Application

turnaround/management

• Candidate tracking/communication

• Visa processing

• Enrolment checklist

• Housing

Application processing

Helicopter View

Impressions

Pageviews

Leads

Application starts

Applications completed

Conditional Offers

Unconditional Offers

Enrolled

Retained

Service provider

CRM

ApplicationSystem

Student information system

Engage Convert

Invisible prospects

Country of residence Students with home status/already resident

+10 points

Students that can easily obtain a study visa

+5 points

Students that cannot easily obtain a study visa

Type of qualification Internationally recognized qualification e.g. IB, SAT, GMAT,

GRE+10 points

Local qualification+5 points

Awarding institution Highly reputable institution+10 points

Grade achieved Av. 90-100First class degree

+10 points

Av. 80-90Second class degree

+5 points

Av. 70-80Pass

English language certification

IELTS 6.5+ or equivalent+10 points

IELTS 6 or equivalent+5 points

IELTS 5.5 or equivalent

Email interaction Opened+2 points

Clicked+2 points

Open day/Agent fair Registered+5 points

Attended+5 points

Phone contact 1 call+2 points

2 calls+2 points

3 calls+2 points

Key takeaways

Consider a shift in mindset towards a sales oriented funnel management strategy, “sale” is not a dirty word. This is only possible with a motivated sales team and the correct tools

Try to understand where the blind spots are, figure out where the pockets of potential that you are missing. Investigate where the alternatives lie for the students

Before considering how or what to measure, consider what the activity is supposed to achieve. The technique itself is not the objective.

From a lead to a student

Raul RanneHead of Marketing and Development

raul.ranne@dreamapply.com

Why am I here?

• DreamApply is one of the leading providers of student applicationmanagement solutions in Europe with more than 200 universitiesusing our services.

• More than 1 million applications total, 300 000+ applications and 150 000+ unique applicants applying through DA every year.

Big questions

• How many leads do you need to get 1 student?

• How many applications do you need to get 1 student?

• How good is good conversion rate?

• How quickly should you issue offers to student?

• Which marketing channels work and which do not?

• Is conversion rate different for different marketing channels?

What happens withapplicants?

What effect does time have on conversion rate?

Conversion rate of differentinformation channels – whatworks and what does not?

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

Advertisement Agent Fair National portal Online Other Portal Recommendation School visits Social Media Website

International Indian students - applications vs accepted applications 2018

Applications

Accepted applications

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Advertisement Agent Fair National Portal Online Other Portal Recommendation School visit Social Media Website

International Nigerian applications vs accepted applications 2018

Applications

Accepted applications

Key takeaways

• Use data available to you when determining your KPIs - gut feeling does not work any more.

• Each country/market is different – using same approach in everymarket will not work.

• Trends change – doing the same thing is not always going to work.

• Approach recruitment in holistic way – it’s cooperation betweenmarketing and admissions that determines whether set goals will bemet.

www.dreamapply.com

levent@studyportals.com

raul.ranne@dreamapply.com