marketing trends & analysis: 2011 higher education survey results

2011 Higher Education Survey ResultsMarketing Trends & Analysis

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PRESENTERS:Jamie McDonald• Managing Director of Customer Solutions at CUnet• CEO at Sparkroom

Dave Wengel• Co-Founder of LeadsCouncil

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Survey Overview and Goals• Conducted from February 7 to February 25, 2011

• 293 marketing professionals in higher education participated

• Establishing benchmarks, current trends, and best practices

1. Schools are Spending More in 2011

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For-Profit School Marketing Budgets: Change from 2010 to 2011

Spending More54%

Maintaining Budget

from Last Year14%

Decline in Budget

32%

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Wishful Thinking?• Industry data and financial reports clearly point to smaller budgets for the largest

schools• These numbers reflect the sentiment of many small and mid-market schools• Are schools are waiting to see the impact of the regulations before adjusting

budgets?• Opportunity to capture additional market before the full regulations are enforced?

Under $1 M24%

$1 - 10 M32%

$10 - 40 M24%

$40 M +20%

Breakdown of Survey Respondents By Marketing Budget

2. Cost-Per-Enrollment is Up Over Last Year

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Cost-Per-Enrollment vs. Last Year

Increase 39%

No Change

23%

Decrease 16%

Not Sure 23%

Self-Generated Inquiries

Increase 58%

No Change

7%

Decrease 13%

Not Sure 23%

3rd Party Affiliate Inquiries

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No Surprises Here• This is not surprising, as schools continue to take more steps to tighten up

their recruitment practices and “cast a smaller net”.• Stricter recruitment policies, compliance with regulations, and increased

competition for quality inquiries all point to this trend continuing.

3. Schools are Spending Less on 3rd Party Affiliates

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3rd Party Affiliate Budgets—2010 vs 2011

Spending More

70.37%

No Change 16.67%

Spending Less 5.56% Don't know

7%

2010

Spending More

50.00%No Change

18.00%

Spending Less 29%

Not Sure 3%

2011

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• Time will tell whether schools can reduce their 3rd party affiliate budgets and still meet enrollment goals.

• We suspect the shift will be less dramatic than the survey suggests.

Can Enrollment Goals Be Achieved?

4. Marketers Want to Take More Inquiry Generation into Their Own Hands

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Cost-per-Enrollment By Source

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Self-Generated Inquiries: Campus

Self-Generated Inquiries:

Online

3rd Party Affiliate: Campus

3rd Party Affiliate: Online

13% 13% 6% 7%

35% 27%

10% 13%

16% 13%

19% 10%

6% 13%

19% 13%

6% 3%19% 23% $2,000 +

$1,500 - $2,000

$1,000 - $1,500

$500 - $1,000

Under $500

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The Question Remains…Can Schools Scale the Volume of Self-Generated Inquiries & Maintain Strong CPE?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

64% 61%

36% 32%

Percentage of Schools Reporting Increased Spending on Self-Generated Inquiries By Channel

Search Advertising

Social Media

Targeted Display

Mobile Advertising

5. Social Media is Hitting it’s Stride

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Social Media Spending for 2011 (vs. 2010)

61%29%

7%3% Spending More

No Change

Spending Less (0 %)

Not using

Don't know

6. Offline Marketing Will Take a Hit this Year

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In 2010, 70% of marketers reported that they felt offline media was an effective marketing tool

In 2011, 39% of marketers are planning to decrease spending in offline marketing

7. Hot Transfer Phone Call Solutions Are Heating Up

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Spending Adjustments for 2011(Among Schools Using Hot Transfer Solutions)

54%33%

13% Spending More

No Change

Spending Less

8. Leading Concerns and Priorities? Compliance & Inquiry Quality Top Both Lists

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Top Concerns for 2011

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

30%

33%

26%

19%

19%

7%

22%

37%

30%

44%

33%

33%

11%

26%Significant Concern

Major Concern

Inquiry Volume

Lack of Internal Resources

Visibility into Inquiry Performance

Budget Constraints

Inquiry Quality

Compliance

ED Regulations

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Top Priorities for 2011

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

85%

48%56%

67%

44%

Increased inquiry quality

Improved technology solutionsIncreased inquiry volume

Compliance monitoring

Web analytics

9. Schools are Increasingly Pushing for Transparency in Response to the ED Regulations

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Changes in Response to ED Regulations

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

19%

15%

48%

33%

7%

22%

52%

37%

22%

19%

44%

33%

22%

30%

26%

26% In process or completed

In planning or under consideration

Increase academic standards

Re-train admissions staff

Eliminate programs

Reduce/eliminate call center inquiries

Use vendors that generate their own inquiries

Demand affiliate transparency

Reduce staff headcount

Reduce 3rd party affiliate budget

10.Schools Using a Call Center Have Significantly Better Response Times

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88% of schools that use a 3rd party call center report response times under 5 minutes

40% of those respond to inquiries in under 2 minutes

48% of schools are still not using call centers

Our Takeaway: The Times, They Are A-Changing• The business of education has changed

− Regulation− Deteriorating micro-economics

• Change equals opportunity− Shift in balance of power− Innovative ways to reach new students− Tighter partnerships in the supply chain

• Who will the winners be? − Schools who commit to sustainable models based on

outcomes not starts− Inquiry providers who control the process from start-to-

finish

Questions?Jamie McDonald

416.323.1366, ext. 41225Jamie.McDonald@cunet.com

www.cunet.com

Dave Wengel

501.825.0750Dave@leadscouncil.com

www.leadscouncil.com