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. [email protected]
www.cunet.com
Dave Wengel
www.leadscouncil.com