TxGAP Webinar - Joining Forces for Success: Making the Case for Strategic Partnerships between Marketing, Admissions, and Academic Departments

Joining Forces for Success: Making the Case for Strategic Partnerships between

Marketing, Admissions, and Academic Departments

Presented by

Julie Staggs Senior Client Consultant

Stamats, Inc. (800) 553-8878

Overview •  Why discuss new program development •  Key roles for partners •  Process for new program development •  Understanding market opportunity •  Integrated plan for launch •  Measuring success

© 2012 Stamats, Inc. - 2

Why Talk about Program Development?

•  Continual part of institutional momentum –  Expert or new faculty –  Meet competition

–  Meet market demands –  Utilize capacity

–  Grow revenue

•  A challenge for marketing and admissions –  Affects planning and resources –  Accountable for outcomes


How are you currently involved in new programs development?

RESPONSES A. Not at all B.  Before Program designed

C.  After Program designed

D.  When Program is ready to launch


•  Marketing –  Identify/size market –  Competitive info –  Define marketing budget –  Marketing plan

•  Admissions –  Forecast numbers

–  Applications –  Matriculants

–  Discuss program –  Application process

•  Academic Department –  Determine courses –  Procure accreditation/certification –  Develop courses –  Provide faculty

Key Roles in Program Development


Academic Department

Marketing

Admissions

Has this Happened to You? •  MEd, Administration and Leadership

–  Faculty add specialized Masters in Education –  Develop courses –  Not only offering of this sort in state –  Set goals of 120 Annually –  State market is 60

•  MA, Criminal Justice –  Relationship with State –  Previous state requirement/changed –  Low marketing budget/high goal

•  MA, Communications, Social Media –  Hot new topic –  Faculty knowledge/expertise/experience –  Capacity low, demand high –  Delivery method at odds with content © 2012 Stamats, Inc. - 6

Top Five Reason New Program Launches Fail

No Plan/No Research

No Market Demand

No Differentiation

No Marketing or Recruitment Budget

No Internal Communication


Do you have a process for new program development?

RESPONSES A. No B.  Informal

C.  Formal documented process


New Program Development Process

Idea Market Analysis

Program Creation

Budgets/ Goals Launch

•  Idea –  Faculty Driven –  Market Driven

•  Market Analysis –  On-going anecdotal –  Need—jobs –  Demand—interest –  Competitive Analysis

•  Program Creation –  Research based –  Faculty Driven

•  Budgets/Goals –  Based on research –  Multi-year, conservative to

aggressive –  Collaborative process

•  Launch –  Integrated plan –  Timing –  Budget


Timeline of New Program Development

Activity Months

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Idea

Market Analysis

Program Creation

Budgets/Goals

Launch

Start first class/cohort


Documenting the Process

•  Purpose/Rationale •  Mission Alignment •  Strategic plan/goals alignment •  Proposed Curriculum •  Accreditation/Certification •  Potential duplication/overlap •  Intra-institution cooperation •  Market Strategy

–  Target Audience –  Competition –  Program Distinctions –  Key Partners –  Career and Professional Outcomes

•  Budget –  Start-up costs (one time) –  On-going costs (recurring)

•  Forecasts/goals –  Based on research –  Multi-year planning

•  Determine KPI/Success Metrics –  Outline success –  Build dashboard –  Determine review cadence

Committee including academic department, marketing and admissions should jointly complete this plan.


How do you determine the market and demand for a new program?

RESPONSES A. Faculty member influence/antecdotal B.  Internal research

C.  External research


Key Factors in Understanding a Market •  Audience

–  Who would be the students? –  What are their characteristics? –  Where are they located? –  What are their motivations?

•  Demand –  Are their jobs/ need for the program outcomes?

•  Competition –  How many other institutions offer this or similar programs –  Are their programs successful? Fully subscribed? Growing?

•  Opportunity –  What is not being offered that is desired? –  Availability to potential audience?


Tools and Resources for Market Analysis •  Environmental Scan

–  IPEDS –  DOL –  Census

•  Competitor Scan –  Website –  Marketing materials

•  Primary Research –  Focus Groups –  Phone Surveys –  Web Surveys


Top Five Program Killers

Most expensive in market

More than three competitors

No employer interest

No career/advancement opportunities

No obvious delivery mode


Case Study •  A new MBA model

–  Low residency –  Project Based –  Accelerated

•  Key Questions –  Will the undergraduate model work for a graduate program? –  Should we launch this new model for a MBA? –  Would it have regional and national appeal?


Reasons Why Blended MBA Program Not Considered

0% 20% 40% 60%

Don't know

Not good fit for me

Too little interaction

Not focused on my career

Too little class time

Too team-oriented

Require residencies

Not familiar with concept

9%5%

5%

7%8%

12%

13%14%

Percent not considering blended programs citing:

•  Reluctance to consider blended format not driven by any single factor—responses suggest that some want more online content and some want less

•  Some indication that blended format is not well understood which leads some to shy away

Base: All prospective MBA students who would not consider blended program (n=161)


Preferred Program Format: Aided

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Blended format

100% online

Part-time Executive Full-time

31%26% 23%

13%7%

Percent who prefer an MBA program that is:

•  Fairly even split in preference for online, blended, and part-time formats—suggests the University’s concept isn’t likely to be rejected on the basis of format

•  Preference for executive and full-time formats fairly minimal among this respondent base—desire to pursue career and education fairly widespread

Base: All prospective MBA students (n=585)


MBA Program Types Considered/Preferred

Program Type In State (n=87)

Surrounding States

(n=200)

All Other States

(n=298)

Consider full-time? 26% 25% 21% Consider part-time? 72% 63% 68% Consider executive MBA? 52% 46% 42% Consider 100% online? 53% 56% 50% Consider blended program? 74% 65% 64%

Prefer full-time? 7% 7% 5% Prefer part-time? 16% 21% 24% Prefer executive MBA? 20% 12% 13% Prefer 100% online? 23% 28% 24% Prefer blended program? 34% 32% 34%

Prefer accelerated program? 47% 59% 52% Prefer regular pace program? 53% 41% 48%

Base: All prospective MBA students in indicated segment

•  No statistical or meaningful differences in the types of programs considered or preferred between geographic segments


Preferred Pace of MBA Program: Aided

•  Preference for accelerated MBA program schedule just slightly higher than preference for regular pace

•  Preference for speedier program differs only slightly across demographic segments (including age, gender, importance clusters, and program-format preference groups)

Accelerated pace, 54%

Regular pace, 46%

Percent who prefer program at:

Base: All prospective MBA students (n=585)


Current Top MBA Program: Unaided - In State Market -

College/University % Considering

% Top

Choice

University of Utah 60% 22%

University of Phoenix 38% 7%

Brigham Young University 26% 7%

Utah State University 21% 2%

The University 17% 8%

Weber State University 13% 5%

Utah Valley University 5% 2%

Argosy University 2% 1%

Harvard University 2% 1%

New York University 2% 1%

University of California Los Angeles 2% 1%

University of Texas Austin 2% 1%

Arizona State University 2% 1%

Don’t know -- 32%

Base: All prospective MBA students in in state market (n=87)

•  Fully one-third of prospective MBA students in the in state market have no current “top”

choice program

•  The University fares well among those considering it—nearly one-half indicate it as

their “top” program

•  University of Utah, however, appears less able to capitalize on widespread consideration


MBA Programs Currently Considered: Unaided - Surrounding States -

College/University % Citing

University of Phoenix 26%

University of Denver 24%

Arizona State University 19%

University of Colorado Boulder 18%

Regis University 13%

Colorado State University 12%

University of Nevada Las Vegas 8%

University of Arizona 7%

University of Colorado Denver 6%

Northern Arizona University 3%

Boise State University 3%

Grand Canyon University 3%

Kaplan University 3%

Thunderbird School of Global Management 3%

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs 3%

Base: All prospective MBA students in adjacent states (n=200)

•  Handful of online entities draw considerable level of interest

•  Focus on local programs becomes obvious when

considering prospects from multiple states/locations—72

other single mentions

•  The University, however, receives no mentions from

respondents in this geographic market (states bordering the

home state)

•  Suggests The University more of a local player in MBA

degrees than a regional player


Current Top MBA Program: Unaided - Surrounding States -

College/University % Considering

% Top

Choice

University of Phoenix 26% 8%

University of Denver 24% 7%

Arizona State University 19% 9%

University of Colorado Boulder 18% 5%

Regis University 13% 5%

Colorado State University 12% 3%

University of Nevada Las Vegas 8% 2%

University of Arizona 7% 1%

University of Colorado Denver 6% 2%

Northern Arizona University 3% 0%

Boise State University 3% 1%

Grand Canyon University 3% 1%

Kaplan University 3% 1%

Thunderbird School of Global Management 3% 1%

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs 3% 1%

Don’t know -- 40% Base: All prospective MBA students in

adjacent states (n=200)

•  As was the case among in state respondents, a fairly

sizable proportion of prospective students in this

region have no favored program currently

•  No single program shows particular strength in terms of converting consideration into

meaningful interest


0%

20%

40%

60%

Home State (n=87) Surrounding States(n=200)

Other States (n=298)

24% 27% 27%

48%44% 47%

25%21%

16%

2%9% 10%

Very interestedModerate interestSlight interestNo interest

•  No differences between geographic markets in terms of interest in the concept

Interest in Project-Based MBA Program

Base: All prospective MBA students in indicated segment


MBA Competing Programs

UT AZ CO NV ID WY U.S.

Number of MBA Programs 13 14 17 7 5 2 1,139

Number of 2008 MBA Graduates 1,674 11,946 4,035 546 221 57 158,198

Share of U.S. MBA Graduates 1.1% 7.6%* 2.6% 0.3% 0.1% <0.1% 100%

•  Home state-based MBA programs conferred just under 1,700 degrees in 2008

•  Most MBA students (even those enrolled in 100% online programs) select a program that is located fairly close geographically

•  The University enjoys no real consideration outside the home state, and surrounding states represent a fairly limited pool of prospective students to recruit

* Just over 9,000 degrees conferred by University of Phoenix Online Campus attributed to AZ location


Major Research Findings •  Market has diversity of needs, preferences, and interests

•  Need differentiation

•  Single format would not have broad-based appeal

•  Low awareness and consideration requires significant investment and effort to get or increase enrollment (Having a distinctive concept alone does not create awareness, familiarity or demand)

•  Concept was of interest to those had previously investigated MBAs, so the concept likely is addressing unmet needs.

•  Multiple positioning points (four) for the program are indicated, though one is of broader appeal than the other three. A second had an advantage in interest level, but is not differentiating.

•  Given the concept could generally be put in the online category, there was not enough appeal beyond the local area to make the decision to invest in the new format without other distinguishing factors as the awareness and demand was not indicated in the research.


If you have launched a new program was there a written launch plan?

RESPONSES A. Yes, with strategy and tactics B.  Yes, a general plan but not specifics

C.  No, I was called and given a goal and start date


Integrated Launch Plan Components •  Timing

–  Internal Launch –  External Launch

•  Audiences –  Prospective Students –  Employers –  Alumni

•  Channels •  Recruitment

–  Timing –  Training –  Activities

•  Class Start Date


Integrate Across Multiple Channels Advertising: •  Newspaper •  Magazine •  Billboard

PR: •  Features •  Wild art

Digital: •  Email •  Website •  Aggregators •  Blogs •  Twitter

Direct marketing: (response marketing) •  Telephone •  Postal mail •  E-mail •  Text/SMS •  List Buys

Publications including variable digital printing/print on demand

Sponsorships, publicity, event marketing

Internal communication Collaborations, alliance marketing (co-branding)

Word-of-mouth (buzz marketing)

Facilities and environmentals: •  Buildings and grounds •  Signage and perimeter marking

Events •  Campus events

Engaged employees as media

•  Radio •  TV/cable

•  Facebook •  LinkedIn •  YouTube •  Search •  PPC •  Banner Ads •  SEO

•  Fairs •  Conferences


How are you determine success with a new program?

RESPONSES A. First year applications/enrollments B.  Breaks even/makes money

C.  Meets multi-year targets D.  No defined measures


Measuring Success

•  Goals—Define Success –  Students

§  Inquiries §  Applicants §  Admits §  Matriculants

–  Revenue •  Short Term/Long Term

–  Term/start –  Year

•  Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

•  Build Dashboards •  Review data and make decision

–  Weekly –  Monthly –  Term


KPI Worksheet

KPI Name Goal Data Source Calcualtion Timeframe View ParametersGoogle Analytics Segment URL Notes

Admissions

Application 350 SIS wkly/mtd/mom/ytd/yoy line chart by segment

Accepted 250 SIS wkly/mtd/mom/ytd/yoy line chart by segment

Fee 125 SIS wkly/mtd/mom/ytd/yoy line chart by segment

WEB

Target Geographic Reach Web Analytics

Number of visits in target geographic region/All visits yearly by month

line chart for past year, current month percentage, rate of change from precvious month, rate of change from previous year http://goo.gl/x0WnB

Branded Keywords Web Analytics

Visits from search engines in which the keyword used was one associated with your brand (name of university, college, sports team, etc.)/All visits yearly by month

line chart for past year, current month percentage, rate of change from precvious month, rate of change from previous year http://goo.gl/lTRHn

Note: In the Google Analytics Segment replace the keywords with branded keywords that are relevant to your institution. If you include more than one, as does the example, separate each keyword with a "|" pipe character.

Subject Interest Web Analytics

Visits that came to the site through a search engine keyword associated with a subject (for instance, business for a business program) OR visit to a page on your site that contains the subject in the title/All visits yearly by month

line chart for past year, current month percentage, rate of change from precvious month, rate of change from previous year http://goo.gl/qcXS2

Social Media Traffic Web AnalyticsVisits from social media source/All Visits yearly by month

line chart for past year, current month percentage, rate of change from precvious month, rate of change from previous year http://goo.gl/UL6pE

Goal Conversion Rate Web AnalyticsGoal Completions/All visits yearly by month

line chart for past year, current month percentage, rate of change from precvious month, rate of change from previous year

Note: It may help to apply additional segments such as social media traffic to goal conversions to better understand which traffic is converting the best.


KPI Dashboard35 Recommendations and Observations

Use a multivariate test on the home page.Test home page image and heading.Include additional goal links on the home page.Test three different locations.

Use A/B test on forms to test how well different versions convert.

Branded Visits

While there was a spike in expected Branded traffic in the summer, there has been a decline during the Fall.Overall there seems to be significant name recognition based on visitors that came to the site through branded searches.

University Traffic %

Oct 2010Branded/All +-‐ Month

Branded/All +-‐ Year

Oct 2010 UT/All +-‐ Month

UT/All +-‐ Year Recent months have been within the normal range.

28.28% 4.45% 11.35% 31.99% 10.52% -‐6.49% Levels have been lower than they were the previous year.

Nov 2010Branded/All +-‐ Month

Branded/All +-‐ Year Nov 2010

UT/All +-‐ Month

UT/All +-‐ Year

24.85% -‐12.15% -‐12.22% 31.20% -‐2.45% -‐0.89%

This over-‐time graph compares goal conversions by segment. % of Loyal Visits

October and November percentages of loyal visits are above the normal range, increasing from the previous year. Consider offering a special promotion to extend the trend.

Goals

There has been a decline in goals conversions during the Fall. Create A/B or multivariate tests on the home page and admissions page to increase goal conversions.Since university traffic seems to convert better than other traffic, increase PPC dollar amounts to university traffic.Since conversions are down from previous years, modify page content to increase conversions.

Oct 2010Loyal/All +-‐ Month

Loyal/All +-‐ Year

Month

Goal Conversions

9.14% 40.44% 7.90% Jul 14Aug 8

Nov 2010 Loyal/All +-‐ Month

Loyal/All +-‐ Year Sep 8

9.08% -‐0.67% 27.93% Oct 8Nov 12

The light gray lines of standard deviation in the charts denote the normal range for that data set. +-‐ Month is the rate of change as compared to the previous month. +-‐ Year is the rate of change compared to the previous year.

This over-‐time graph shows the percentage of visits from within universities.

Fewer goal conversions than anticipated.

This over-‐time graph shows the amount of visits from visitors that came to the site with a branded keyword search.

This over-‐time graph shows the amount of visits from visitors that have been to the website between 9-‐50 times.

% of Loyal Visits

Branded Visits

University Traffic %

Goals

15.00%

17.00%

19.00%

21.00%

23.00%

25.00%

27.00%

29.00%

31.00%

33.00%Jan 2008

Mar 200

8May 2008

Jul 200

8Sep 2008

Nov 200

8Jan 2009

Mar 200

9May 2009

Jul 200

9Sep 2009

Nov 200

9Jan 2010

Mar 201

0May 2010

Jul 201

0Sep 2010

Nov 201

0

20.00%

22.00%

24.00%

26.00%

28.00%

30.00%

32.00%

34.00%

36.00%

38.00%

Jan 2008

Mar 200

8May 2008

Jul 200

8Sep 2008

Nov 200

8Jan 2009

Mar 200

9May 2009

Jul 200

9Sep 2009

Nov 200

9Jan 2010

Mar 201

0May 2010

Jul 201

0Sep 2010

Nov 201

0

4.00%

5.00%

6.00%

7.00%

8.00%

9.00%

10.00%

Jan 2008

Mar 200

8May 2008

Jul 200

8Sep 2008

Nov 200

8Jan 2009

Mar 200

9May 2009

Jul 200

9Sep 2009

Nov 200

9Jan 2010

Mar 201

0May 2010

Jul 201

0Sep 2010

Nov 201

0

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

All Visits (Segment)

University Traffic (Segment)

Branded Keywords (Segment)

Loyal Visitors (9-‐50 Visits) (Segment)


Quick Review of Basic Steps

•  Build Relationships •  Have Ideas •  Do Research •  Make a Plan •  Design the Program •  Create a Budget •  Launch Program •  Measure and Refine


Creative & Interactive Services

•  Creative concepting

•  Web strategies

•  Recruiting and advancement publications

About Stamats Stamats is recognized and respected as the nation’s higher education integrated marketing thought leader. Our comprehensive array of innovative services has set the standard for pairing insightful, research-based strategic counsel with compelling creative solutions. We promise our clients the highest level of professional service and attention to detail in the industry because, in the end, we know our success is measured entirely by theirs.

Research, Planning, and Consulting Services

•  Image, perception, and brand studies

•  Recruiting, marketing, brand, and academic program marketability audits

•  Tuition pricing elasticity and brand value studies


Stamats has a wide array of presentations and workshops—like this one—that we conduct on campus for departments, senior leadership teams, and boards.

A partial list of sessions include:

•  Assessing Your Marketing Structure and Organization •  Developing an Integrated Marketing/Brand Marketing Strategy •  Marketing Your Academic Programs •  Applying Research to Strategic Enrollment Management Planning •  AdultStudentTALK—Understanding the Graduate Prospects

Motivations and Desired Communications Channels

Please contact us for a complete list or to discuss a session for you in greater detail. Thank you.

Julie Staggs Senior Client Consultant [email protected] 800-553-8878 ext 5069

Stamats on Your Campus



Stamats’ Graduate School Integrated Marketing Conference

July 23-25, 2012 Intercontinental Hotel, Atlanta, GA

Navigating the New Normal www.stamats.com/Grad2012

Promotional Code: NAGAP

Questions
