Are you tired of spending money on increasing web traffic but you’re not seeing an increase in enrollment? In internet marketing, conversion optimization, also known as conversion rate optimization, is a system for increasing the percentage of visitors to a website and converting them into inquiries. Few things are worse than a leak in your admissions, and a marketing funnel that is costing your university revenue, and slowing your growth by losing leads somewhere between creation and matriculation.
Here are some possible “lead leaks” that if plugged can make a significant impact.
No call-to-action or several Calls-to-Action: This happens most typically at the top of the funnel. Your blog posts, social media content, and videos—everything you offer for free—must have some kind of call-to-action, or it’s all just wasted energy. Your call-to-action can be as simple as a “Call Now” feature, “Request Information”, or other response devices such as Live Chat.
I’m trying to find a phone number to call you: Amazingly, several sites lack a prominent Toll-Free-Number on the website, and even worse is no Click-to-Call on a mobile site. We’ve researched hundreds of sites, many of which are paying for media, with no inbound or prominent phone number displayed.
I’m calling you but nobody is answering the phone: With the increase of mobile search and direct inbound calls from mobile devices, growing universities are ditching voicemail and answering the phone live, which costs time and money. No enrollment or marketing would be okay with wasting either, but we’ve seen it happen time and time again. Schools leave phone numbers off websites, don’t answer inbound phone calls, and don’t follow up with hot leads.
I inquired but nobody has called me back: First to contact usually wins, and immediate response (within 5 minutes is preferable) within an hour is required. According to the Harvard Business Review, organizations that follow up within an hour are seven times more likely to qualify a lead.
I spoke with someone months ago: Nurture and engage active leads frequently and with gentle persistence. Engage often with multiple response channels including email, phone calls during peak time, SMS, social retargeting, and print. An integrated engagement strategy is far better than relying just on phone calls or emails. We recommend a 90 Day engagement strategy. Based on our internal data, inquiries take an average of 120 days to move from inquiry to a matriculated student and it can be much longer depending on your academic model, degree type, and level.
And, of course, Education Connex would be happy to help you with all or any part of this strategy.
But, remember, the most brilliant of strategies mean nothing without persistence. In the words of Winston Churchill, “never, never, never give up.” Or if you prefer something a little more American, I offer the words of Ben Franklin, who long ago told us that “energy and persistence conquer all things.”
Even enrollment.
