EXPECTATIONS: ONLINE PROSPECT. A Study of Prospective Student Experiences Online and Where Schools Fall Short

Transcription

1 EXPECTATIONS: ONLINE PROSPECT A Study of Prospective Student Experiences Online and Where Schools Fall Short Sponsored by: Research conducted by:

2 Executive Summary As lives have become more and more dependent on the Internet and the endless possibilities it offers, prospective students have developed certain expectations and practices around the types of educational institutions and programs they inquire about online, the amount of research they do priorto reaching out to schools of interest, the devices they use to submit forms and conduct research online, and the way they prefer to be engaged in the enrollment process. Understanding these changing expectations can mean the difference between enrolling a highly qualified student prospect or losing them to another school. This study focuses on prospect experiences and preferences regarding potential enrollment in higher education programs. The study findings reveal areas for improvement across the board to better align enrollment management strategies with prospect expectations. 1

3 Methodology and Sample Characteristics To better understand the expectations and experiences of online student prospects, Zogby Analytics was commissioned by Velocify and PossibleNOW to conduct an online survey of more than 1,000 adults in the U.S. who had submitted an online form requesting information or expressing interest in a product or service with a value of $1,000 or more. This report presents results from a subset of that group with a substantial number of individuals looking for educational services, but does not include experiences and preferences for activities or transactions related to e-commerce. The survey respondents were equitably located throughout the country and represented a diverse sample of ages, ethnicities, income levels, and professions. Participants answered the survey questions regarding their most recent inquiry, which they specified was for a product or service in the following categories: 2

4 Research Prior to Enrollment Today s prospects are typically well informed prior to engaging in the enrollment process. Time spent on research prior to submitting an inquiry 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% HOURS 1-2 HOURS 3-5 HOURS 5-10 HOURS HOURS MORE THAN 20 HOURS OVERALL EDUCATION Prospective students tend to spend even more time on research prior to submitting an inquiry than other respondents to the survey. For example, while only 15% of survey respondents said they spend 5-20 hours researching prior to submitting an inquiry, almost twice as many student prospects, (27%) said they spend that many hours researching. 3

5 Use of Mobile Devices Percentage of respondents who performed more than 10% of their research on a mobile device 0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% OVERALL EDUCATION In addition to desktop and laptop computers, much of the prospects research is being conducted on smartphones and tablets. Prospective students especially are significantly more likely than other prospects to perform a higher percentage of their research using a mobile device (smartphone or tablet). Device most likely to be used to submit inquiry form 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0 7% 8% 85% OVERALL 11% 18% 71% EDUCATION DESKTOP/LAPTOP SMARTPHONE TABLET Similar results are observed when looking at the type of device respondents indicated they were more likely to use to submit an online inquiry form. Student prospects were not only more likely to spend time researching multiple education options on mobile devices. They were also more likely to use a mobile device to actually submit the inquiry form. 4

6 Impact of Slow or No Response Percentage whose inquiries have been completely ignored 70% 60% 66% 50% 40% 53% 30% 20% 10% 0 OVERALL EDUCATION One of the most troubling findings of the study was that more than half of all respondents experienced an online inquiry that had gone unanswered. An even higher percentage of prospective students (66%) had an inquiry ignored by a prospective school. Percentage whose purchase decision has been influenced by a slow response No 43% Yes 57% Prospects also expect the response to be prompt. The majority of survey respondents (57% overall) said slow responses have influenced their decision to do business with an institution. 5

7 Impact of Slow or No Response How slow is too slow? 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0 15 MINUTES 1 HOUR 24 HOURS 48 HOURS 1 WEEK Time elapsed since inquiry submission Respondents also revealed what they considered was an unacceptable response time by specifying the point at which they would start to question a school s attentiveness to its potential students. More than 60% of students said they would begin to question a school s attentiveness if they did not hear back from the school within 24 hours after submitting an online form. 6

8 Worst Online Experiences Common themes from prospects describing their worst experience with online inquiries NO RESPONSE BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE + RUDENESS SLOW RESPONSE GETTING HARASSING CALLS / S / SPAM DIFFERENT INFORMATION FROM PEOPLE WITHIN THE SAME ORGANIZATION 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% No response and slow response were two of the top three, negative experiences cited by prospects when asked to describe the worst response they received to an online inquiry. Not receiving a response to an inquiry was by far the most common theme beating out bad customer service/ rudeness by a significant margin. 7

9 Impact of Competition Percentage who believe the first school to call has an advantage over the competition Detrimental 1% Little to No Advantage 30% Some or Signifcant Advantage 69% Student prospects not only indicated that a slow response can be detrimental; they also indicated that a fast response can be advantageous. Overall, 69% of students believed that the first school to call them had an advantage over others, while the rest felt there was little to no advantage. Only 1% felt it might be detrimental for a school to be the first to call. 8

10 Impact of Competition Number of different schools contacted 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Being the first to call is especially important when considering the number of schools that students typically contact when inquiring about a higher education program. The majority of prospects in this study submitted inquiries to three different schools, with only 6% submitting inquiries solely to one school. 9

11 Preferences for Contact Practices Call attempts in a 30-day period AS MANY CALL ATTEMPTS AS IT TAKES EIGHT CALL ATTEMPTS SIX CALL ATTEMPTS FOUR CALL ATTEMPTS TWO CALL ATTEMPTS ONE CALL ATTEMPT IS ENOUGH 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Prospects generally preferred to be contacted and sent information, via a combination of communication methods throughout the enrollment process. The majority of respondents preferred to be contacted through either a combination of phone and , the most popular option, or through a combination of phone, , and text. When it comes to a school s persistence in trying to reach a student prospect, most respondents suggested they would like multiple calls before a school gives up trying to reach them. Three quarters of all prospects said they would like two to four calls, but a sizeable percentage (12%) even suggested they would like as many calls as it takes to get a hold of them. 10

12 Preferences for Contact Practices s in a 30-day period AS MANY S AS IT TAKES S 5-6 S 3-4 S 1-2 S NO S 0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Similar results were obtained when respondents were asked the same question about communication. 83% of prospects would like schools to send them 1-4 s in a 30-day period in an effort to make contact when they haven t been successful via phone. Only 2% would prefer not to receive any s. Almost three quarters of all student prospects indicated they were open to receiving text messages in response to a submitted inquiry. Some of the reasons and instances that respondents indicated would constitute good reasons for texts included: After initial conversation, if continued interest is expressed When calls haven t been successful As reminders of deadlines or appointments To quickly confirm something Special promotions or offers Anytime 11

13 Preferences for Contact Practices Callback preference Always communicating with the same person, even if it means having to wait a little longer to be contacted 46% Being called back as quickly as possible, even if it s by a different salesperson 54% After initial contact has been made, response speed for subsequent interactions is still important. But for some, it may not be as important as being able to communicate with the same admissions rep. Slightly more than half (54%) of all respondents valued response speed over being able to talk to the same admissions rep when expecting a callback. 12

14 Preferences for Contact Practices Willingness to wait to talk to the same admissions rep WILLING TO WAIT AS LONG AS IT TAKES 1 WEEK 3 DAYS 1 DAY 4 HOURS 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% However, even those who preferred to wait to talk to the same admissions rep had their limits. More than 65% of all respondents were not willing to wait more than a day to talk to the same rep they may have spoken with before. If the callback would take more than a day, they were willing to speak to someone else, as long as the other person had access to the same information about them. 13

15 Summary and Conclusions Today s prospective students are increasingly using the Internet to research, inquire about and enroll in higher education institutions. Most prospects are well-informed prior to engaging with schools due the amount of research they perform prior to contact. They are also increasingly adopting mobile technologies to conduct much of their research and even to submit online inquiries. In this highly competitive, high-velocity enrollment management environment, prospects have expressed that they value quick responses to their inquiries and that they expect schools to be persistent within reason in their approach to contacting them via multiple modes of communication. Nevertheless, students voiced experiences suggest that many schools are failing in these areas because a large number of student inquiries are going unanswered. Improvements can be made across the board to provide student prospects with the type of response experiences they desire. This study should provide a great starting point for schools responding to online inquiries to develop a response strategy that aligns with the expectations of their prospective students. That initial strategy should later be supplemented with information on what truly drives enrollment yield, since it s possible that what prospects say they want and what actually works could vary slightly. 14

16 About Us About Zogby Analytics Zogby Analytics provides custom research and insight to leaders of businesses and communities, as well as to individuals. They have successfully surveyed a wide variety of industries, including banking, medical devices, government agencies, colleges and universities, non-profits, automotive, insurance and many more. They have extensively polled four Presidential election cycles and many off-year state and local elections. As former employees of Zogby International, they are known worldwide for their ability to empower clients with information and research data critical for making informed strategic decisions. Please visit for more information. About Velocify Velocify is a market-leading provider of cloud-based intelligent enrollment management software designed for schools that compete for students. Velocify helps admissions departments keep pace with the speed of opportunity and improve enrollment rates by driving rapid inquiry response, increased process discipline, improved productivity, and actionable insights. The company has helped more than 1,500 institutions across a variety of industries improve student and customer acquisition practices and performance. Velocify was recently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte and Best in Class in Lead Management, Education Category by LeadsCouncil LEADER Awards. Call: education@velocify.com Web: Blog: About PossibleNOW PossibleNOW provides enterprise preference management solutions that let marketers personalize multi-channel communications to their customers and prospects. By enabling consumers to manage their preferences including the preferred means of contact, the optimal frequency, the specific products or services of interest, and account servicing preferences organizations send more targeted messages and eliminate marketing waste. Call: info@possiblenow.com Web: 15