Utilizing Nurture Marketing to Recruit Students:
Vancouver Island University's Success Story
Responding to your leads in an effective and timely manner is critical if you want to build a relationship with prospective students and boost overall applications. The minute a student requests information from your school, the clock is on for you to respond. If you aren’t responding to your leads within 24 hours, you need to know that other schools are.
Here is a case study from our work with Vancouver Island University.
The Nurture Marketing Strategy
With Nurture Marketing, interested prospects start to receive a series of emails almost immediately after becoming a lead. Each email is spaced 4-10 days apart, allowing schools to nurture prospective students into eventual applicants.
Vancouver Island University Nurture Campaign
Objective
To recruit students for any undergraduate program.
Target Audience
Any leads coming from the SchoolFinder platform.
Method
Using nurture marketing, we targeted all leads and sent 4 emails each spaced 4 days apart.
Email 1: Introduction
Subject Line
Alex, thanks for your interest in Vancouver Island University!
Preheader
Learn more about why VIU is for you!
students reached
%
unique open rate
students engaged
This response is sent to students within 24 hours of their request. By using a personalized subject line and preheader, we were able to achieve a high open rate and engage students.
Emails 2-3: Introducing Programs and Financial Aid
The next two emails introduced students to the variety of program options for undergraduate students as well as financial aid options. With more and more students concerned about funding their education, the “free tuition” call-to-action (CTA) was a great way to boost engagement.
Email 2
students reached
%
unique open rate
students engaged
Email 3
students reached
%
unique open rate
students engaged
Email 4: The Application Push
Subject Line
Alex, apply to Vancouver Island University today!
Preheader
Join us at VIU! Applications for Fall 2021 admission are now open.
students reached
%
unique open rate
students engaged
By the time students had received this fourth email, they were familiar with the university’s program offerings, funding options, and more. Each email also included a recruiter’s name and signature, which helped generate interest by encouraging advising appointments and one-on-one chats.
This email employed a hard call-to-action: Apply Now. This was a success, as the campaign resulted in applications.
Results
As of June 6, 2021
students from the campaign applied to VIU for Fall 2021
Next Steps
For more information on how we can help you can get started with LeadConnect™, contact us at:
The SchoolFinder Group Team
info@schoolfindergroup.com
Further reading:
» Best Practices for Responding to Prospective Student Inquiries
» Fall 2022 Secret Shopper Results
» Fall 2021 Secret Shopper Results
» Increasing Student Enrollment: AUArts Success Story
» Utilizing Nurture Marketing to Recruit Students: VIU Success Story
» How to Import Leads into Your CRM Automatically
