http://www.intelliworks.com/ Musings on the world of higher education CRM technology, admissions, enrollment, marketing and recruitment from the team at Intelliworks. en http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/is_your_crm_performing_like_a_rock_star_or_an_amateur 2011-11-28T20:19:00+00:00 A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of participating at the UPCEA Marketing Seminar in Las Vegas. We got to party like rockstars, but we also were able to share a few best practices. This session will help you determine whether you are underrealizing the full potential of a very valuable tool and provide painless approaches to move you in the right direction. We provide leading questions to determine whether or not your system is performing optimally for your organization, and use peer examples and best practice approaches to provide you with ideas to more fully leverage your system. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/from_the_field_when_its_halloween_and_youre_haunted_by_an_sis_integrat 2011-10-27T12:38:24+00:00 For many clients newly transitioned or in the process of transitioning to a new CRM platform, October is a terrifying month for reasons having nothing to do with Halloween. Enrollment and recruitment divisions are operating in high-gear, admissions counselors and representatives are in the throes of the recruitment fair circuits, and all manner of higher educational institutions are peacocking at sundry open houses and interest-generating events trying to court potential students. The transfer of data between the prospective student market and the educational institution is frequent, voluminous and consequently overwhelming without the right tools and processes to manage the flow of information. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/for_teens_uncertainty_abounds 2011-10-07T19:07:55+00:00 What's your economic outlook? It's a question that's been on the top of most people's minds over the last couple of years, and one that's becoming increasingly important to teens as they weigh their higher education options. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/notes_from_the_field_dealing_with_user_adoption 2011-09-27T14:21:02+00:00 Any institution that has endured even a day’s worth of due diligence on CRM systems and research will inevitably come to understand that a successful CRM deployment is dependent on much more than the technology itself. At Intelliworks, we emphasize the importance of bringing together people, process and technology before during and after the CRM implementation. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/1_in_3_americans_think_higher_ed_does_not_do_a_good_job 2011-08-23T13:37:59+00:00 As I was visiting MarketingCharts this morning (one of my favorite sites), the following headline caught my eye: 2 in 3 Americans Think Higher Ed Does a Good Job. Not bad, right? But what about the other third that aren't as confident? The article, which is based on a Harris Poll conducted in July, notes, "Despite generally high ratings of the academic and career programs offered by higher educational institutions, Americans’ overall opinions of colleges and universities are not that high. In total, 52% of Americans have a very or somewhat positive opinion of public colleges and universities. That figure drops to 48% for private, non-profit institutions and more significantly to 35% for private, for-profit institutions." http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/a_world_without_borders 2011-07-11T19:17:52+00:00 We hear a lot these days about the world being flat. Due largely to advancements in technology, the playing field has been leveled for many organizations looking to compete on a global scale. This “flattening” is what has led many in higher education to look beyond the walls of their classrooms and engage students across the globe. Most recently, UNC’s Keenan-Flagler Business School has received a lot of attention for its decision to be the first top-20 business program to offer a fully online MBA. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/video_teens_and_tech 2011-06-14T12:57:31+00:00 We've posted videos before about the evolution of the internet and how consumer behavior is changing rapidly to keep pace with the ever-changing mass media landscape. Well, it's about that time again to share another video we spotted that highlights some trends in how teenagers use technology. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/am_i_really_going_to_use_that 2011-05-12T20:46:45+00:00 Does it ever seem like your life's cluttered? Laundry piling up? Dishes in the sink? Papers scattered across your desk? While I try to keep a tidy house (can't say the same about my desk), the main source of my clutter lately has been digital. Whether it's a new app for my phone, a new web site to bookmark or a new service to sign up for...I just can't seem to keep pace http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/lesley_university_webinar_recap 2011-05-12T20:18:51+00:00 We were excited last week to present Jane Raley of Lesley University during our "Enrollment Management Evolution" webinar. During the session, Raley touched on many key themes that are quite common among institutions that are considering a CRM initiative. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/r.i.p._flip 2011-04-18T18:38:05+00:00 The big surprise news for me last week was Cisco’s announcement to shut down its Flip video business and lay-off 550 employees, as reported here in TechCrunch. Our family owns two Flip cameras and we have become avid users of these dummy-proof camcorders. If this article by David Pogue is any indication, I am certainly not alone in being openly disappointed and puzzled by Cisco’s announcement. Rather than focusing further time and energy questioning the move, however, I realized that there are a few different perspectives here and, correspondingly, some good things to keep in mind for anyone managing a product or business. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/webinar_enrollment_management_evolution 2011-03-30T13:34:49+00:00 Learn how an incremental approach to CRM can radically change how you manage your enrollment marketing, recruitment and admissions. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/what_is_typical 2011-03-16T15:30:33+00:00 I'm a big fan of demographics, pyschographics and sociographics. So much so that I made them a key part of some of the presentations we've given at various industry conferences. They provide a useful way of creating personas that help your organization connect with prospects and students in a much more meaningful way than if you were to just fly blind. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/the_world_is_still_obsessed_with_facebook 2011-02-23T21:52:45+00:00 It’s safe to say that this social networking stuff is here to stay. And its impact on higher education has never been greater. This story about Jackson Community College is representative of the larger trend in higher education towards engaging students and prospects via social media. In just a couple of years, they’ve gone from having virtually no presence in social media to now having well over 1,600 people that “like” the institution on Facebook. Not bad, and certainly in line with what other institutions are seeing. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/social_media_change 2011-02-15T22:39:50+00:00 We’ve all read about how many are calling the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt “Social Media Revolutions.” Some news analysts are attributing the sudden overthrow of political leaders of these countries to social media tools, specifically, Facebook and Twitter. Although there’s no doubt that these tools were used, others say that the revolutions ultimately stemmed from the frustrations of the people in these countries. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/always_be_selling 2011-02-09T17:03:34+00:00 As a vendor selling into higher education, I've learned just how skeptical...no, scared...people are of the word "sales" in this industry. Wait, am I even allowed to call it an 'industry'? Anyway, like it or not, you're always selling something. However, this isn't a post about the ongoing debate about whether or not students are "customers" and whether or not higher education should be sold as a product. There have been many books and blog posts written on this topic over the years. In fact, The New York Times covered both sides of this debate last year as part of their "Room for Debate" series. While you may not view yourself as a sales person, you are in fact always selling. I'm not talking about turning yourself into the guy in this picture necessarily, but he may have some tricks up his sleeve to help you sell your products. The products you're selling are your ideas. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/2011_recruitment_marketing_goals 2011-01-17T17:37:59+00:00 Recipients of our monthly newsletter received an invitation last month to participate in an ongoing survey we conduct on higher education recruitment marketing goals. While our mehtodology is far from scientific, we do think the results are interesting and worth sharing (if anything to help spark some dialogue on your campus). http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/happy_holidays 2010-12-17T18:14:58+00:00 I've been working on Intelliworks' holiday card and have been looking at other companies' and institutions' holiday cards for inspiration. It seems like many institutions have been making the move to a video or e-holiday card. I particularly enjoyed the video from my alma mater, American University. What makes a holiday card stand out? http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/price_wars 2010-12-15T16:24:25+00:00 If the last couple of months are any indication, the higher education battle lines in 2011 will be drawn along cost and affordability. The College Board’s report on Trends in College Pricing notes that tuition at public institutions has gone up on average nearly 8 percent last year. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/finding_the_familiar 2010-11-20T00:59:49+00:00 Intelliworks is about to celebrate its first anniversary in our Bethesda office. I can honestly say that after a year, I am no less grateful each day that I don’t have to battle the traffic on the Capitol Beltway as I commute from Washington, DC. My morning and evening commutes no longer involve elevated blood pressure as I can now sit in a (usually) climate-controlled Metro car with my crossword puzzle. I am unusually content with the Metro because I hate driving, but even I can see that the system is struggling with an aging infrastructure, budget shortfalls and an opaque administration. One of the main criticisms of the system is the lack of communication on all levels. Cars may be offloaded without explanation, you may be stuck in a tunnel for 10-15 minutes without a word from the conductor and large sums of money may disappear from the operating budget. http://www.intelliworks.com/blog/dont_hate_the_player_hate_the_game 2010-11-11T14:45:54+00:00 The next big thing in higher education marketing is gaming, or location-based games, or mobile platforms that augment reality and add value through role-playing game dynamics. Whatever, you get the picture. The point is that colleges and universities want to find ways to engage their communities, and location-based services like Foursquare and SCVNR are quick to meet this demand by reaching out to the higher ed community.