Higher education marketing is often discussed in terms of campaigns, communications, and enrollment goals. While those priorities are certainly important, they only tell part of the story. Many organizations focus on a relatively small number of customer segments. Colleges and universities, on the other hand, communicate with a wide range of audiences that often have very different needs, interests, and expectations. Each audience plays a different role in the institution’s success. As a result, higher education marketing is often less about campaign management and more about audience management. Every Audience […]
Customers expect organizations to understand who they are, what they’ve done, and where they are in the relationship. Whether someone is downloading a resource, attending an event, requesting information, making a purchase, or reaching out for support, they expect each interaction to feel connected to the last. Creating that type of experience can be challenging. Most customer experiences are influenced by multiple teams, communication channels, business processes, and technology platforms. Marketing, sales, customer service, and operations all contribute to the customer journey in different ways. When those groups work together […]
Higher education marketers are being asked to do more with less: fewer resources, tighter timelines, and increasingly complex audiences. At the same time, prospective students, applicants, and alumni expect communications to feel relevant, timely, and personal. That tension is where many institutions struggle. The answer isn’t sending more messages or adding another channel. It’s building hyper-personalized journeys powered by CRM data and marketing automation — journeys that adapt to real behavior, reflect true interests, and move students forward without manual effort. Why Personalization in Higher Ed Has to Go Deeper Personalization in higher ed has historically been surface-level: a […]
Personalization has become a common goal for marketing teams across nearly every industry. Customers increasingly expect communications that reflect their interests, needs, and circumstances. Generic messaging often struggles to capture attention in an environment where people receive communications from countless organizations every day. For banks and credit unions, personalization can be especially valuable. Financial needs vary significantly from one customer to another. A first-time homebuyer, small business owner, retiree, and college student may all have very different priorities, goals, and expectations. The challenge is that creating personalized experiences in financial […]
Email and SMS are two of the most effective channels in higher education marketing. Used well, they keep prospective students informed, motivated, and moving forward. Used poorly, they create noise, confusion, and disengagement. Right now, many institutions fall into one of two traps: they either overuse SMS without a clear strategy, or they underutilize automation, relying on one-off sends and manual workflows. The issue isn’t the channels themselves. It’s how they’re orchestrated. Email Still Does the Heavy Lifting Despite constant predictions of its demise, email remains the backbone of higher-ed communication. It’s where institutions can: Where things go wrong is volume and relevance. Too many campaigns […]
