For years, higher education administrators have shied away from using the term customer to describe students and prospects. Why? In today’s competitive learning market, where competition is just a click away, prospective students have come to expect more from their education providers in terms of online service and experience. Students and prospects who’s questions and needs are not met online now have many other options to choose from. As a result, institutions that do not provided excellent customer support are at a competitive disadvantage. While some higher education institutions are increasingly looking for ways to become more customer centric, many continuing and professional education providers fail to follow key customer service principles that could help them: differentiate their programs, convert more leads and provide a better experience to students and prospects. Fortunately, higher education does not need to re-invent the wheel with respect to online customer service. Borrowing from best practices established in the world of e-commerce, this session will outline how your institution can treat online prospects as valued customers by: · Personalizing their online experience · Engaging them with proactive service invitations · Maintaining contact with prospects through email and social media

1. “CUSTOMER” IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD
WHAT CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDERS CAN LEARN FROM
UPCEA SOUTH REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Dan Obregon, VP of Marketing, Intelliworks (@dobregon)
Guy Felder, Program Director, University of Houston (@GuyFelder)

2. “CUSTOMER” IS NOT A FOUR LETTER WORD
WHAT CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDERS CAN LEARN FROM
UPCEA SOUTH REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Todd Gibby, CEO, Intelliworks
Guy Felder, Program Director, University of Houston

4. WHY WE AVOID THE WORD
CUSTOMER…

5. THE GRAND DEBATE

6. TOP TEN REASONS WHY WE DON’T SAY “CUSTOMER”
1. Education is not a business
2. See above
3. See above
4. See above
5. See above
6. See above
7. See above
8. See above
9. See above
10. See above

7. WHAT IS A CUSTOMER, REALLY?
cus·tom·er Noun /kəstəmər/
A person or organization that buys
goods or services.

8. POP QUIZ
Do you offer a service?
Do people pay you for that service?
Do you compete with others that offer
a similar service?
Do you want those who pay you for
that service to pay you again for
similar services?

9. YOU MIGHT BE A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC ORGANIZATION…

10. WE’RE NOT SAYING “THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT”
"If I'm a customer," the student thinks, "and the customer is always right, then why
am I getting a C in this class?" The next logical step in that thought process is to visit
the instructor -- followed by the department head and the dean, if necessary -- to
demand an A, the way any other customer would demand satisfaction at any other
place of business.”
-Source: The Chronicle for Higher Education, January 31, 2007
-Rob Jenkins, associate professor of English and director of the Writers Institute at Georgia Perimeter College,

11. RESPONSIBILITY IS MUTUAL
R
E
S
P
O
N
Institution S
B
I
Student
L
I
T
Y

12. THE JOURNEY TO BEING CUSTOMER FOCUSED
From: We have a staff who does that To: Everyone answers the phone
Customer Director
service Rep
Customer Marketing Operations
service Rep
Customer Coordinator
Student
service Rep worker

13. It all started with a shoe order and a blog.
1. What do we really do for people?
2. How do we help them?
3. What do they expect of us?

14. What do we really do for people? (or who are we)

15. How do we help?

16. What do they expect of us?

18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qltEtl7H8

19. WHY DOES CUSTOMER
SERVICE MATTER?

20. CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
2005 2010
Institutions
Number of public institutions 1,738 1,705
Percentage of all institutions 39.6% 36.8%
that are public
Number of private, nonprofit 1,745 1,713
institutions
Percentage of all institutions 39.7% 37.0%
that are private
Number of for-profit institutions 909 1,215
Percentage of all institutions 20.7% 26.2%
that are for-profit
Enrollments
Public institutions total 13,085,114 14,909,531
Public institutions as a 74.5% 71.9%
percentage of all students
Private, nonprofit total 3,589,454 3,924,278
Private, nonprofit as a 20.4% 18.9%
percentage of all students
For-profit total 899.896 1,893,712
For-profit as a percentage of all 5.1% 9.1%
students
Source: Carnegie Classification, January 2011

23. PUBLIC OPINION OF HIGHER ED INSITUTIONS
Public Private For-Profit
Positive Negative Positive Negative Positive Negative
35%
48% 52% 52% 48%
65%
Source: Harris Interactive, August 2011

24. HIGHER ED NOT VIEWED AS SERVICE ORIENTED
Statement: Colleges/Universities do not care if students succeed, only if
they enroll and pay tuition.
60
50
40
30 For-Profit
Non-Profit
20
10
0
Agree Disagree
Source: Harris Interactive, August 2011

26. WHAT EDUCATION CUSTOMERS EXPECT
1 As few barriers as possible
2 Friendliness and understanding
3 Control over their options
4 Assurance that their voice matters
5 Convenience and flexibility
6 Help when they need it
7 Clear benefit from their investment

27. A FEW THINGS TO NOTE FROM
AMAZON.COM (AND OTHERS)

28. SO WHY AMAZON.COM?
1. They basically INVENTED the idea of online service.
2. They know how to bridge the gap between online and offline interactions.
3. They deliver the right information at the right time to the right audience.
4. They learn from their mistakes.
5. They inspire others to provide even better service.

30. ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS…

31. SHOWCASE POPULAR SERVICES

32. PROVIDE MORE DETAIL

33. GETS PERSONAL

34. OFFERS RESOURCES

35. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwE1zb9fiVs

37. HOW ZAPPOS “WOWS” THEM…
• Service is accessible
• Customers are heard
• Agents are empowered
• Communication is clear
• Decisions are made quickly

38. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO
“WOW” CUSTOMERS…

39. HOUSTON PICKS UP THE PHONE

40. ENHANCE ONLINE EXPERIENCE
• Highlight key offerings
• Provide search and directory
up front
• Give a clear benefit statement
– “How We Can Help”
• Offer multiple channels to
contact us and stay informed

41. OFFER ADDITIONAL RESOURCES/COMMUNITY
• Informational videos via
YouTube
• Feedback and blast messaging
via Twitter
• Community engagement via
Facebook

42. Funnel Relevant Messaging

43. Proof positive
Through the launch period of our CRM
668 Inquires
and the re-design of our website we
have seen a positive change in our
inquiry traffic from phone to web.
21 via
316 chat
239 via 92 via
from live for
phone email
Website two
weeks)

44. COMPARISON
7/7/11 to 7/14/11 10/7/11 to 10/14/11
Touchpoints Touchpoints
Phone Email
Email 19% 22%
30%
Chat
Phone 17%
60% Web
Web
10% 42%
Chat
0%

45. OCT/SEPT YOY GROSS REVENUE
September October
$330,000
$210,000
$90,000 $120,000
2010 2011

46. Major Outcomes
• Funnel to conversion forecasting takes guess
work out of filling classes
• Funnel guides marketing decisions
• Advisors and programming staff worry less
about filling classes and more about meeting
potential student’s needs
• CRM provides valid data to help leadership
understand and make decisions about
offerings

47. EAGLE LEARNING’S LOFTY CHALLENGES
• Because the majority of our programs
are graduate programs, our target
audience tends to be nontraditional
students that work full-time, often
have families, and are not able to be
on campus very often.
• Since we have a lot of different
programs that operate
independently, it was really important
that we standardized our branding
across multiple communication
channels.
- Amy Thornton, Program Manager,
University of Southern Mississippi, Eagle
Learning Online

48. ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE
UNIFIED BRANDING
• We were able to create program microsites
and inquiry forms for every unique program
while creating a consistent look and feel that
portrayed the image we were looking for in
Eagle Learning Online.
RIGHT PROGRAM FOR THE RIGHT STUDENTS
• Able to collect appropriate information to
direct students to the programs that were
right for them.
PROGRAM BUY-IN
• We’ve learned that getting faculty on board
often requires the help of another faculty
member who’s already on board.

49. THE RESULTS?

50. HOW CAN WE BECOME MORE
CUSTOMER CENTRIC?

51. THE KEYS TO SUCCESS
1. Know your students’ motivations
2. Hire good communicators
3. Build “hoop-less” admissions / financial aid processes
4. Take a proactive approach to student advising
5. Automate routine communications
6. Hire faculty suited to online teaching
7. Set and maintain high standards for student/faculty
communication
8. Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate
9. Check your program’s vital signs regularly
10. Use cross-functional teams to develop enhancements
and improvements
Source: American Public University System and Intelliworks

52. ABOVE ALL…BE HUMANE.
A LITTLE PERSONALIZATION GOES A LONG WAY
• Offer a clear path to service
• Provide multiple touch points:
– Inquiry Forms
– Phone Numbers
– Online Chat
– Email
• Personalize follow up
Source: Fast Company Magazine, September 2006
• Be proactive not reactive

54. AND, JUST FOR THE
RECORD…