Fourth Dimension Partners Official Blog

Best Practices in Grad & Adult Admissions & Marketing

How to Engage Prospects Through Your Inquiry Forms

Posted by Mickey Baines on February 1, 2016

 

What if there was a single question you could add to your inquiry form that helped your recruitment team better engage your new inquiries? Well, I've not only written about it today, but I recorded a short video to demonstrate how to use it.

Our approach to inquiry forms is widely based on collecting data. That's what your student information system was created to do, and the "new" CRM's out there today have simply mimicked the approach.

In today's world of higher education recruitment, though, we need more than those basic questions; something that will help admissions tailor the message with prospects. 

I've written before about the length of your forms, so I won't belabor the point today. But in our video blog, you'll see how this one question may allow you to remove several other questions on your form. 

The new question, though, "Which information most interests you?" gives much more insights into the interests and questions a prospects have, and if you provide the right options, you may be able to gain even more insight.

InquiryFormQuestion.png

If selected, the first option may be the most important. If a student selects, "When can I get started?," then she/he should receive a phone call immediately from your admissions team. That is a very "hot" prospect.
 
The other options provide you context into the prospect's motivations, concerns and potential objections.
 
Not all inquiries are ready to have a phone call when they complete an inquiry form, but if you learn more about them from the get-go, you can send them information they really do want, gain their trust and increase their interest and thus willingness to speak to one of your recruitment staff.
 
With this information in hand, you can not only segment who may be atop your list of prospects to call, but also focus your automated message content to keep the prospect engaged - and that is a best practice in new student recruitment.
 

 

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