In the world of sales and marketing, your best customers are the ones you already have. For institutions of higher education, this means your alumni. While your graduates will not likely re-enroll (unless it’s for an advanced degree or additional course continuation), they are an invaluable resource you should be leveraging to motivate new potential students to enroll.
You see, your alumni are more than a pool of potential donors or boosters, they represent a success story. A success story that you can tell (with permission, of course) to show your prospects how well your programs can work for them too.
Research has shown that 90% of people trust what an actual customer says about a business, over what a business says about itself.[1] It’s called testimonials, and in higher education, these are the words of your alumni.
Now, before we get into one of the simplest pathways to soliciting testimonials from your alumni, it should be noted that Conversion Media Group is a national leader in higher ed enrollment initiatives.
We’re in constant contact via email, text and social media and telephone, with thousands of prospective students (daily) who have a desire to further their education, many of which are looking to enroll as soon as possible (once we connect them directly with the school or program that best fits their needs).
Because of our extensive conversations with these prospective students, both recent high school grads and adult learners, we’ve been able to segment every prospect into highly targeted groups. This group targeting is based on what the prospects are actually looking for in higher ed or a career-based education, rather than “pushing” them into areas or programs they’re clearly not interested in.
I.e., we only deliver education leads to schools and programs that we know the prospect is already interested in. And we can deliver thousands of them to both traditional institutions of higher education, and career-based educators.
Now, back to testimonials.
Unfortunately, too many schools treat their alumni as a piggy bank. Once they graduate, they’re often only contacted to solicit donations. This is a big mistake. As we said earlier, your alumni can be a great source of success stories that you can tell your prospects.
Perhaps the simplest pathway to solicit testimonials from your alumni is to simply ask them. And the easiest way to do this is by utilizing alumni pages on social media, or by directly messaging people who have listed your school in their bio.
Just contact them and ask how their experience was, how their career is going, let them know that you want to share their story with others, and ask them if you can use their testimony. You have to ask permission before publishing it, however. It’s a must.
You’ll be surprised by just how many alumni are more than willing to help.
But never make up testimonials or publish testimonials without permission. This could get you into hot water, and if your school is graduating prepared students, you won’t need to falsify them anyhow; happy grads are more than willing to share their stories.
Now, if you’re looking to increase enrollment at your school, using alumni testimonials can be a great help. But perhaps even better than that is partnering with Conversion Media Group.
We have thousands of prospective students that we’re constantly in contact with, and they’re looking for the opportunity you’re offering. They just need to hear about you.
Whether you need 50, 100, 1,000 new students or more, Conversion Media Group can help you reach your enrollment goals.
It’s our expertise.
So, if you’re interested in learning more about how Conversion Media Group can drive qualified higher education leads, applications, and enrollments to your institution, simply call one of our education specialists today at: (+1) 800 419 3201.
Or you can contact us HERE, and an education enrollment expert will get back with you as soon as possible.
[1] Why Testimonials Are so Important For Your Brand | Wyzowl