Speed in international student recruitment

How important is response time and turn-around time for your success in international student enrollment?   Let me tell you why I am thinking of response time in marketing. I had two recent experiences that made me focus on the topic.  During a side conversation at a conference with the owner of a for-profit college, he mentioned that they follow up with a phone call within seven minutes of a registration on their web site (almost 24-7). Wow.  Then I needed a garage door repair, signed up on a website for recommendations for repair companies and received three recommendations to fix our garage door problem.  While I picked up the phone, the first repair person from that recommendation list called me.  The follow up happened within 30 seconds.  AMAZING. 

Does speed matter for a critical long-term decision such as picking your university?  We have not seen any hard data.  And in the U.S., our admissions cycles for public and non-profit four-year colleges are structured in a deliberate pace and cycles lasting several months. 

We know that most countries don't have such lengthy admissions cycles. For example, in Korea you complete high school in February and you begin college in March. You will have prepared for many months for the government entrance exam. Once you receive the results of your entrance exam, the university decision is made quickly.  China works very similarly. And in Germany, where I grew up, you also receive your admission to university a couple of months prior to starting. You notice that our comprehensive application process is unusual. 

We see several challeges in terms of speed for international students: 

• You are several thousand miles away from any of the university locations. You are excited about the possibilities but uncertain how to make the decisions, apply to schools to which you will be admitted and ultimately select the "right" choice. 

• All students and parents are looking for assurance, guidance and recommendations. 

• Your admissions department is the "customer service department" whether we like it or not.  Think of the frustration that students feel when they don't hear back from someone in the US and how this ultimately becomes a big part of the decision making. 

• In our research, we have heard frequently that the ultimate decision to attend a college or graduate school was driven by a single email from a faculty member who responded to a specific question. 

• We also hear that the "first I-20" can win. 

• We know that competing schools from Australia, Canada and the U.K. have developed faster turn-around cycles than many U.S. schools. You are facing global competition for the prospective student. 

Think of speed in many different ways.  Speed can be how quickly you respond to an email inquiry or how quickly you follow up after meeting a prospective student at an event or virtual fair.  We find a great deal of weaknesses and delays in that part. But speed also means you deliver the right information and answers through other means when the question arises. 

Ultimately, you don't want to depend on serendipity. You want to create a systematic approach that allows you to answer pertinent questions in an appropriate fashion and timely manner. This statement includes in-person touch points and communication but you want to use that scarce and valuable resource of your own time for the right students at the right time. 

Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Speed is an important component in terms of responsiveness and follow up for admission offices. Long response times discourage applicants, and we are all getting used to "on demand service," which is likely to become more demanding and common, not less, in the future. We know that many admission officers are already overworked and trying to keep up with current demands. Hence we believe that technology is part of the answer of responding with speed and relevance. You want to step in with your time, energy and knowledge at the right time and for the right student.