Adding Value for our Applicants - Newsletters 2014

The January - May decision making period (or Stage Two as we like to call it) of the Undergraduate recruitment cycle is of crucial importance to us all. At this time, an applicant will have applied to up to five institutions, each with their own marketing and recruitment teams doing their best to demonstrate why their university is the right choice for them.

Our 2015 Undergraduate Prospectus - what's changed?

To give you a bit of background, the whole process of producing a prospectus (re-writing, editing, image selection, designing, proofing and printing) generally takes 4-6 months from start to finish, with the Undergraduate prospectus being produced between the months of October and February and the Postgraduate prospectus between the months of March and August.

In the months running up to the project we are busy collecting ideas, feedback and researching the direction we would like to head in.  We have to work 18 months ahead to cater for our stakeholders (prospective students, parents, teachers, careers services etc) as this is when they would typically start their research - so last month (February 2014) the 2015 Undergraduate prospectus was completed for students thinking about starting uni in September 2015.

The University's positioning in the HE sector has changed in recent years and the prospectus along with the rest of our marketing collateral needs to reflect that.  For the previous year's prospectus (2014) we focused on streamlining the content and reorganising the structure slightly to make it more user friendly.  This year we focused on imagery.  We organised a weeks professional photography to capture our students going about their daily lives, studying, socialising, working out, shopping.  We were keen to not just showcase the facilities we have but to show how students use these facilities in their day to day lives.  It all needed to be more 'human'.  We took new photos of students relaxing in the comfort of their own rooms, enjoying a catch up with their friends in the local pub, heading off to lectures and visiting the many support services we have to offer.  We captured students in their study environment, heading from one lecture to another. And the list goes on...

We hope you like the 2015 Undergraduate Prospectus as much as we do.  Initial feedback from prospective students at the HE Fairs has been really positive and we're confident that we're getting closer and closer to producing a document that gives a prospective student an honest and complete idea of what it's like to study at the University of Chester.

Marketing as Mad as the March Hare

At this time of the year, some of my marketing colleagues can appear to be a little reclusive. A sighting of them can be a rare privilege and when you do spot them, they can appear to be in a bit of a frenzy, rushing from one place to another. So what exactly is it that makes them behave like this, particularly at this time of the year? This short blog will clear up the reason for this elusive behaviour and explain why this might be of interest to you if you’re thinking ahead to the next recruitment cycle.

Hare, There and Everywhere...

The first week of March sees the start of our recruitment drive for September 2015. Whilst 2015 may seem a long way off, the next few months will see the Marketing team clocking up the miles as they travel the length and breadth of the country generating further interest in the University's provision of undergraduate courses.

Applicant Day Checklist

With the University's Applicant Days now in full swing, I thought now might be an apt time to blog about how to get the most out of these days and ensure you maximise your chances of conversion. As with most blogs that I write, the core theme here will be centred on the premise of building a meaningful relationship with your attendees and leaving them with a lasting impression. I'm sure you'll agree that the tips contained within this blog are nothing ground-breaking, but perhaps instead more of a useful checklist for running successful subject sessions on an Applicant Day.

Engaging University Brand Advocates

In a service-led industry, such as higher education, customer referrals have a very important role to play in enhancing the reputation and value added aspects of the brand. Therefore, with this in mind, it is important that we do what we can to encourage positive feedback from students and staff alike.

Of course, in order to do this, first and foremost we need to be doing the basics right: provision of a quality service that adds value to the end user, all delivered with a good dose of customer care. Failure to do this will ultimately result in poor customer satisfaction and the rest will be history. However, if you get this right, then you’re likely to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and be in a prime position to strategize on how to turn this into a means to market your course.

In marketing circles, this is often referred to as referral marketing or word of mouth. It’s a cost effective means to promoting your course(s) to new group of prospects.  And, whilst this can often happen spontaneously, you can influence this by adopting appropriate strategies.

The Role of Student Ambassadors

Our recent Open Days were amongst the busiest we have ever had and pivotal to their success was the role of our student ambassadors.  More student ambassadors than ever before volunteered to help out at the Open Day, ready to do their part to advocate the University.  Student ambassadors were on hand to provide tours, show their accommodation, give directions and generally be a friendly and welcoming face.

Another Open Day... Another Blog

It’s been while since my last blog, so with the advent of a new application cycle and the passing of another season of Open Days, I thought maybe now was the time for another blog about Open Days, with some reflection on their success and some thoughts on where we go from here.

Seeing Double

Of course, given the inclusion of an extra Open Day in the calendar, since this announcement there has been much debate as to how sensible the addition of an extra date was, especially over two consecutive weekends. One of the main incentives for doing this was to enhance the visitor experience. In recent years, the numbers attending Open Days have been steadily increasing and it was decided that it was in best interests of the visitor to split the main Chester Campus Open Day over two weekends.

I'm sure, to a certain degree, this debate will continue, but with the overall numbers in attendance far higher and more manageable spread over two dates, there’s a strong argument to say that we should continue with this formula next year. In reality, the extra date has now created far more choice for the visitor and, therefore, helped to increase overall attendance. This is important for us in order to maximise our chances of converting enquiries into applications, and it’s also helpful to our prospects at a time of the year when the majority of UK universities are trying to cram in their Open Days. And, given the nature of the application cycle, to move to another weekend later in the cycle would now be far too risky a strategy.