Now that we understand prospective students have decided to go more analog and are interested in receiving more phone calls, there are a few things to consider.
As students engage your website (WTFudge is up with your messaging?) what will they find, or better yet how easy will they be able to find you?
A common marketing thought for any website is anything that is more than 3 clicks away is too far away or difficult to find.
After hopefully having made changes to your website because of COVID-19 changes, how accessible is your information?
If your staff is working from home and your institution is using a phone tree, please consider the length of the outgoing message.
Even though we are dealing with students that are seemingly more interested in receiving phone calls, they have not quite come to terms with actually waiting on the phone.
If your phone tree is more than 90 seconds long (and many are) prior to providing contact information for admissions or enrollment management resources, think about how many students you are missing. Right now a few seconds can make a big difference.
What happens when that student decides to hang up the phone and visit your website in an effort to search for contact information? How readily available is your email address and how many clicks does it take to get there?
Now is the time for the entire enrollment management division to be available for students. If enrolling a new student class is the top priority and you have given the “we are all in this together” speech over Zoom or GoToMeeting… roll up your sleeves.
Moral to the story: now is the time to make connecting with prospective students easy and not more difficult.
Remember, your prospects are looking for even more of a personal connection right now.
