Part One of this piece on the recent Eduventures conference in Boston sets the framework for the information below. It tells of the unique nature of the conference as it brings together, not necessarily by choice, two very different worlds, the world of post-secondary education and Internet advertising. Both the education market and the Internet advertising market have seen high growth and intense competition. Institutions outside of the large for-profits now feel the need to turn to the Internet for more than content delivery. They look to it in order to drive awareness and enrollment growth. Lead generators of course are happy to take their business, but outside of a handful of schools, most remain a ways away from plugging in to the machine which is online education lead generation.
The brief speech I gave tried to help the firms navigate not just the Internet landscape but also the physical landscape, i.e. the small table-top exhibit area overrun by us lead generators. As part of a panel, I had fifteen minutes at most to cover the material, not enough time for attendees to absorb it, but perhaps enough to provide a flavor, so that when they reviewed the physical printouts later, it would make sense. One of those slides is here, and is my take on the types of vendors found in the education lead generation space.
Those at institutions that currently accept leads understand varying pieces of the diagram above. Many already use outsourced software solutions to help them take in leads and track their progress as a percentage of the students move towards enrollment. Two years ago the lead management bubble didn’t touch the others which are very Internet focused. Lead management companies started to see the increasing role that online lead generators play and started to bridge the gap between managing leads and managing the vendors (lead providers) who supply them. That said, they still offer a pure technology solution. At best they act as a silent agent for the schools and, at worst, a gatekeeper that inhibits the marketers ability to help drive enrollments.
As for the other groups, most reading this have a keen familiarity with the other categories, but they remain very Internet advertising specific terms and not common sense to most at the show. Engaging them in the subtleties is the equivalent of getting a non-car person excited over the difference between DOHC versus SOHC. It’s necessary, just not easy. Schools do need to know, though, that certain types of firms will play a role in the stewarding of the brand, while others simply act to get the message out in a pay for performance fashion. For the marketer, the key takeaway is the continental shift that some companies drive to help connect our two worlds.
Among the biggest differences between the firms playing a role in generating leads for schools are a) the services they offer – how active are they in the brand process, what role they play with respect to banner, landing page creation, etc. and b) how they drive their traffic. This next graphic applies not just for education lead generation but for other areas of online advertising. It focuses on the latter point, the traffic. The chart presents nothing new to those who have gone through the Internet advertising learning curve, but for those who haven’t, the relative positioning of the channels and the terminology take incorporating into their vocabulary.
One channel not listed but one that proved viable for many schools are online education directories, not necessarily the large ones like ClassesUSA or eLearners but some more niche sites that focus on specific verticals. As schools begin to increase their ability to handle incoming leads, they can then move to other areas of online marketing. The most sophisticated schools have the ability to take leads from each channel, qualify them, and pay for them appropriately depending on the enrollment rate. Not every school at the conference will use or want to use lead generation for the marketing of their school, but many institutions, including traditional brands, have turned many of their degree programs into profit centers and want to keep that growth.
More and more schools seem to feel the need to actively market, and it’s that need, plus the opportunity to hear from institutions large and small that have undergone similar challenges that attract them to Eduventures. It isn’t, however, an Internet advertising show. PPC is often the last thing on a 100+ year old institutions mind as it is trying to convince its Board of Regents that offering a degree online makes sense. The conference does provide a closer look to the behind the scenes challenges current and future Internet advertising clients face, and we as marketers benefit greatly when we listen to their process for becoming a client. As was the case last year, it was a worthwhile show if you were looking to understand a market and not just close a deal.
