Pulse Check: What Do We Really Need? — Pt 2

What Do We Really Need? Part 2: We Need Better Leads

We need better leads sounds like a diagnosis. In higher education enrollment marketing, it can also become the easiest explanation when applications, deposits, yield, or student fit are not where an institution needs them to be. The real issue may be hiding somewhere else in the prospective student journey.

In the second episode of What Do We Really Need, Ologie Marketing Director Erin Fields talks with Jen Johnson, Ologie's Chief Client Officer, about how colleges and universities can determine whether they have a lead-generation problem or a broader enrollment funnel problem. Drawing on Jen's experience leading both enrollment management and marketing at Queens University of Charlotte, they discuss the pressure enrollment teams face when a class is not coming together and why that pressure can quickly turn into finger-pointing between marketing and admissions.

The conversation looks at the factors that shape lead quality and conversion, including market demand, brand positioning, clear program messaging, CRM strategy, lead nurturing, competition, affordability, and coordination across the institution. Erin and Jen also explore why a campus visit remains one of the strongest signs of student interest and how a personal interaction with an admissions professional can accomplish something a merge tag cannot.

For higher education marketing and enrollment leaders, the episode offers a more useful starting point than simply asking for more names at the top of the funnel. Examine the full student journey, focus on the parts the institution can control, and give marketing and enrollment a shared understanding of the brand, audience, and experience they are responsible for building together.

Ologie is a brand and marketing agency for colleges, universities, and mission-driven organizations. Services include: brand strategy, enrollment marketing, advancement and fundraising, higher-ed web.