In a Monday morning session at the AACRAO Annual Meeting, Jacquelyn Elliott of Marion Military Institute presented a new version of the traditional admissions funnel.
The current funnel, derived from the field of advertising and adopted by enrollment managers, is structured as a series of steps including awareness, interest, desire, and action (or—in the language of admissions—inquiry, application, yield and enroll). In this type of funnel, the largest numbers of students with the lowest level of interest are at the top. As you move down the funnel, in theory, student interest grows and there is a trickle-down effect resulting in enrollment. But that approach doesn’t work anymore, Elliott said, noting schools with large pools of prospective students are no longer seeing increased enrollment at the bottom of the funnel.
Elliott said the traditional funnel falters for a number of reasons: it’s based on large searches but not quality of searches; it uses “one-and-done” communication tactics where students aren’t being asked to take further action; and management happens at the top of the funnel versus at every interval of the funnel. She proposed flipping the funnel into a pyramid shape with matriculant at the top, followed by deposit, applicant, prospect, and suspect. Enrollment managers using this model would start at the bottom of the pyramid (suspect) and push students through.
“You’re now building it,” Elliott said.
Some of her suggested approaches for “pushing” students through, are: be flexible; use analytics to purchase better names in the search; create segmented and personal communication plans based on interests; and keep the search an ongoing process throughout the year.
Audience members offered best practices on their campuses for how to use this new approach, including: create different funnels for different populations; look at data and tweak along the way; implement creative and personalized campus visits; make schedules more flexible; and make personal phone calls.
“You have to build that pyramid almost stone by stone to get the student up there,” Eillott said.