Universities hold vast amounts of data but turning it into meaningful action remains a challenge. How can institutions go beyond spreadsheets and reports to make data work for them?

In this episode of The Partnership Podcast – Higher Ed Marketing, Andy Youell, Higher Education Data Expert, joins CEO and Founder of Marketing Partnership, Penny Eccles, to uncover the secrets to making data truly impactful. Together, they explore the evolving role of planning teams, the power of collaboration, and why storytelling is the key to turning insight into action.

Making data meaningful in higher education

Higher education is no stranger to data. For decades, planning functions have played a crucial role in helping universities navigate compliance and predict student numbers. But the role of data has evolved—and so have the challenges.

Andy shares how planning teams have moved from being behind-the-scenes number crunchers to taking centre stage in shaping institutional strategy. From juggling internal demands to meeting external regulatory requirements, the expectations on planning teams are higher than ever. Together, Andy and Penny tackle some of the big questions: How can marketing and planning teams collaborate to unlock the full potential of HE data? Why is context just as important as the numbers themselves? And how can university colleagues use storytelling to make their insight resonate with leadership and stakeholders?

In This Episode

• The evolution of planning functions in higher education
• Turning data into actionable insight through collaboration
• How to break down silos and align teams
• The importance of adding context to data to avoid oversimplified conclusions
• Using storytelling to make data relatable and persuasive
• Tips for marketing and recruitment teams to work effectively with planning colleagues
• How understanding trends and demographics can shape strategies
• Why the structure of planning teams matters less than fostering collaboration

Quotes

• “The journey to insight is about bringing together published statistics, demographic trends, industry reports, government policies, and competitor activities, all of these things. It no longer becomes a conversation about just analysing data.”
• “I don't think the answer is within structures and job titles. The answer is within an organisational culture and mindset. The ability to bring together the hard data and the softer issues, the warm data, and to bring that together in a meaningful way.”
• “Once we’ve interpreted the data and got to the insight, we then need to take it out and tell a story because people don’t remember numbers, but they always remember a story.”

No one wants their university to be the insurance choice. As marketers, we want to inspire students to consider us as their top choice, not merely a backup. Through our research and work with HE marketers, we’ve found there are some common yet avoidable traps that cause prospective students to consider your university as the insurance rather than first choice.

How to reduce friction in the application process and leave a great impression

Penny Eccles, CEO and Founder of Marketing Partnership, breaks down these common issues and dives into the topic of conversion strategies in this episode. A common theme is understanding the importance of building great relationships with students and communicating effectively. We look at how universities engage with students throughout the application process from interviews to open and applicant days and eventually enrolment.

Penny identifies the key stages of the application process that can make or break that relationship with students and ultimately affect conversions.

In This Episode

• Why it’s never too early in the year to start thinking about conversions
• The danger of ghosting your enquirers
• How you might be pricing your courses as a natural second choice
• How your applicant interview process can affect conversions
• Why you should never neglect students you reject
• Why students who attend both open and applicant days should be treated as VIPs
• How to maintain a positive tone throughout student communication
• The poor impression an uncoordinated welcome can give

Quotes

• “Our research tells us that you can easily lose 10% of your firm choices between the firm choice stage and enrolment stage. Encouraging everybody into creating a more coordinated welcome might save you.”
• "If your entry tariff is too low, you might be inadvertently positioning yourself - or indeed forcing - your applicants to pick you as the insurance choice."
• “Institutions that manage to get their applicants to an open day and then an applicant day can have off-the-scale conversion rates. But here's the killer fact. On average, only about 3% of your offer holders will go to those two events.”

Attracting the right students to your university is more important than ever, and academic colleagues play a crucial role in this process. In this episode of The Partnership Podcast – Higher Ed Marketing, host Penny Eccles shares key insights into how universities can boost their student recruitment strategies through collaboration and smart marketing.

Maximising student recruitment via PRISM

With a focus on how universities, and more specifically academic colleagues, can attract more of the right students, Penny introduces the PRISM method—a strategy that covers Positioning, Relationships, Issues, Stickiness, and Measurement.

She looks at the role that academic colleagues play in making courses more appealing and competitive. Whether it's refining course descriptions, nurturing school relationships, or creating memorable open day pitches, this podcast episode focuses on providing universities with the tools to grow market share and build lasting connections with potential students.

In This Episode

• Introduction to the PRISM method
• Course positioning strategies
• Building relationships with prospective students
• Addressing recruitment barriers
• Creating memorable messaging
• Establishing thought leadership
• Importance of measuring recruitment success
• Summary and additional resources

Quotes

• “When we talk to some universities, we ask them, do they believe that academic colleagues see part of their role as being in support of marketing and student recruitment? And if I'm honest, we get a mixed response.”
• “It's not always about just great marketing. If your product isn't as exciting as your nearest competitors, no amount of promotion can bring you greater market share.”
• “What they [students] actually want is to feel something. They want to feel a connection. And we can help that by telling a story.”

What if the secret to attracting more students lies in the collaboration between Students' Unions and university marketing teams? In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked partnership that can transform the way Higher Education institutions engage with prospective students.

Students' Unions: the perfect way to highlight campus life

We speak with Fay Harris, Deputy CEO of Membership Services at Keele University Students’ Union, and Ian Pain, Director & Co-Founder of The Crowd Agency. Together, they unpack the complex relationship between Students' Unions and universities, and ways they can work together more effectively.

Students' Unions are an invaluable resource for showing the real life of students on campus, and marketers can tap into that to build trust with prospective students during open days. We also look at how marketers can highlight events and societies to enhance the student experience in marketing materials and drive student numbers.

In This Episode

• How Students' Unions work and get funding
• Why there’s a gap between unions and the marketing team of the university
• Why trust is a key part of marketing and how marketers can balance it with meeting objectives
• Tips for university marketers to develop a strong relationship with Students' Unions
• Tips for making open days more engaging
• Best ways to incentivise student groups to get involved
• Leveraging alumni for promotional materials and open days
• How Students' Unions and marketing teams can work together for open days
• The different approaches to open vs. applicant days

Quotes

• “Students' Unions often might not be comfortable with the idea that what they run is a marketing tool; they focus on delivering great services for students.” - Ian Pain
• “There's a need for trust between marketing teams and Students' Unions to show authenticity while presenting the institution's best side.” - Ian Pain
• “A good relationship between marketing teams and Students' Unions means we can effectively showcase the great student experience at Open Days.” - Penny Eccles

How can universities improve how they nurture interest from prospective students and recruit them into the university? Universities face many challenges. There’s wide competition for students and many universities are struggling to boost student numbers. The main culprit is a lack of clarity and unity across different teams. That’s why working to build a culture of enrolment across the organisation is key.

Make boosting enrolment an institution-wide effort

In this episode of The Partnership Podcast – Higher Ed Marketing, we dive into the challenges UK universities face in recruiting students and explore effective marketing strategies to overcome them. We break down our methodology, PACE, which can offer a structured approach to creating an enrolment culture

A more collaborative and effective institution-wide approach to student recruitment is a sense of unity and clarity across the university. By different departments banding together, a more effective, institution-wide approach to student recruitment will help you claw back some of that market share from competitors. We also explore how to get leadership support and buy-in for marketing activities that could increase student numbers and raise awareness of your offerings.

In This Episode

• The top three challenges facing universities and their marketing departments
• Consequences of not having a solid marketing plan
• Why every department needs to work together to build a culture of enrolment
• The five steps of the PACE methodology
• How to use the PRISM method when working with academics
• How to work with leadership to create a plan of action
• Potential results of building a culture of enrolment

Quotes

• “If your competitors steal your market share, it means you can't get that critical mass on all of your courses. You lose income, which means you can't attract the right talent, which creates reputational loss.”
• “We have to really identify the areas in our university that could be our potential internal sales teams.”
• “Institutional senior leadership teams don't always see our marketing activities. So, when you bid for extra money or extra funds, you often don't get it because the leadership team doesn't really understand what's going on and that what you're doing is working.”

How do you stop unrealistic course targets? There was an enormous amount of interest in this topic, so on this episode of The Partnership Podcast, host Penny Eccles unpacks it with Cathy Mitchell, Associate Director of Strategic Planning at Imperial College London, and Dr Julian Westwood, Director at S Squared Insights. 

Setting realistic course targets

The pressures of higher education finance and the unrealistic targets often imposed on departments can drive inefficiencies and increased workloads for academic and administrative staff alike. So how do we combat this?

Cathy and Julian share their expertise on the importance of breaking down student number targets into more manageable and realistic goals by considering market share, historical data trends, and political factors affecting student numbers.

They also highlight the need for universities to use strategic, joined-up thinking and effective data utilisation to set achievable targets.

We hear some practical tips on improving target-setting practices, the importance of fostering strong internal relationships, and how to leverage market insights for better decision-making.

In This Episode

• Meet the guests, Cathy Mitchell and Dr Julian Westwood
• The challenges of unrealistic course targets
• Why unrealistic course targets are such a challenge
• Tips from the experts on how to improve the situation
• The guests share their success stories around meeting targets
• Top tips on meeting course targets

Quotes

• “When you see a lot of reports now, they look great because they're telling you how many interactions you have and link clicks and conversion to application space. But that one big gap that we are still working towards is how much did that cost?”
• “There's a desire, I think, because so much of our targets start in the finance world, you like a finalised number. It's this number. Therefore, it's that many students. Whereas what we're really talking about is possibilities.”
• “Sometimes we set targets because we want to hit the budget, so we maintain our status quo. And I think growth can be achieved, but probably not by achieving the status quo. Things have to change, the offer has to change, perhaps the business model and commercial strategy has to change.”

Are you struggling to capture the hearts and minds of prospective students? If so, you’re not alone. In the first episode of The Partnership Podcast - Higher Ed Marketing, host Penny Eccles addresses five reasons why you may not be attracting enough students to your institution. This episode looks at how to adjust your marketing strategies to ensure your institution resonates with your target audience.  

Building connections. Nurturing leads 

What do Saturday night TV’s Gladiators and HE marketing have in common? Both have to face the gauntlet, says Penny Eccles. So how can we, as marketers, conquer our own gladiators and start 2025 with a robust lead pool? 

In this episode, Penny begins by highlighting the importance of creating a memorable institutional story that uses clarity and repetition to resonate with potential students and stakeholders. 

She delves into strategies to ensure institutions remain on prospective students' radars by effectively generating and nurturing leads through human connection and early relationship-building efforts. She highlights the importance of leveraging CRM systems and looks at the role of social media in crafting a compelling narrative for your institution. Penny also addresses the pivotal role academic staff and wider stakeholders play in the student recruitment process. 

The episode wraps with actionable insights on ways to harness social media and content marketing to solidify your institution’s narrative and strengthen its appeal to potential students and their influencers. 

In This Episode

• How to make your institution’s story more memorable
• Assessing whether you are on your target audience’s ‘meaningful radar’ 
• Why you need to be treasuring your precious leads
• The importance of a functioning CRM system
• Why you should supply helpful content like you don’t want anything in return
• Why you should keep a record of what is, and isn’t, working
• How to engage wider stakeholders
• Summary of the five reasons why you aren’t attracting students to your institution
• Some of the things that are killing conversion rates 

Quotes

• “What have you done to spend time with your academic colleagues or your professional services colleagues to equip them to help you in your student recruitment and marketing endeavours?”
• “If you think that your best communication should start after your students apply, here's a brutal truth.  They've already been forming relationships with your competitors, and the likelihood is that you've hit that UCAS form because your institution is a filler.”
• “There are a lot of activities that are lead generating but don't currently generate the leads. A good example is HE fairs. I don't think universities are diligent at collecting as many leads as possible. Yes, of course, that conversation is crucial, but so is the lead.”

The Partnership Podcast is your go-to resource for insights and strategies to drive student recruitment in higher education. Each episode dives deep into the secrets behind creating a "Culture of Enrolment" - the essential approach that's transforming the way higher education institutions attract, engage, and enrol students. 

We discuss the proven strategies, tactics, and mindset shifts you need to achieve long-term, sustainable student recruitment success. From breaking down silos to building a university-wide recruitment culture, we'll cover it all. 

So, whether you’re a higher education leader, marketer, or academic, you’ll walk away from this podcast with actionable tips and techniques to transform your institution’s approach to student recruitment.

Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Partnership Podcast, and get ready to unlock the secrets to sustainable student recruitment success.