Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms are powerful tools for higher education. If you are looking for a solution that can help your institution increase efficiency and improve student relationships, CRM systems might be perfect for your school. 

WHAT IS A CRM? 

A CRM platform is a virtual solution that helps businesses organize and automate interactions with their target audience at every step of the customer journey. 

Many higher education institutions also use CRMs to engage with their students. They track essential data to improve every step of their student’s life cycle, from interest as prospective students to alumni communications. While their primary purpose is to educate students, they have many business operations to fulfill and customers to serve, from students to parents, staff members and partnering employers. 

CRM solutions will sort and house all of a school’s contact points in one place for increased access and visibility. Here, executives, administration, professors and other staff members can view relevant information from their institutions, including website, department pages and social media platforms. Further, it will organize and make student information available to approved parties, such as: 

  • Student names
  • Educational background
  • Contact information, like phone number and email
  • Social media interactions and activity

This kind of student data can help professors and administration better understand each student, allowing them to make more personalized and customized content geared toward their interests and needs. Institutions can take a more proactive approach to guide students. For example, access to their educational history might show that the student is struggling in their classes, allowing the school and their professors to get them help. 

WHAT DO INSTITUTIONS USE CRMS FOR? 

Higher education institutions utilize CRM systems to enhance the student experience in various ways. All processes will lead back to the main goals of CRMs — to improve the student experience in some way. Key applications of CRMs in higher education include:

  • Engaging with interested students: Potential students like schools that send them information about their interests — it helps show that the institution sees them as a possible member of their community and values what they can add to it. CRMs for higher education make it easy to create personalized and customized content you can send right to prospective students. You can help develop your relationship with potential students, helping them understand what resources, programs and facilities meet their standards. 
  • Boosting student retention rates: Retention is an essential part of student and institution success. Student retention helps ensure that students are getting the resources and experience they want and need from your school, and many schools aim to raise their retention rates. CRM software can track when in the life cycle students leave your school, helping target areas of improvement. Further, by engaging with student data and tracking trends, it can highlight when students become a risk of dropping out. 
  • Promoting events: Campus events are diverse and target many different groups. Your school might host information sessions for high school students visiting, shows and entertainment for your student body, fundraisers aimed at alumni and research conferences for your professors. CRMs can help organize information, ensuring that the right audiences receive promotions and updates. The increased connectivity and communication fostered by CRMs can provide all involved departments and individuals access to the same information about the event. 

When you understand how higher education institutions can use CRM solutions, you can plan how you might implement it into your processes and initiatives. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF CRM IN HIGHER EDUCATION 

Higher education institutions are very competitive. While schools have the power to admit students based on their applications and qualifications, students are the ones who make the final decision between the schools they get into. Many colleges and universities try to highlight niches, hoping they can attract students looking for a specific program or experience. 

Technology and tools can also help give schools the competitive edge they need to thrive in the industry. Higher education CRM software can provide you with essential insights and data that you need to make stronger decisions related to admissions and marketing campaigns, helping you target potential students and maintain their interest longer. Because CRM software tracks the entire length of the student life cycle, you can better understand why students might lose interest by seeing when they stop interacting with your school. 

Many factors go into a student’s decision to choose one school over another. While many seek out a specific academic program, many others select their higher education institution for the experience it offers. Regardless of their reasons, students want to feel part of a community, and connections on campus can help raise student retention. CRM for higher education can help you identify what is important to each student, allowing faculty and staff to make more meaningful connections about their interests and needs. 

Further, higher education CRMs allow you to look at individual students or different campus populations. You can address the needs of specific students or help various campus communities thrive by managing their problems and values. This kind of feature makes it possible to serve more students.