Communications and Engagement

Crafting compelling and effective communications is essential for colleges and universities to engage prospective students and drive enrollment. At Kennedy & Company, we understand the unique challenges institutions face, and our expertise lies in transforming communication strategies to meet the growing demand for an increasingly personalized student experience.

YOUR CHALLENGES:

Prospective clients frequently turn to us with fundamental questions about improving their communication approach, boosting engagement, and optimizing conversion rates. Whether your communications lack vitality or you’re seeking expert insights into areas for improvement, our team is here to revitalize your strategy.

OUR APPROACH:

We use a student-centric approach to evaluate how effectively your communications guide students through their unique journey by helping you identify the next best step you want them to take at different stages in the student lifecycle. When it comes to recruitment, we focus on aligning messages with the enrollment process to help propel students through the pipeline while considering creative ways to segment your audience to drive engagement. By working together to diagnose your current position and define your destination, we transform a simple communications audit into a future roadmap for success.
Products and Vendors We Support 

OUR COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES INCLUDE:

  • Communication Strategy Development
  • Communication Flow Planning, Including Audience Segmentation and Timing of Messages
  • Communication Audit of Current Content and Campaign Performance
  • Incorporating Texting & Other Channels
  • Chatbots
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Communication Strategies

Communication strategies that click (literally) – with Jay Schwedelson.
This week, host Mickey Baines is joined by Jay Schwedelson as they dive into prospective student communications. Jay and Mickey discuss deep tactics that improve clicks, using subject lines, CTAs, email content and event promotions for #highereducation.

Jay Schwedelson is the founder of SubjectLine.com, the leading free subject-line rating tool ranked in the top 1% of all websites worldwide.

And having led SubjectLine.com through the testing of more than 15 million subject lines, Jay uses his knowledge to guide organizations across multiple industries on how to implement impactful email marketing.

Jay is also the president and CEO of Worldata Group, a multi-brand marketing services company whose portfolio includes SubjectLine.com, Outcome Media and GURU Events which puts on the GURU conference, the world’s largest email marketing event.

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Communication strategies that click

Our Work, Your Success

Technolutions Slate CRM Marketing and Admissions Implementation
Kennedy & Company partnered with Clark University to reimplement Slate as a full marketing and admissions tool that meets the needs of both departments. We designed the data architecture and workflows in Slate to support the initial migration of nurturing efforts from HubSpot to Slate, enabling them to subsequently transition inquiry management in-house and away from Inside Track (OPM vendor). Leveraging Slate functionality, we assisted with inquiry outreach and deployed specific calls to action within the inquiry phase to build affinity and increase touch points with new leads while also working to automate their inquiry workflows and communications.

While helping synchronize Marketing and Admission operations, we also completed data clean up, assessed field prompt usage, rebuilt inquiry forms, implemented two multi-message email campaigns, built a prospect scoring model, and rebuilt their origin source reporting within Slate. We held 15+ training sessions, and provided Clark with training resources and documentation that allows them to support the future growth of Slate as a full marketing and admissions solution.

Relevant Services: Technology Enhancement and Customization, Marketing and Communication Strategy, CRM Implementation, Enrollment Operations Audit, CRM Support, Coaching & Training

CRM Communications Audit
Kennedy & Company partnered with the Miami University Regionals division to evaluate current enrollment marketing strategies, examine the internal structure of various student enrollment teams, and audit the communication journeys and data collected in the Slate CRM. Our discoveries and key recommendations enabled the Regionals team to enhance their enrollment marketing strategies, increase awareness of Hamilton and Middletown campuses, refine student funnel performance, and align enrollment goals with marketing budgets, all while optimizing Slate functionality to improve engagement with prospective students.

Our team conducted a series of interviews to gain insights into the current processes, challenges, goals, and the geographic division of labor among the Regional marketing team. We reviewed ads, PR event plans, marketing budgets and performance reports, and we assessed SEO performance. Additionally, we reviewed communication journeys in Slate for each student pipeline, number of touch points, content, cadence and the data collected.

We delivered a comprehensive assessment report, a marketing strategy roadmap, and operations recommendations. For Slate CRM enhancement, we provided a roadmap prioritizing steps toward the recommended future state and reimagined communication journeys.

Relevant Services: Marketing Strategy Audit, Communication & Engagement, Technology Audit

Examples of Technology Services Clients

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