A constantly expanding educational offer and uncertain times have increased questions and contact enquiries from potential students. Answering them properly is your first and most important way to make a good impression.
You probably know that you have to be personal, fast and receptive to capture the attention of the younger generation. Did you also know that you should avoid keeping your prospective students waiting for weeks for a response, or overwhelming them by using a difficult, academic language? In other words: You should know the importance of making a good first impression, something you only have one chance to do.
How do you make the most of that opportunity? Start by finding out what the prospective student needs to get a good experience when they come in contact with you for the first time. As specialists in student recruitment, we have extensive experience when it comes to what works – and what doesn’t. Here is a good start:
Prospective students want to be able to choose how they communicate with you. Some of them love to make a phone call, others feel more comfortable in a physical meeting and some prefer social media such as Facebook or Instagram. But what we have noticed to be the most appreciated channel for communication is emails or live chats.
Responding to questions via email or chat has many benefits. In writing, your chances of making a good first impression increases as you have a greater opportunity to weigh your words. You can proofread messages before sending and ask for a colleague's opinion. When using SRS, you can also ensure that no emails or other written enquiries fall between the cracks.
Think about which communication channels you want to offer prospective students. Remember to set realistic expectations. If you are going to communicate via social media it’s important that you make sure to keep your profiles updated. If you only communicate via email, it’s good to review the email-address. Is it easy to remember and spell?
When our colleagues at UniQuest conducted a survey, it turned out that 94 percent of prospective students expect an email response within 24 hours. Surprising? Not particularly. Put yourself in their situation. If you have questions before an important decision, you want answers quickly. It’s not more complicated than that.
If you don't have the opportunity to get back to your prospective students within 24 hours, there is unfortunately a risk that they will turn to one of your competitors for answers.
Prospective students want an answer from you that feels personal, is easy to grasp, relevant and mobile-friendly. In 2021, 68 percent of the visitors to our site studentum.se used their mobile phone to do so*. It’s not a coincidence. Prospective students belong to a generation where smartphones are used for the majority of tasks we previously used computers for. That’s good to keep in mind when communicating with them.
Remember that prospective students are exactly that, prospective students. They are not students yet and for many of them the academic world is still foreign. Therefore, use a language that’s easy to understand.
We know that many of you receive lots of questions and enquiries from prospective students every day. Therefore, it’s sometimes not possible to write new answers to every message or email. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the answers are going to be impersonal. Autoresponders can be personalised to the extent that they give prospective students a very positive impression of you.
For example, you can use different types of autoresponders for different types of questions. In many email programs today you can use a code that makes it possible to start each email with the student’s first name instead of just “Hi”.
We are happy to help you keep the answers personal despite limited resources and time.
No one appreciates the feeling of being forgotten. The commitment from prospective students can be maintained by a proactive and well-timed followup. A message to you is the first step towards something much bigger. The person behind it may spend several years as your student. Use the initiated communication as a way to build a relationship with them. Show that you are a credible and a safe choice that care about your students, even before they apply.
* According to Statistikrapporten january 2022.
