Elliance Case Study
Out of the woods, into the digital light of day.
William Woods UniversityHow William Woods abandoned traditional student search, flipped the “funnel” and learned to Flourish.
No More Buying Names from Lists.
When tuition dependent colleges face repeated drops in enrollment, a contagion of doubt can quickly set in — clouding a school’s mission, purpose and its sense of agency. Enrollment VP at William Woods University watched the traditional “funnel” (search, inquiry, applicant, admit, deposit, enroll) lose relevance in the face of changing technologies and a new kind of prospect. Instead of playing the numbers game with list buys, Elliance encouraged investment in 1-to-1 digital outreach — paid, content, SEO and social — paired with a fresh brand articulation. Calls to flourish awakened dormant academic and co-curricular ambitions, and galvanized staff and faculty.
“In retrospect, we probably tried to bail water from a sinking traditional enrollment management boat for far too long. We thought hard work would eventually turn back time… Elliance led us into a digital future unknown to us but well known to their people. We never turned back.”
Building a Lean Enrollment Machine.
Elliance led the William Woods University team from the confusion of an 6,000-page website to the clarity and efficiency of a 600-page, SEO-fortified, enrollment focused conversion machine. By upgrading program page content (every page a homepage), leveraging page-one Google rankings, and activating social networks (faculty, alumni, students) Elliance proved that right-fit prospects respond far better to solid proofs and lived student experience than they do to traditional list-buying direct mail personalization tactics.
Stealth Advertising
By deploying micro-segmentation, look-alike technology, and A/B testing Elliance rapidly zeroed in on what works. Our mantra was to feed the winners, and starve the others. By delivering the ads only to the right-fit prospects, we reached new markets.
William Woods University Results
Faced with declining economic and demographic realities, William Woods University used the power of digital to reach more full-pay families from states like California and Florida where high school populations are growing. By marketing and merchandising select programs with gusto, William Woods University persuaded right-fit students that distance should not deter them from acting on their convictions.
