Meeting the Unique Needs of Lifelong and Non-traditional Learners
By pairing Salesforce Customer Relationship Management and Eloqua, the Division of Continuing Studies moved away from manual communication processes to offering more personalized and relevant information to lifelong learners.
Managing Complexity
UW–Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies (DCS) offers 90+ programs to learners seeking opportunities to grow and study outside of traditional degree programs. Connecting students with the huge depth and breadth of academic programs was becoming increasingly difficult in today’s complex media landscape. With a staff model built around each program, a loosely structured communication calendar, separate mailing lists, and matrixed staff, DCS was still relying on broad awareness campaigns that were no longer getting results.
It was clear a big shift would be needed. The team had been following the rise of marketing technology and knew they needed an application to handle the complexity of their strategy. They knew marketing automation tools can create advanced audience segmentation, develop customizable multi-step email campaigns, and produce detailed campaign results.
Modern Digital Tools
“Eloqua had all the features we were looking for to do the kind of marketing we needed to do,” says Sarah Perkins, marketing automation manager with DCS. “However, in addition to automated email campaigns, we then realized we needed a Customer Relationship Management system to understand and track prospective students’ interests, characteristics and timing so we could offer them information on the right learning experience at the right time for them.”
After sorting through industry options, they settled on the combination of Eloqua and Salesforce to enact their plan. Now Sarah and her team can easily create personalized automated campaigns that nurture prospective students through the entire decision-making journey, from inquiry to enrollment. These tools also ensure that prospective students, who may not be ready to engage with enrollment coaches or admissions, are still receiving relevant messaging to keep their learning goals top of mind.
Results
“The possibilities are endless for us now with the new capabilities these tools provide. We can do a simple email send or set up a complex campaign full of decision steps and communication pathways. And at the same time, better meet the needs of our prospective students.”